Topic: Sarracenia from seed

[Robert_Brenchley]

Anyone tried them from seed? I just sent an order off to Chiltern Seeds, and after what's been said recently about their hardiness, I included a packet. All I've been able to find out is that they need stratification. That's a start but no more than that; last year I got two species of Tricyrtis to germinate after being well chilled, and they then succumbed to a cold night.

[Baccy Man]

There are cultivation instructions here.
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Sarracenia.htm

[calendula]

I've tried countless times to no avail  :'(

There are all sorts of complicated ways to get them to germinate and I reckon I've tried them all and more so do please tell if you are successful (although that will upset me even more if you find it easy  ;D )

My experience has been the same with many of the carnivorous plants

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'll be putting them outside in a cold frame as soon as I get them, in potting compost, and I'll report back if and when I get results.

[flytrapman]

Sarracenias are easy from seed if the seed is fresh. When I first got into CPs I bought seed from Chiltern and had poor results.
Either sow seed in pots and leave to stratify in cold greenhouse/coldframe over winter and when the weather warms up they will germinate or put in plastic bag in fridge for around 6 weeks and then put into warmth to germinate
Are you growing species, if not and you want some mixed seed from self pollinated plants drop me a message and ill try and sort some fresh seeed out
Most other CPs are easy I will have loads of drosera and VFT seed in spring which self sow. Most CP growers treat Drosera capensis as a weed

[calendula]

you've renewed my interest FTP  :)

I've tried so many ways and spent quite a lot on so called professional CP seeds merchants around the world and tried many methods

I 'll send you a message

[Baccy Man]

I can confirm Drosera Capensis is very easy I was given some seed a few years ago and I just scatterered the seed in the boggy bit around the edge of my pond & thought it will come up or it won't, I wasn't that interested in growing it to be honest. I think most if not all came up & has been helping to keep the mosquito population in mid Wales down ever since. It dies off in winter but always reappears in spring.

[flytrapman]

Baccy man it would be better growing hardy native drosera outside, try D.rotundifoia  or D.intermedia. You could also try the native butterwort which is hardy and carnivorous, Pinguicula grandifolia all 3 are easy to grow.
If you want to obtain fresh seed it is worth joining one of the carnivorous plant societies. The american society is called ICPS (international carnivorous plant society) the UK society is called the CPS (carnivorous plant society). I used to be a member and you got around 4 free packets of seed.
I had a huge collection once. I still have over 200 different Sarracenias plus around 100 other carnivorous plants. As I am on a full time course at college I did not bother collecteing seed this year but I will next year if anyone is interested, although the cultivars and variants will not come true from seed.
I also find I get better germination when I sow seed on  live sphagnum moss.

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's something I was thinking about; I can get the dried stuff round here, but resistant as mosses are, I'm not sure it'll come back to life if I add water.

[calendula]

I tried a few times with the moss the garden centres sell that is still wet and sold in sealed bags and nothing happened after numerous attempts  :-\

[sawfish]

according to the guy I got mine from its a lot easier dividing the underground tubers and growing new plants from them.

[flytrapman]

The moss has got to be sphagnum, whilst it is better live you can use dried or milled sphagnum. You can buy it dried and compressed in cubes which expand after you put in water.
You can divide mature Sarracenia by splitting the divisions. You can also take cuttings by cutting a piece of the tuber with roots attached and placing in medium, new growth points will form which can be cut to form new plants.