Bretloth Posted November 5, 2011 Hey guys, am looking for a Syrian Rue live plant. For use in dyeing, of a sort. Will pay cash or trade if prefered. Let me know if you can help out, cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted November 5, 2011 I was thinking about growing some seedlings this year. Will soak some tonight and chuck some in. They grow pretty fast and are very hardy once you get them past the seedling stage. Offer is there if your interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted November 5, 2011 (edited) They grow pretty fast and are very hardy once you get them past the seedling stage. Are you speaking from experience? Would love to hear about it if you are. It just seems that no one has successfully grown this to a mature, flowering plant at home, although there is no doubt that given nicely arid conditions they can thrive as a weed in the wild, when left to their own devices. Edited November 5, 2011 by Alice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted November 5, 2011 Yeah had a couple attempts at growing S Rue. First was under a light on a heat mat under constant supervision and they hated that setup, struggled and damped off eventually. Next I gave the seed an overnight soak, sowed them 5mm deep in a well draining slightly sandy mix in a 100mm pot to make it easier to control moisture levels with a bias toward dry rather than wet, positioned pot in a spot that gets sun from sun up till mid day then shaded, checked every afternoon after work and watered if pot looked dry. Sprouts at about 10 to 14 days later, 100%. Less is more with these fellas. Had them in the ground for 12 months or so. Put them in late in the season so they only got settled before they died back to ground level for winter. Soil was shit where I put them, hydrophobic with a shallow field capacity when I was able to get it wet through the profile. They never got big, 40cm high maybe, a lot of competition with larger established plants in shit soil. Moved away from the property they were on (in-laws) and when I was back for a visit I noticed they were no longer there. Died or pulled out I don't know. Not sure if they flowered, we were gone when the magic would have happened. Heavy clay where I am now so I don't know how they will go here. Gonna give it a crack anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bretloth Posted November 6, 2011 Definatly interested ENtiTY, let me know how you go Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) If you have a look at the habitat photos, you'll notice that they usually grow in that sort of muddy/silty soil that is usually famed for being somewhat bad soil (due to it's shape, rather than content - it's actually quite rich in inorganic nutrients). I would guess they don't like high organic matter content, and I'm sure you've seen the high organic matter content in the soil used by the few internet-documented growers of Syrian Rue. So as a start, I would say try a low organic matter mix. The other thing seems to be that the soil is quite dense. Not anywhere as dense as clay, but somewhat denser than potting mix. So basically, I estimate that based on the habitat photos I've seen, a "dirt" type soil would be best, rather than a normal potting mix. Edited November 6, 2011 by βluntmuffin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
