Arisaema Germination (was: Soaking colchicum seeds)

Paul Licht plicht@berkeley.edu
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:25:21 PST
I've germinated seeds of at least 8 species of Arisaema, including all 
those mentioned by Eugene, and have never had much trouble. I routinely 
soak for 1-2 days and then plant at room temperature (60-70F). Sometimes 
I get lazy and skip the soaking and I'm not sure it makes a big 
difference. Sprouting usually starts in 4-8 wks, occassionally sooner. 
The same seed lot may sprout in different times when planted at 
different times of years but I haven't analyzed this. I keep seeds in 
the fridge and know they will remain viable for years.
Paul

Paul Licht, Director
University of California Botanical Garden
200 Centennial Drive
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510)-643-8999
http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/



On 2/19/2010 4:06 PM, Eugene Zielinski wrote:
> Ellen.
> Are you referring to both the Asian and North American Arisaema species?
> I've had A. sikokianum germinate for me at 70 F (20 C) without any
> pretreatment at cold temperatures.  I've heard, however, that A. triphyllum
> is difficult to get to germinate.  (I haven't tried, though.)
> Apologies to Rodger Whitlock for continuing the germination thread, but I
> am not incurious about the factors that trigger seed germination.
> (Something about meeting Norm Deno at an impressionable age, I guess.)
>
> Eugene Zielinski
> Augusta, GA
> USA
>
>
>    
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Ellen Hornig<hornig@earthlink.net>
>> To: Pacific Bulb Society<pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Date: 2/19/2010 5:02:34 PM
>> Subject: Re: [pbs] Soaking colchicum seeds
>>
>> Right...and at least as applied to arisaema seeds, it's a total myth.
>> Almost all of them are straightforward cold/warm germinators (or possibly
>> just warm, but I tend to get them cleaned and sowed in winter, so they
>>      
> get
>    
>> cold/warm, like it or not, and they like it fine).  I do clean the seeds
>> first, i.e. squeeze them out of the "fruits" and rinse them, but there is
>>      
> no
>    
>> prolonged soaking.  I've long wondered where that particular bit of folk
>> wisdom originated.
>>
>> Ellen
>>
>> Ellen Hornig
>> Seneca Hill Perennials
>> 3712 County Route 57
>> Oswego NY 13126 USA
>> http://www.senecahillperennials.com/
>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/
>>      
>
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