Iboga and Tabernaemontana orientalis

[dogbane26]

I have been experimenting with seed propagation of Iboga and Tabernaemontana orientalis.    

First of all I almost pretty much gave up on Iboga seed propagation.

I tried it several times and got bad results.  

Germination wasn't the hard part.   As long as it is either a coarse sand ,  or pure spaghnum moss it shouldnt be hard to get them to germinate.  

The hard part for me has been once they germinate they keep the seedcoats on.   The radicle will go down in the soil but the seedcoats stay on covering the cotyledons and not allowing  regular seed germination.  

If left on without assisting them,  they will eventually rot.

I have Dr. Deno's book and I think this should almost be included as a special kind of germination.  

Ive heard of multi-cycle germinators, two-step germinators, cold stratification, double dormancy, scarification..etc.  

The list goes on.    

This friend of mine who lives where Iboga is legal to grow says that he believes Iboga will shed the seedcoat naturally when it is in the right ecological environment.    

He thinks the rains help at a certain time of the year.    I mean naturally it makes sense there isnt a man always around with a scalping device to assist getting the seedcoats off.  

Well I figured I was getting some Tabernaemontana which might be easy to germinate and is closely related to iboga but in a different genera.  

I still believe they are in the same subfamily.   I could say they are the same family but that is a given.  

They can be further divided into the same subfamily.  


I was wrong about assuming theyd be easy to germinate.  They are just as hard to germinate when it comes to being stubborn about getting rid of the seedcoats.  

I carefully got a few seedcoats off by using a large safety pin.  

Does anyone else have anything to offer?    

Sorry maybe this should ne posted in the garden forum and I am also sorry this is such a long post.

[Stonehenge]

This is the right place for that post. The garden is for edibles or ornamental plants but people get mixed up all the time.

Good luck with your t orientalis. I'll be trying to germ some seeds soon. Let us know how your progress goes.

[Avery L. Breath]

Well, I assume you've researched a bit about ph levels, soils/rooting mediums, growing chambers, lighting, exc.  Right?  I meen it could be any number of things throwing you off.   I don't know if I have any specific advice to offer when it comes to the seeds you mention though..........

[laughingwillow]

Have you tried soaking the seeds until the onset of germination?

Or maybe scuffing the seeds up a little first?

On the other hand, removing the seed case with a tweezers while gently pulling around and down instead of pulling straight up might help survival rates.

Btw, how long are you allowing the seedlings to attempt removing the shell case on their own?

lw

[dogbane26]

Laughing willow, I gave them close to a week before removing the seedcoats myself.  

I would put them outside but lately the weather has been to cold here.  

Also I don't want some insect or critter to come and eat them.  

I dont have grow lights but I have a fluorescent light in the kitchen.

I hope the weather warms up some.

[laughingwillow]

What about maybe misting them regularly after they come up?

Or maybe keeping them warmer during this phase of development?

Just throwing out ideas.

lw

[laughingwillow]

.......super-thrive? hehe

[dogbane26]

Ok I am going to be getting more Tabernaemontana seeds shortly.  

I didn't mention this but I successfully got the seedcoats off of two seedlings last time when I lived in Florida.  

They were still growing slow with the cotyledons which i freed from the stubborn seed coat.  

I  drove home from Florida to Minnesota and on the way I made a few stupid mistakes and killed both of them.  

I was so careful in getting the seedcoats off but i was stupid about how i killed them.    

The first one i had in the car and i set a pop can on top of it.   The second one I put in my cats cage and let him be in my car since he kept whining, then i put him in the cage with it forgetting it was in there.  

It wasn't the cold that killed them although that may of happened anyways if i wouldnt of done what i did.  

Anyways this was the first time i successfully assisted the seedlings about getting the coats off.  

If I can do it with this species I can probably do it with T. iboga which Ive been able to get higher germination with anyways.  

Hey Laughing willow I think Im going to do a study this time and soak half of the seeds before planting them.  

I hope it will help.  

I don't think they need the typical scarification as some seeds need but soaking might help.  

Ive heard its helped for other rainforest seeds.

Anyone have any ideas?