Forum Seed Pool

[Susanne]

Hi Chris

I would be happy to try the old seeds! Also I would be happy to keep a diary and let everybody know the results.
I would pay for p&p.

Did you know that some seeds found in the tombs of the egyptian pyramids have been found to be viable? But as far as I know, they were mainly grains.

Susanne
South Wales Branch

[Chris43]

OK, Suzanne, the list is available - so do try anything you like! After all the best way of avoiding the problem is to run out of seed!!!

[Julie]

Hmmm... would the Conophytum frutescens be newb-friendly?

(I suspect not!)

[iann]

Conophytum frutescens sown April 2006.
[img]http://nartowicz.users.btopenworld.com/ ... scens1.jpg[/img]

Although they look quite advanced, C. frutescens is a bilobe type which takes several years to develop its adult form and only then will it start to flower. Not hard compared to some Conophytums, just a little slow.

[Julie]

Ian, thanks for the pic! They are sooo sweet, like little beans.

Assuming that I do them in a bag and am successful in keeping out nasties and get the water right, would they be fussier about eg. light/shade than a Gymno (amerhauseri) or forbies?

I also found some seeds labelled "cactus with big yellow flower 2002" (which would have been one my mother got bored with, so I don't remember what it was, but it died some years ago and I can't find a photo) so I will give those a try too. Nice surprise!

If anyone has grown that Gymno, I'd love to see pics.

[iann]

You probably want someone else to tell you about how to sow Conophytum seeds but I can give you some general ideas from what works on other mesembs and what worked on these.

Don't expect to grow mesembs inside a plastic bag for a year! Take off the plastic after the seed germinates, or at most a few weeks later. The seedlings grow nicely under plastic but ultimately will rot or become so soft that they rot when the plastic is removed. Grow mesembs in full sun from an early age, not like most cacti, but water frequently. Sowing Conophytums in spring may seem a bit odd, they are "winter growers", but it works quite well. Terry Smale recommends it although he says to keep them shaded throughout the summer. I just grew them in full sun, shaded only during the July heatwave. They will sheath over at some point during their first summer but don't let them stay like this for long, keep watering and they will come out of it after a few weeks. You can see a few bits of the white dried sheath still clinging to some of the seedlings even now.

[Julie]

Aaah, so they will be OK on a windowsill getting sun from 1pm to sunset, with car shades in the worst scorchiest days.

I will hopefully be away camping, hostelling or staying with friends in the summer, so it's possible I would be away for up to a month in one hit (with a bit of luck). I'd have to trust my mother with the baby conos... but if they grow slowly I would not miss much growth!

Btw - how big is that pot? The seedlings seem about 5mm across?

[iann]

The largest one is 11mm. The dish is a microwave cooking bowl with holes drilled in the bottom. I was a little short of suitable trays

Mesemb seedlings and window sills don't mix too well, lack of air movement means they can boil! I grow mine in a cold frame during their first summer, lots of light, lots of air movement, and cool nights. My half-cat-litter soil means I can water them almost every day when it is hot and it is almost impossible to overwater them.

[Susanne]

Dear Chris

Thank you!
I was very excited when I read your message.
I was unable to workout how to find a seedlist on the woodedge site.
I did see an updated seedlist a few days ago, but it did not show which seeds were old.
Can you help?

Susanne
South Wales Branch

[Maria J]

Hi Susanne,

I've sent you an e-mail with the Excel file attached!
The 'age' of the seed is in column 'H'.

Best wishes