I've plagiarized myself from another site to bring this here. Enjoy!
Once one learns the conditions that Pv likes it is not a difficult plant, but getting the feel for it can be tricky at first.
Each berry usually contains two seeds. Fresh berries are best if you are lucky enough to get some. Seeds still in dried berries are OK.
Clean dried seed is likely dead or in deep dormancy and are far more difficult to germinate.
If you have fresh seed, mash the berry flesh off them and rinse. Dried berries can be sown as is. Whichever way you receive them give them a short soak in some H2O2 or dilute bleach to keep molds at bay. If using sphagnum (NOT peat moss) to germinate you can safely skip the soaking.
The main thing to remember is that humidity is the key when they are young. Humidity dome, greenhouse and outside in the summer heat & humidity are all good. Dry air for long periods is not. If the air is on the dry side, they like to be given a good misting from time to time. My adult plants are between five and eight feet tall, so I give 'em a good dousing with the hose if they need it. This is important because the leaves tend to stick together when sprouting from the ends of the branches, and they need humidity to help them separate. Otherwise they end up all crinkly and deformed looking.
Some parts of their natural range are prone to flooding for extended periods, so they are well adapted to lots of water. Adult plants handle this well. That said, I never keep seedlings in soggy soil. Damp, yes, but not waterlogged.
The second thing to remember is that these are SLOW plants for the first couple years. Slow to germinate, up to six months or so, and slow growing. Patience is very important. For those who have grown cactus from seed, Pv will be familiar territory.
The third thing is that they are understory plants in habitat and so don't need large amounts of light. Flouros are good for seedlings, a windowsill (east or even north facing) will do, dapple shade outside is great once they get bigger. An hour or two of direct morning sun makes mine very happy, flowering and fruiting more profusely than those in deeper shade all day.
So, to germinate what I do is fold them into a damp paper towel and seal them inside a ziploc bag. Bottom heat helps, especially when trying to germinate them during winter. I have a few aquariums in my house with flouro fixtures in the hood. I just lay the baggie on top of the light housing and they seem to like that a lot. A heat mat would work well, of course, or on top of the refrigerator. Anywhere there is nice even, gentle heat. They don't need much light at all to germ.
They are easy to inspect for germination or (dare I say it) mold problems when using the ziploc method. Once I have them set in place I forget about them for about two months. Then I begin checking ever week or two for germination. As soon as the root emerges they can be GENTLY removed from the paper towel and placed in a small pot with any good potting mix. I usually add some additional perlite and some time release fertilzer such as Osmocote. Don't forget to keep them humid after potting up. Use a humidity dome of some sort or seal the pots in ziploc bags. This is the time to put them under flouros.
The other method is to sow the seeds in some sphagnum moss in small pots. Sphagnum is good because it inhibits mold growth.
Seal the pots up in ziplocs and you are good to go.
If you are lucky some might pop within three weeks. Others can take a full six months. Average is about two to three months.
Did I mention Pv is a great teacher of patience?
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Topic: Germination of Psychotria seeds? (Read 19376 times)