Hepatica from seed

[Gabriela]

Yes, wonderful results Carsten. The mix seems to work very well for your conditions.

Unfortunately in some parts of the world seramis, pumice, zeolite and lava rocks are not readily available, or are very expensive. I get by
with using coarse perlite and vermiculite in my Hepatica sowing and potting mix.

[Starking007]

Passendes Material gibt es hier in Betrieben vom Garten- und Landschaftsbau,
manchmal auch als salzfreies Streugut in Baumärkten, Lava, Bims oder Bläschiefer.
Splitt in Streukästen an der Strasse, wobei man da sehr auch Salz achten muss.
Ich habe nebenan eine Sandgrube mit diversen Splitten......
Zeolith gibt es auch im Zoogeschäft, manchmal.
Notfalls kann man Seramis oder Blähton für Hydrokultur brechen,
oder sogar Ziegelsplitt selber klopfen.
In unserer Stadt ist ein Betrieb, der Tennisplatzbeläge herstellt, da gibt es Ziegelsplitt tonnenweise........

[MarcR]

Carsten,

Thank you for sharing how you grow them.  We have no pine in our area- will fir needles work?

Marc

[Carsten]

Yes, fir will work, too. It needs to be composted for some time but still with good structure to be airy and moisture rententive.

[Starking007]

2022 was the first year in which I put quite a lot, maybe 100, seedlings, sections and young plants in pots.
In substrate with mostly mixed grain lava, similar to Carsten, placed in full shade.
They are always kept slightly moist.
After a few weeks, the first leaves turned pale, so I fertilized some liquid over the foliage.
Now they got darker, many even to a bronze hue, is that normal?
Since I constantly water the leaves, I have a lot of leaf stains, next time I would plan a flood tank.
The very dry ones in the garden, but shady, on the other hand, are spotless.
All in the pot are due to be released into the open soon, but for some that won't be until 2023...