Page 23b. Rechsteinaria leucotricia seedlings

Rechsteinaria leucotricia Propagation from seed.
1. To start we need to pollinate the flowers.
An artists paintbrush is ideal, a number 1 sable hair is small enough to insert into the tubular flowers.
Gently transfer pollen from flower to flower at a time when most flowers are showing pollen on the stamens. One plant is OK as this species is self fertile.

2. Later in the summer, when the flower petals have dropped off leaving the dried/ ripe carpels attached, remove one and roll between the fingers to check if the (dust like) seed falls on to a piece of paper. If yes collect all and packet for later sowing, if not try again later.

3. Sowing is best done late in spring/ early summer. The seed is viable for 2/ 3 years if kept dry and warm.
Scatter the seed as thinly as possible on the surface of a suitable sterile, moist seed compost, in a small tray. Keep moist by mist spraying at a temperature of 20º/ 25º C in a shaded situation. Germination normally occurs in a few weeks with 90% success.

4. Now for the difficult part. The tiny seedlings emerge with a pair of seed leaves (cotyledon) followed by the true leaves as seen in the right picture. At this point the plantlets are very fragile and thinning must be carried out at this stage. Failure to delay this will result a tangled mass of plants, which will be impossible to separate intact.

5. The right picture shows two seedlings in the juvenile stage, the larger plant about 4 months old with a 3 mm caudex. Do not be in any hurry to expose this, leave them under the soil for the first couple of years or so.

6. The above right picture shows two seedlings in the juvenile stage, the larger plant about 6 months old with a 3 mm caudex.

7. The top row of pictures show potted seedlings up to 18 months old and have been watered without a rest period to develop the undersoil caudex. By the winter of the 3rd year they should be dried off and the following spring one can expect to see the true adult form as per the picture on page 23a. Then the caudex can be raised a little yearly.

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