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Ant plant germination: Manual removal of Seed Coats (after germination)


Dennis Z

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I am probably going to get a bit of debate over this topic but I'd like to share my experiences with germinating ant-plant seed.

 

I have observed that on several occasions, some ant plant seedlings have failed to break and shed the seed coat with their cotyledons. As the result, the cotyledons and growth point rotted inside of the seed coat which set the seedling's growth back for months. (The seedlings that had their apical meristems rotted will eventually regrow "true leaves", so if this has happened to you, don't fret and toss out the plant yet).  

 

I find that removing the seed coats manually when you start to observe other seedlings shedding their coats may be helpful though it's probably not worth the effort to remove the seed coats if you're germinating a lot of ant plant seeds.It would certainly be helpful if you only have a few precious seedlings. 

 

Here were my germinating conditions: 

 

Humidity: 90%-100%

Temperature: Around 77 F

Medium: 100% LFS

Lighting: High (Under Cool-daylight T8s) 

 

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Hi Dennis,

 

i had only some "easy" species as seeds and i had never any rotted seedlings in the seed shells.

More often did fungus appear on the seed if not cleaned well from the sticky fruit material.

 

Nevertheless i had often seedlings that had damaged leaves, because one of the two germinating leaves got stuck in the seed shell.

That did never really harm the growing process , but maybe sensitive species might be affected by such incidents.

As long as I have enough seeds of one kind, i sort the bad ones out and respectively pic the good ones for further cultivation.

Of course rare seedlings need a little more attention and should get all the help possible to grow to a healthy plant.

 

My seedling method is rather brutal:

The seed is placed on wet damped tissue paper in  a plastic pot (200ml to 1000ml).

These pots are closed with only tiny holes for ventilation.

I place them on my windowsill with half day full sunlight. Temperatures can be quiet high (approximately 35-40°C maximum) but the humidity stays at around 100%.

In my mind a high humidity is the most important point, as it prevents the seed from drying out.

 

When the seedlings have developed the first two leaves i transplant them to another box, where they are placed on pine bark substrate.

Here the conditons are a little colder and more dry.

 

All the best

Philipp

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Dennis:

This is not a bad recommendation to try and assist weak seedlings when you only have a few. Readers should note that it is not without risk and requires fine tipped tools (e.g. needle nosed forceps, entomological pins, dental picks, etc) and good eyes to minimize losses. If the seed coat is only adhered to the end of one of the seedling leaves, I wouldn't bother.

Cheers,

J

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Yes, this can be corrected without noticeable impact on form by moving to high light conditions up until about year two. Of greater concern is their tendency to corkscrew under inadequate illumination. These can also be corrected but requires clipping below where stem curls.

J

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Yes, this can be corrected without noticeable impact on form by moving to high light conditions up until about year two. Of greater concern is their tendency to corkscrew under inadequate illumination. These can also be corrected but requires clipping below where stem curls.

J

 

Hi Jay,

what do you mean by "corkscrew"? If I understand correctly, this sounds like a fairly funny look ;)

Concerning the cotyledons being stuck in the seed coat, I would not bother too much. These plants are so regenerative. I had seedlings being half eaten by slugs that regenerated into completely normal plants.

All the best

Andreas

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Bonjour

 

my method is somewhat similar to that of Philippe.

I use box of Petri with a damp  towel paper , I put my clean seed it  (free of pulp), I close the lid ,no ventilation, method called in french ' à l'etouffée'

I put all in front of a south window  (with  25 to 35°c),(wet enough after the caudex has appeared)and I wait for the germination  (which is  pretty fast).

Once the plant has a sheet crown, I replanted in the slightly damp peat.

 

jeff

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did a small experiment. I left one of my seedlings under low light and it made an entire loop with the "neck" of the caudex. I placed the seedling back under high light, let's see if it will maintain the "loop". Is the looping of the "neck" considered corkscrewing?

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