Topic: Removing seed coat

[Stoney]

Everyone including myself seems to have trouble removing the seedcoat. Well, maybe roach has no problem but the rest of us often do. I was using moss draped over the seed to soften the coat and spritzing it with water. But the moss didn't want to stay on, it fell off or blocked some of the light. I tried toilet paper and it works great. I cut little strips of paper and drape them over the seedcoat after it comes up. I use 2 layers of tissue and wet them thoroughly. It holds  the moisture and later i can easily remove the coat. I keep plastic wrap over the top to prevent drying until the seedling is free. I hope this helps.

[rho]

Good advice Stoney, I will try that on some seedlings.

My current strategy has been to keep the seeds in wet moss until they are fully soaked and start sprouting, and then to pick most/all of the coat off gently with my fingernail before planting them in coir. I have tried placing a wet cotton ball over the seed in the past, but the seeds I was experimenting with all rotted.. it's hard to say if that happened because they were too moist or if the seeds were duds. I always keep my seedlings in small plastic bags on top of a heat mat to keep them warm and moist.

I still haven't gotten a seedling to the leafy stage yet so take my advice with a grain of salt .

[Stoney]

I've been using 50-50 moss and perlite to sprout them. After sprouting and removing the coat i put them into regular potting soil with some perlite. It's a real shame none of yours have survived yet, rho. I lost quite a few tropical plants when i started working with them. You learn from your mistakes and get better. Another tropical i work with is e. novogranatense.

I sometimes put the sprouting seeds in a small container in a plastic bag or just wrap plastic wrap over the top of the container. I don't know why yours rotted when you used cotton. I like the tp because it conforms to the shape of the seeds kind of sticking to them and keeping them moist. I think several layers are better than just one.

Someone mentioned a white brain-like layer under the seed coat. I just peeled a seedcoat off and i noticed that when i scraped the outer coat but did not remove it all, under the surface it did look white and brain like. It was the under layer of the seed coat. Under that is the wrinkled up leaf which will be pale or even white if not enough light got to it. If the stem is green you are usually ok to remove the coat. I wait until the seed comes up some and you can see the stem. The wrinkled leaf looks a tiny bit like a brain but not as much as the coat. Usually the coat comes off all in one layer but sometimes not.

After transplanting the seedling i keep plastic wrap over it for a day or two, gradually opening it and letting the seedling get used to drier air. Be sure to not give it any sun or too bright light at this stage. They don't like sun at any age. Light ferts with each watering.

[rho]

Thanks for the invaluable information, stoney. It was me who wasn't taking off the white shell part of the seedcoat. But, I think I only lost 1 seedling due to that, and now I've removed it from about 6 germed seedlings to reveal little plants! Here are pics of the white seedcoat on, half removed, and then off.

[goatboy]

Very nice!