Colchicum sp.

I think I also have the same NARGS selection (#693).  According to my internet search, I decide the best all-around germination practice for Colchicum spp. is warm-cold-warm.  So I planted mine.  In 1-1.5 months, I'll put them in the fridge for a month, then take them out and see what happens. 

Love to hear others' suggestions, though...

Hi Rick,

Did you soak them or flush in the back of a toilet first? 

If I do the toilet flush and any of my family sees it, they'll really think I've gone bonkers.  But if it works, I'm willing to try.

Lockwood wrote:

Hi Rick,

Did you soak them or flush in the back of a toilet first? 

No.  I guess I didn't come across that advice.  But it's a pretty good bet that you'd get away with it unbeknownst to you family members.  ;D

Well I have them in a nylon footie hanging in the toilet tank.  They probably won't notice and I'm not going to say anything.  ;D

Lockwood wrote:

Well I have them in a nylon footie hanging in the toilet tank.  They probably won't notice and I'm not going to say anything.  ;D

Hi Julie,
I've heard of that technique being used with seed of Iris missouriensis [to help remove germination-inhibitors] but I've never tried it myself.
I usually sow Colchicum seed in the autumn and let it go through that warm-cold-warm sequence naturally but I guess Rick's method would save some time.
cheers
fermi

Hi Fermi,

I found the information on the Pacific Bulb Society page. 

http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Colchicum

They will be removed from the toilet tank tomorrow and then I'll proceed with the warm-cold-warm sequence. 

Be very patient.  I no longer bother with colchicum seeds as they often take so long to germinate, and then there is the wait till they flower.  

Well, I've just checked my seed database, and they are not all slow.  C pusillum took only two years,  C. corsicum four years, but  autumnale took eight years, and I didn't note when  C bornmuelleri, sown in 2000, germinated, but it was in 2009 or later, and there is a wee green leaf in the pot now.

Diane Whitehead

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

cool mediterranean climate

Thank you Diane.

I will try to be very patient.  

Update on Colchicum sp. NARGS 2012 #693. As of today, I have 3 bulbs/corms. Hoping to see them flower this fall!

A big Thank You to whomever donated the seed.

You've done better than me, Julie!

I haven't recorded any sprouting in my pot yet.

When did your first sprouts emerge?

[quote=RickR]

When did your first sprouts emerge?

[/quote]

I'm pretty sure it was 2014.