Roseland

	Seed should be sown fresh, i.e. straight from the sticky goo in the pod. Wash this off (in a sieve) Interesting idea was told me by a Chilean email contact who gives his fresh pods to his grand children, their job is to put the goo and seeds in their mouths, swirling and sucking off all the sweet goo before spitting the now clean seeds onto the pots! I tried this and the fruits are lovely and it seems I get even better germination then sow in gritty ericaceous compost, a number of seeds can be sown to a pot, cover seed to a depth of about 5mm and I find a layer of grit or "Perlite" over this is good for preventing drying out (this is very important - do not let seed pots go dry) water just enough to keep moist without becoming wet. I have had good results recently using sealed bags for the pots as this avoids having the compost and seed becoming dry during germination (you do have to make sure the bags come off once you notice the first shoot appear! This picture shows what fresh seed (on the left) looks like in comparison to dry seed (on the right) If you have dry seed soak it until it looks all plumped up (change water regularly) Place seed pots somewhere at ambient temperature like a cold frame or under a cool greenhouse bench, avoid high temperatures. (I get very good results by first placing the sown seed in a beer cooler for 4 weeks , then either mild bottom heat or natural temperatures. (but results on a shaded window sill are just as good) Newly germinated seedling below. Seedlings sit like this for some time so be patient! Watch for snail & slug attack, preventative action is a good idea. and also watch for aphids and treat immediately if seen. Even a few aphids quickly kill seedlings. After about 6 months the pot of seedlings will look like this below, other than watching for pests and watering, pots can be given the occasional liquid feed depending on how much food the original seed compost contained (I use 18 month osmocote so tend not to liquid feed) At some point after about 1 year the seedlings will start to make extension growth as below, when most of the seedlings have gone away like this its time to pot them individually. Take great care with the roots as they are brittle and will be tangled together. When seedlings have more than one stem and are growing strongly as below they can move to 1.5-2lt containers, in a further 2 years they will reach flowering size. All in all it takes about 5 years for seeds to become flowering plants, about 1 year longer than a cutting. Results are unpredictable colour wise, but I have yet to see a "bad" seedling, all will be beautiful.