Germinating bog plants

I have a decent sized order of carnivorous plants coming in. I have never tried to germinate CPs from seed.
Will someone give me thorough instructions on how to do this please. I have Sarracenias, Droseras, and Dionaeas coming.

Hi there: I wish I had an area ready to grow those but I've got too many projects going now. All three of the plant varieties you mention are in the Thompson & Morgan Seed Germination Database. You can call it up with http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html Thompson and Morgan used to send out a copy of it with every order but it is out of print now. I used to have several but it has dwindled down to two and I make threats if they are not where I left them. You can print it out by putting the print order on landscape and changing the right margins. However if you need then right now ...
The instructions are as follows:
Sarracenia, HP, 30-90 days to germ.,needs light at 75-80oF in peaty soil. It needs 7 days of stratification and should be sown on the surface. Use only pure peat with sphagnum and must be both moist and free draining.
Dionaea, gp, 30-90 days to germ., needs light, slow and irregular germination, 75-80oF, peaty soil, surface sown, moist but well draining.
Drosera, gp,30-90 days to germ., needs light, slow and irregular germinaation,55-65oF,surface sown on peaty soil, moist but well draining.
Hope this helps. I did the Sarracenia once but had to leave it behind when we moved. Jessamine

I am really glad you put that in print for me. I tried to go to your link and the page wouldn't load because of my securtiy settings. Evidently, that site loads Avenus A. Ugh, will these people ever stop with trying to download garbage malware on us?

Jessamine, I have a decent quantity of CPs coming in from Australia of all places with origins of anywhere from Canada, Michigan, and Illinois to Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida. Would you like some to replenish?

Here's some of what I've got coming-
D intermedia Canada
D. linearis Giant Form Near Oliphant, Bruce County Ontario
D. capillaries “northern form, white flower” Milton Co., Florida
D. filiformis var tracyi Route 375, N of Sopchoppy, Franklin Co, Florida
S. flava “pubescent” Green Swamp, North Carolina X S. flava “heavily veined, Green Swamp,
North Carolina
S. leucophylla “giant” Franklin Co., Florida
S. leucophylla “large form mostly white top” off Route 66, Franklin Co., Florida
S. oreophila clone via U.S.A.
S. oreophila Boaz, Georgia
S. oreophila DeKalb Georgia
S. purpurea subsp. purpurea “seeds collected from red and veined plants” Moss Lake, Grey Co.,
Ontario, Canada
S. rubra subsp. gulfensis “all green form” Santa Rosa Co., Florida
S. rubra subsp. gulfensis “alba”
S. rubra subsp. wherryi “cultivated clone via U.S.A.”


I have another order coming with the Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky origins. As you are probably aware, S. Oreo is virtually impossible to get your hands on and wild collecting is out of the question as it would destroy the community. You are welcome to half of what I ordered!

Let me know.

Equilibrium, I know nothing about starting people eating plants from seed, but I figured I should say, "Here am I ", at last LOL.
Oconus.

Well then you're in good company as I know absolutely nothing about starting people eating plants from seed either. Want some purple people eating plant seeds so you can have a go at this too? Jessamine can carry us on this project!

Good company indeed. :)

Hey E!

I had forgotten what S. oreophila looked like (A little brain dead today), so I looked it up here: http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H464.htm Does it not strike you funny that the picture posted below that was sold to me by Botanique as S. flava looks amazingly like S. oreophila?? Pitchers, flowers everything about the two look identical. Guess I'll have to contact Rob and Butch and see what they have to say.

The Sarracenia seed can be sown (spread on) pure peat, or peat and sand. moisten well with rain water and then seal the pot in a plastic bag in the fridge for 2-3 months (7 days is NOT enough cold). When you take them out it will take about a month for them to germinate. The Droseras should be just the same (they reseed like crazy on open peat in my bog). VFT's, can't help ya there. I've never had good luck with them from seed.

Hopefully your seed is also fresh, seed that has been dried (like Thompson and Morgan do) is pretty much worthless. They all have a higher water content than most seed and excessive drying can be detrimental.

Hi Rock City, how ya doooooin?

OK, I've looked at the photos. Yes they are very similar however the coloration is off with S. Oreo with what appears to be dark ridged vertical wide veins up and down the plant having deeper green coloration more comparable to S. rubra subsp. gulfensis “all green form” . Additionally, I see no veining in the S. flava and the S. flava is considerably more elegant and graceful with its thin cylindrical form. The S. Oreo appears to be stockier/huskier for lack of a better term. What I am thinking is we are dealing with actual S. flava or a hybrid that has predominately S. flava dna but let me know what Rob says. I like Rob a lot.

And BogMan... seeds! Not the whole ENTIRE clump of S. Flava featured in your photograph above. I am in total shock that you sent me the whole entire clump??? I came back home and there was this box by my stoop. It was late and it was dark so I brought in what appeared to be long stemmed roses. All I could think of was that I have one plant in my entire home because of allergies and who would send me long stem roses. Much to my surprise... I found the entire clump photographed above contained within the box. I have been on the phone calling all of my friends boasting of my treasure. I have one friend who is on the floor having a chest grabber that I also received S. minor from you. I was outside in the dark getting my babies into the ground. I love my babies. I also have another friend who is going to start a bog next year and she is looking for divisions. Geesh, I don't even know when or how to take divisions of Sarracenia. I have never had any to divide. Oh my gosh! Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!

Talk about making a girl's day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Glad you liked! I had to make room for the parent plant of the S. minor so one of the others had to go. Actually it's not the S. flava pictured above but another that one of my customers was tired of and gave me last fall (I do have the best customers, always giving me plants, cuttings, etc.). Here's another pic of the Sarracenia in question (with the White Calopogon from you)

As far as dividing Pitcher plants...just like Iris.

Tomorrow I've been invited to a State nature preserve with a botanist to check up on a local population of endangered orchids...hope the rain holds out!

Shame, no an absolute pity you had to make room for the parent S. minor. He he he accompanied by an evil possessive grin! I have walked out there twice with a flashlight to look at them now. My husband is convinced I have lost it. I have friends who are going bonkers over what you sent me. Absolutely bonkers! I love my S. flava clump and every other goodie you sent me. To say I am ecstatic would be an understatement.

Your Calpopgan looks much better than mine ever looked even at its peek gosh darnit and they were planted at the same time. What did I do wrong? Too new of a bog set up?

For anyone interested, the Calopogans came from Botanique. I was absolutely thrilled with the quality of mine and the way they bloomed until BogMan posted photos of how his sister Calopogans from the exact same source took off and bloomed! His Calopogans blew mine out of the water!

You are absolutely blowing my brain! I have been trying to figure out how to put a bog in my yard and I think my neighbors might rebel en masse. They are already looking at a cutting garden and a wooded area in the front yard and a pond and future greenhouse in the back yard and I want a bog! I think my DH will do a bit more rebelling, too. Equilibrium, I will send you a hardcopy of the T&M database. I wouldn't disagree with Bogman about using T&M as a seed source for bogplants but then I have only seen a couple of them (sundews and sarrasena )in their catalog. For the most part I have excellent results from them for seeds but you are talking about some pretty fragile stuff. On the other hand, the sarrasena I grew came from them. Maybe I was just lucky. I am too ignorant to make good decisions on this subject. Thank you for the offer. If you have a LOT more than you need I would be happy to work out a trade or maybe we could share an order. I know you like ferns and hosta. Jessamine

I am ordering from Australia along with a group of others to meet a minimum order requirement. They guarantee their sources and I feel the need to insure that no CP plant/seed is wild collected as that destroys the species ability to perpetuate itself. The seed I am purchasing would have a US point of origin and is running around $5 a pack. I have no idea how much is in each pack but the way I figure it is if I split off packs amongst fellow "soggy minded gardeners", it better insures that one of us has success. Bottom line is that I will gladly share anything I have or that I am ordering. Jessamine, what are you interested in? And, shipping time to the states will be 2 months and then the order needs to get split up based on who ordered what and shipped to each one of us who ordered so don't be holding your breath as I'm thinking first of the year for receipt of seeds.

And Jessamine, lady you need a bog! Get BogMan to post more photos of how he has integrated his bogs into the landscape. You can't even tell his bogs are actually self contained units because of the way he integrated them into his landscape design.

I have had problems with germinating seed from T&M. Although I am impressed with their selection, customer service, shipping time... I am not all that impressed with the dry vacuum storage of many seeds. This really isn't the greatest way to store and/or ship certain seeds and can considerably reduce viability. I won't be ordering any CPs from them however I have no qualms ordering other species from them. I also found the overall germination ratio of T&M seeds to have been considerably lower than that of other suppliers.

Here's another website I found-
http://hometown.aol.com/thombrogar/index.html
Beautiful photographs of his trays.

Only in these circles would the majority of women be thrilled to find that a box on the porch held a clump of bog plants instead of cut roses. My dh let me have 20 yards of shroom compost delivered to the BACK yard in a truck so long and tall that we had to lift the phone wires and shrug off a low rock wall getting knocked over... now that's romance! It's good to make your acquaintance, Bogman. You sound like a real keeper! :)

Hi Oconus! I be doin' fine! Hey, Jessamine, we'll back you if your neighbors take to arms. Bog on!

RockCity, you are currently bogless! You need a bog too!

And that was no ordinary box of bog plants, one of them was a CP that has been extirpated from several states now only occurring naturally in two states in small innocuous dwindling communities. Tr la la la la la la la, I'm doing a major happy dance! I checked on my babies already a few times this morning. I just stand there and gawk.

Lovin your idea of romance... did you celebrate the delivery by setting up lawn chairs and sipping on adult beverages to admire your pile?

Equilibrium! What a gift Bogman gave you. I hope, in return, you offered him your left ovary or some other important body part. Bogman...I genuflect in your general direction. WOW!

I bought pitcher plant seeds off of e-bay, and unfortunately, they didn't germinate. But I didn't know as much then as I do now....I think it's possible I would have more success this time.

april

Hey Dodecatheon, I share and you are a local girl.

I think it was summed up above, "Only in these circles would the majority of women be thrilled to find that a box on the porch held a clump of bog plants instead of cut roses."