GROWING SUPPLIES: Smoke Primer Discs * Smoke Paper Discs * Seed Primer

Primer discs and smoke treatment

• In their natural habitat, many rare and difficult to germinate seeds only germinate after bushfires as the heat and the toxins in the smoke help to break down the protective seed coat
• As South Africans, we all love a lekker braai....but if you're like me a skaap tjoppie or three will do. To smoke seeds yourself you would need to burn dried brush plant material in a small, enclosed area such as a polyethylene tent. However, not every botanist, horticulturist, carni fan or home gardener has a smoke tent, nor is it always possible or desirable to light an open fire to get smoke or go through the hassle
• Fortunately there are far easier ways nowadays to accomplish the same, and often better, results. Smoke primer discs is a general purpose germination stimulant. It's very easy to use - simply dunk the smoke paper disc in a glass with some water and soak the seeds for 24 hours or longer (we even have a very quick instruction leaflet here). Each disc is made of absorbent paper, impregnated with fynbos-smoke-saturated water and then dried for our use
• One disc will be good for roughly 100 seeds. It can also be cut into smaller pieces for use on smaller seed quantities and the remaining pieces stored in the fridge for later use

Recommended for 

• All difficult to germinate seeds, particularly Australian, New Zealand and some South African drosera species
• We use it to speed up germination in all byblis seeds with the exception of byblis liniflora, tuberous drosera and difficult to germinate winter-growing South African sundews such as cistiflora, pauciflora, hilaris and others.  These are also great for non-carnivorous seeds such as stylidium, proteas, palms, cycads and more