I have recently purchased some various seeds from heliconias. When i received these seeds, my jaw hit the floor. I was in over my head. These seeds may as well be pebbles in my aquarium because they resemble rocks! I was told to "Scarify" these seeds. I used a knife and scraped and made incisions on the seeds... Broke one :( They have been currently sitting in water that i have replaced 2 in the 24 hours since i received. What information do i need to know to make these beauties grow??? I am totally going in this one blind.
Growing Heliconias from Seeds... HELP
I grew some from seeds last summer. The seeds not only look like pebbles, they're as hard as pebbles! I didn't soak the seeds. I planted them in Miracle Grow potting mix, watered them with hot water, and put them in a 4-shelf mini greenhouse. It took them about 6 weeks to sprout. I think the heat inside the greenhouse (it was in the 80-90 degree range outside here)helped quite a bit. I put canna seeds in there and they sprout very quickly.
Thank you for the information! It is 90-100 degrees here right now. I put them in one of those little greenhouses you can buy from lowes to start seeds. I have a laundry room that is not under A/C and put it in a window that gets morning sun. Should that work?
I got mine from Lowes also. I have it outside. I put the pots in it (watered with hot water) and zipped it up. It is really hot and humid in there, and I think that is why they sprouted. I do the same thing with canna seeds and they sprout quickly. I think they both need high heat and humidity to sprout.
Well tell me this. Mine is one of those Ferry Morris deals where it has the cheap plastic tray and the clear plastic top that you just put over the entire apparatus. I always had whatever seeds i was trying to grow sprout, but didn't last long after that?
Because they get fungus in the too moist environment of the little chamber and damp off. AFter they sprout you need to remove the top and let them get air to avoid fungal growth.
This is just my own opinion, I am not an expert by any means, but I think trying to grow stuff like heliconia from seed is kind of an exercise in "Why?"
They already take at least 2 years to get enough size to bloom on most varietites when you start with a rhizome...from seed you are looking at a lot longer to a bloom sized plant. For me that would be kind of non-gratifying, especially when containerized plants of many many different varieties are readily available here in FL
I wish i knew where. I have only been to a couple of nurseries and one really only has your commercial type plants. But I wish i could find some already growing! Seeds have never been my forte. If you know of any places please let me know!
You will have to travel a little south. There are several good nurseries like Jesse Durkos, Excelsa Gardens, Tropical Paradise and a lot more that sell containerized heliconias
I grow mine from seed because I live in Maryland where they are not readily available. The only place I've seen them for sale here is at one of the most expensive nurseries (around $50.00 for a 10" potted plant). I've ordered the rhizomes online but lose them trying to overwinter them in the house. I'm hoping that by growing them from seed that I can get them to adapt to a little more cooler temperature so that I can get them to overwinter inside (I have a side room in my house that I overwinter my plants in) and continue growing the next year. Has anyone tried to do this with Heliconias or any other tropicals?
The trick to overwintering heliconia in the house is to keep them dry and don't fertilize them. I used to overwinter 16 ft Caribaeas, large Bihais, rostratas and purpureas in my sunroom in the old house before I got my greenhouse. Its a challenge but can be done.
They resent the loss of the strong summer light and humidity that they grow accustomed to, and if that is compounded with roots kept too wet, the rhizome mass will rot.
They are also very prone to spider mites indoors