Hello,
I have some fresh psychotria viridis berrys, does anyone know how I would plant these to grow some plants?
Thanks,
Jamison Lee Schuetz
http://jamisonleeschuetz.tripod.com/ (http://jamisonleeschuetz.tripod.com/)
:mrgreen:
Stolen directly from the pages of Erowid....
* Soak the Psychotria viridis seeds for about 15 minutes in a mild bleach solution (2 Tbs bleach in a cup (8 oz) of water). This will help keep them from molding during their long germination period.
* Rinse and soak the seeds in clear water for 12 hrs.
* Plant seeds in potting soil about 1/4 inch deep (8 mm).
* Put the whole pot in a ziplock bag for mini-greenhouse effect.
* Keep the temp around 70-80 degrees F. (22-28 degrees C.)
* Keep out of direct sun.
* Be patient! It can take as little as 6 and as many as 16 weeks for germination!
I just had a pv seedling pop up. I've had them pop in as little as a couple weeks and as long as 6 months or more. I think wet dry cycles may help. I've never done the bleach thingy. I've just planted the berry itself and waited. I put plastic wrap over the top of the pot to keep moisture in but letting them dry out after a month or two may help in some cases. You do have to give them a wet cycle afterwards. I can post up some pics if anyone is interested.
Ive heard 3 months is not unusual and probably average germination time. Some germinate in 2.5 months while others take 4. None of my Psychotria ipecacuanha seeds took longer than 4 months.
Bottom heat and using plastic like saran wrap worked for me.
Plant them in spaghnum moss which holds water but may also be anti-fungal and anti-damping off.
Expect to wait a minimum of 3 months.
sometimes part of the seed will produce a radicle while the other half doesnt. There is two embryos in one seed.
It doesnt matter if the whole seed is planted because they will split apart naturally or you can split them if you do it carefully.
Not sure if P. viridis also has two embryos/ different plants in one seed? When split one side is flat. Looks like coffee beans to me.
Anyone know if coffee is closely related? I am not talking about family but possibly a subfamily of Rubiaceae. Not sure how to group subfamilies of Rubiaceae.
Kratom is probably less related not only because of geography but other things such as leaves arn't glossy, and seed size is small.
I believe all three plants are in different sub families. I'm not sure how closely they are related.
PV come with 2 seeds in each berry. They are not attached together at all. I've heard of them taking up to a year to sprout. I've used soil that i gave up on sprouting them and used it for other plants and then some time later found a pv sprout growing. Sphagnum moss is a good idea. PV in general like acidic soil and moss is a little acidic plus holding moisture.
Ok well I meant two seeds in each berry. They were sold to me each as 1 seed which I found out to not be true.
They can be split and planted or they will split themselves and you will get two different stems growing from each seed and they will split apart above the soil line as the cotyledons force the seedcoats open.
Does anyone know how hardy they are? Can they take temps into the low 30's?
Psychotria nervosa is native to Southern Florida but ive seen it grown outside in botanical gardens in north florida.
Im not sure if they cover them or if they can take freezes and come back from roots in spring like perennials?
I believe I've read that P. viridis can tolerate light, occasional frost damage. I'm not sure how many times in succession before it gives up the ghost. I'm also not certain if it can come back from the roots or if it needs aerial portions with meristematic portions remaining.
-G-