Favorite Seed Sources - S.African

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Tue, 18 Mar 2003 07:35:26 PST
Dear Diane,

To add to what Alberto said sometimes they are different, sometimes the 
same. But I have found (as is true of Ron Ratko's seed as well) that 
sometimes different clones of the same species behave and look very 
different. They may bloom at a different time and the size may be 
different. Sometimes one pot will germinate and the other not. So if it is 
a species that I really like or am eager to try I have been known to order 
the seeds even if I have ordered the same from Rod and Rachel. In the past 
IBSA would also write the place where the seed was collected if it was wild 
collected. That was helpful because it would give me an idea if this plant 
was growing in a very dry habitat and would hate my winters or was growing 
in the southwestern Cape where there was more rain and therefore it "could" 
be expected to do better.

I use the word "could" because I have found that sometimes when I am able 
to identify a plant that has been misnamed that I have left out in my rain 
thinking it was from an area that got rain and learned it was really from 
Namaqualand and shouldn't like rain I have found that there is no 
substitute for direct experience. Some things have done fine that shouldn't 
and some things that should have been all right were not.

Mary Sue


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