Flores and Watson old Leucocoryne seed
Diane Whitehead (Tue, 23 Dec 2003 21:28:43 PST)

This year's Flores and Watson seedlist had an extra sheet of old
seeds, including a collection of Alstroemeria and one of Leucocoryne,
a genus I just discovered this year, on this list, and of which I
have so far never seen a plant. The pbs discussion and pictures
roused plant lust, and I have been ordering seed wherever I've seen
it. (So far, the Alpine Garden Society, Plant World and F & W, all
sown today.)

I was a bit leery of paying real money for old seeds, but a Chilean
study had proved that Leucocoryne seeds just left lying around at
room temperature were still good until they were 2.3 years old, and
would be totally dead at 6 years. I was sure that Watson and Cheese
(his U.K. colleague) would have treated the seed better than that, so
it seemed a good gamble. The Chilean botanist had soaked the seed
for 4 days. I set out to do that, but the days stretched to 6.
Tonight I sowed the soaked seed and found that one, L. incrassata,
had already germinated. That was a very cheering sight.

The species I got from F & W are: appendiculata, coquimbensis,
incrassata, ixioides, macropetala, purpurea, vittata. Some of the
seed was measured out generously enough that I will be able to try
some bulbs outside when they seem big enough.

--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil