i have dragon fruit. i would like to trade for camellia senensis.

I'm about to try starting some Piper nigrum from seeds. I see this thread keeps popping up on the topic. I ordered some seeds online. I halfway expected red berry like seeds (ripened seeds, not fully dehydrated). What arrived was something that looked identical to black peppercorns from the spice bottle from the grocery store. The seller of these seeds says they are viable, so I'll give them a try. Other than warmth and humidity, are there any special requirements. I plan to soak them overnight before planting them. Is that a good idea or not? Then I plan to put them in small peat-pots with seed starting mix. I was thinking maybe mix in a bit of sand as well, and cover the seeds with a very light layer of just sand (about 1/8 inch or so, just covering the seeds). I'll keep those peat pots in a small plastic "seed starting greenhouse" that I have. To keep the humidity high in that, I was going to put some gravel on the bottom, and put a bit of water in the bottom. I don't want the seed pot sitting in water, because I'm guessing it wants drained soil/starting mix, but I also want the humidity high. I have a heating pad to keep the thing warm (about 80F, which should be fine, right?), and I'll have it under red/blue (mostly red) LED grow lights on a timer. How long do Piper nigrum seeds take to germinate? days? weeks? months?

From what I've read, it's a fast-climbing tropical vine. I'd start by training it up a piece of twine or bamboo stick, beginning in a 4" pot and moving it to an 8" when it's rootbound in the 4" one. When it fills out the 8" pot, move it to a 12" container fastened to a sturdy trellis. When that one fills, carefully move to a 16" pot, extend the trellis, and root-prune regularly. Cool idea. Let us know if you get some peppercorns!

I have a piper nigrum growing like crazy. It's putting out a ton of runners. I had planned on rooting them to make some more new plants. I have one marked for a friend, but I could definitely root one for u if I'd like to trade. I'd love a banana. What's your Thai banana like? I.e. could it be overwintered inside or in a greenhouse til next spring, it's edible, how big will it grow? Etc. Let me know, I could totally have u a new plant ready in a couple weeks! Happy growing! Josh