Rhodochiton - hard to grow from seed?

yes a couple of years ago , if you can grow peppers from seed you can grow these and you need a long season so late Feb March is best to sow , moist not wet compost or the seed will rot very quickly and just a scattering of compost over the seed , I used perlite worked a treat

 

Used to grow Salpiglossis 'Kew Blue' every year from seed, didn't have any problems, FC.
Hats off to @Spruce though...never had any success with rhodochiton

 

I have grown "Kew Blue" amazing colour also a purple one ?, another to start early , and scatter the seeds on the surface of the compost and perlite as they need sunlight to kick start them and a propagator

rhododendron, I grew in long tom terracotta pots , john inns no 2 with added grit , they did great all in a row I had about 6 along the garage wall in one of my previous houses I should give them a go again .

Thanks
Spruce

 

I have grown them from seed and found them difficult to germinate. Delving into my dusty records... 2010 no germination . 2011 1st sowing 80% ! Second sowing 0%! They are a very nice plant once established though.

 

I found it difficult from purchases seed, but easy from my own seed.

I dont think the seed keeps very long.

Its a very slow grower at first, and I always found it better the second summer from seed.
You can take cuttings.

Having said that, I've not grown it for a while.

 

They are easy to germinate and not fussy and demanding in any sense.

As for Rhodochiton, this is a different story.
This one is from the seeds I sowed in Feb.


It is covered in flowers but it is not a big plant, only 2' tall. The trouble is the seeds take quite a while to germinate. My method is:
If the seeds are fresh, sow in Feb at room temperature. If there is no sign of life after 4 weeks, chill in the fridge for 4 weeks then back to room temperature. My seeds were a little bit old (from 2008!) so I gave them the cold treatment straight away for 4 weeks, overall they took 75 days to germinate. So be patient.

Before the frost arrives I'm going to take my plant indoors, it will carry on flowering through the winter and go outside again next May.

 

Pete has summed it up perfectly! If you buy seed most suppliers seem to sell seed that has had the husk removed, whereas my collected seed is stored in the husk. I suspect that helps maintain viability?
Best way that I've found (certainly the most convenient method) is to germinate them on damp paper towel in a placcy bag. Not a method that I would use for husked seed though.

 

FC if you are looking for a nice climber , the ones below are quite easy from seed....

Eccremocarpus scaber ............Chilean Glory Vine grows to 6 ft
Mina Lobata Jungle Queen.......... Spanish Flag , grows to 6 ft
Cobaea Scandens........................ Cup and saucer vine grows to 9 ft in all directions !
Thunbergia Alata ..........................Black eyed Susan , this is a must grow every year for me you can get yellow , white or various blush colours. With black eyes or clear ( trying the clear in 2015 ) it grows to about 4 feet. Flowers quite late but will keep going to the end of October.

 

Six feet! What are you doing to them! It's more like twenty six here

I can do Eccromocarpus seeds. Remind me in a few weeks and I may have Rhodochiton seed to spare too (although the seed pods are few and far between this year so it's not a given).