6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

I didn't know what species 'Bottle Gentian' was, so I Googled. Instructions for propagation are at the link. If your winters are 40 degrees or less for 3 months this sounds like a prime subject for winter sowing. There's a Forum here on GW for that technique.
Here is a link that might be useful: Gentiana andrewsii

I realize my answer only applies to crawling insects; in the spring my seedlings can get wiped out by crawling insects. This last spring I placed each flat on a brick that had duct tape dangling all the way around the 4 edges. The bugs got trapped in the sticky tape and never made it to the seedlings. Of course the sticky part is facing towards the ground.
If available stack two bricks under the flat to raise the tape high off the ground. I just planted 4 flats and will do the brick/tape trick tomorrow.
For a lot of flats there are a lot of ways to raise the flats as a group (I use plastic grids/grills) then only put the bricks with tape under the entire system at 4 or 6 points.
That doesn't address your flying insect issue. I started spraying this year for the first time for the ones that fly. I mainly do flowers.
Bob

When the seeds start germinating, if you do not remove the plastic, your seedlings will suffer from fungus at the soil level, causing them to collapse. More seedlings are lost from too much moisture, than from too little. Move your lights closer and install a fan to move the air around. Al

General comments about growing bamboo from seed (1) Many of the species flower once every 100 years (2) To germinate seed do not cover seeed soil temp for germination 65-75F (3) seed MUST be "fresh" and most of the seed is steril
Division still best method

I'm not sure how small these are - could you lay them on a rag after soaking, give them a rub with the edge of it? Sometimes a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid in the soaking water will help to loosen any pulp, especially if sticky or oily (like magnolia).
I like sterile vermiculite for the moist chill, or sterile moist sand. It only takes a teaspoon or two for many seeds in a small ziplock and at the end of the chill period the contents, seeds + vermiculite, can be sown without extracting the seeds again. Others will use the coffee filters but I'm not a fan of them.

Thank you for the information! I'll try perlite, it seems similar to vermiculite.
The seeds with the flesh attached didn't look as developed as the rest and the flesh is right where the root should come out. But they looked very nice, vibrant after the cold stratification in soil and still had that brownish stuff attached to them. Well, I'll try to rub them. Thanks!


I don't see how one compressed peat pellet would be any different than any other. The hydrafarm pellets appear to be lacking the webbing of the jiffy, so that some sort of unit which will keep them contained as they expand will be necessary.


I am growing a few dogwood/cornus from seeds. I have not had much luck with purchased potted dogwoods. I agree with planting the seeds outdoors now. Let the weather do its' thing over the winter months. My cornus floridas only got about 3" tall the first year. Others grew faster. Protect them from wildlife chewing them up. I stake a "tube" of chicken wire around them. Then I don't run over them with the lawn mower either. Keep them protected for several years (or longer).


Jello is gelatin. It is commonly used for bacterial cultures. I wouldn't use that. Water Gel that is used for cut flowers are polymers that have been shown to hold on to water pretty tightly. I would think agar is the way to go. You would basically be starting seeds in what amounts to tissue culture. Yes, it will work. People start hard to germinate seeds in vitro all the time. You will want to make sure to sterilize your seeds before putting them on the agar.
here are a couple of good places to start.
home tissue culture site
Well there were going to be a couple of links, but yahoo groups are blocked, so you'll have to find your way to the yahoo tissue culture page yourself. It contains quite a bit of very valuable information.