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  Anthurium hookeri germination
From: Ferenc.Lengyel at aok.pte.hu (Lengyel Ferenc) on 2008.03.25 at 12:18:24(17215)
Hello,
I have an Anthurium (the common one sold in the plant shops as Anthurium hookeri). It
grew 3 inflorences at a time, so it colud self pollinate itself. Now the cone-shaped berries are
ripening. They push thenselves out of the inflorescense as they ripe one after one, and then
they fall down very easily. The colour is quite pale. What does spread the seeds? In my
opinion they fall down too easily and are too pale to be eaten by birds.
My main question is about seed germination. I can see two small seeds in each berry. I
would like to get some advise on germinating them. Should I pot them as soon as I take
them out of the berry? Should I simply place them in wet moss? Should they be treated with
some kind of acid before? Should I bleach them in clear water for a day? Should I dry them?
Or what to do?
Thanks for any info
Regards!
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From: Steve at ExoticRainforest.com (ExoticRainforest) on 2008.03.26 at 00:02:19(17218)
Ferenc,

It sounds as though you may have the real Anthurium hookeri. Not sure if you read the discussion on this forum some months ago regarding the species but the berries of Anthurium hookeri (the species, not the hybrids) are white, not red as many collectors assume. You can find quite a few websites that indicate the berries should be red but according to information published my Dr. Croat in his journal as well as information furnished by botanist David Scherberich when I was asking about the species, the true species is not what most collectors assume to be Anthurium hookeri. David furnished a photo of the true species which you can see on the link below.

I've managed to grow quite a few Anthurium from seeds sent by other collectors as well as those produced on my own plants. I simply crush the berries and lightly cover them with soil. Some collectors recommend washing the berries but I've had good success by simply planting them. I keep the soil damp until they germinate in moderately bright light. Right now I have at least 10 species growing from seeds as a result.

You can read some of the information I learned about Anthurium hookeri from the experts on this forum here:

http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Anthurium%20hookeri%20pc.html

Steve Lucas

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From: michaelgoetz at gmx.net (Michael Goetz) on 2008.03.26 at 07:47:31(17220)
Hi Ferenc,

I germinated some A. bellum and A plowmanii recently. I'd clean the seeds (remove all the pulb & wash them) and immediately place them onto some live sphagnum; I placed sphagnum in a glass jar and placed it at a warm spot. Germination was quite quick and no fungus etc. occurred. Repotting was necessary quite early, as even very small seedlings have long strong roots.
If no live sphagnum is available some fine orchid bark is also possible, but I?d always prefer Sphagnum.

Hope all works well!

Michael

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From: ju-bo at msn.com (ju-bo at msn.com) on 2008.03.26 at 09:57:12(17221)
----------------------------------------
> From: Ferenc.Lengyel at aok.pte.hu
> To: aroid-l at gizmoworks.com
> Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:18:24 +0100
> Subject: [Aroid-l] Anthurium hookeri germination

Dear Ferenc,

It might be that in nature there are ants which could carry the fallen fruit away from the fruiting plant to a suitable site for germinating, or the fruit may fall to the forest floor and be washed away from the main plant by heavy seasonal rains, though it is thought that birds are the main distributer of fruit and seed in this group of Anthuriums.
As suggested by Steve, just place the seed ( most suggest washing off the fruit pulp to avoid fungus) in damp sphagnum moss in a plastic bag, keep it well lit (no direct sun!) and warm, and all seed should germinate.

The Best,

Julius

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From: denis at skg.com (Denis) on 2008.03.26 at 16:55:11(17224)
In our experience growing anthurium seeds in a shadehouse with a lot of
humidity and subtropical climate, we plant untreated fresh anthurium
seed on top of the growing media and it usually germinates without
rotting.(Though sometimes we have trouble with birds or rodents eating
the seed.) Depending on where you are growing them you may want more
humidity so seeds do not dry out. For more ambient humidity around seed
put the container of seeds & medium in clear plastic bag to germinate.
As for germinating medium you can use sphagnum moss or a peat based soil
mix.

Denis

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From: Ferenc.Lengyel at aok.pte.hu (Lengyel Ferenc) on 2008.03.26 at 17:08:27(17226)

Thank you for all the answers, I found them all to be very useful.

From: dburch23 at bellsouth.net (derek burch) on 2008.03.26 at 22:31:07(17233)
Ferenc

Do you keep your Aroideana around? We had quite a lot in the last issue (Vol
30) on this topic .

You are breaking this old editor's heart!

Derek

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