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nyssaman

moist packing seeds

nyssaman
16 years ago

a while ago I made a request to see if anyone had aroid seeds - the common response was that the seeds lose their viability to quickly -If I could find the tubers here in this country (Canada) I would buy them - Can Someone explain to me why these seed cannot be moist packed in vermiculite or pearlite as soon as they are collected - Gardens North is a nursery here in Canada that sells a lot of spring ephemerals and other seeds that lose their viability quickly including aroids - they moist pack them as soon as they are collected and difficult seeds remain viable for months - so why won't this work for seeds like alocasias and colocasia seeds.

cheers

Jeff

Comments (2)

  • bluebonsai101
    16 years ago

    Jeff, Not really sure what the problem is on this to be honest, but clearly you can ship aroid seed around the world and it is done all the time....just be ready to buy freshly harvested seed and then the seller knows he is selling quality seed and you the buyer know that it was not potentially stored incorrectly. All the aroid seed I have tried to grow germinate rather quickly if dealt with correctly as well so no way you are going to store them over winter or some such nonsense. The tropical ones do not need a cold period to germinate.....the cold hardy ones, like Arisaema can easily be stored in their berry for the winter and then planted in the spring. Most people sell or sow their tropical aroid seed immediately rather than fiddling around trying to store it,which will likely not work anyway....unless you are a large commercial supplier you are not going to fiddle around with this nonsense for the little money you make off seed :o) Dan

  • exoticrainforest
    16 years ago

    True, its done all the time but aroids, especially Anthurium, have a limited viability. Normally not much longer than one month. If the seeds dry out completely they are useless. I have growers in Europe send me Anthurium seeds all the time as a result of my website and the vast majority are not viable once they arrive. I have no idea if the damp packing would work but I know these seeds germinate rather quickly in the wild. Once a bird eats the berries the seeds then germinate in the bird's droppings, usually on the branch of a tree. The bird dropping offers just enough nutrient and moisture to get the seed started.

    US Customs inspects for moisture in an effort to prevent botanical material from crossing the border so wet packing them for international shipping purposes could easily lead to their being confiscated and destroyed.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The ExoticRainforest

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