That's interesting. I actually tried germinating part of the seed at room temperature, and the remainder in the refrigerator. Both ended up looking like the Ipomoea pandurata seed on the wiki, only more hairy. In The Random House Book of Bulbs, Phillips and Rix state that T. speciosum blooms in January and February in the wild, which I figured would be the "dry" season (summer) in southern Chile. Thus, the seed should ripen in time for the autumn and winter rains. Maybe I just had two batches of very old seed. It's a moot point now, since I doubt that T. speciosum would survive a Georgia summer (unless I get an air conditioned greenhouse like the one at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.) I originally tried growing these when I was living in central Pennsylvania. Gene Eugene Zielinski Augusta, GA > [Original Message] > From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > Subject: Tropaeolum > > Eugene wrote, > >I've tried germinating Tropaeolum speciosum seed a couple of times. They > >never germinated, but developed a healthy coat of mold. I suspect these > >seeds must be sown soon after harvest and do not tolerate extended dry > >storage. > > It's possible but seems unlikely to me. T. speciosum does come from the > "wet" end of the Tropaeolum range, but plants experience a dry season about > the time their seeds would be ripening, which usually means tolerance of > dry storage. The climate where they grow is similar to that of coastal > northern California/southern Oregon. The seeds would probably germinate in > quite cool conditions -- maybe warmth stimulated the mold? > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon >