Native Plants
8 messages in this thread
I need some advice on germinating Jack-In_The_Pulpit seeds. I have had
them in cold/wet stratification since Nov. I would appreciate any help
with them. Thanks
Mark, I haven't done it and I'm no expert (I edit a journal for the Ohio
Native Plant Society, but my qualification for that is knowing even less
than the average reader), but here's a summary of what Harry Phillips says
(in GROWING AND PROPAGATING WILD FLOWERS):
(1) Can be sown indoors or outdoors with good results.
(2) Indoors, sow after moist-cold treatment in the refrigerator for at
least 60 days. Sow evenly in a flat of standard sowing medium, cover with
1/4 inch of soil, and keep constantly moist. Expect germination within 2
weeks. The seedlings are small the first year, only 2-3 inches tall, with
just one undivided leaf, and go dormant within three months! When that
happens, you can pot the small corms individually and keep them in a shaded
place outdoors (outdoors to Phillips is North Carolina). Plant them in the
garden at the end of the second season and they'll probably flower the
third.
(3) Outdoors, just collect and clean the seeds in the fall, and sow them
3-4 inches apart in a seedbed. Transplant them to the garden at the end of
the second season.
You have the 60 days of moist-cold treatment, so you can go ahead whenever
it's convenient. They don't require a great deal of light, but constant
moisture is essential.
All Jones and Foote (GARDENING WITH NATIVE WILD FLOWERS) have to say is
that it self-sows readily.
THANKS, I APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. I'M IN THE BUSINESS AND HAVE
RAISED MANY THINGS FROM SEED COMMERCIALLY AND FOR FUN. BUT THESE MAKE ME
NERVOUS BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 2 DOZEN SEEDS.
If you'll be doing much with native plants, you really should get the
Phillips book, because it has quite detailed information on many species.
It's available in paperback (a large paperback) from the U. of North
Carolina Press; I think that Capability's has it in stock.
(It's easier to read messages if they're in upper and lower case; all caps
looks like SHOUTING.)
If you will post the species name of the Arisaema (jack-in-the-pulpit), I
will post the cultural notes from Norman Deno's work on seed germination.
He has very detailed information on this genus.
Marjory, is Norman Deno's "work" a book in print? I'm always looking for
books on seed germination.
Yes, Virginia, you can order the book from Norman for $15.50: Norman C.
Deno, Prof. Em. of Chemistry 139 Lenor Drive State College, PA 16801 Seed
Germination , Theory & Practice — very valuable and readable.
Thanks. I'll add it to my collection of propagation books.