Torsten Posted April 8, 2007 I have been sourcing mate seeds for years now and kept thinking I am getting dud seed. Then last year I got some seed directly from a plantation - freshly harvested. Again, no germination. We've had a busy year, so we did not get around to turfing all empty seedboxes after the usual 6-9 months. The seedboxes with the mate seed that was sown OVER A YEAR AGO had these odd little weeds in amongst all the moss and crap and I was hesitant to turf the lot. On closer inspection I realised they were mate seedlings. I know there were no seedlings in that box 2 or 3 months ago, so they must have germinated sometime after the hottest time of year. In fact, this would have been the wet time of year in Argentina [although water availability can't be the issue as these boxes get watered every day]. Interestingly, there are two boxes right next to each other, with the same number of seed in each and sown at the same time, but one box only has about a quarter of the seedlings as the other. Germination rate is far from impressive [maybe 1 in 50], but at least now we know that even very fresh and viable seed will take a long time to germinate. Maybe we can work on some better stratification methods to speed things up [although so far all such methods have failed]. If these guys survive, in a year or so we'll be able to offer what is guaranteed a good mate production strain Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted April 8, 2007 Congratulations! I never managed to germinate these bitchy seeds. I´ve also tried some very fresh seeds but had unfortunately no success. I´ve probably trashed them too early. Please make some seedling pics in a few diffrent stages. I´d love to see how they look like in the first few weeks after germination. bye Eg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted April 8, 2007 congratulations! seeing seedlings emerging is always nice, specialy if they are seed's one has never germed before, but nothing beats the feeling of discovering unexpectedetly some treasured babies within the camoflage of various weeds. let's hope they all survive into adult hood!! i'm soooo happy for you guy's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XipeTotec Posted April 9, 2007 glad to hear that it can be done... I too have had no luck... but now I will just keep watering, and hope for the best... if not, I hope to get some cuttings in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vertmorpheus Posted April 10, 2007 I tried and tried to get into yerba but we just never got along, got a bigarse bag of it here goin crumbly . Was interested in tricky germ process though, did a little googling, sussed that it seems to get grown in some area called the Chaco region and a site with a bit on it about soil in Argentina mentioned the proliferation of the somethingorother tree due to "especially saline soils"... maybe time in the germ boxes (do you use styros , god I love those things! :D ) has given them time to absorb enough salts from ferts or the mix , finally triggering some kind of switch to make them decide to grow. Just a rambling thought, I'm sure the argentine gov has some equiv of the DPI with soil data online for those with a longer attention span than myself. happy to hear about your germ success though, it's always a magical thing non-plant people just don't get it when they see you wide eyed, grinning like a kid at xmas to find some weedy looking sprout in a tray. happy growin GD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted April 10, 2007 I have a friend in Arg who supplied me with plenty of info and I contacted the DPI equiv there too. Seeds are usually sown in potting mix, so local soil profile would not help. I think the seed will germinate readily before the coat dries, which is probably how it is used there. 2 weeks in the mail kinda makes that a problem. many don't like mate by itself. play aroudn with other strongly flavoured herbs to give it the flavour you like. Lemon flavoured things are popular, such as lemon verbena. Sweet minty herbs are also often used. I personally love it with a bit of vanilla as it brings out the vanilla like flavours of the herb. Or for the obscure and more savoury flavour try boldo or epazote. We'll be offering flavoured mate very soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gwydion Posted May 19, 2007 Good news Tort! My experience with mate seeds (like almost everyone else's) has been Apart from the process you just described (ie pure luck), can you possibly share the (general) origin of the seeds (ie commercial variety, wild, etc)? I presume they from Arg. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted May 19, 2007 Apart from the process you just described (ie pure luck), can you possibly share the (general) origin of the seeds (ie commercial variety, wild, etc)? I presume they from Arg. I think pure luck can also be substituted with patience to achieve the same result Seeds were from a commercial plantation in Arg. These plantations grow plants from seeds and from cuttings and don't seem to prefer one or the other in terms of strains. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mihido Posted June 4, 2009 I have been sourcing mate seeds for years now and kept thinking I am getting dud seed. Then last year I got some seed directly from a plantation - freshly harvested. Again, no germination. We've had a busy year, so we did not get around to turfing all empty seedboxes after the usual 6-9 months. The seedboxes with the mate seed that was sown OVER A YEAR AGO had these odd little weeds in amongst all the moss and crap and I was hesitant to turf the lot. On closer inspection I realised they were mate seedlings. I know there were no seedlings in that box 2 or 3 months ago, so they must have germinated sometime after the hottest time of year. In fact, this would have been the wet time of year in Argentina [although water availability can't be the issue as these boxes get watered every day]. Interestingly, there are two boxes right next to each other, with the same number of seed in each and sown at the same time, but one box only has about a quarter of the seedlings as the other. Germination rate is far from impressive [maybe 1 in 50], but at least now we know that even very fresh and viable seed will take a long time to germinate. Maybe we can work on some better stratification methods to speed things up [although so far all such methods have failed]. If these guys survive, in a year or so we'll be able to offer what is guaranteed a good mate production strain I am looking for living plants ilex paraguariens (yerba mate). Can you help me in my search, or suggest any address of the supplier of these plants in Argentina or Paraguay? Can these plants bring to the Russian Federation? I look forward to cooperation. For speed mail to an email or ICQ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aya Posted June 5, 2009 Great news Torsten!! Looking forward to buying some Yerba from you in the near future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted June 5, 2009 torts seedgrown new mate plants look very yummy! well done tort & co! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mauve Posted June 5, 2009 "new mate plants" ? ....this picture is from 2007 what became of those cute seedlings, by the way ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted June 5, 2009 (edited) It takes a VERY long time to sprout seeds or making cuttings from plants in the Ilex genus. I want to cultivate all three of the stimulating Hollies- Ilex paraguayensis, Ilex vomitoria and Ilex guayusa. I am looking for living plants ilex paraguariens (yerba mate). Can you help me in my search, or suggest any address of the supplier of these plants in Argentina or Paraguay? I gotcha on Ilex paraguayensis and Ilex vomitoria, however I can't seem to find Ilex guayusa! If anybody can help me find this rare Ilex plant, let me know! PM me for sources. but at least now we know that even very fresh and viable seed will take a long time to germinate. Well I knew that! Ilex vomitoria can take up to THREE YEARS to germinate! And this is normal! Crazy, huh? in Argentina mentioned the proliferation of the somethingorother tree due to "especially saline soils"... When I say Ilex vomitoria on the beaches of North Carolina, U.S.A. it was growing in dunes right next to the Ocean! Pure sand, very salty! Edited June 5, 2009 by Teotz' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted June 5, 2009 Check out my thread on the uses of botanicals in the Ilex genus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Posted June 5, 2009 I had some mangosteen seeds that took 18 months to germinate.Fortunatly I forgot about them or they probably would have been disgarded. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted June 7, 2009 "new mate plants" ? ....this picture is from 2007 what became of those cute seedlings, by the way ? we sold a few of them, but are now down to propagation stock. so far not much luck propagating them from cuttings though. will keep trying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WoodDragon Posted June 8, 2009 we sold a few of them, but are now down to propagation stock. so far not much luck propagating them from cuttings though. will keep trying. Torsten, have you tried aerial layering? I use it on all sorts of plants that are recalcitrant strikers, and it even works well on resinous species like pines. A dab of cutting gel seems to help, although that might just be mental magickery... Granted, it's a labour-intensive (=expensive) method, but it works nicely for me when cuttings/seeds are not an option. I've struck European holly this way, when I was after a sculptural branch for a bonsai - the layer shot within a few months. I would assume that other Ilex species would have a similar response. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted June 8, 2009 layering isn't economical, but is certainly a last option if we can't get it to work otherwise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
incognito Posted June 8, 2009 thats some sexy handwriting on that tag Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted June 8, 2009 thats some sexy handwriting on that tag looks pretty gay to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted June 8, 2009 awww u miss me whenever I do I just visit your website: http://www.shelveit.com.au Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
incognito Posted June 8, 2009 dont try and tell me you have never done it. i will be doing a workshop at EGA if you are interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t st tantra Posted June 8, 2009 i'm hoping elli will demonstrate 'how to catch a cactii'!!! t s t . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted June 10, 2009 teo and i used to probagate quite a few plants of the old mate (?) strain that was going around, so probagation by cuttings is possible... i remeber though that it is not an easy cutting and that the success dependet on how well all of the needs of those cuttings in question were followed. airlayering is a far too time consuming and labourous procedure do be applied here. i would wait till my motherplants have reached a good size and than work with cuttings. i would prefere to work with cuttings taken from upright growing branches, which have a natural thickend base of the stem, just where they emerge from the older wood. another thing which might help is to wound this area 2 or 3 weeks before taking cuttings, as the callus formed might get facilitated to form roots at a later stage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
