Welwitschia

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to Caudiciform and Pachyform fat plants. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.
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mcvansoest
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Welwitschia

#1

Post by mcvansoest »

I recently acquired a batch of Welwitschia seeds and am about to see about getting those started. I am wondering if anyone on the forum has some experience with them and if so, any tips and/or suggestions to pass along.
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Re: Welwitschia

#2

Post by Stan »

My only experience is with very small plants,2" sized pots- deep pots. Dont let them go too dry. They will die on you like that ( snap fingers).
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Re: Welwitschia

#3

Post by mcvansoest »

Well, here we go. 18 seeds, one per tall pot. Covered with a little bit of pumice before going under plastic. One box with 9 under 50% shade cloth and the other box under my patio where it will only get a few hours of early early morning sun. My buddy who provided the seeds is about a week ahead of me and has had germination on 7 of the 9 seeds he planted... Fingers crossed.
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Re: Welwitschia

#4

Post by Stan »

You might try those extra deep cycad pots with a couple. Its always a case of them being in extra deep pots when I see them at botanical gardens. Compare growth rates. Even if the extra deep is mostly grit or perlite...its for root room,not food.
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Re: Welwitschia

#5

Post by mcvansoest »

These are really deep pots, at least for what I generally use. I use some taller than wide pots for young Agaves, but these are way taller. At least 12" if not a little more... I had to go get extra pumice to be able fill them all with my regular mix of 50% pumice/50% cactus/succulent soil.
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Re: Welwitschia

#6

Post by Stan »

I also -when a volunteer- seeing UC Berkeleys collection of those not the one on display. And they were in black nursery pots MUCH larger then anybody would use for anything else. 30 gallon size for plants that looked 5 gallon? Also..the one on display is in a HOT greenhouse. The ones I saw were in mild-tepid temperatures and looked perfect.

Also Cactus Jordi someplace in soucal,is growing them in ground. Looked good too. Why doesn't he post here? Him and Xenomorph on Davesgarden.
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Re: Welwitschia

#7

Post by mcvansoest »

People are growing them in the ground here and in Tucson, got to cover them if there is a frost, but they seem to be OK as long as the temperatures do not go to far below freezing for too long. Just have to remember to water them. The friend who gave me the seeds has had one growing in a reasonably but not crazy large pot for years (his flowered for the first time this year, but since there was no plant with the opposite sex around he did not get any seed from his plant).
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Re: Welwitschia

#8

Post by mcvansoest »

Well here is nice looking specimen in the green houses at Boyce Thompson Arboretum:
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My grow from seed experiment has been reasonably successful so far. I got 14 out of 18 seeds to germinate, but then probably left them covered too long and overwatered them some as I lost 8. The 6 I have left are doing OK, they are in the phase where I have the hardest time keeping things alive... so fingers crossed.
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Re: Welwitschia

#9

Post by Ann »

This is a great research paper I found on production development of Welwitschia, Welwitschia research

Ernesto Sandoval from UC Davis is also researching Welwitschia and usually has a few for sale when he speaks at our club. I have 2 that are doing quite well. The key seems to be very well draining mix and water frequently, (in my greenhouse, every other day!) Treating like a normal succulent results in the tip drying back dramatically.
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Re: Welwitschia

#10

Post by mcvansoest »

Yeah, I found that unfortunately after I had started my seeds. I did some things different and had some more losses over the winter, but three appeared to be going strong until it got hot.... and dry... I think in the end the conclusion was that I responded to the dry conditions with too much water... just lost my last seedling yesterday, but I got some more seeds and with the info from that study am making some changes and having another go.
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Re: Welwitschia

#11

Post by oddirt »

Ouch, sorry for your mass casualty event. I’ve been experimenting too for the last 4 years or so. Here’s what I’m finding:

They do fine outside in the Bay Area when the temp is above 50. They need acclimation to sun, though.

My most porous mix (no organic, just sifted pumice, lava, calcined clay) is the safest. Anything with organic has killed plants due to how water logged they can get.

They love to stay warm and bright year round, above 70 with a heat mat and they grow like gangbusters in the winter.
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Re: Welwitschia

#12

Post by Stan »

Why public greenhouses keep them in small,if deep, pots and not in ground is a mystery. Like giving away years of free growth and they dont look all that until they get like the ones I saw in a mild,even cool greenhouse in pots near garbage can size. Bryce and UC Berkeley should just plant them in the comfort of a greenhouse.
Sometimes The Dry Garden sells them on occasion. Like you would think sprouted seedlings were around $100. That was then. Today everything is double.
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Re: Welwitschia

#13

Post by mcvansoest »

In the case of the photo I posted I suspect the planting beds in the green house are pretty shallow. They just redid those greenhouses so next time I am there I will see if it is still around and what if anything they have done with them.

Plants for the Southwest in Tucson usually has them for sale. Not sure about price.
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Re: Welwitschia

#14

Post by gave_agave »

I've seen them in situ in Namibia. The local name is tweeblaar-kannie-dood, basically meaning two-leave cannot die. The live in deserts environments on gravel plains. Sometimes in those areas it doesn't rain for year, but sometimes there are heavy rains (some rivers in the area reached the see for the first time in quite a few years last week). Most organisms in the area get water from springs or dew from fog. So I don't think it's surprising to read they need watering quite frequently, but like it dry too.
That might be the reason the public greenhouses don't put them in the ground. If you water them regularly, but want to keep their feed dry, you would probably need to amend the soil to quite a deep level.
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Re: Welwitschia

#15

Post by mcvansoest »

Apparently the deep pots are because they have a long tap root - I guess they tap into a pretty deep aquifer in habitat with that tap root. I have seen that tap root develop when growing the seeds and I wonder if I had watered from below instead drenching from the top, I would have been more successful - providing them with lots of water, but not having the plant sit in wet soil.

If I were to try again that is probably what I will try after the seeds have sprouted and the true leaves have developed.
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Re: Welwitschia

#16

Post by oddirt »

Stan wrote: Sat Feb 19, 2022 10:34 am Why public greenhouses keep them in small,if deep, pots and not in ground is a mystery. Like giving away years of free growth and they dont look all that until they get like the ones I saw in a mild,even cool greenhouse in pots near garbage can size. Bryce and UC Berkeley should just plant them in the comfort of a greenhouse.
Sometimes The Dry Garden sells them on occasion. Like you would think sprouted seedlings were around $100. That was then. Today everything is double.
I saw one at Cactus Jungle a few weeks ago for $125. It was about a year or 2 old. I've been seeing more seeds available through Etsy and eBay recently, about $10/seed.
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Re: Welwitschia

#17

Post by oddirt »

mcvansoest wrote: Sat Feb 19, 2022 12:25 pm Apparently the deep pots are because they have a long tap root - I guess they tap into a pretty deep aquifer in habitat with that tap root. I have seen that tap root develop when growing the seeds and I wonder if I had watered from below instead drenching from the top, I would have been more successful - providing them with lots of water, but not having the plant sit in wet soil.

If I were to try again that is probably what I will try after the seeds have sprouted and the true leaves have developed.
I would think with the deep pot/root combo they'd need to be watered less frequently, as the pot would stay moister at the bottom. The experiments done by Bihrmann are really helpful--and showed that they don't really need deep pots. http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/su ... ir-sub.asp

I keep mine in normally proportioned pots and water from above without any problems, as long as the temp is warm to hot. This one is in the garage disco on a heat mat and high intensity LED lighting. About 2 years from seed, grown warm/hot through the winters.
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Re: Welwitschia

#18

Post by Stan »

A raised bed in a greenhouse or outdoors on a berm in socal or Arizona. Cactus Jordi had his looking great- it was pretty large and in ground someplace in socal. Red soils too. Iron.
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