I thought I grew sugar cane this past summer, but came to find out I was sold red sorghum and not true sugar cane seeds. I was highly disappointed. Everything grew so well after direct sowing and no inputs either (beside water). I live in central Arizona, we get all four seasons, but summers are very long and hot. I imagine this sorghum could take off nearly anywhere as it’s G1 life was extreme.
If anyone is looking for sorghum and has true sugar cane seeds to swap, I’d be so happy to do so. Any recommendations on where I can get my hands on true sugar cane seeds from a legitimate source, I’ll still give you my seeds!
If it makes you feel better, I did the same thing. Thought I bought “sugar cane seeds” and was excited because it’s unusual (like true potato seeds or true sweet potatoes). I ended up with just normal sorghum. I guess on a positive note, the chickens were happy.
Yup, I figured I wasn’t the only one lol. Also thought if anywhere, goingtoseed people would have some legit back yard growers to source true seed. If I get my hands on any, I’ll let you know
I might be in the same boat. I ordered sugarcane seeds from an Ebay seller, but when I got them, they looked exactly like sorghum seeds. I contacted the seller to ask about it, and he acted mortally offended that I was questioning the integrity of his listing. So I really hope they were real sugarcane seeds . . . but I don’t know what real sugarcane seeds look like. I did a Google image search, but couldn’t find anything helpful.
Does anyone have a picture of what real sugarcane seeds look like? Do they look exactly like sorghum?
Good news is that I propagated some sugar cane plants from a big cane I bought over a month ago. If sugar cane doesn’t suffer from genetic depression, and I get some seeds from it, I’ll share the true seeds here
Awesome! If nothing else, it would be great for all of us to see pictures of what the seeds look like. That may help us know how to tell the difference between sugarcane and sorghum seeds!
I was curious and after some internet searching I couldn’t find anything definitive. The seeds shown for sale all looked pretty much the same as the large seeded sorghum I have. And nothing from a source that seemed reliable to show this is definitely what true sugar cane seed looks like.
Seems most sugar cane is hybrids, like everything else. I know David the Good was growing sugar cane. Perhaps someone could buy a variety of cuttings from old varieties then try to get true seed. Idk if it needs specific conditions for seed or what though.
Good idea! David would be a good source for sugar cane. I can ask if he’s ever had any that went to seed. My guess is the probability of sugar cane are now genetically depressed due to growing from canes instead of seeds, is very high. There’s a guy who is reversing seed development problem of garlic in Oregon (https://www.garlicana.com/), so why not sugar cane!
Yes, David the Good would be a great person to ask! He might know if sugarcane is known to make seeds, and if so, exactly what those seeds look like. What a great idea of a person to go to!
I ordered sugarcane seeds from an Ebay seller, but when I got them, they looked exactly like sorghum seeds. I contacted the seller to ask about it, and he acted mortally offended that I was questioning the integrity of his listing. So I really hope they were real sugarcane seeds . . . but I don’t know what real sugarcane seeds look like. I did a Google image search, but couldn’t find anything helpful.
If nothing else, it would be great for all of us to see pictures of what the seeds look like. That may help us know how to tell the difference between sugarcane and sorghum seeds!