Hi Darren: You can germinate hippeastrums in the dark. This is even advantageous because then the substrate dries out more slowly. However when the first seedlings show up with leaves 1 cm long then it is high time to apply natural light or artificial light from fluorescent tubes or high pressure metal halide discharge lamps, the area related electric installation power being in the magnitude of 200 Watts / square meter. I recommend "only" 22 to 25°C indoors. That is enough in order to envoke full growth speed. Higher temperatures means a shift of the light/temperature ratio indoors to a critical lower level and might provoke a more elongated, unstable, watery, spillery growth. For the same reason there might be some advantage to reduce the night temperature. For energy saving reasons (I admit), but with this in mind too, I reduce the air temperature to 20-22°C at night. There is another point of view associated with these recommendations which might become relevant - much later: You disadvantage those seedlings individuals which have a higher or particularly high temperature demand. For my part I never want to keep such capricious seedlings. These should all be thrown away when the moment has come to select and replant the youngsters. Hans-Werner >From: "Darren Sage" <darrensage100@hotmail.com> >Reply-To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> >To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >Subject: [pbs] Hippeastrum seeds and light >Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 23:37:18 +0000 > >I have been making my first crosses and have just harvested my first seeds >today. > >Is light needed for germination? What tempertures are recommended? These >are crosses from large flowered hybrids.