Sameria Posted April 9, 2013 Hey everyone. I have a query that perhaps someone can help me with. I recently worked in a native nursery that did seed collecting on property owned by Mines set aside for regen/offsets whatever you want to call their bullshit.. Anyway along my wonderful journey of discovery of all the Native Flora I had ignored in the past, one particular species intrigued me. When we first bought it back to the nursery it was identified with the aid of Botanical Literature as Boronia rubiginosa. Only problem for me is I no longer have easy access to this literature used to identify the sub-species and can find absolutely no mention of the sub-species and not much of other sub-species. I did manage to make sure I saved 40-50 of the seeds so I could try germinate this beautiful scented plant at home. My worry is the difficulty in germination. I have not personally germinated these seeds myself, but I am told it takes a lot of effort and the success rate is low. The seeds is very hard, black kidney-bean shape. The person I talked to soaked in them in hot (not boiling) water for a while and had to individually score each seed with a razor. Even then germination rates were terrible. Has anyone had any experience with Boronia rubiginosa specifically or any of the other Boronia's? The Boronia rubiginosa has an absolutely intoxicating smell which I'm sure many on the Corroboree will be very fond of ;) Thanks for reading 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted April 9, 2013 Sounds lovely. I haven't had a great deal of experiencing germinating Boronia, and the techniques your friend suggested sound pretty good - time consuming too as those seeds are tiny. I'm not sure of it's efficacy but perhaps a smoked vermiculite germination starter might help, I have a book somewhere on native seeds I'll just hunt it down and see what they say. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted April 9, 2013 http://anpsa.org.au/boronia2.html http://anpsa.org.au/boronia1.html might prove handy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted April 9, 2013 Okay it's a little handbook called "Growing Australian Native Plants from Seed" by Murray Ralph. He says germination is difficult, because of complex dormancy imposed by the endosperm and embryo. Viable seed will sink if left overnight in water. One treatment suggested is nicking the seed coat and leaching for 10-14 days! Stick them in a pair of stockings in the cistern of your toilet. It doesn't work for all species. Not all species respond to smoke treatment or application of gibberellic acid (but not many have been tried). Your species wasn't even listed, so I'm guessing you are a pioneer on this! I'd say try nicking, leaching and smoke treatment. And keep good notes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted April 9, 2013 Lucky you, I love Boronias! If you get some up can I have one? Pleeeeease? This is the way I would do it. Nick the seed coat. Very, very carefully. Try a smoke treatment. Place the seeds in coarse propagating sand inside a light cotton bag and hang them well above a fire of Euc branches (so they don't get cooked just smoked). Transfer the seeds and coarse sand into nylon stockings and soak them in the toilet cistern for a week. (Smoke treatment and leaching will help kill any insect pests) Prepare a shallow tray with coarse propagating sand. Bung it on high in the microwave for a few minutes to sterilise. (Maybe sterilise first, then prepare the tray). Place tray outside where it will get plenty of warmth but won't be disturbed by mice etc. Make sure the sand is very well draining. Scatter the seeds on the surface of the sand, trying to get good coverage. Water it really well every morning and evening to try and remove any remaining inhibitors. This method sounds pretty close to what the seeds might experience in the wild, fire first, then water, seeds germinating well where they have had plenty of water to leach the inhibitors away but not get waterlogged. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted April 9, 2013 Flora of NSW is online - it is called Plantnet. It is freaking awesome. You can check out the relevant boronias at: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Boronia~rubiginosa No ssp listed... Could it possibly be???: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Boronia~angustisepala Agree with WW that smoke treatment is potentially desirable. Good luck - v. interested in any plants if you get any success. So much to learn about the propagation and cultivation of the heathy Rutaceae... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heretic Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) sorry , double post.. Edited April 16, 2013 by Heretic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heretic Posted April 16, 2013 bie.ala.org.au The on-line "Atlas of Living Australia " is an excellent resource for investigating native and introduced species and animals ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted April 25, 2013 http://anpsa.org.au/boronia2.html http://anpsa.org.au/boronia1.html might prove handy Good website that. Have to bookmark it somewhere! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
