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South African Romulea - germination?
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Posted by kirsitn Oslo (My Page) on Tue, Mar 15, 05 at 9:42
| Does anyone know if seeds of South African Romulea need some kind of stratification?
Three months ago I sowed R.hallii, R. subfistulosa, R. kamisensis, R. komsbergensis and R. monadelpha. So far only subfistulosa and kamisensis have germinated. Could it be that the others need a cold period to germinate? At the moment they're standing under fluorescent lights at a temperature of 20-24 degrees Celsius. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: South African Romulea - germination?
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- Posted by SoCal23 USDA10/Sunset23 (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 19, 05 at 10:05
| The plants described (apart from kamisensis which was not mentioned) are all native to the Roggeveld escarpment according to "The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs". Most likely the seeds find your conditions a bit too warm for germination since rainfall in their native range is restricted to the winter months when temperatures are quite cool with occasional frost. |
RE: South African Romulea - germination?
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| Ideally you should seek a night temp of 4-7C and day temps of 14-19C. Since these temperatures are not comfortable for people, you might try to find an olr refrigerator and set the thermostat to the warmer setting. Have the seeds cooled at night and at room temperature with bright light during the day. The temperature oscilation is more critical to germination than the actual temperature. Do not let the temperature drop below 4C in the cooler or germination will come to a screeching halt!. |
RE: South African Romulea - germination?
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| Just wanted to say that after leaving the seeds outside since early spring (April), all the remaining three species have finally germinated. Temperatures have been mostly around 5-10 degrees Celsius since September, but down to -3 degrees C some nights. None of the seedlings seem to have suffered from the low temperatures (or they may have germinated after the last cold period since the last month has been unusually warm for this time of the year.) |
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