Anigozanthos humilis seeds – (Catspaws)

Description

 

Photo thanks to  Don Ricardo on Unsplash

This australian native plant has flowers in shades of red or orange or yellow. It flowers in winter through to spring when very little other colour is in the garden. It is a fantastic cut flower with stems reaching a metre sometimes. The plant  can tolerate hot humid climates. It is frost tender and is best planted in sunny situations with well drained soil. Put it in a container and it will do well for you, attracting birds and bees with its nectar rich flowers.

 

Sowing advice

These seeds germinate best with smoke treatment. There are several methods to achieve this.

Method 1 : Buy a pretreated smoke solution such as :

• Biogrow seed soak

Method 2: A cheap option and one which has worked well for us  is to use a covered object such as a kettle barbecue or  large tin can with lid or similar which can contain the fire. Buy some vermiculite from your garden centre.

• In  the  BBQ or tin can object, put  the material you will use for generating smoke , such as dryish grass or wood chips or dryish leaves, in the base of the container.
• Light the material, and allow it to smoulder.
• Place the vermiculite in an open  container , and put this container into the  barbecue , tin etc, on a  rack above the base fire. Put the lid on the barbecue ,tin etc
• You may need to replenish the fire material a few times if it stops smouldering
• Leave the vermiculite inside  the covered BBQ /tin /etc for  about 30 mins
• Remove the vermiculite, and store in a sealed container

Follow the makers directions for Method 1.

For method 2 mix a small amount of the smoked vermiculite into the seed raising mix. Sow the seeds in late winter and spring.  Sow the seeds on the surface of the  seed raising mix when the temperatures reach the ideal temp range  of about 18-22 deg C. .Sprinkle the seed lightly with some smoked vermiculite. Do not let the mix completely dry out, but dont waterlog them . Place in a warm shady position.Germination should occur within a month, but can take longer .  Should this occur, set the seed pot aside somewhere and don’t discard as they often germinate when conditions suit them.

We can sometimes supply a very small  amount of smoked vermiculite with your seeds if you ask us .