I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or continue with the one already existing for Lygos raetam, but I chose to start a new topic, since the Lygos raetam thread was quite old. The Plant List seems to be as confusing as it was 3-4 years ago, listing both as accepted names, with R. raetam as a synonym for L. raetam, but not the other way around. Anyhow, I have recently seen Retama raetam and would very much like to have it in my garden in Greece, I wonder if anybody could tell me about their experience with this dry-tolerant plant in this region and if you you seen it for sale here?
I found some seeds which I planted a couple of weeks ago, I dont know if I'll have any luck, since they are said to be very difficult to germinate - about 6 % germination is normal I read somewhere, unless you pretreat the seeds. One of the methods described was passing them through the digestive tract of a donkey or a goat, none of them readily available at the moment, so I have tried various other methods of scarification. Pouring boiling water over the seeds and leaving them overnight made one of them (of a total of about 35) swell nicely. I tried to scarify them with sandpaper, which was impossible, they were too hard, and small, so I finally nicked them (and my fingers) with a small nail clipper, which made them (the seeds, not my fingers) swell in water. If I am lucky, I only damaged the hard outer shell and maybe some of them will germinate.