"jane" wrote in message
...
: 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
:
And, just a reminder, they take 5-7 yrs to flower!! Mine must be about 3-4
yrs now and are about a foot in height.

K