Physaliastrum heterophyllum W/O-0081
20 seeds per packet.
The seeds we offer have been harvested from plants grown by us from seed collected in Tianzhushan, Anqing, Anhui, S.E China. A species in the Solanaceae family that is extremely rare in cultivation and is native to slopes in the forests of China. From fleshy roots it produces multi-stemmed plants with light-green pubescent foliage, erect, hairy stems and a succession of pale, lemon-yellow and greenish, bell-shaped, nodding flowers, which are followed by fruits enclosed in unusual, prickly looking, inflated calyxes. Flowering May to August. Height 30 to 60 cm. Moist, humus rich, well-drained soil in part shade.
GROWING INSTRUCTIONS:
Sow upon receipt (best in autumn). Cover seed thinly, press in gently and keep top of compost from drying out. Keep pot outdoors or in cold frame over winter. Seeds germinate in spring.
Alternatively, if seeds can’t be sown in autumn use the following method: mix seeds with damp vermiculite and place inside a ziplock bag, keep bag somewhere warm for 3 weeks, then place in fridge (not freezer) for 8 weeks. Next spread mixture on top of a pot, thinly cover with compost or grit and keep warm at 15 to 20°C until germination, then move to somewhere cooler.
Carefully prick out seedlings when they have developed true leaves and are large enough to transplant to individual pots for growing on.