FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I still haven't had much of any luck getting seeds to germinate in TC. The same seeds done baggy method have germinated, so the seeds aren't complete duds and it looks like my GA-3 is getting through to them. I've posted what I've been doing before, but it doesn't really go anywhere, and I don't feel like typing up all those paragraphs over and over again. At this point I'd rather go for something rather different. I hoped I could either mail some media to an experienced TC member here, or have them mail some media to me. My idea is to see if I succeed with this new media using my existing procedure. If that's the case, then I know to question my media. If instead I get no germination or other problems, then it is my procedure under the hood that is suspect. This halves all the places I have to cast into doubt right now.

I'm willing to mail containers out, send a check, or whatever, to try to get a few baby food jars worth of prepared media. The cost is trivial, especially compared to the waste in going through runs over and over. I suppose I could go for a jar of liquid media and do the sterilization process myself; I haven't seen any problems with my media getting infected after running through the pressure cooker. However, the less processed it is, the more steps I have to do, and the more things I'd have to cast into doubt if media preparation was my problem.

I live in Austin, TX, and it's still pretty hot outside, so transporting media now would be unwise. I was thinking this would be some weeks from now. I have to get some more seeds in before trying again. If you're curious, I've been primarily working with sarracenia seeds.

Is anybody willing to help?

I am also willing to prepare some of the media I'm using and mailing it out to somebody to take a shot at it. That can prove the same point.

Now let's not all volunteer at once.

I think the reason no one has replied to this thread is it makes no sense sorry

Your asking people to send you pre- made cultures is that right ?

What seeds are you trying to TC ?

Most CP seeds will work by getting the freshest ones you can

then alcohol dip maybe H202

Then do a 10% bleach wash for 10 minutes

Do several sterile rinses

then add to media

Basic media might be

1/3 MS with vitamins

if using liter of media then add 30gram of Sugar
if using agar then add 5-6g to 1 liter if gelrite then use half the amount of agar but you might need some tests on this to see which your happy with
PH 5.6-5.8

Best i can do

I do all this. Nothing happens. I've done the same seeds non-TC style mix of peat moss and sand and they'll germinate and thrive. But with my media and that process, nothing happens. So I am indeed asking somebody to send me a few jars of their media. That way, if my seeds germinate in that, then I know the way I've been doing my media is wrong. If my seeds do not germinate in the media, then I know my procedure is wrong. At least that way I have cut off 50% of the potential problems. Then I can get into microdetails on this or that.

I've tried around ten times with no luck, doing procedures similar to what you say, so at this point I feel it's not useful to go one more spin anymore.

In my experience, these issues have far more to do with sterilization practices -- killing explants or seed -- than any particular media. There are no shortage of bleached seeds out there; trust me. I have Nepenthes and Heliamphora seeds, for example, germinating in any number of different media strengths and recipes -- with and without PGRs; my point being, is that many plant species are quite tolerant of a number of media environments. First, I would verify your proper pH (strangely, an all-too common problem and calibrate your meter before its use) and make sure that it is suitable for the plant species. I would also vary your sterilization techniques. In my opinion that is the most likely issue, considering your lack of in vitro germination and success with compost. I would suggest using a 4 or 8% PPM to 1:3 MS salts (without pH adjustment) solution for cleaning explants and forgo any use of bleach or alcohols; or else, use a far more dilute solution of those materials for a longer period of time. See http://icps.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... hread=3147 as a great example.

That said, I would be happy to send along some prepared media, if you feel that that becomes necessary . . .

Sorry forgot to mention the seeds i have had success with are flytrap seeds and capensis seeds

i get 100% success doing it the way i said before and am no expert

My first TC try many years ago was the sowing seeds on medium with pH=3, with wrong composition, and it was at strenght of 100% MS. They germinated

Easiest way to verify will be to make blind test- sow half of sterylised seeds on peat or gelled water.

And try to sterylise some with protocol like 1min 10% bleach/ 2g naDCC/l and 2h in 10% PPM. It is not 100% sure method, can easy cause hidden contamination, but seeds will survive on 100%.

Greetings

Witek

I have already tried sowing some of the seeds in a normal peat mixture and those have germinated fine. I am actually clearing out the rest of my seeds this way, and double checking how well they germinate. Let me emphasize that here I'm not using micropropagation while I'm doing this normal mixture; it's just proving the viability of the seeds.

I started to question my process when this first started to work. Seeds that weren't doing anything were germinating fine more conventionally. It's very likely it's my procedure but I am trying to be methodical about it. Given I've tried a lot of things, just trying more and more things just makes it a big mess to compare. At this point I'm trying to control parts of the process and only tweak with parts of it. While controlling it, I'd prefer the controls be established, so that's why I'm asking for some trusted media.

Here in Austin it's not really flying up in the 100s every day so shipping stuff around should be practical soon. I don't have a problem sending along jars and checks so that nobody is too burdened helping me here.

Rocko> Not to be a smart-you-know-what, but try tomato seeds. Get some out of a fresh fruit (the stuff in packets has been harvested by rotting, and will be impossible to disinfest), dry them, and then disinfect and sow. (I suppose you could culture them from a tomato without the drying stage, but I've never tried this.)

Although they'll be slower to grow, tomatoes will do nicely on standard media for other species.

Shipping media has never worked well for me. Everything from tube slants to Petri plates to baby food jars and Magenta containers ends up homogenized courtesy the USPS.