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[Saros]

Anyone have any experience with Voacanga Africana?

I have about 6 of them right now and none of them look particularly happy. They're alive and have been hanging in there since the spring, but the leaves are pale and the bottom ones keep falling off as they're replaced by a new set.. so  all of them end up having only a few sets of leaves. 

I haven't been able to find much growing information on them past the germination stage...   

I have them in a fast draining soil similar to what I have my B. Caapi and P. Alba in although they're obviously from very different parts of the world.  I've tried varying the amount of sunlight and water with no great effect (though they didn't like getting too dry). I think it's something else. Probably my soil. I don't really know much about African plants.. looks like the soil in Ghana is pretty sandy though, so maybe I need to add  some sand to the mix. Anyone have any ideas?

I'll add some pictures when I get a chance to take some.

[Sunshine]

Did you try fertilizing them or changing the pH of the water you give them? Please don't tell me you use tap water.

[Saros]

I have started fertilizing them, first just compost tea, and recently with hydrolyzed fish fertilizer.. I think they have improved a bit since I started with the fish fertilizer. Hard to tell for sure, definitely haven't gotten any worse. So maybe they just need more nutrients.

I water them with well water.. The PH is 7.3

It wasn't a sudden change or anything. They've  pretty much been this way since I brought them outside in the spring. Before that, they were in my aquarium  set up with very high humidity, and a constant 85F, under LED lights. They seemed OK in there at the time, but they outgrew that.. They're out in the world now =) I might try putting one of the smaller ones back in just to see what happens.

[New Wisdom]

I have some seed. Are they hard to grow?  How did you erminate them?

[Sunshine]

7.3 is pretty high.

I think of it like this- In nature plants get rainwater which has a pH of 5.5 (unless its acid rain). As a rule of thumb, if I can't find any information on what kind of water pH a plant likes I water it with rainwater. I think its a safe bet to do that. The majority of plants I grow like it around 6-6.5

I recommend doing a flush with rainwater and adding some nutrients and micronutrients, namely the big 3; N-P-K. I would also add some calcium to the mix to help the plant take up the nutrients.

As far as lighting and humidity goes, it sounds like you were doing a good job.

I actually just planted a Voacanga Africana seed yesterday. Fingers crossed. I hope it sprouts.

Good luck man

[Saros]

New Wisdom: To germinate them, I followed this guide
I had a very high germination rate.. I can't remember the exact number but I think I had something like 24 fresh seeds and I'd say about 20 of them germinated.
A bunch of them damped off when young, I also lost more to to my cats knocking them over in the house, and then chickens knocking them over outside... they've had a hard life. but they weren't particularly hard to grow other than this current issue I'm having with them.


2centprofit: Sounds like good advice. I've got a 55gal drum of rainwater just waiting to be used. Kind of silly that I haven't been watering my plants with that more since it's only about 30 ft from the greenhouse. I just need to hook up a hose=)

Good luck with the lone Voacanga! I noticed that on your list and that's what got me thinking about what mine could be lacking

[Bach]

Thanks for that link Saros. Good information indeed.

To expand on that tek, an experienced grower told me that his key to getting them to germinate is to put them through cycles of being moist and then letting them dry out. He swears by it, and he sent me a couple plants to prove it. I haven't tried it out yet myself though.

Once they are past about five inches tall I have found that they are fairly quick growers. They do like a rich mix which doesn't have to be fast draining as long as they are not over-potted. The roots seems to colonize new pots fairly quickly and mine, which I got as three inch seedlings in the spring are now over two feet and in need of up-potting for the fourth time. Some of the leaves are over a foot long.

I have them outside where they have been subjected to 88-95F day temps, 72-75 at night and all the rain and humidity that the climate here can throw at them.  Morning sun for about two hours then dapple shade the rest of the day. And they LOVE it...

[Saros]

Thanks Bach,

I think I'm going to try repotting a couple into a richer soil mix and move them into a shadier area to see if they fare better than the others.  It might just be a matter of too much sun and soil that they don't like.

[MadPlanter]

What seems to work best for me on a lot of seeds for germination is simply putting them in moist sphagnum moss in a small plastic container at between 75-85 f. This worked for E. coca and novogranatense, T. undulata, V. africana, and T. iboga. After letting out a considerable tap root I potted the seed up to the shell only well covering the root. Works like a charm.