Advice for a newbie. . . .

[billyquan]

Greetings all,

I was looking for orchids, and some how ended up buying Roridula gorgonias seeds. . . I did a good bit of reading before (and after) committing to the purchase. I love the look of this plant, and hope to have the satisfaction of successfully germinating/growing it.

Baltimore is probably not the ideal climate for Roridula, but i want to make it happen. Unfortunately i will only be getting two seeds, i want to do whatever i can to give them the best chance of survival. My house is a pretty steady 64f (raising the thermostat to 80 is not an option) in winter. . . should i keep the germinating seeds in a terrarium, or would a gro lite be sufficient for heat?
Also, regarding germination: scarification- does it help or hurt?

I plan on doing the fire thing to encourage the germination, does the seed really need to be in the soil to benefit from this, or could it be sown after the process?

Sorry, one more: from what I've read germination can take from one month, to two years! Is this true? that seems to be a very wide window!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Brian Barnes]

Hi Billy,

Here's a good start for you;
www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Roridula.htm

Another great resource is Barry's page;

www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5510.html

Happy Growing,
Brian.

[killerplants]

Barry's page says the seed are soft. Would that indicate the viability is short when getting seed?

Cheers,

Joe

[billyquan]

thanks 4 the links I'm about to check them out now

...I've also read that the seeds are soft, and am not clear on the shelf-life, seems the best thing to do is plant asap. (i still have not received the seeds i ordered; think the odds of successful germination are dwindling . . .

-billy

[billyquan]

. . . i suppose anyone who has typed Roridula into a search engine has seen this, but if you haven't check it out :

www.drosophyllum.com/english/e-roridula.htm

[PitcherPlanter]

Were do you get Roridula, (Seeds or Plants) and also the Assassin Bugs?