Achlys triphylla seeds – ( Vanilla leaf, Deer Foot,Sweet After Life)

Description

Picture thanks to www.jelitto.com

This plant has ornamental large  fan shaped leaves with white bottlebrush flowers which grows in shade under the tree canopy.  It will be quite at home in shade as a ground cover under tall  trees, where it likes moist humus rich soil, or as an ornamental plant , where it is valued for its attractive leaves, which are lush and green in summer and then change to gold in the autumn, before dying down over the winter. It isn’t very fussy about soil type, so long as the soil retains moisture, and is one of the few plants which can tolerate heavy clay.

It was  used as a medicinal plant by the First  American peoples for treating tuberculosis, and as an insect repellent, and also a deodorant. The leaves have a sweet vanilla fragrance when crushed

Sowing advice

These seeds are best propagated in autumn or winter  or spring .

Plant the seeds in pots or trays and cover very lightly with moist seed raising mix, as they germinate best with light.  Keep them at about 20 deg C for 4 weeks. Keep them moist , but not waterlogged, and don’t put them in direct light , which they don’t like. After this ensure they are moist , seal the pot in a plastic bag and put into the fridge at about 4 deg C , for 4 weeks.  After this take them out of the fridge, remove the plastic bag and keep at about 12 deg C (outside in a shade house is fine) They wont mind frost or cooler temperatures so its best to plant them when the temperatures are getting cooler in New Zealand.  They should germinate in 20-40 days but can take longer.