My Alsobia dianthiflora has produced seeds. Has anyone grown this from seed or got any advice on germination for me? I know that it's another dumb-assed question, but bear with me as all help is appreciated!
lk, sorry I can't help much. I've emailed a friend in Costa Rica, and managed to catch him before he went to bed, who has this growing in his garden. He said, that as far as he knows, no one bothers with the seed as it's so easy to propagate it by layering. I'd experiment by trying it in different conditions. As the plant doesn't like temperatures below 60F I would be inclined to try it a couple of ways:- at a minimum of 70F in soil and covered in plastic. and in a seed sprouter on kitchen paper also at 70+. I've found that the seed sprouter gets my chilli seeds germinating in 3 or 4 days. Good luck.
Thanks Shiney! It's more of a "cos I could" exercise than a serious attempt to grow a plant that I want, as I already have it! Layering it would be a problem, as there is no bare soil in my pot!
The usual way, in that situation, is to put another pot alongside, fill it with potting compost, run a layer across from the other pot and bury it about half an inch. Then cloche in clear plastic that you remove occasionally to make sure there is no rot.
Rot could be a problem with this too, as The care tips that I have been given are that it dislikes humidity in still air. Nice tips though. Below is the whole plant in its hanging pot..........
Whoops! You'd have to hang another pot alongside :D Yes, they are prone to some rot so if your room is warm enough you could do without cloching. The ones I have seen in the wild tend to be in rain forest type of conditions but I suppose they get air movement.
I don't have any more advice than Shiney, I recognised the plant as Episcia which I used to grow many years ago although never from seed. I didn't know that the name had changed.
