Ipomoea cristulata and I. pandurata (long!)
Dennis Kramb (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:37:24 PST)

Exactly 2 years ago I obtained seeds of these species. I. cristulata
came by way of a gift from a friend who bought them on eBay. And the I.
pandurata I collected locally in the wild.

The I. pandurata seeds stayed in my freezer for the last 2 years, kept
in a paper bag (a Chipotle nacho chip bag). The I. cristulata seeds
stayed on a north facing windowsill for the past 2 years, wrapped in the
original tinfoil in which I received them.

On February 28, just 10 days ago, I took all 55 seeds of I. pandurata,
and 11 seeds from the packet of I. cristulata. I scarified them with a
metal file, and placed them in glasses warm water. They soaked for 24
hours, and then I planted them into pots.

7 of the I. cristulata germinated on March 4. Another one germinated on
March 5.

I had given up hope for the I. pandurata, but today the first one is
germinating... just the tiniest portion is breaking through the soil
surface at this moment.

I am so excited!

It's amazing how these seeds remained viable for 2 years in spite of
being kept under totally different conditions.

My first attempt at collecting seeds of I. pandurata was a failure. I
had kept them in warm dry storage. Beetles hatched from within the
seeds and ate them from within. When I opened the bag a few weeks later
I had a bag full of happy mature beetles. That's when I decided that
the freezing and 24 hour soaking method might be necessary for success
with these guys. I didn't expect it would take me 2 more years to try it.

Preliminary results look promising!

Ultimately I want to try crossing these two species to see if I can get
a cold-hardy perennial plant with red & orange flowers. But first I
need to these specimens in my garden.

Dennis in Cincinnati (where it reached 67 degrees today! Summer is here?!)