FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I am new to the process of cold stratification, and was able to find a somewhat detailed explanation of what to do on growsundews.com (I took only selected excerpts from this site: http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/Germ ... ON_PROCESS)

www.growsundews.com wrote:Cold stratification is used for temperate sundews as well other temperate carnivorous plant genera (i.e. Sarracenia) in order to stimulate the period of cool, damp conditions that come just before spring. Cold stratification involves placing seeds in a refrigerator (or chilled area) on a damp surface for 2-6 weeks, depending on how fresh the seed is. Longer durations of cold temperatures will encourage the most germination. I usually wait a month on average. When you take the seeds out of the fridge, it simulates the start of spring. To simulate the warmer spring months, place the seeds in the same conditions that would be used for planting subtropical or tropical sundew seeds, as described above. You can expect germination within 1-3+ weeks after cold stratification, depending on how fresh the seeds are.

Placing seeds inside of a Moist Paper Towel in a Ziploc bag

Part1- Moisten a paper towel. Sprinkle your Drosera seeds on the towel- It is easiest if you clump them all in the same place, but try to remove chaff or debris first (since mold could develop and ruin the whole clump of seeds). Place the moist paper towel inside a Ziploc bag. Leave in fridge for the desired period of cold stratification.

Part 2- Prepare your desired media. Then pick up the sundew seeds with tweezers or a toothpick and place them on the surface of the media you've prepared. This part is not fun, since the seeds can get stuck in the paper towel, but there is considerably less of a risk for mold. Clumping the seeds together substantially speeds up this process.

So, after reading this, I began work on my Darlingtonia seeds from FTS. My question is, how do you know when enough time has passed to stop? Are the seeds supposed to germinate, or will they still look identical to how they did at the start? If there is no specific way to tell when to stop, I will just plan on 1 month.

I just received darlingtonia seeds from FTS and I am wondering the same thing. I am going to try the ziploc bag technique right now. Did you spray your seeds with a fungicide before placing them in the fridge?

Darlingtonia seed doesn't need to be stratified. Germination will be more uniform and a slightly higher percentage with stratification, but seeds germinate just fine without it.

Right on. Well Im going to use this opportunity for an experiment. Half I will attempt stratification the other ill sow without it. Thanks for the info!

I had problems with mold during my stratification. If you decide on cold stratification, then I would recommend wrapping them in damp sphagnum.

Can do also thinking about doing a batch lightly sprayed with safer fungicide.

It took awhile, but I'd say at least 70% of my seeds made it to yearling, I did not stratify, and though I have plants of various sizes, they grow uniformly and are doing well.

I put mine on 1:1 LFSM : Perlite, with a top dressing of "ground, live long fibber sphagnum" it outgrew them initially, but when I pulled the sphagnum back there were many healthy tiny little plants.

Kept the pots in water halfway up for quiet some time, I'd say the first 4 months, then slowly tapered of the watering, they now are in a large tray which I water every few days (as it is cold and not necessary to water in my basement).

I got bored with the darlingtonias and ended up using their pot communally to propagate various drosera leaf and root cuttings, as well as VFT flower stalks and seeds which helped to keep me entertained (to remember watering) and it saves space. Those little darlingtonias man, they do not grow quickly. They are not like sphagnum though, you can't just forget about them or they will punish you, which is why I've found this method so effective.

Hope this helps

-Dave

How long did it take for your seeds to germinate? Mine have been sewn for over a month and I've got nothing yet. The VFTs I planted at the same time are growing traps

Try putting the entire seedling container in a large ziplock bag. Pour about an inch of water in the bottom of the bag, and close it completely. Use a 16 hour photo period in a warm environment. You should see results in 1-2 weeks. Watch for mold.

Like starchy suggested, warmer, wetter, and watch for mold.

Right on, I'll try that, I have the seeds under my grow lights ( 4' 4 bulb T5, 16/8 photo period) Getting tray water, and covered in soaked sphagnum, I also mist them twice daily.