Konnichiwa Bob-san,
I believe that some CPs have evolved a survival strategy, where by all the seeds, even from the same seed capsule do not germinate at the same time. This approach provides insurance for the species survival in the event of a disaster such as fire; drought; or an even an overall poor quality growing season that fails to deliver a new healthy seed producing plant at the end of its growth cycle. By keeping a percentage of seed in deep dormancy in reserve throughout a poor growing season, insures this seed is available to perhaps enjoy a good growing season a few years later.
About 30 years ago I sowed Japanese Drosera indica seeds from the Ajiki-site near Mt. Tsukuba and Tsukuba University. The winter climate there is very cold for D. indica plants and their growing conditions are harsh. I had little knowledge at the time as to how to grow and care for this species but in the first year I got many seeds to germinate in cultivation. Over the next 3 years, I discovered that a small amount of seedlings were produced every year from the original seed sowing in the same pot.
To summarize, I believe Drosera indica seed dormancy time periods are variable even for the seeds from same capsule. Each seed appears to have its own time line measure of dormancy. Tropical Byblis too appear to follow a similar deep dormancy seed strategy.
Back to the subject,
For Tropical Byblis the most difficult period is the dry season. I guess that there are some years, which have shorter rainy seasons or even extended dry seasons.
Tropical Byblis survive only as dormant seeds during the dry season. If all seeds were to germinate at the same time and the rainy season was cut short, there would be a good chance that many, if not all plants, would fail to reach seed producing maturity. In this event, seed would not have been produced for its dormancy period in the dry season. The species could not carry over to the next growing season in its dormant seed phase and the species would very quickly become extinct.
In cultivation, with my current knowledge, I find it difficult to perfectly control Byblis species germination.
The following method that I describe is not perfect. I have had a few experiences where this method has not produced overall germination at the same time. Many seeds from the same sowing and pretreatment were still germinating after several months.
I believe the method that I use improves the overall germination rate. The method that I use is as follows.
Beforehand, I soak the seed in 1000ppm GA3 (gibberellic acid) solution for 24hrs.
I sow Tropical Byblis seeds into a plug tray such as: 200-hole type (depth: 45mm); 288-hole type (depth: 38mm) and 406-hole type (depth: 24mm).
I place the plug trays into the watering trays that are 29mm in depth. When I put the 406-hole type plug tray into the watering tray (which has a water holding depth of 29mm), I need to elevate the plug tray to avoid flooding the soil surface of 406-hole type plug tray. The first photo in the thread 1634, shows two clothes pegs in the water. The 406-hole plug tray is on supported on five clothes pegs.
The water in the 29mm depth water tray overflows every day. I think this exchange of the water is useful in removing the chemical dormancy inhibiters surrounding the seeds that suppress seed germination.
The lowest temperature is 15 degrees C (I recommend more than 20 degrees C); the maximum temperature is 35 degrees C (40 C too is no problem, as Tropical Byblis like these high temperatures).
The light I give my plants is FULL SUNLIGHT.
From sowing to end of cultivation, I never use any shade. Tropical Byblis become much more beautiful in full sunlight. The strength of sunlight that Tropical Byblis can take is so strong that it will cause skin damage in a very short time.
In recent years, I have started to spray warm water over the surface of the seed sown soil every evening during the first two weeks. I spray gently so I do not move the seeds. The water temperature that I put into my spray tank is 42 degrees C.
In summary the key points of the methods I use are:
GA3 seed pre-treatment; very wet tray watering methods; replacement of stagnant water; high temperatures; and strong sunlight. Not one of these key points is any more special than the other. Success is achieved only when all of these key points are used together as one.
Photo 1: Byblis liniflora seedlings 10 days after sowing to 406-hole type plug tray. Some plants have already been transplanted. I transplant the seedlings into their final pot size the moment they are large enough to be moved on from the 406-hole type plug tray.
Some CP growers say Byblis liniflora does not need any special treatment such as the method I use. I agree, however, I believe the method that I use produces better results with a more rapid and a much larger overall percentage of germination. Additionally, I believe some Byblis liniflora varieties need GA3 treatment for successful germination.
Photo 2: Byblis guehoi seedlings 18 days after sowing to 200-hole type plug tray. I sowed Byblis guehoi seed that Mr. Allen Lowrie was distributing all over the world this year. 70% of this species seeds germinated within 2 weeks.
Photo 3: small plants of Byblis guehoi approx.6 weeks after sowing to 200 hole plug tray.
Photo 4: close up of photo 3.
May you enjoy growing Byblis species.
By the way, from my experience with hot water treatment before sowing, I have discovered the following:
70 degrees C: almost all seeds did not germinate
60 degrees C: all seeds germinated
I did not use deep dormancy seeds, so this was an experiment just for reference
Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4