6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Have the berries dried? Soaking and washing the seed 3 x a day for two weeks should remove most of the pulp and the germination inhibitors there. If you are able to peel some of it back, do that. Easiest would be to crush when fresh, remove the seeds then.
White Echinacea can be grown from seeds. See my blog for information on growing from seeds. Be sure to choose high quality seeds. The chance that the plant survives will be higher ;-)
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening Palace Blog
In a word, No :) It's not quite that easy, if you scarify or do something to allow moisture to breach the seed coat (sometimes simple like an overnight soak), it's still not a rule that all seeds will respond by germinating.
Nature is complex, and the mechanisms that trigger germination more complicated than that seed coat. Seeds don't germinate naturally in the wrong place at the wrong time, conditions must be right for the survival of the plant.
That can be a dry periods before moisture is introduced, a prolonged chill that would mimic a damp winter, fire for some prairie plants seeds, how it is dispersed from the plant (does it float or blow away, is it eaten by birds and rodents) - many different things. Sometimes considering the origin of the seed, the type of plant that produced it and the environment of its natural 'homeland' gives the clues as to what is needed for germination. In other words, best is to look up each seed, proceed from there with the suggestions that have worked most often for others.
I went to Tony Avent's article on Baptisias (thanks to the mention here), and tried the boiling water method with seeds I had collected last year. They started germinating in days! Yippee! Will be transplanting them hopefully in a week or two.
Definitely wait until the seed pods have hardened and turned brown- as mentioned they will rattle around and a few will probably have started to open up. If you don't want to start them this year- next spring will be fine.
I've had good luck with "Silver Lace Vine".
No fruit with that vine....but pretty ...and fast-growing....and hardy in cool/cold areas. It doesn't seem to mind what soil OR whether it's Sunny OR Shady.
My soil is generally alkaline (ph of about 7-7.5) and mostly caliche clay. It really thrives with some added compost.
The rest of the seeds, except for one, have sprouted! So I have 80-90% germination over a few tries by cracking the seed and repeatedly soaking in warm-hot water. Initial soakings lasted a few days, and then they went into a paper towel full time, with one more soaking in a two week period before germination. Some I left in the woody husk and it takes a bit longer, but germination still occurred.
I completely lost about 1 in 6 or 7 seeds because of the cracking process, but even with a bit of seedcoat damage, germination still occurred on some of the seeds, and in the lack of stratification still makes it worth it to me. Plus, there are two seeds in each husk, so even if one is lost, you will probably get one out of a damaged husk removal.
PS- These seeds were dried, not fresh, and I am not sure if that makes a difference to the process.
I have read a research paper from China that seedling from seed will have good root system with a main tap root that goes down. So you will not get many root suckers that always happen with those seedling that comes from root sucker. Those have shallow root system and spreading.
I definitely will try too root the seed to see how it goes.
We have indeed reached out to a seed specialist at Cornell as well.
The seeds came to the Hamilton College Special Collections as part of a gift of Shaker ephemera. We are trying to find out a bit more about the provenance of the seeds. At this point all we know is that some years ago an original Shaker box of seeds was found in some rural shop...and individual packets were sold to collectors. The head of our Special Collections thinks he knows who has the box itself and he is making further inquires. The college is acquiring a larger group of seed packets in the near future, many of them unopened with the seeds. The packets in the photo were opened by a conservator to protect the integrity of the packets as well as the seeds. We will attempt to grow only a small portion of the seeds from the packets.
Will keep you updated as we learn more.
I should think that either Cornell or the Smithsonian should either know or else know where to refer you. The only reason for contacting someone at, let's say regjeringen.no perhaps, is in the case of Cornell and the Smithsonian saying we don't know.
I often "cold stratify" my seeds for several weeks before planting by putting them in the refrigerator. The thought behind this is that the seed senses the warmth once it comes out of the colder temperature, and decides it's spring. This doesn't work for all seeds, but you might want to try it with at least some of yours. If the seeds are mature, collect them, let them air dry for a few days inside, and then put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until things cool down.
Many sites, for example; Cold Stratify and Cold Stratification say to add a bit of moisture along with the seeds in the bag in the refrigerator.
I'd expect a mix up like that to be fairly rare, but you should know that it can happen even if you order your seeds on line or from a catalog.
Many (most?) of us far prefer to order by mail order from a seed company because the variety is so tremendous and the seeds fresher.
Whatever you decide to do next year, you can spare yourself several months of research by looking at and comparing pictures of seeds on line. For example, there's a huge difference between pumpkin and squash seeds. You'll see that when you buy the seeds next year.
You should also check out the Seed Exchange right here at GW! There are lots of friendly folk willing to trade seeds, and often offer seeds for SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) to newbies like yourself.
Also, your local Farmer's Co-Op is a pretty reliable place to purchase veggie seeds.
Nearly all soilless potting mediums use peat as the primary ingredient; seed germinating mixes are just finer textured. That's not about to change anytime soon. But it is not that difficult to prevent fungus gnat infestations. It's great to get a several week jump start on our veggies and flowers, but not if those gnats become a nuisance.
I'm going to suggest that you fill your flats with a good potting mix....one that you might use for your houseplants....perhaps with perlite added for even better porosity. Then add a good dusting of your seed starting mix on top.
Water your flats thoroughly with a gentle spray so that you don't compress all of the air out of the mix. Sow your seeds on top of the moist and drained flats, then dust a layer of the starting mix on top. Use a plant mister to completely saturate the seeds and that final layer. After draining again, cover the flat so that you won't have to water again while the seeds are germinating.
Once the seeds have germinated, begin to expose the flats to real air and sunlight. If the top layer becomes crusty, keep the surface gently stirred. Use a pencil or a bamboo skewer for the job.
A crust will prevent the flat from drying uniformly and can create a great environment for the fungus gnats.
Seedlings should NOT stay in that fine-textured starter mix for any longer than it takes for them to reach a transplanting size. That is just a matter of days. If you are growing plants in that stuff....stop. Adapt to that dusting technique and your seedlings will be much better off.
The secrets to preventing these pests aren't secret at all. Use a good, porous soilless medium with only a tiny layer of the starter stuff; provide good air circulation and lots of light; do not over water. I never sterilize my potting or propagating mediums.
Mosquito dunk-water works great....use it only when you would ordinarily water, not more.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that lots of people have problems with Miracle grow. The peat must be too finely milled
to create a porous, fast draining medium.
Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your knowledge. I never saw anymore gnats--I did cut back on the watering for a bit. So I guess I jumped to conclusions to quickly. Anyhow, I made note of all this info and will know what to do if I do get them next time. And I'm looking for a different soil--thanks again and have a wonderful day:-)