Lachenalia viridiflora

Carlo A. Balistrieri via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Sun, 20 Dec 2020 11:27:16 PST
Wow Gastil! Great leaves to go with the flowers we all know and love! 👍🏼🌱❤️

Carlo

> On Dec 20, 2020, at 11:34 AM, Robert Lauf via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
> 
>  <Most interesting about germination happening after bottom heat was applied.
> I have not tried that and nearly all my seed pots have no sprouts. May I
> ask how much heat (what temperature) and is it constant or a daily
> fluctuation?>
> OK, I'll risk embarrassing myself by describing my homebrew system, whose claim to fame is that it's free and it works.
> As I have mentioned, I sow in either perlite, promix, or a mixture of the two in disposable plastic food containers.  The snack size are five for maybe $3 and are translucent with pale blue translucent tops.  The medium is made fairly damp before sowing.  Because the containers are sealed, they can be placed anywhere without leaking or needing a tray under them.  You can also write on them with a Sharpie or a wax pencil.
> For bottom heat, I have lined some up on top of the fluorescent fixture over an aquarium, so the bottom heat is quite gentle, but enough that a lot of condensation appears on the inside of the lid and sides.  When I filled that space I turned to a temporarily unoccupied reptile tank that has a bottom heating pad attached adhesively to the underside of the glass.  I turned it on and set several containers on the glass over the heating pad.  The next day it seemed to be way too warm, so I moved them so about half of each container is over the mat, and that seems pretty good.  Lots of condensation and warmer than the ones on the light fixture but not cooking anything.
> All of my Lach. seeds and those of Veltheimia bracteata are responding well.  Lots of bottom-heated seed starter trays are out there and I haven't compared the prices to the heating pad, which is available in pet stores, to see what would be cheaper.  The seed starter trays would provide more area to work with and an optimal temperature, but I used what I already had and I'm satisfied with the results.
> Once most of the seeds have germinated, I move the containers to the greenhouse so they can get lots more light.  The greenhouse is cooler but they don't seem to be distressed by the move.
> I can further embarrass myself by sending photos of all this, but I think it's pretty easy to picture the setup.  BTW, anyone with a flora-cart or other growing space with fluorescent fixtures on top has some similar real estate to exploit in this way.
> Bob
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> pbs mailing list
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
> http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>


More information about the pbs mailing list