germinating khat from seed

[smogs]

i remember being told or reading somewhere that this is quite difficult in sydney although not in perth? is this becuase of the temp? could i just use a heatmat like for cacti seeds?

cheers

[gomaos]

I find khat seed germinates easily...

in my shade house...

okay I live in Brisbane, but even in Sydney it should be ok maybe on a window sill, I use peat moss or similar, shouldn't be a problem...

Just mist them and keep them moist and they should be up in 1-2 weeks...

[planthelper]

i germinated lots of qat seeds over the summer periodes..., if you try it out of season, or at a location where its cold, you have to use a heat bed. plant the seeds, not too deep, with the wing facing up,

this ensures, that the emerging roots will go straight down, and not have to make a semi circle before expanding downwards.

keep the moisture up,

germination failure, is often caused by a lack of water, but on the other extreem, seeds will rot if "soggy conditions" apply.

same with the teperature thing,

too little heat, and nothing will sprout, far to much heat and you will end up with, boiled seeds (or dried up shrivelled seeds, in case you forgot to keep the water up), no good either.

moral; keep it simple unless you know better!

[ 16. March 2004, 12:56: Message edited by: planthelper ]

[Anodyne]

I live in Sydney and have had no problems germinating khat in a 50/50 mix of coarse sand and vermiculite. Feed them a little and re-pot into something with a bit more organic matter when they're a few inches tall and they should be happy.