I started umpteen seeds this past spring and not a one germinated. What's the secret???
If I ever do get one to germinate, can they live in a sunny window as a hanging plant?
Thanks Dave for the forum and thanks to anybody in advance for any help.
Germination
I've started several from seeds and this is what I do... hopefully others will give us their tips..
I soak the seeds for about two weeks maybe 3, I change the water a couple of times because it looks awful, but it works for some reason.. Then I just put into good seed starting medium and place in front of a sunny window (sometimes I use a heatmat if I have one going at the time) most times it just stays covered with seran wrap in a plastic cup with good drainage.
A.
Hey Threegardeners; Passifloras need to be stratified.I use Cape Seed Primer.I buy mine from www.rancidsawdust.com/ It was $8.95 but has obviously gone up.You can stratify a lot of seeds with one pack.
I planted a lot of seeds too, and only got one to grow. Can you stratify the seeds like morning glories? by nicking them?
I have only used the Cape Seed Primer.
What does the Cape Seed Primer do???? What is in it???? Is is something you soak the seeds in?
Well I can only speak from my own experience.....with the edibles
You buy a nice wrinkled purple fruit or two at the Supermarket.....I use a seed mix or a nice sandy mix.....in a pot or two....or a polystyrene fruit box.....just empty the pulp over the top of the soil ...spread it out a little......then put a thin cover of soil over the top of the pulp....just enough to hold the seeds down.Water gently......and leave in warm dappled shade.I have sown very many this way and always had great success.....the last batch was in the Autumn....they came through Winter ok and are now racing away outside.....The fruit from these seedlings may not be the same as the parents.... but they are always very good to eat and sometimes better than the parents.They are strong and happy vines.
You need to sow the seeds in warm conditions.....humid weather is good. Keep moist but not wet. Fine spray.
Someone asked me about cleaning the pulp off....I have never done that.......I sometimes think that passionfruit seed must have to be pretty fresh to be successfull....but I am only guessing.
I haven't grown the ornamentals only the edibles......by seed.They may be different but I don't see why......so give it a go.
The warm, humid weather may be a problem. We have two types of weather: (cool and humid) or (warm and dry).
I don't think an edible would ever have enough time to produce here....we have barely 3 months of growing time....I was thinking more about the ornamentals......now if we could find out about the nicking of the seeds, we'd be all set :)
It might be a good learning experience to experiment with the edibles. They have lots of seeds and I don't have to risk my ornamental seeds by learning.
Someone once told me to soak them in Orange Juice, that the acid there would soften the coat. I've tried nicking them and had no luck.. but, soaking them and forgetting about them gave me more luck..lol.. it could be that they were fresher too.
Orange juice! I never would have thought of that!
Ive never stratify any of my seeds and ive grown many i may have started about 35 this year ive got lady margret X seedlings Temptaion X Temptaion love in a mist triloba and a few others Foetida to
Hey Guys;I bought several exotic Passiflora seed varieties from Rancid Sawdust last year and they recommended Cape Seed Primer.It is a paper disc impregnated with smoke.Tricks seeds into thinking they have been in a fire.
Also I use fresh Pass fruit in my Juicer.Once they have been in the basket with the micro blades and dumped into the compost pile they do sprout quickly,but these are fresh seeds.I also grow Protea's from seed and they won't sprout without the Cape seed Primer.
Here is a new one I heard about the other day. Ever soak your seeds in tea?? I know where I saw that, let me find the article
Seed Germination Technique for Passiflora
By William Bruner
Fill a small glass container with hot tap water. Add the seed you wish to germinate and set the container aside. Pour out the room temperature water and replenish with hot tap water as you pass by, or think about it over the next 4 or 5 days. On the 4th or 5th day, depending on how impatient you are, drain the water once more and replenish with fresh, hot tap water and add a tea bag. After the brew has come to room temperature, set the container in the refrigerator for four or five days.
At the end of this period, remove the container from the fridge, discard the tea bag and drain the cold water off. Quickly add hot tap water and place your ear to the rim of the container. The seeds crack open almost immediately, with a very audible sound. Pot the see in your usual potting medium and sprouts should appear in a week to ten days.
* This has worked successfully by the author on P. Incarnata and P. lutea
The other one is found on this link. It is an excerpt from the Passiflora book
http://www.timberpress.com/books/excerpt.cfm/9780881926484
Flutter
I don't think anyone really knows for sure what the "secret" is to germinating passies. Personally, I have had better luck with long soaks in wet paper towels than without. Nicking doesn't really seem to make a difference one way or another. And I also use a heat mat which is set on a timer (12 hours on per day).
I think we have to consider what happens to the seeds naturally. This will vary depending on the species. Many passies have fruits that are eaten by small animals and/or birds, and in the process the aril is digested away, and the seed coats may be cracked. The stomach acid of whatever animal eats the fruits may also disable any germination inhibitors present in the seed coat; however, the pulp and juice of most passies is pretty acidic, so the acid may have no effect. P. incarnata seeds in the USA will undergo a natural cold stratification during the winter, but most passies are tropical, so cold stratification shouldn't be necessary for many species.
This summer I found a large tangle of wild incarnata vines about 30 miles from my house. These vines dropped hundreds of fruits, and after collecting some of them over a period of 6 weeks or so, I think that the "secret" may well be to wait a month or two before removing the seeds from the fruits. The ground beneath these wild incarnatas had dozens of fruits just laying there. Many were quite shriveled, and had obviously been there for a couple of weeks or more. About half had been opened and/or partially eaten. Many of the opened fruits had only small holes, and appeared to have been opened by insects and snails rather than animals. But a lot of fruit was just sitting there. After a few weeks, if the fruit is still intact, the rind dries, and develops a consistency very similar to styrofoam. So this may protect the seeds from excessive cold. But I think the practice of removing the seeds from the fruit the day that it drops from the vine may be responsible for many germination failures. And if they are removed too soon, it may not matter what you try to get them to germinate. So let those fruits ripen for a few weeks!
BTW, I have plenty of incarnata seeds if anyone needs any.
Mark
Hey Byndeweedbeth:its a 4 inch,Pink paper disk that you soak in water with the seeds over night.I have also used this on Bat Flowers,Boojum tree seeds,Green bird bushes from Australia.
Impregnated with "smoke"? I never would have guessed that!
I start mine in small foam coffee cups i use straight Vermiculte about 1/4 deep i leave some pulp on mine to it helps it to sprout i all so keep extra pulp in my fridge the year round for those i might buy and they are dry. i keep the vermiculte damp i all so keep the cups in a sealed freezer bag . i open the bag every few days to change the air i refill the air in the bag useing a straw. i get about 80 percent germination rate. i use to soak my seeds for 48 hours in passion flower juice but stoped doing that a while back paul