On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 11:13:32 +0100, "Janice" wrote:

~A couple of weeks ago I sowed a couple of strelitzia seeds, but I didn't
~realise that you had to soak them beforehand for 24-48 hours. So, should I
~dig them out of their soil and soak them now, or should I just leave them
~and hope for the best?

Dig them up, I'd say. They don't germinate for ages so plenty of time
of you only sowed them 2 weeks ago! Before you soak, make sure the
orange tassel is removed, as this also opens up a conduit into the
seed. Keep warm after sowing.
(Normal germination is anything from 1-18 months. I got one going
after a year of seeing nothing. I dug it out and cheated by shaving
the outer casing very gently with a penknife to let more moisture in.
Then when it was shooting I made the mistake of letting my mum near
it. She forgot to water it. :-( )
My now 2-year old plant was sown in May 2001 and I found a shoot in
July 2001. It's still only got about 6 leaves - they are not the
fastest growers in history, so I hope you're patient!

If anyone wants to cheat, I was taken by friends to the Palm Centre in
Richmond yesterday. Fantastic place with lots of plants. And
reasonably priced - eg aspidistras were £13 for a dozen leaves instead
of the £17 for six as they are in my local Van Hage GC. ( I now have
one, dubbed Uncle of course!)
They have several square yards of potted S. Reginae, from £10
upwards. They even have the giant one - S. Nicolai. (They do mail
order - http://www.palmcentre.co.uk/ )

Good luck!

--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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