Propagating Platycerium Through Spores

[David]

My P. corronarium had recently produced a spore patch. It has turned brownish in colour and I noticed brownish fuzzy stuff have been falling from it. I guess this is the spores.

So I placed a paper below the spore patch and disturb the brown fuzzy stuff under the spore patch with a pen to collect the spores. Have sprinkled the brown fuzzy stuff on top of wet sphagnum moss in an enclosed container and placed it under artificial lights.

Do I need to do anything else or just wait now? How does the gametophytes look like after they germinate? Do I need to keep the media very wet so that the sperm cells can swim through and reach the eggs? When is it advisable to fertilize the young sporlings?

Thanks. Would appreciate any advise

[David]

Here's some pictures...

Here's the spores and brown fuzzy stuff that I collected form the spore patch.


The spores sowed on wet sphagnum moss.


Covered with only a tiny hole on the cover (North-East of picture) and placed under growlights.

[shawnintland]

Hi David,

Sounds like you're on the right track! I'd recommend putting some in a box with pure peat moss as well. The 'fuzzy stuff' is probably a mix of spores and 'fuzz'. You can separate the spores by tapping them down a sheet of paper or using a nylon stocking over the mouth of a jar (like a salt shaker), but unless you get mold problems it's no big deal. Now it is mostly just waiting. First signs will be a slight greening of the surface, then it'll start to look like moss. Afterwords, single, roundish green discs will become apparent. Do not disturb them until the first 'true' leaves form (like little green flags sticking up in the air). The you can use a tweezers to separate them out into a larger box with more space. I wouldn't fertilize until at least that stage. Regarding wetness; pretty damp but not under water! A light daily misting helps. Good luck!
~Shawn

[David]

Thanks Shawn. My first attempt at growing plants from spores following your example... Ok, I have some more spores which I saved just in case I did something wrong here. Will sow them on sphagnum peat as advised.

I am worried if there is an outbreak of algae or mold. If that happens, what should I do?

[shawnintland]

Plant more! Well, seriously, I often try to plant a few separate boxes at the same time. They don't need to be very big...mine are 2" x 3" x 1" tall and each holds 2,000-7,000 plantlets! The reason I said to try the peat is 1)same as neps - hard to separate on sphagnum and 2) when I switched over my young plants were much more vigorous and deeper green in color.

[David]

Nuts! I forgot that the roots will be entangled on the s.moss. Sigh... gonna have problems transplanting in the future.

[shawnintland]

Its not that big of a deal David. By the time they are ready to tpl. they still have pretty tiny rootlets.