random story, seed life, mystery irid, etc...


 

About 14 months ago I went on a business trip to Los Angeles.  Outside the office was a clump of beautiful pale yellow irids in bloom.  When I say clump, I mean an area about 12 ft. x 5 ft.  It was huge.  I really have no idea whatsoever about how to identify all the different South African irids... but if I had to guess it was some kind of Dietes, like Dietes bicolor.

I pocketed a seed pod, and promptly forgot all about it.  I attended a funeral about 4 weeks ago and wore that suit again for the first time since that trip.  Lo and behold I found that seed pod wrapped carefully in my silk hanky.  I stared at it for a while trying to figure out where the heck it had come from, and then I remembered, Los Angeles.  :-)

About a week after the funeral I cracked open the seed pod and carefully took out 5 seeds.  I planted them in a small pot, and set the rest aside for safe keeping.  That was probably 3 weeks ago.  Yesterday I noticed 3 of them had germinated.  Today a 4th one germinated too.

So this is my first time to grow a Dietes... or whatever.  I'm surprised the seeds were SO viable after all this time.  I'd love to keep them alive if I can.  Does anyone grow this plant indoors?  What kind of growing media & watering regimen do you follow?  Sunlight?  etc.

I haven't decided what to do with the rest of the seeds yet.....



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