biarum germination

[cohan]

hi all, have been unable to find anything on sowing/temps/soils for these... any thoughts?
i have an unnamed sp from turkey...

[Ezeiza]

Hi:

    I have germinated a lot of species and provided the seed is fresh, sown in autumn and exposed to cool/frosty weather in very gritty mixture, germination is fast and uniform in autumn itself. Have tried seed of several sources but seed freshness seems to be the only critical factor.

Best

Alberto Castillo

[cohan]

Hi:

    I have germinated a lot of species and provided the seed is fresh, sown in autumn and exposed to cool/frosty weather in very gritty mixture, germination is fast and uniform in autumn itself. Have tried seed of several sources but seed freshness seems to be the only critical factor.

Best

Alberto Castillo

thanks alberto--how frosty? i will be having nights below freezing often-- the next week shows lows of +3 to -6 and it could easily go much lower very soon....(or not) should i take a chance on putting them out until lower temps are forecast? my alternative would be a back hall floor where it would be cool but nowhere near freezing...

[Ezeiza]

In my experience, chilly nights down to 3/5 C are enough to obtain germination in autumn. We never experience frosts below -6 C due to global warming therefore can not say how frosty becomes harmful to all species. But, of course, several come from really low winter temperatures in Turkey for instance.

[cohan]

thanks, alberto, i may need to experiment....

[Darren]

I don't have as much experience as Alberto but my own first sowings of Biarum in september last year were very successful given the conditions Alberto describes. The seed (several species) came from Kurt Vickery, Kurt left the seed coat/berry on in an attempt to preserve viability. I soaked the seed and removed this before sowing and I had germination in all species as soon as the weather turned cooler in october/november. Some stragglers are germinating now, after a years delay.

I do recall reading somewhere that the roots and tubers of most (all?) aroids will not tolerate being frozen through, so if sowing in pots I would make sure they are at least plunged.

[Ezeiza]

Darren, that is quite a point.

A number of years ago we had many species in clay pots on concrete benches IN THE OPEN. an unexpected frost killed many Chilean plants we were studying at the time and strangely perhaps a number of Ophrys, Serapias, etc. in which THE FOLIAGE is quite hardy. Exactly as you describe the foliage is very hardy but the tubers, bulbs, etc. are not. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the same is valid for aroids.

[Tony Willis]

I don't have as much experience as Alberto but my own first sowings of Biarum in september last year were very successful given the conditions Alberto describes. The seed (several species) came from Kurt Vickery, Kurt left the seed coat/berry on in an attempt to preserve viability. I soaked the seed and removed this before sowing and I had germination in all species as soon as the weather turned cooler in october/november. Some stragglers are germinating now, after a years delay.

I do recall reading somewhere that the roots and tubers of most (all?) aroids will not tolerate being frozen through, so if sowing in pots I would make sure they are at least plunged.

On the matter of germination I find they do so quite readily in the same autumn if sown when ripe but may delay a year.I keep seedlings frost free the first winter.

As to being frozen my arums and dracunculus tubers are frozen every year without any problem. This last winter the biarum tubers also froze and I only lost one from southern Greece but I do keep the more tender ones from low levels in Turkey and Israel frost free for instance ditschianum and angustifolium

[Oron Peri]

I also find that knowing the origin altitude of the mother plant can help a lot, this is true also with other bulbous plants.

In my experience Biarum species from low altitudes [0-300] germinate quickly, only a few weeks after the first rain, the explanation is that growth cycle  in these conditions is shorter as the hot dry wether starts earlier under these conditions and so plants must grow fast in order to develop a good size tuber in order to survive the hot season.
Species from higher altitudes germinate slower and often skip a year, probably needing at least one cold treatment in order to germinate.

[Darren]

Just noticed B. ditschianum from this year's Kurt Vickery list is now germinating. Sown in late August after soaking and removal of the remains of the berry. Pot was then left out in the weather until now.