Germination of T.iboga Seeds

Christ, that sounds hard... Even growing this in soil is apparently crazy. What the hell happened to: put a seed in dirt, water, grow? Maybe I miss the point? Maybe God makes it difficult to grow so that only the 'right' people cultivate it...meaning those with honorable intentions, not some kid with too much time on his hands and a list of psychoactive plants from the internet. Still..work sucks.

Well, Cal, ya gotta remember that there are people out there who are not slackers.  And thank the Goddess for that, otherwise people like us would be in deep caca...    ~et

I am going to ask a friend what he can share about growing conditions. I think it's a great idea, and I have no experience, here. Let's talk seeds if this still seems doable. On sprouting, poppycock. I did it, and it wasn't hard. 2/5 ratio. I wonder if anyone has done this yet. T

I found another source for T. Iboga Seeds, not sure if anyone has had experience with this supplier from Australia.  5 seeds for 9.99 AU dollar, which is around $11-12 for 5. Doesn't sound too bad.  They won't ship live plants out of Australia, but seeds are no problem.  I got a confirmation from the seller.  Shipping is a little steep at $15 international, but it may be worth it if they germinate. http://www.herbalistics.com.au/shop/product_info.php?cPath=3_13&products_id=633 I was giving serious thought to Hydroponics.

Always good to see you fallout! Thanks for the heads up, that's about the best prices I have seen. I'm going to ask a friend of mine who is a vendor, if I can find a secure source there, I will share the good news.

Yeah, thanks fallout! If you are interested in aeroponics, here is a link to DIY Aeroponics:     http://forum.grasscity.com/advanced-growing-techniques/239837-how-diy-aeroponics.html Too bad the person used his setup to grow that vile deadly weed, cannabis, which he will undoubtedly sell to school kids to get them hooked...   What I have seen on the web re: iboga is that getting fresh seeds in the pod results in higher germination rates than using loose seeds.  So it might be necessary to start 10 just to get one  --  no telling how long they may have sat on the shelf. ~et PS  --  I think that having the root chamber vertical instead of horizontal would encourage more root growth.  ~e

Good info. Eon, thanks for the advice!  Always good to hear from you Cal! Peace Guys!

Eon, on germinating, call me when you're ready to try. It's Not That Hard. Seriously! Tia

Thanks, Tia! I have no current plans to grow anything new at this time  --  my future is too uncertain.  I cannot bear the thought of bringing some beautiful little sprouts into this cruel world only to abandon them... (sob sob) ~e

I planted 80 seeds that were 6 months old and 30-36 seeds germinated 3-5 weeks later. I used moist vermiculite to remove the seed coats that that were stuck on the plants. Almost 12 months to the day 4-5 plants started to flower, the plants were about 1 foot tall. Now the plants are 1 year 9 months old and there are roots coming out of the stems all over and cuttings will be made soon. I will try to get pics and post them. If anyone needs seeds I will have 3000 fresh seeds within 1-3 weeks. Feel free to PM me. -roach

Welcome nicol!  That's very kind of you!  I am interested in hearing whatever you have to say about your cultivation experience, and would probably be interested in the seeds, as well.  It would be awesome if you could snap a few pics, even, if at all possible.  Thanks a bunch!

roach! Wow, welcome and thanks! I'm interested in how you used vermiculite to remove seed coats. What I did was just sprayed them often during the day to keep the coats moist enough to come off easily. I am so very happy to hear there are folks growing. It's been a niggle in the back of my head since I learned about ibo that we are using a finite African resource. I heard from a friend that the plants do indeed flower early, glad to be learning more. peace T

Yes, welcome nicol.  Could you expand on your germination process.  I'm all open for tips myself.  Did you use an artificial lighting source? Did you use a humidity chamber? What type of soil did you use...or was it hydroponics?  Sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious and wanting to learn.  I recently attained 10 seeds and am starting the germination process.  I basically followed Tia's process of using Organic Potting soil and placing some Sphagnum peat moss on top of the seeds as well as using an artificial lightening source during the day.  I also made a small humidity chamber with pure perlite at the bottom of the chamber and then placing the pot with the seeds within this chamber on top of the perlite. Perlite does hold water very well, so I thought using this would help the overall humidity within the chamber. Tia and anyone else: Is using perlite going to far in adding humidity? Thanks

I haven't grown iboga, but I know using perlite in a dome will keep humidity high, and probably a few nice fresh air exchanges and mistings a day would be good, so they could breathe.

Thanks nicol - welcome. Be interested in hearing how the cuttings take too!

Thanks wolfmoon, I certainly have air exchange holes at the bottom of the chamber, as well as some on the top plastic wrap that is covering it.  Thanks for your response. Same here Cal, would like to hear how they grow roach. Peace

Ja mon, cuttings would be berry berry cool!  Just saw it written that both the primary (tap) root and secondary (feeder) roots are used for their medico-spiritual properties in Africa.  (Dang, shoulda got the link!)  Am wondering:  Would it be possible to do root-division with a bunch of feeder roots? The only sad news is that it takes from 3 to 4 years for plants to get to minimal size in their home environment. Has anyone heard about 'rock iboga' that grows on top of a rock?  Wonder what kind of rock is preferred?  Thinking it might be possible to set up a plant on top of a rock, bonsai style, and use hydro/aero-ponics... Good to meet you, roach!  As you can see, many of us found your post very interesting. Welcome! guenevere_walks

Sounds very interesting Eon, I was wondering myself in regards to germination on top of a rock based substrate in some sense.  Looks like Hydo/aero-poincs would be a very cool experiment.

Hey everyone, Germination Process: Seeds were planted into Jiffy pellets and put into a standard 72 compartment propagation chamber such as the one found here http://www.atlantishydroponics.com/Plant-Propagation-Tools/Viagrow-Complete-Propagation-and-Cloning-Kit.asp I'm not a fan of the Jiffy pellets but it was all I had at the time. One advantage of using Jiffy pellets over soil or a potting mix was that I could check each pellet to see if the root was starting to come out the bottem and remove a bit of the soil from the top so the seed head didn't get stuck. The propagation chamber was placed on a heat mat ( http://www.atlantishydroponics.com/Plant-Propagation-Tools/Super-Sprouter-Super-Sprouter-Seedling-Heat-Mat-10x21.asp ) and Sun Blaster 54 watt lights were turned on for 24 hours a day. After 3 weeks iboga sprouts started to pop out of the soil. If the seed coat didn't come off by itself take moist vermiculite and cover the seed head for 12-24 hours. Shake or dust off the vermiculte then slowly remove the seed coat with your fingers. A small amount of force is used. Becareful not to rip the young sprout in half. 5-6 weeks later the seedlings will planted into 8 inch pots and placed inside a mini greenhouse. I have a fogger setup to come on for 8 seconds every 10 min, the lights are left on 24 hours a day and the door is open a bit for fresh air. Hope this helps. I should be able to get pics within a 2-4 weeks.  -roach PS I live in Canada and T.iboga is legal here.

Thanks for link to the germination chamber and additional information roach, peace!

I've split the "Hydroponics" thread because we were getting off on a different topic: and one I'd like to see have its own discussion. So, if there are any more ideas considering germination teks, cuttings, etc. we can now post them here. I'd love to see more on this, and hopefully soon we can see a grow log. Thanks, brightwillow.

Very good Cal, thanks.

Thanks, nicol. The method I used was passed on to me, I germinated 3/5, ended up with two. Unfortunately, they were fried when a loving helper changed the bulb for me using a much higher wattage. It happens. I got a clear plastic tub with lid and mutilated a desk lamp to fit into it, cord out the hole in the bottom. I put the seeds in a small terra cotta pot. Moistened organic potting soil 3/4 up the pot, the seeds placed on top, not pushed in, not covered. On top of that some sphagnum moss, about an inch and a half. Kept the moss moist with a spray bottle. I would take the lid off the makeshift terrarium during the day, well, not off, but agley, for air circulation. At night I would leave the smallest crack to preserve heat. I learned about misting the seedcoat from the first sprout. The seed coat was hard and dry, I didn't think I should mess with it, though. I'd kept the environment moist enough, I thought, but apparently not. I would spray the sides of the terrarium a couple times a day. The first sprout withereed in it's coat. The next two did great, was misting with a spray bottle a few times a day. Mold was a small issue initially. I put a drop of hydrogen peroxide on the seeds, let it sit about a minute, then rinsed them. Tia

I"m wondering if I'm introducing too much humidity within the chamber with the Perlite at the bottom.  I guess I'll find out

The humidity should be fine as long as you have the heat.

Sounds good roach, heating pad is taking care of that.  I realize also that airflow is important to prevent harmful fungus.

Loving this thread folks' Awesome stuff' am looking forewards to seeing some pics of these darling little plants' Much good energies to you all' Bliss! Nobu +

Beautiful plant   So far only 1 germinated, but I'm thankful! Thanks

Awesome fallout! Keep up the good work!

Gorgeous!!!  Keep that beauty humid, and loved!  And keep up the good work!

Love it! Nice job Fallout

Very much humid and loved  thanks torrie_learns

Tia in particular, anyone else, has your, 1 left lived on to tell? How old now and have you or anyone else taken cuttings? And what was the wattage of the initial (prior to the well intentioned change) artificial light source?

I'm a killer. But the initial wattage was 25.

Unfortunately I left mine outside for about an hour in the pot during July weather.....very bad mistake, the roots burned, it dried up and never recovered  I'll have to try again in the spring! I certainly used an artificial light source and a heating pad, and was growing very well, prior to my mistake.