Colchicum question
 

Hi everyone,

I would love to grow Colchicum aggrippinum, but the price puts them beyond
my reach. Has anyone on this ng grown them from seed? How well do they
germinate? How long from germination to flowering size?

I would be grateful for any information - it doesn't have to be based on
experience.
Ta ever so.

Spider

The message
from "Spider" contains these words:

Hi everyone,

I would love to grow Colchicum aggrippinum, but the price puts them beyond
my reach. Has anyone on this ng grown them from seed? How well do they
germinate? How long from germination to flowering size?

I would be grateful for any information - it doesn't have to be based on
experience.
Ta ever so.

Spider

I don't know about this particular Colchicum but have tried others such
as C. speciosum. They can take up to two years to germinate and quite
often don't at all. Out of Colchicums I've tried I would guess about a
third of the batches have succeeded.
After that it's several years until they reach flowering size. I'm
guessing now because mine haven't got there yet, but I would say at
least five years.
It all depends how patient you can be!
Janet G

"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Spider" contains these words:

Hi everyone,

I would love to grow Colchicum aggrippinum, but the price puts them
beyond
my reach. Has anyone on this ng grown them from seed? How well do they
germinate? How long from germination to flowering size?

I would be grateful for any information - it doesn't have to be based on
experience.
Ta ever so.

Spider

I don't know about this particular Colchicum but have tried others such
as C. speciosum. They can take up to two years to germinate and quite
often don't at all. Out of Colchicums I've tried I would guess about a
third of the batches have succeeded.
After that it's several years until they reach flowering size. I'm
guessing now because mine haven't got there yet, but I would say at
least five years.
It all depends how patient you can be!
Janet G

Hello,

Colchicum seed have short term viability and need to be sown very quickly
once ripe. It is because of the ephemeral nature of the seed that limited
success in germinating any seedlings is experienced.
Carefully looked after, a seedling should flower in 3 to 4 years. I grow a
great many of bulbs from seed but, due to the time span involved, seem to
concentrate on those either not commercially available or prohibitively
expensive to buy. Many of the Iris and Crocus species come into this
catagory along with Arisaema. Without wishing to sound pompous, If Spider is
not an experienced grower of bulbous plants from seed and familiar with the
aftercare involved, perhaps it would be a better investment to purchase a
couple of flowering sized bulbs and propagate by offsets ?

Kind regards,

Martin Froggatt.
=================

On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 18:27:10 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:

I would love to grow Colchicum aggrippinum, but the price puts them beyond
my reach. Has anyone on this ng grown them from seed? How well do they
germinate? How long from germination to flowering size?

I would be grateful for any information - it doesn't have to be based on
experience.

I have C. bornmuelleri grown from seed. As I recall, the seeds took a
long time to germinate -- years -- and then even longer to flower.
Something like ten or fifteen years from seed to first flowers.

Patience is the byword.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada