![]() Germinates easily when sown in a flat seedling tray. Seedlings can be pricked out at a height of 50-80 mm and planted into bags or pots. ![]() Some of the seed may take up to six months to germinate, so be patient. The mixture must stay moist at all times. The seed must be pushed and bedded into the seedling mixture and covered with a light layer of the same. The fresh seed can be sown directly into black nursery bags or into deep seed trays. Use something such as our Professional Seedling Mix as it is a sterile mix, is light, and is coarse for improved aeration and drainage. There may be fungi in such a medium and this will attack the young seedling just after sprouting. Use a seedling mix to sow your seeds into, not regular growing mediums such as potting soil and other similar manure or compost based substrates. Plastic trays both shallow or deep are ideal and have plenty of drainage holes in the base to allow water to drain and for air to circulate. You can use any container provided it drains well. Planting seeds at other times of the year will lead to unpredictable results. Seeds planted in Spring have the best chance of success. Therefore do not try to germinate these seeds in a constant temperature hot or glass house. However, remember that the majority of the species from our Mediterranean area need a marked temperature differentiation between day & night, (day ☒5☌, night ☘☌) to trigger germination. For those of you who live in the higher latitudes (above 40°) the plants marked "Sow Au" should probably be sown in early spring. They grow in winter & usually need drier conditions in summer. The plants marked "Sow Au" are from the Mediterranean winter rainfall area of the Cape. These species are best sown in late spring to midsummer when conditions are warmer. ![]() The seeds marked "Sow Sp" are summer growing from the summer rainfall area and they usually require a drier resting period in winter. Stratification can therefore be described as the process of treating stored or collected seed prior to sowing to simulate natural conditions that a seed must endure before it will germinate and begin growing. In nature this might involve being eaten by an animal and passing through the digestive system where it is subjected to acids. In general, all seeds must undergo a stratification process. It is however strongly advised that you sow these seeds as soon as possible, provided the season is appropriate for it. They should not allowed to be exposed to rain or other sources of moisture. ![]() Should you store these seeds for any given length of time it is advisable to do so in the paper packaging in which they were sent and in an environment where they will not be exposed to temperature extremes such as direct sunlight or an air conditioner. This is in part why we only offer indigenous seeds we have no idea of when imported seeds were originally collected or how they were stored until they were sent to us. We source our seeds from reputable, local seed banks who make every effort to ensure the seeds are as fresh as possible. ![]()
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