General

Buying

If your import laws allow, all seed should be purchased inside the still fleshy berry. Note that dried seed (in or out of the berry) will have a low to non-existent viability rate.  

Storage

Aroid seed stores poorly and dried seed will have a very low viability rate. For best results seed must be sown as fresh as possible. Seed viability falls extremely quickly once the seed is cleaned of the berry pulp and so the seed should remain in the berry until ready to sow. If seed must be removed from the berry then it is vital that it remains damp but not wet. Placing the seed in a folded, moistened kitchen towel (not toilet paper, which breaks down when wet) inside a plastic bag kept in a cool room is a good temporary storage medium.  

Alocasia

Cleaning

Alocasia seed is quite large (average black peppercorn size) and easy to handle. Clean the seeds free of the berry pulp by gently squashing the berries onto kitchen towel and separating the seeds of the pulp and any seed membrane. The seed membrane tightly adheres to the seed. Its presence is detectable by the seed feeling slippery. Gently working the seed between thumb and index finger will remove the membrane, after which the seed will feel very slightly rough. It is vital that this cleaning is done wearing rubber or latex gloves - the fruit pulp is highly irritant. Gently rinse the seed in a nylon sieve and dry on kitchen towel for a minute or two to ease handling.  

Sowing

Sow onto either:

1:1 ground sphagnum: Perlite, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): washed river sand, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): Perlite, or
1:1 propriety soil-less compost: Perlite

Plastic pots or trays are better then clay (terracotta). The seed should be just covered with the same mix and then well watered and thereafter keep damp and moderately shaded. 

Germination takes 2 - 3 weeks at a minimum of 21C (70F) and a max. of 29C (84F).

Germination and aftercare

Ideal conditions for germination are a heated greenhouse or in warm climates a shade house. If germinating indoors then choose a brightly lit but not sunny windowsill and put the entire pot inside a polythene bag secured by an elastic band. Once germination is seen to be underway loosen the bag but do not remove. Allow the seedlings to develop the first leaf and then remove the bag for a few hours a day to gradually acclimatize the seedlings; after a few days remove the bag entirely. Allow the seedlings to continue growing until a second leaf is seen emerging.  

Transplantation

At the second leaf emergence stage transplant into individual pots or, in the case of a very large sowing, line out in large trays and allow to grow on. We transplant into: 

1:1:1 screened coconut peat (coir): washed river sand: crushed charcoal (max 2 cm size) 

Aglaonema

Cleaning

Aglaonema seed is large (average date stone size) and easy to handle. Clean the seeds free of the berry pulp by gently squashing the berries onto kitchen towel and separating the seeds of the pulp and any seed membrane. The seed membrane tightly adheres to the seed. Its presence is detectable by the seed feeling slippery. Gently working the seed between thumb and index finger will remove the membrane, after which the seed will feel very slightly rough. Gently rinse the seed in a nylon sieve and dry on kitchen towel for a minute or two to ease handling.  

Sowing

Sow onto either:

1:1 ground sphagnum: Perlite, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): washed river sand, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): Perlite, or
1:1 propriety soil-less compost: Perlite

Plastic pots or trays are better then clay (terracotta). The seed should be covered to its own depth with the same mix and then well watered and thereafter keep damp and moderately shaded.  

Germination takes 4 - 6 or more weeks at a minimum of 21C (70F) and a max. of 29C (84F).  

Germination and aftercare:

Ideal conditions for germination are a heated greenhouse or in warm climatesa shade house. If germinating indoors then choose a brightly lit but not sunny windowsill and put the entire pot inside a polythene bag secured by an elastic band. Once germination is seen to be underway loosen the bag but do not remove. Allow the seedlings to develop the first leaf and then remove the bag for a few hours a day to gradually acclimatize the seedlings; aftera few days remove the bag entirely. Allow the seedlings to continue growing until a second leaf is seen emerging. 

Transplantation

Once the first leaf has expanded transplant into individual pots. We transplant into: 1:1:1 screened coconut peat (coir): washed river sand: crushed charcoal (max. 2 cm size) 

Amorphophallus

Cleaning

Amorphophallus seed is usually large (average black peppercorn to date stone size) and easy to handle. Clean the seeds free of the berry pulp by gently squashing the berries onto kitchen towel and separating the seeds of the pulp and any seed membrane. The seed membrane tightly adheres to the seed. Its presence is detectable by the seed feeling slippery. Gently working the seed between thumb and index finger will remove the membrane, after which the seed will feel very slightly rough. It is best that cleaning is done wearing rubber or latex gloves - the fruit pulp can be quite irritating. Gently rinse the seed in a nylon sieve and dry on kitchen towel for a minute or two to ease handling. 

Sowing

Sow onto either:

1:1 ground sphagnum: Perlite, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): washed river sand, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): Perlite, or
1:1 propriety soil-less compost: Perlite

Plastic pots or trays are better then clay (terracotta). The seed should be covered to its own depth with the same mix and then well watered and thereafter keep damp and moderately shaded.

Germination takes 3 - 5 weeks at a minimum of 21C (70F) and a max. of 29C (84F). 

Germination & aftercare

Ideal conditions for germination are a heated greenhouse or in warm climates a shade house. If germinating indoors then choose a brightly lit but not sunny windowsill and put the entire pot inside a polythene bag secured by an elastic band. Once germination is seen to be underway loosen the bag but do not remove. Allow the seedlings to develop the first leaf and then remove the bag for a few hours a day to gradually acclimatize the seedlings; after a few days remove the bag entirely. Allow the seedlings to continue growing until a second leaf is seen emerging. 

Transplantation

Once the leaf has expanded transplant into individual pots. We transplant into: 1:1:1 screened coconut peat (coir): washed river sand: crushed charcoal (max. 2 cm size). 

Colocasia

Cleaning

Colocasia seed is small (average 1 mm x 1.5 mm) and tricky to handle. The main problem with cleaning is that inside each berry there are numerous seeds embedded in very viscous gel which is difficult to remove. The easiest method is to put the berries into a plastic beake r full of water, macerate them with the fingers and then leave the beaker and its contents in a warm, shaded place for a week to ferment (it will smell pretty bad at the end of the time but the seed will come to no harm). After fermentation it will be found that the gel is very easily washed off by placing the entire beaker contents into a fine nylon sieve under gently running water and working the seed/gel/pulp mass with the fingers. The gel will dissolve and the larger pieces of berry, etc. may be removed by hand.  

Sowing

The cleaned seed is most easily sown by filling the beaker of seed with fresh water, vigorously stirring with a finger and then pouring the suspended seed and water onto the surface of the compost in a pre-prepared pot or tray; keep to beaker moving to ensure an even distribution of seed. 

Sow onto either:

1:1 ground sphagnum: Perlite, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): washed river sand, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): Perlite, or
1:1 propriety soil-less compost: Perlite

Plastic pots or trays are better then clay (terracotta). The seed should not be covered and must be kept damp and moderately shaded.

Germination takes 1 - 2 weeks at a minimum of 21C (70F) and a max. of 29C (84F). 

Germination and aftercare

Ideal conditions for germination are a heated greenhouse or in warm climates a shade house. If germinating indoors then choose a brightly lit but not sunny windowsill and put the entire pot inside a polythene bag secured by an elastic band. Once germination is seen to be underway loosen the bag but do not remove. The first leaf is kidney shaped and at this stage the plants are very delicate and difficult to handle. The best transplantation method is to allow the clumps of seedlings to grow until they become congested and then to transplants small clumps of seedlings into individual pots. Colocasia seedlings are very susceptible to fugal attack and it is recommended than the transplanted seedlings are treated immediately with a suitable fungicide as prevention against damping off. Do not use metallic copper fungicides on Araceae – they are fatal.  

Transplantation

At the second leaf emergence stage transplant into individual pots or, in the case of a very large sowing, line out in large trays and allow to grow on. We transplant into:1:1 Screened coconut peat (coir): Perlite and water only from below until individuals are large enough (5 - 7 leaves) for separation and repotting into 1:1:1 screened coconut peat (coir): washed river sand: crushed charcoal (2 cm size) and thence treated as mature plants.  

Cyrtosperma

Cleaning

Cyrtosperma seed is large (average half peanut sized) and easy to handle. However, cleaning seed is a problem since each berry contains several numerous seeds embedded in very viscous gel which is difficult to remove. Further, since the seeds are curved and variously ridges and warty the gel adheres strongly. The easiest method is to put the berries into a plastic beaker full of water, macerate them with the fingers and then leave the beaker and its contents in a warm, shaded place for a week to ferment (it will smell pretty bad at the end of the time but the seed will come to no harm). After fermentation it will be found that the gel is very easily washed off by placing the entire beaker contents into a fine nylon sieve under gently running water and working the seed/gel/pulp mass with the fingers. The gel will dissolve and the larger pieces of berry, etc. may be removed by hand.  

Sowing

Sow onto either:

1:1 ground sphagnum: Perlite, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): washed river sand, or
1:1 sieved coconut peat (coir): Perlite, or
1:1 propriety soil-less compost: Perlite

Plastic pots or trays are better then clay (terracotta). The seed should be covered to its own depth with the same mix and then well watered and thereafter keep damp and moderately shaded.

Germination takes 3 - 5 weeks at a minimum of 21C (70F) and a max. of 29C (84F). 

Germination & aftercare

Ideal conditions for germination are a heated greenhouse or in warm climates a shade house. If germinating indoors then choose a brightly lit but not sunny windowsill and put the entire pot inside a polythene bag secured by an elastic band. Once germination is seen to be underway loosen the bag but do not remove. Allow the seedlings to develop the first leaf and then remove the bag for a few hours a day to gradually acclimatize the seedlings; after a few days remove the bag entirely. Allow the seedlings to continue growing until a second leaf is seen emerging.  

Transplantation

Once the leaf has expanded transplant into individual pots. We transplant into: 1:1:1 screened coconut peat (coir): washed river sand: crushed charcoal (max. 2 cm size) and immediately stand the pots in shallow trays (c. 2 cm deep) of water.