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By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#358866
Hi All.

Im Carl Wood who lives on the East Yorkshire Coast in England.

I have sown some nursery bought Drosera Capensis 'Giant Red Form' seeds 3 weeks ago and still nothing has germinated, does anyone know what im doing wrong?

Since it is summer here in the UK, I decided to sow them outside in my west facing back yard using a transparent plastic punnet box, creating a sort of 'bio dome'. The media I used is Carnivorous Plant Repotting Mix, purchased from the garden centre.

I'm just concerned that the temperature hasn't been constant enough and that the direct summer sun may have cooked the seeds.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#358895
Hi Sanguinearocks101.

The only things I have noticed about my seeds is that the soil has turned green due to it being waterlogged.

Might be an obvious question, but can cape sundews carry on germinating at night since im only relying on the sun to save energy bills?
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#358926
I really mean can Cape sundews stiil carry on germinating in the dark because I have read that they need light to germinate?

I'm just curious as to whether seeds return to dormancy when there isn't any light.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#359015
Cheers, I have autism so get confused with info sometimes.

Anyway, I have found a strange shoot has popped out of my soil. It looks like grass but it hasn't appeared until now (the compost has ben barren of life for 3 weeks) but this shoot has an orange coloured bulb on the top.

Can you please tell me if its a sundew because no other seeds have blown onto the compst as the plastic cover has been on and grass doesnt take that long to germinate and I have read that the grass only grows in Sphagnum and not Carnivorous Plant Repotting Mix? I am attaching a photo describing this critter.
Attachments:
Grasslike shoot.
Grasslike shoot.
Inked shoot.jpg (3.88 MiB) Viewed 4345 times
By uxleumas
Posts:  401
Joined:  Thu May 07, 2020 5:30 pm
#359016
that does not look like a cape at all, might be a grass seedling. i suggest you pull it out. if it was a cape the other seeds should be popping up now. sometimes seeds lie dormant. would you happen to have used ga3? it awakens most dormant seeds.
By hungry carnivores
#359017
I've germinated years-old seeds and sometimes they take months to germinate! This was D. Burmanii, 5 years old. It took 3 months to pop. No problem, on to second generation now. Maybe ask your seller the collection date.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#359025
Hi
Just a quick question.

If the shoot is a grass seedling, how did it get in there?

As I mentioned earlier, no other plant seeds (ie: grass) could have possibly got in there, unless the compost from the garden centre contained them and the retailer didn't inform me.
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By Apollyon
Location: 
Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#359026
Yeah I have some burmannii in a tray under a dome that I was beginning to think were sterile. I'll probably keep the pots. Curiously though, there is a burmannii growing in the pot but I believe that was from my actual plant flowering and not the seeds received(humpty doo). Just a sole little burmannii 1/16 of an inch just chillin there.

To answer your question though, sometimes there'll be seeds in the actual soil mix when you receive it. It happens from time to time. Under heavy humidity they like to pop out. Some people cook or wash their peat moss before planting to try to counteract that. You could also look into "Solarization" as a natural way of addressing the problem. People use that a lot for bonsai soil. It'd work with peat too.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#359032
Cheers.

It could be weeds however I think one of my capensis seeds landed there and that might have been the only one that sprouted since I may have cooked the rest if it is a weed then it looks like im going to have to buy more seeds (the garden centre doesn't seem to have any capensis plants on sale) still, itsearly days the others might sprout but its not looking likely.
By uxleumas
Posts:  401
Joined:  Thu May 07, 2020 5:30 pm
#359073
you could try the seed bank if you want(with international stamps), i also have flowering plants right now so if they produce seed you could try planting them. hope they weren't cooked dead.
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