'Xerophytic' plants

[mutant]

I was wonder about plants that generally survive and even like it in arid dry conditions with little water, like Catha, Acacia, Ephedra ...

I wonder what these little buggers want to germinate and what they need when they're born ..

I know some acacia seeds f.e. need hot water shock to swell or repeated shocks to cause the swelling... other species might even like some burning [something which is in australia's common natural phenomenons, or so I hear in BBC's wonderful docus...

Anyway... I also have heard the catha seeds lose viability quick... are there any tricks? I know of course the catha growing is fobidden in most european countries, here too, so I am only asking encyclopedically, what do these plants need when they're young? More moisture I suppose, but how much? any experiences?

And what about ephedra??

would swelling be a bit more difficult for these xerophytic [xeri = dry , phyto = plant, in greek] tough seeds? Any comments?

I was thinking of sowing some acacia and ephedra seeds I have in this setting

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry195299

Edited November 29, 2008 by mutant

[Auxin]

A few notes from my experiences:

Both Ephedra sinica and E. equisetina I had troubles with. In every instance of success I grew them by pre-soaking the seed overnight then planting in lightly moist soil in pots and of the ones that sprouted the ones that survived were those whos soil dried out on the top within a day of sprouting and never got moist again for over a month- they drank purely via the lower roots. Planting in-situ may be better if the right conditions are met.

Eriodictyon angustifolia was an adventure, a desert shrub with near microscopic seed (think heimia but smaller) that needed smoke hormone to germinate, died if the tiny seedlings dried out, died if the tiny seedlings were too moist. I basically got it to survive the seedling stage by keeping the soil nearly dry but humidity high enough that the tiny buggers didnt loose too much water through transpiration. Smoke hormone was supplied by putting the misted seedling trays in a mini-greenhouse then blowing non-inhaled smoke in from cigarettes of sage plus whatever was laying around.. mexican oregano, ashwagandha leaf, lions tail, etc. emphasis on terpenoid & resin bearing deserty stuff.

Peganum harmala was like a flea bite on a hemorrhoid (weeds are always the hardest to grow, why is that?) - in the end what worked was making little indentations in dry alkaline ground bordered by a ring of plastic cut from a plastic jar and mixing in both limestone and dolomite powders in the top cm of the low-organic alkaline soil then mixing the seed in the top few mm of that and watering in the mornings. They sprouted after 1-2 months and after sprouting I was careful to make sure the surface dried out from the morning watering before nightfall. Watching them right now to see if they survive my zone 7a winters. Beyond that my only success with P. harmala was sowing the seeds on top of pots of pure perlite, I got great germination but never found a way to transplant to anything else and have them survive.

It wouldnt surprise me of all of the above were needlessly complex but you might be able to derive an idea from it.

[mutant]

Well, I was afraid somebody was going to say something similar. Hey, my peganum experiences are similar... I got them going by mistake, from seeds that sprouted later in pots that was used for other pots, like rooting brug cuts and transplant of myrti cacti, so it was more of one single watering then left abandoned? who knows.... I for one I have come to coin peganum a plant resisting cultivation, and this is , apart from leaving us more in the dark , an interesting phenomenon...

Could it be that a such a seedling or seed be benefited by richer soil? yeah.... that doesnt sound too awkward.... weeds are more dificult to cultivate... ??? I think not if you got enough seeds ;)

[mutant]

Updates:

one Ephedra sinica has sprouted plus a single acacia maidenii... second pair of leaves both... any advice? what does baby acacia want? what sun itake? i read ephedra likes it dry from early on... any experiences? I guess I should leave the transplanting for when the plants are more established...

also, my last years weak young peganum harmala are throughing new vegetation and growing steadily this year!

still didn't get to sow the catha seed.

the method I used for preparing ephedra and acacia seed was by variously harming / penetrating the seed coat, also left some unharmed. I got only one out of ten for each, so who knows?

[ThunderIdeal]

just try not to cause phosphorus toxicity, in australia they sell low-phosphorus fertiliser for proteaceae, mimosaceae etc

let the soil dry before watering

[mutant]

how do we cause phosphorus toxicity ??

[ThunderIdeal]

the main nutrients plants need are NPK, the P is phosphorus. you want low P fertiliser because it builds and builds in the soil (it is insoluble). australia has low P and some of our plants can't handle the high P, particularly proteaceae because they have different roots, but it's true to an extent for mimosaceae (i'm not sure what extent).

your soil is probably not low in P, would i be right in thinking your soil is rather good? just fertilise sparsely if at all.

edit: i'm talking about the acacias, just to be clear.

Edited April 29, 2009 by ThunderIdeal

[mutant]

the main nutrients plants need are NPK, the P is phosphorus. you want low P fertiliser because it builds and builds in the soil (it is insoluble). australia has low P and some of our plants can't handle the high P, particularly proteaceae because they have different roots, but it's true to an extent for mimosaceae (i'm not sure what extent).

your soil is probably not low in P, would i be right in thinking your soil is rather good? just fertilise sparsely if at all.

edit: i'm talking about the acacias, just to be clear.

oh I see P-rich fert in a no no.

help much appreciated

[Freaky Chicken]

It really is a case by case situation.

Many Acacia sp. will react really well to standard fertilisers.

plants in Proteaceae have special roots that cannot tolerate high P levels.

[mutant]

my two harmalas are finally growing - will update

and my ephedra

I water them sparingly and they seem to like it

Edited May 24, 2009 by mutant

[mutant]

still watering them sparingly, they get intense noon-afternoon sun

[herbologist]

Nice, well done. I grew one about the size of your small plant to the right but it died from damping off, I never watered it but I left the pot out in a week of rain.