Omphalodes luciliae - sow now?

[Mark Griffiths]

It looks as if I've got 4 or 5 seeds off the Omphalodes luciliae I raised this year from AGS seed. I think I may have a few more seeds coming too.

Should I sow it as it ripens or wait until say Feb? I'd be sowing in the greenhouse which is frost free.

thanks

[Lesley Cox]

Can't help with that one Mark except that if it germinated well from the Seedlist, why not wait until that time again? I also received 7 seeds and all germinated, 3 in our autumn and the other 4 in late winter. Previous experience had told me to expect O verna or something less choice than luciliae but I was happily surprised. Mine haven't flowered yet (surely yours were very quick?) but are sturdy little plants.

[Mark Griffiths]

Thanks Lesley, I looked it up in Lawrence Hills "Propagation of Alpines" and it said the routine was to sow them now - I've put a few in and the rest and any more that ripen will go in January.

I was surprised also - I used to get either nothing or O. linfolia (sp?). This time I had about 5 seeds - I got 4 green leaved things that did actually look like O.luciliae (I remember reading you do sometimes get green ones) - all but one of those died (partly because I prioritised getting the blue leaved one with the best roots when I pricked them out). Still not sure what the green leaved things are.

The O.luciliae germinated in Feb I think and was in flower by July/August  - it had four flowering stems and I was a bit worried because there was only one none flowering shoot - I took a risk and repotted it again because it was showing a fair amount of root through the drainage hole. It now looks as if it has many non flowering shoots and possibly a stolon (unless it's an alstroemeria hookerii seedling) coming up.