Rick,

Spit on them. Another remedy is to cut off the top of the seed coat with a very sharp pair of scissors to expose some plant material to light. Often they will then grow out of the seed. Two needles. One in each hand to pry apart the bottom of seed cap. Sometimes works. Whatever you decide to do... spit on them.

jt

My usual method is to heavily mist them, wait 5-10 minutes, heavily mist them again, and then try to use my thumb nail to split the seed coat (though scissors would probably work better). I probably damage or kill ~1/3 of the plants that I try to "help" this way, but then I'm pretty clumsy.

After misting for a few days, then french kissing them several times a day for a few days, they were still tough as leather this morning. One had popped off. It still took some pressure with two sewing needles to pull the rest off. Broke a couple, but still have eight that should make it.

Rick

Well, none that I help lived. Knew I was putting too much pressure on the stem. Have one that popped by it's self. Going to over-winter one or two others anyway.

So I am wondering about the next time germinating Rocoto seeds. Am I going to have to buy a Canary to help process the seeds first.

Rick

Rick,

I would start more seeds than usual and hope for better results this time.

You might consider cutting the top off like I suggested. For me it has been a very successful method. There is only so much energy stored in a seed. If you can expose some of the leaf under the stuck seed cap to light then the seedling can mfg more energy and outgrow the cap.

jt

the cotyledons are curled up in a ball within the seed casing. sometimes, when i'm not being all ham-fisted, i've been able to squeeze the seed casing on the edges and slowly pull it off. as often as not, i end up squishing the plant and beheading it :/

do you soak your seeds before sowing them? I put the seeds I intend to sow in a glass of water, and the ones that sink are the ones I grow. some are too tiny to sink (eg., thai hot ornamental) but generally, viable seeds sink and duds float. the time in the water softens up the seed casing a bit so i dont think i get as many "sprouts with a helmet" as others might.

i'm not sayin', i'm just sayin'.

It's my first time growing rocoto's.

What is the average time for germinating seeds?

Can it be sped up by putting heating lamps over soil?

Hi I grow a few Rocotos every year and soak my seeds in a small amount of bleach water to kill any bacteria and to soften the seed coat. I then will soak the seeds over might in warm water with a little hydrogen peroxide, then I plant my seeds which are now nice and plump the seeds sprout the seed coats usually just pop off with out sticking, if any do I will trim the edge of the seed coat and it will usually fall off in a couple of days.
George W. Z5-6 MO.

enrique_borgo, I find that bottom heat works better than overhead heat when germinating.

Thank You,

I will try one batch of seeds with a heat lamp and another with a heat pad to see what works, and I will let you know.

Thanks again.

Here is a C. galapagoense that survived a stuck seed cap after nipping off a little on the top with sharp pair of scissors.

Stuck Seed Cap

Some species/varieties are worth the extra effort to save just a single seedling. In fact I think this was the only one I ever got to sprout. Don't remember how many days it took.

Bottom heat of 86°F is considered optimal by the experts. I suggest that cooler is better than higher temps. At 96° you might get 0 germination while at 76° you should get high germination % even though might take longer than if at 86°.

jt

I have followed everything in this post but still have trouble with these darn little seeds. I had been trying them at 86 degrees, but backed down to 80 and finally had some germination. 2 little sprouts came up and for a week they struggled to get the seed caps off. I tried everything on this post (except saliva) but now they are withering, it looks like damping off.

How in the world do any of you get these things to grow? I am so disappointed! It's too late to try again this year, correct?

Milehigh,

As I recall, it took me longer than "normal" to germinate Rocotos. I believe it was about 3 weeks. I think 86 F. is higher than optimum for germination but that is a subjective opinion. My best results have been inside and at a fairly consistent temperature that I have in my laundry room.

It is not too late....

In fact, I prefer to germinate this time of the year so that I can have some for overwintering...