I'm sorry if this has been posted before - if so feel free to post any links from previous threads.. anyways I was gifted some Desmanthus Illinoensis seeds the other day and would like to try get them germinated and in the ground over the next couple days but I thought I'd best get some advice beforehand...we are going into winter in a month and so I am wondering whether now would be the best time to plant them. I have read that a typical winter in melbourne would generally be
Quote:overnight low of 5 degrees Celsius and a day high of 12-15 degrees. Winter maximums rarely fall below 10 degrees and rarely reach over 20 degrees
.. I have figured that compared to the often very cold winters over in the states that it should do ok here
.. a concern of mine is sunlight though. Melbourne is an area that simply cannot make up its mind.. often I will wake up to the most beautiful of days and within an hour it will be raining or have cooled down. Can this plant handle variability like this? In the spring and summer its not quite as bad I've noticed... our summers are absolutely stinking hot and generally stay clear for a lot of the time.. I read that desmanthus needs good sunlight to sprout, so my concern is that the inconsistent weather of melbourne may hinder its ability to do so.. I have 86 seeds (hehe yes i counted) so I am hoping I'll be able to get a decent amount to sprout.
I read somebody having success with the following germination method but am wondering if anyone knows of any more reliable methods.. method below:
Quote:1. Bring a container of water to a boil on the stove or in the microwave, and dump a few dozen seeds into the container. Stir rapidly for a few minutes but try not to pulverize the seeds. The idea is to soften the hard shell around the seed so water can penetrate but not beat the crap out of them. Stirring is not necessary, but I've noted that it speeds the process up.
2. Continue the cycle until you have 3 or 4 containers(or however many you desire to plant) of hot afterboil water containing seeds.
3. After finishing the last container you should have noticed that some of the seeds have began to show signs of germination in all of the containers usually. Plant them ASAP in containers or soft dirt somewhere near the house where they can recieve constant attention. They need full sun to germinate I'm serious. I've lost a few hundred seeds just putting them in the window sill. Keep them nearby to give them watering but try to keep them organized in stages. Don't let the soil dry yet.
4. Repeat step 3 each day for a few days making a new patch of seedlings out of the visible germinated seeds until all of them swell up and get soft (3-4 days). At this point you can just go ahead and scatter container 1 evenly as another stage of seedlings and start another jar as described in step 1, making jar 2 become jar 1
5. Dump the oldest seeds evenly in soil on a daily basis and start another for as long as desired. If you followed the steps you will always be scattering seeds that have been soaking for a few days, which is plenty long enough. If you see any seeds in jars 2, 3 or 4, that are really falling apart, go ahead and move them into jar 1 to be dumped soon, but dont worry about every seed that barely has a root sticking out. Its best to leave them in water in a dark place as long as you can get away with before they fall apart. You'll have nice stages of plants of various sizes. Once the plants start showing signs of bark development on the stem, you can go ahead and move them out of the yard into nature or your desired growing area. Try to plant them before a few days of rain. They should do just fine on their own.
I am wondering whether the method I use for germinating acacia seeds would work ok? I sit the seeds in a cup of boiling for for 12-24 hrs or until swollen. I then empty the water from the mug, and leave half of the seeds height worth of water in there, so that they sit in a very shallow pool. Within days white sprouts emerge and i then plant in potting mix about half a cm under the soil..
I have also read that they can grow in fairly crappy soil... just wondering what people here use? I'm hesitant to just use the soil from my backyard as I don't really know what category it falls under - I know its quite rich and very dark
thanks!