I recently bought some Bird of Paradise seeds which I am very anxious to try this spring. The instructions state to soak the seeds in an aqueous solution of Ethrel. I am not familiar with this prodcedure. Can anyone enlightem me as to what Ethrel is? And is there a substitue procedure. Thanks. Arne
You got my curiosity up and I did some searching. I found some very detailed information on it from the Cornell U site: http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/herb-growthreg/dalapon-ethephon/ethephon/index.html The descriptions didn't mention any substitutes, though...sounds like it's a growth regulator. I personally have never grown these from seed, but here's what Thompson and Morgan says on their site for growing them: Sowing time: Sow seeds immediately upon receipt Soak seed in warm water for 36 hours before sowing and carefully remove the orange fluff from the side of the seed as this can inhibit germination if left on. Sow the seeds into pots or trays of moist seed compost and cover with a ¼in layer of compost or vermiculite. Place containers into a propagator or warm place, and keep at a temperature of between 65-85F. After sowing, do not exclude light as this helps germination. Keep the surface of the compost moist but not waterlogged; germination can take 1-6 months. When large enough to handle, transplant seedlings into 3in pots or trays.
Thanks for info Wow, you are good! Thanks for digging up this information for me. I will be a planting this afternoon.
