6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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.
Maple seeds do not need a cold period before sprouting. We have sugar maples, silver maples, and a few other in our yard and our neighbors yard. Every single year, not even a week after the seeds fall, they start sprouting and we have to pull them by the hundreds out of our gardens. Stick it in some dirt, water it, and forget about it. it WILL grow!And fast at that! We have 8 trees that we have let go and in 3 years time, most are 15 feet tall.
I am sure it is too late to help your particular problem, but for the future, I will comment. When you transplant seedlings the plant will often need to be tented to be able to maintain close to 100% humidity to prevent wilting for a week or two. It is best to also keep them out of direct sun for a few days. This of course will vary depending on the species. Al
Mutations in sunflowers are not uncommon. But sometimes, mutations can be caused by a virus-like disease called Asters Yellows. The occasional mutation can be interesting. But when all of the sunflowers you've planted become disfigured, you won't be happy about it.
Just keep an eye on all of the plants in your garden. If you notice a trend of mutations in many species, then it would be easy to conclude that Asters Yellows has been introduced. It affects many different kinds of plants and is passed from one to another by leaf hoppers.
However, if you only find the occasional anomoly.....enjoy!
The seeds don't just drop when ripe, they are dispersed by the opening pod - flung...sometimes quite a ways. You haven't found any sweeping your patio, black and sized of BBs?
You might try bagging (squares of nylon stocking and a twist tie) some of the flower heads. My own are not ripe yet but this is a cool Z8 and we haven't had much in the way of summer ripening weather here on the coast..
Here is a link that might be useful: 
I don't soak peas or beans just in case something comes between starting to soak them and getting them into the ground - bad weather, sudden other commitments etc. I can't guarantee to be able to get out to the garden at the right time. But I do water the bottom of the drill when I sow.
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 just collected some baptisia seeds from pods that were dark brown and dry (the seeds were beginning to fall out of them). Can I plant them now or should I store them until just before the spring?