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bismuth

Starting Datura From Seeds First Timer

bismuth
17 years ago

Oi!

I need some help here. I've been trying to grow some Datura Wrightii from seeds for some time now, but have never had any success. All of my seeds come from wild Datura plants which grow around here, but each attempt at planting them turns up fruitless. My most recent seeds have come from some early pods which have dried out and cracked open before their peers. The previous year, I just put them in the ground and some pots, assuming that they would just pop up. No such luck. This year, I've tried a number of methods to assist in germination, including the wet paper towel in a bag trick, soaking overnight, nicking the seed coat and soaking, placing in dry soil, placing in moist soil, and just plain scattering.

I think that my seeds may also be a problem. From what I've read, Datura seeds are good to go when they turn dark brown or black. Only my first harvest ever had dark seeds; all since then have been tan-coloured. Another pod from the plant which I acquired the dark seeds from (which had apparently died sometime during the winter) yielded only delicate, extremely light, tannish seeds which, when poked with a sharp object, will give way to show that there's almost nothing inside but the papery remnants of some sort of membrane. I'm certain that those aren't viable.

While I'm at it, I might as well ask: is there any way to distinguish D. inoxia from D. wrightii? I'm fairly certain that the plants in my area are Datura wrightii (Central California), but I just want to make sure.

Cheers!

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