I recently germinated some Ramonda nathaliae seed, left them under my grow lights, under cover to grow happily to transplant size. Unfortunately the Ramonda are still only tiny with only their seed leaves but moss has taken over the pot. I do this with all my regular (non-alpine) seed and have never had the moss problem because they're usually transplantable well before any moss grows. I have since read that Ramonda grow very slow and should be left in the seed pot for at least a year before transplanting. I'm not discarding the original pot yet although I doubt the little things will survive the moss but I'd like to start another pot. My questions: 1. Should I be using a different seeding mix for alpines ? I am using Premier's Pro-Mix which is peatmoss with perlite and vermiculite. 2. How do I prevent the moss ?
Try using fine grit instead of soil as your top dressing. This seems to work quite well for alpines, and is less subject to moss and liverworts. Depending on seed size, I use chicken grit (tiny seeds) or turkey grit (coarse seed). I also use grit as a pot mulch on moisture sensitive plants when potted on (especially lewisia seedlings) as it helps keep the crowns dry.
Thank you Silver Creek and here's another silly one - do you seed first and then top dress or top dress and seed over ? I think I should also just forget about the indoor lights and do it outside. I know the Lewisias do much better outdoors.
Sow the seed then topdress- very thin layer of grit. Tho I have heard of some growers sprinkling the seed directly into the grit. Lewisias are very easy to germinate if they have dry crowns- they self seed in my pea gravel mulched alpine garden, and will also easily germinate in pots.
