Hi there

I have grown Kennedia rubicunda from seed and have had great success. I have used the Hot water treatment. That is boil water, pour on seeds, let it cool down, drain water, dry seeds on a paper towel, then sow them in a free draining mix. You should have some germination in a few weeks.

The seeds that float to the top are infertile, so only use the ones that sink.

Hope you have success.

Popi

Thanks Popi

Will give it a go.
Adriana

I find scarification is a better method of pre-treatment. Boiling water may kill a high proportion of seeds, particularly small seeds.

Kennedia seeds can have a high proportion of non-viable seeds. For example Kennedia macrophylla can have as little as 10% viable seeds which I know all to well from experience.

The other problem is that they, as well as many other peas, are extremely susceptible to mould attack during germination. They also seem to be quite slow in germinating and will be killed by mould growth even after you have got to the cotyledon stage.

The only way to get around this is to as thoroughly as possible steam sterilize your container, pots and media (microwaving a closed container works well).

As well as this you will have to have a spray bottle of weak iodine solution (or possibly weak bleach or even weak metho solution) to knock back any mould growth that appears. You may even have to pick up the seeds, roll them around on your palm in a little of the solution to physically remove as much of the mould as possible. Heavily affected seeds will have to be discarded. Check the seeds daily.

I am also trying smoke treatment of swollen seeds to see if this improves or speeds up germination. I find that they really need to be in a humid environment otherwise the swollen seeds tend to shrivel up. Unfortunately this also promotes mould growth.