Re: Iochroma australis

I have grown Acnistus/Iochroma australis from seed - harvested from a friend's garden locally and sown in autumn, no special treatment and it germinated easily, with the bonus that some of the seedlings were the white form.  Curiously the white form seems to be slightly more vigourous than the blue.  Both seem winter hardy here in the Languedoc, I have plants which have passed the last six winters outside, including some fairly severe cold spells - I certainly expect -8°C at some point during the winter although our winters are generally drier than in the UK    I also have a similar but not identical plant that I grew from seed labelled Acnistus arboreus which is also winter hardy.
 
Gill Pound
Nr Carcassonne
S France
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:08 AM
Subject: Iochroma australis

Here in the UK we have, at the moment, to grow this as an overwintered plant in the unheated, but frost-free, greenhouse. It goes outside in a sheltered site in summer. I have numerous fruits that have formed this summer, of large pea size, due no doubt to the exceptionally hot July temperatures we have seen here.

 

What is the best advice of germinating seed from Iochroma? When should it be sown – and after what period of ripening? Does it need a re-fridgeration period before germination? It is a plant that is not difficult to propagate by cuttings but I have no experience of seed sowing since it doesn’t usually set seed here.

 

Tristram

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