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Author Topic: Erythronium from seeds  (Read 1760 times)

WSGR

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Erythronium from seeds
« on: October 15, 2019, 08:14:40 AM »
Lordy! Bought some seeds and found out it would take up to 7 years to see a flower! ::) I might be dead by then! :(

Need some advice badly about how to treat the seeds, what compost and where to put the pots. Incidentally, lovely photos from the old thread and would love to know what camera Steve was using - the clarity and details simply took my breath away!

Any advice appreciated. Thank you in advance.

rob krejzl

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Re: Erythronium from seeds
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2019, 08:53:01 AM »
Seven years seems a bit excessive. My own usually take  about 4 years to first flowering. Ian Young's estimable advice on seed sowing should be available somewhere here if you search, but to summarise sow the seed with a little depth, vernalise over winter and with fresh seed you should see cotyledons in spring at about the time the mature bulbs emerge. Potting compost with a little extra sand works well for me. As with lily seedlings and the like keep them cool and well watered without waterlogging to keep them growing as long as possible. I've just been looking at a pot of 2nd year revolutum seedlings; most of the seedlings emerged the first spring, but a small proportion are only just appearing this year - so a little patience is useful.
Southern Tasmania

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Maggi Young

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Re: Erythronium from seeds
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2019, 11:20:09 AM »
 This  link takes you to the  Bulb Log where  Ian first  wrote  the  chapter  of  his  e-book on Erythronium from seed.....
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2015Jan141421233053BULB_LOG_0215.pdf

There's a wealth of  info on all sorts  of  bulbs  Ian grows  in the  Bulb Log, which can be  found  on the  main SRGC Website  :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/index.php?log=bulb   is the  link to every  Bulb Log  since  2003!!

Ian Young's e-book - Erythroniums in Cultivation -  in pdf form - 278 pages in full colour -  has a free download via this link :
http://www.srgc.net/filessub/general/ERYTHRONIUMS-IN-CULTIVATION%20-2016-IanYoung.pdf  and  for  anyone  interested in Erythroniums, it's a  jolly  good  read!!  :D
« Last Edit: October 04, 2021, 12:34:10 PM by Maggi Young »
Margaret Young in Aberdeen, North East Scotland Zone 7 -ish!

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Tristan_He

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Re: Erythronium from seeds
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2019, 07:49:32 AM »
Agree, if Erythronium seedlings take 7 years to flowering you are not doing it right!

You can sow now in a pot with very well drained compost (plenty of grit or perlite) and most should come up in the spring. I know Ian sows quite deep but I had problems with damping off when I did this - probably about 6-7mm is enough. Repot annually when dormant - at first you don't need to seperate the seedlings just put the whole lot in a bigger pot as you would when potting up an individual plant. Once they are a bit bigger you can pot them individually or even plant them out in a suitable spot in the garden.

Erythroniums are great fun from seed and you can save yourself a lot of money! The same applies to other bulbs such as lilies btw.

Good luck! Tristan

 


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