Turraea obtusifolia
I am trying to grow this plant from both seeds & cuttings, and am having less than 1% success rate. I have tried starting seeds in moist paper towels, soil less potting mix, peat, sand and oasis cubes. In a greenhouse, under a grow light and even in a plant incubator. I have tried cuttings with and without rooting hormone, in sand, peat & soil less mixes, and also using hydroponics. The seeds have been both fresh from a company in South Africa and older ones from France. I have taken both woody and new growth cuttings. I have even tried layering a stem from the 1 plant I was given & that has produced no roots, although the exposed end is still growing. The two seeds that did germinate took over 3 months to come up & one has since died. So far only one hydroponic cutting has produced roots & that took 2 months. I have planted over 300 seeds. Never have I been so frustrated trying to grow a plant!!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
This message was edited Sep 16, 2010 2:11 PM
Turraea obtusifolia
Here's something I picked up off the internet.
"Turraea obtusifolia will perform at its best if grown in well-drained but moist, nutrient-rich, loamy, humus-rich soil in a warm, sunny, semi-shaded or lightly shaded position. It needs water in summer but will tolerate drought during winter. It is sensitive to strong winds and frost. It is quite quick to get going from seed but is slow-growing and long-lived. Prune to shape. Use it as an ornamental shrub in the garden or a specimen in a container.
Propagate by seed or cuttings. Sow fresh seed soon after harvesting in autumn-winter, or keep the seed cool and dry (not frozen) and sow in spring. Clean off the fleshy orange layer and sow 2 mm deep in well-drained, sterile soil, and place the trays over bottom heat of 28°C. Take softwood or herbaceous cuttings of the new growth that is hardening, in spring to summer. Use a rooting hormone and place the cuttings in a mist unit with bottom heat of 28° C. "