Cyrtanthus seedling problem
Mary Sue Ittner (Thu, 05 May 2005 08:59:06 PDT)

Hi Leo,

We've talked about this issue before. In this post:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/old.php/…
I tell about my lack of success with flotation and better results with
direct seeding and give a reference to a complete explanation by Lee
Poulsen of how he handles the transplanting with flotation.

This fall I got Cyrtanthus seed from Rhoda and Cameron. I sowed seed on top
of moist mix with sand sprinkled on top with the seed planted sideways and
slightly out of the soil. I covered the pot with plastic and left if in our
spare bathroom. Cameron wrote that the seed was old, but he thought it
would still be viable. He gave me an extra generous amount. Two pots had
nice strong green shoots in about 3 weeks, another took about a month, and
the fourth pot did not germinate at all. The ones that germinated are all
doing just fine. I was able to share the excess seed with another
Cyrtanthus enthusiast and started another batch of the species that
germinated less well since I wanted more of it and I have a few more
seedlings from the second attempt. This time it was only three weeks before
I could see little green bulbs had formed. Our house is relatively cool by
most standards in winter and the light levels in that room depend on how
much sun we have. We have the heater on for two or three hours in the
morning and in the evening if it is cool. We turn it off at night. Probably
the temperature in that room is about 65 degrees and often into the 50 ties
at night. I did not use lights.

I hope this helps.

Mary Sue