druid Posted August 13, 2003 Does anyone out there have any good tips for A. colubrina and m. scabrella? Do these do well with nitrogen-fixing cowpea inoculant? What kind of lighting conditions and soil do they require? Humidity? Anyone who can speak from experience would be very much appreciated! DRUID Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stonehenge Posted August 13, 2003 I don't really know though I have both of them growing. They are slow growing and fernlike. I have them in a window which may explain part of the slow growth. I let the soil dry out before watering and only a little ferts. I heard the cow pea innoc helps but they are doing fine without. Stoney Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted August 16, 2003 this site has got a lot of info on colubrina. click on the serch button next to register button and type, colubrina. germination advice or so is the key word of the topic as far as i remember... pls, read the old post's. and than ask. but anyway, plant it on a steep slope site or so (top of hill?!), after the heavy rains "it drains off" much the better. :cool: :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DazedSol Posted August 18, 2003 Both seem to fair alot better when germinated with pea innoculant.......... Scabrella needs to be scarified to germinate and the anandenanteras have to be fairly fresh to be viable(i've had seed as old as 3 months germ., think once they get too dry they lose viability..) They both enjoy direct to semi direct light, good drainage helps avoid dampening off in the start of their life....after they get to be a year old or so this becomes less of a concern..... hope that helps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
druid Posted August 26, 2003 Dear Planthelper, The colubrina keysearch wasn't very useful. That was all about germination. But that's not my issue. I was looking for some care instructions from the experience of those who have made it through the difficult stages, to know how to take care of seedlings, what ph soil, soil composition, light, range of humidity they can tolerate, temperatures in their native environment, etc. Many thanks Dazedsole for understanding my question and getting right to the heart of the matter. If anyone else has input from experience about care for the anan's, that would be great. I haven't heard back from anyone regarding the Jurema branca (m. scabrellas). If anyone has any suggestions for along the same lines for these, especially if you know that they *differ* from anans in some crucial way, that would also be very important to know. Fresh anan's aren't a problem to germinate! Mine germinated in the first 12 hours in plain old zip-lock plastic bags with moistened hypoallergenic tissue paper and fungicide, but with no special equipment, heating or anything. In fact, I set them in there at 12midnight and they germinated fully IN THE DARK!!!! I did blow the bags up with Co2 from my breath, however, if that makes a difference. It might have! The question is really care and environment. Sorry if that was unclear. DRUID Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted August 27, 2003 colubrina care: ph: don't know it's preferences, but i just checked my pottingmix they are growing in, and it looks like ph 6.5. soil composition: very friable, fast draining, seedraising mixture. in situ, i would plant them at slope sites or on crests. light req.: too much burning direct sun, leads to the fronds taking a mexican siesta. specialy, younger specimens should only recieve "save light " levels. range of moisture: well, they don't like tropical rains. again same action, the leaves fold downwards for protection. i think most older plants get killed by too much water. this plant stores water in it's upper root. if there is no water they loose there leaves and shrivel up, once given water again they often manage to re- shoot. i believe they don't like steamy moist hothouses. temp.: rough guess between 39 deg C and minus 3 deg C. i believe it grows where i live, because we have on average dry winter's. meanig overwintering is done without much watering, because the plant "hibernates". my potted plants are located so they get only direct morning sun and are sheltered from most of the rain by the roof of the house. i saw one colubrina at mt.cootha rbg and it looked like "a slowgrowing thing" to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Posted August 27, 2003 My A colubrina plants in the glasshouse are starting to grow now with new buds appearing on the stems. This is even the case for some of my smaller plants that appeared to have died over winter losing all their leaves . The plants in the garden are still dormant. Some of my growing notes for these: The seeds were planted in spring After the seeds germinated the plants were either grown under fluros(coolwhite) or near a window until they had 5 or 6 leaves (2 months approx).They were started in seedraising mix and then moved into organic potting mix. In summer they were watered daily and in winter every 2 or 3 weeks. I left a number of plants outside unattended to see what would happen and they are doing just about as well as the ones that were kept - these endured 3 months of rain, cold without frost and wind. Plants that got full sun became stunted and turned a light green but still survived. The plant that has done the best was planted in the ground in a sheltered position in a clay soil that I mixed a small amount of garden soil with - this plant got full sun for 2 to 3 hrs then part sun for most of the day. I have found them to be pretty forgiving to grow so far, but will go dormant as soon as it starts getting cold. Some of the plants coming back now were a 15cm stick in the ground. Just my 2c Take care [ 27. August 2003, 16:10: Message edited by: Tree ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
