6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Seeds can be killed by excess heat. All that was needed was for you put them in a brown paper bag left open and let them dry naturally. There is normally two seeds per hull. I always have several bags of different seeds, in the house drying at this time of year. My wife is not happy with that, but she tolerates it. Al


grew a seedling from seed, guess i am lucky, did not follow instructions online, just ate my apricot and then planted the seed, but first removed the outside pit, forgot to water the darn thing and it nearly died, have it going again, just been watering it, should i do something more?

Ordered online a package of Dinner Plate Hibiscus seeds and I popped ONE seed into a pot and within days, it sprouted! Thinking all my hopes were put into this one seedling... what if something happens to it?
So I planted some four more seeds and this time nothing happened as quickly with all (4). Looked up online how slow the seeds are to germinate, I am amazed at how lucky I was the first time!
Here is a link that might be useful: Pea Soup Designs, Hibiscus

Fairfaxwatch
Are you starting these seeds the same time of year? This time of year the window may be cooking your seeds.
I believe I cooked my second round of pottings by putting them in baggies. The difference was the height of the sun and the temp of the place I put the pots.


I actually want to ask the same question. I just got some seeds. I know they are perennial. But if I sow the seeds now, will the seedlings survive the winter?
Here is a link that might be useful: vegetable gardening tips

laagarden, Papaver orientale is perennial, established plants come back from the roots each year. They often go dormant in summer heat, send out a flush a new growth as weather begins to cool in Fall so I hope you planned for that seasonal 'bare space' when siting yours.
Sara, our seasonal die back and bare ground is much less time than in other parts of the country. The seeds will take about 2 weeks to germinate surface sown at about 68F, if it's much warmer it could take longer - I'm not sure that's likely this year :)
You do run a risk of losing such young plants with a hard freeze as we were exposed to last November, that one was difficult for even some mature established plants. If you sow and plant this season, you may want to be prepared to protect if necessary, pile on the dry leaves, put an upended bucket over them for a few days, or if still in pots, move someplace semi-protected until normal winter weather returns.



I would not put out till after frost (that is my plan and I am in PA) Check out the website below - they have great advise on how to grow lupines.
http://www.snakeroot.net/farm/index.html
Here is a link that might be useful: lupines

Tried growing lupine from seed... planted about a dozen 3 yrs ago in sunny sandy location. One survived and looks healthy but have never had a bloom yet. One source I saw said they are annual and require seed to come back but apparently not so.
This year I purchased about a dozen potted plants, post-bloom, on clearance. They've all wilted way back before I got a chance to plant (though they've been watered regularly) and am nervous they have died off! Any comments? I LOVE lupines and can't wait to get them established in my yard in MN ;)! Thanks, Sarah


I have been very pleased with the performance of Snapdragons. I planted four inch pot size last October in full sun and they bloomed all winter until I took them out in June and replaced with Lantana for the summer months. The removed Snapdragons I planted in a tray in partial shade and cut them way back. They have grown new foliage and look like they may be blooming and ready to replant in the garden this fall. Al

I have the exact same problem -- mine are also in buckets, but I'm growing them outside, so I don't think the problem is that they are being grown indoors, or that you're lighting them artificially.
Did your soil settle a lot since the original planting? My suspicion has been that either (a) I didn't plant the seeds deep enough, (b) the soil was too loose and is settling below their leaf line with watering, or (c) when I thinned, I thinned by leaf size -- I found that the sprouting plants with smaller leaves that I pulled out had much deeper roots, so perhaps waiting to thin until the plants reach this stage is better than thinning early by leaf size.

Do not mistake a pre-emergent with a herbicide. The best known herbicide is sold as Roundup. It only works by being absorbed by growing foliage, it does not affect seed which has not germinated. During the 1950s herbicide was sprayed on fields by aircraft, but because of lawsuits from neighboring property owners from crop damage caused by drifting herbicide the practice was stopped and it is now sprayed by on the ground sprayers. There is also soil sterilizers which prevent growth in the soil for up to a year. Total Kill sounds like one of those. Al



Thank you morz8. I will take your advice and sow heavily. Id rather have a lot of good seedlings to choose from and take the best rather than sow just a handful of seeds and end up with only a couple of seeds germinating.
May I suggest you do a bit of research before planting your seeds. Most coniferous tree seeds need "stratification" before they will germinate. This can be accomplished easily at home by placing the seeds in a small plastic bag (so they won't dry out too much) and putting the bag in the refrigerator for a couple of months