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Houstonia rubra

Red Bluet

Family RubiaceaeGenus Houstonia

Also published as Hedyotis rubra. You are in the right place.

Pale pink star flowers with five pointed petals and yellow centers, on a small clump of narrow fleshy leaves in red soil.
FlowerPatrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NMCC0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
subshrubPlants of the World Online
Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
White, pink, red, reddish-purpleWikipedia
Native range
Arizona, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, New Mexico and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributors; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

This source reports three treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 22, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow on the surface — do not cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 14 days to germinate.

38% germination in 14 days.

Light is worth four times the dark.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, HedyotisPublic domain
Show the original text
Hedyotis (Rubiaceae); Species shuttle between this genus and Houstonia. H. rubra germ. 70L(38% in 2nd w) and 70D(10%). A prior 3 m at 40 caused all the seeds to rot.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Hedyotis. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Start around March 15, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

No stated waiting before sowing. Germination time not stated; 21 days assumed.

10% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, HedyotisPublic domain
Show the original text
Hedyotis (Rubiaceae); Species shuttle between this genus and Houstonia. H. rubra germ. 70L(38% in 2nd w) and 70D(10%). A prior 3 m at 40 caused all the seeds to rot.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Hedyotis. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

    All the seeds rotted.

  2. Sow on the surface — do not cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

about 3 months from start to sowing.

0% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, HedyotisPublic domain
Show the original text
Hedyotis (Rubiaceae); Species shuttle between this genus and Houstonia. H. rubra germ. 70L(38% in 2nd w) and 70D(10%). A prior 3 m at 40 caused all the seeds to rot.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Hedyotis. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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