Plant Doctor Archive

Stephanotis from seed

Do you have any advice on raising stephanotis from seed? Our three-year-old vine set fruit the season before last and is finally starting to change colour and looks like it is maturing.

STEPHANOTIS is quite easy to raise from seed, though it's not usual for them to set seed as yours has done. When the seedpod is ripe it should turn quite yellow and start to split open, or you can remove it from the plant and cut it open to get at the seeds. Sow the seeds in a freedraining mix, with just a thin covering of mix over them. Water and place in a warm spot. They should germinate quite freely in a few weeks. Seed-grown plants take several years to reach flowering age compared to those grown from cuttings.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.