Nerine seed sizes

[Diane Whitehead]

I just received seeds of   Nerine augustifolia , filifolia , humilis, masoniorum.

They are very small compared to the seeds of Nerine bowdenii, sarniensis and undulata which I grow.

It is obvious that the seeds are viable, since almost every one started growing as they travelled.

So, two questions:  is it normal for those species to have only small seeds?   and might small seeds 
of bowdenii, sarniensis and undulata also be viable?

[Robert_Parks]

I just received seeds of  Nerine augustifolia , filifolia , humilis, masoniorum.

They are very small compared to the seeds of Nerine bowdenii, sarniensis and undulata which I grow.

It is obvious that the seeds are viable, since almost every one started growing as they travelled.

So, two questions:  is it normal for those species to have only small seeds?  and might small seeds
of bowdenii, sarniensis and undulata also be viable?

I'll speak of filifolia, since I grew those. Small seeds on a small plant. The leaves are mostly 6" or less, the flower stalks are under a foot, a large bulb is maybe a 1/2 inch across. The seeds distributed were typical, although I discarded the smallest seeds (say 20% by number) since they dessicate quickly even as they germinate.

I assume with speed and care you could successfully grow plants from tiny seeds, they just wouldn't have the boost of stored energy.

Robert

[Uli]

So far I have not found any difference between the plants which grow from large or small seeds of Nerine or Amaryllis belladonna. One tends to look at the big ones with preference.....
Seed of the species you mention is much smaller than bowdenii seed. It needs immediate sowing and will produce good plants.

Uli 

[David Pilling]

Maybe like the curse of Florence Bellis "often the poorest seedlings produce the best plants", or embryo rescue.

When you do have squillions of seedlings to choose from, they don't all produce great plants. The sad bit is when you only have a couple of seeds.