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earthalchemist

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Posts posted by earthalchemist

  1. Posted

    much cheaper to make one.

    buy some insulating-type plaster board, cut it to fit in the bottom of the tank.

    lay out the cable along the board in whatever way, a back-and-forth loop design works well, you'll figure it out.

    you can get tack-in cable bits from the hardware store, tack it down and put it in the bottom of the tank, cover with an inch or so of gravel or whatever inert medium.

    you might want to put handles on the board so you can lift it out easily to clean the tank ... something i forgot about frown.gif

  3. Posted

    trichus ... a fish tank works fine ... even better if you can rip the heating cable out of an old electric blanket and tack it to some insulating board that will fit in the bottom of the tank ... cover with an inch or so of gravel and you have a beautiful prop chamber ... timers for the lights are cheap as well.

  5. Posted

    i've never seen the seed pods, but it's pretty easily identified by the thorny trunk.

    i'd love some of that seed anyway if you can get some, especially if you can get an id.

    email me with what you're looking for smile.gif

  6. Posted

    i spotted several silk-cotton trees (B. malabaricum) in the chinese gardens

    yep i've seen that one ... actually that's the *only*one i've seen ... you know me, i really want to grow this one from seed

    i remember reading that Bombax malabaricum has been used for lots of different purposes but the only one i can remember is 'weakness of the genital organs' ???

    LOL smile.gif ... i *really* had no idea, honestly wink.gif

    mulga ... thanks for the link ... and it's www.daleysfruit.com.au if anyone else is interested

  7. Posted

    if you've got these i'm willing to lick between your dirty hippie bare-foot toes for them smile.gif

    Lithops optica var Rubra

    Myrtillocactus geometrizans

    Pedicularis groenlandica

    Pedicularis bracteosa

    Scutellaria nana

    Bombax malabaricum

    Morinda citrifolia

  10. Posted

    the main problem here is going to be either rot or drying out smile.gif ... kind of hard territory. you need to keep them moist enough so that their tiny roots do not dry out, but you don't want humidity to be too high. personally, i would leave the lid off and mist them with a spray bottle when the surface starts to dry out. it's a fine line, but you'll get the hang of it.

  16. Posted

    Cycads display a central vein down each leaflet, whereas this species does not. This key is one the easiest ways to tell macrozamia and leptozamia's from cycads.

    i had no idea smile.gif

    Ea and Ed,Why do you need to look further, I just gave you precise details on how to germinated the seed?

    weeeeeell ... just curious ?

    i'd rather store them than sow if possible ... wouldn't want to be lugging ungerminated trays around for the next 2 years

    thanks for the help dutchie smile.gif

  17. Posted

    Germination will take from 10 months to two years!!

    excellent. a great chance to practice patience smile.gif thanks dutchie!

    What you are talking about is the whole endosperm of the seed. The embryo would be a small thing in the middle of that. You can cut a seed in half but miss the middle where the embryo is.

    Try to find the center and see what you find. If it is really solid without an embryo, you have nothing, if there is a full embryo that takes up all the air space, the seeds need to go down now.

    this from tom @ cycad jungle. i'm going to dissect another seed and see what's going on, failing that i'll just send some to him to look at. Ed, you might want to keep them damp in a sterile medium until we get this one figured out smile.gif

  18. Posted

    hey ed

    well the source said the cone was falling apart when he brought it to me ... i haven't checked the article again but i think that means we can sow. the article is a bit unclear, but i think it meant they were ready to sow once the embryo was full length inside the seed coat, and it is ... let me know what you think.

    strange that you're having so much trouble getting the red flesh off, i had no problems at all. how was the seed when it arrived?

    they've got to be one of the strangest things i've ever seen ... i've got some photos of the seed cone (?) so i'll try and post them ... be patient, i've never worked with images before smile.gif

  20. Posted

    i found the same site ed smile.gif

    i cut the fleshy fruit off with a knife, kind of like you would an avocado, had no problems.

    i don't think it matters if the casing is damaged too much, as i think this is what that article speaks of when removing and cleaning the seed.

    i dissected one as described and found that the lychee wink.gif was perfectly smooth, with no sign of the growth that the article mentions.

    so i think we have to store these for up to 12 months more (i'll check with the source tonight and see how old the cone was when i got the seed) before attempting germination. i'm going to check also on best methods for storage. if you haven't removed the flesh from all the seed it maybe a good idea to leave them for the time being.

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