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Gardening in New Zealand

help with nz natives

24 years ago

Last November I picked up some DOC seed packets while on vacation in NZ. I have Mt Cook Lily, Clematis (paniculata) and Chatham Island Forget-Me-Nots. Each came with only 5-10 seeds per packet!

Well I followed the instructions which were not much...direct seeding for the Mt. Cook Lily and Forget-Me Nots and an overnight soak plus 2 weeks in the fridge in damp towel fro the Clematis. 20-30 days slow and erratic germination.

Now with some research (having seen no signs of life yet) I find out that Clematis usually wants more like 2 MONTHS of cold stratification and the Mt. Cook Lily wants to be cold stratified too. The Mt Cook Lily and Forget-Me Nots have been in an APS tray (with some other things that have already grown) for about a month, and the Clematis has been in another APS tray for almost 2 weeks now. They are located on a shelf over an old heater in my Brooklyn, NY apartment.

I would hate for these seeds to go to waste! Should I trust the (apparently over-simplified) seed packet instructions and keep waiting? Should I try to transplant the cells with the seeds in question into a seperate tray or pots and stick them back in the fridge? Or should I dig out the seeds and put them back in the fridge? Are they in danger of rotting? Is there hope for these seeds?

Any growing tips and suggestions on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated!!

Cheers!

Chris

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Comments (2)

mutzi
24 years ago
I would hate to throw cold water on you, Chris, but these seeds are notoriously difficult to get to germinate. I would think that stratification for Mt Cook lily would be needed, as they are sub and low alpine plants. Maybe they are in too warm a situation, being so close to your heat-source. Geoff Bryant ("Gardens for Free") advises a temp of around 56-68F for the Chatham Is. Forget-me-not, with a germination time of around 14-28 days. He doesn't suggest stratifying these.
His general instructions for clematis as a group, rather than specific types, is to stratify 4 weeks, then cover, and keep at 72-84F. Germination time 30-100 days.

I have found the directions on the packets to be woefully oversimplified and with nowhere enough detail, too.

Hopethe somewhat sketchy info is at least of some help.
Mutzi
aliceinwonderland_20
17 years ago
i also bought seeds, they germinated and i have plants in a pot 18 in high, beautiful foliage. 2 years old. will they bloom? should i divide them? about 15 plants in 18 in pot.
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