6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
There's nothing better than a nice garden! Okay, well maybe I can think of a couple things, but that's besides the point.
This year we decided to do more of the Heirloom and Non-Hybrid varieties so we can learn to save our seeds year after year.
We bought a seed kit from a company called SeedsNow.com. They had a crazy deal where we ended up get almost 60,000 seeds and 50 varieties of the non-hybrid types I was looking for. Definitely got some good seed this year.
I got worried at one point this summer though because it was so hot for a week straight. But now it's like an edible rain forest in my backyard :)
prhart - you can effectively stratify White Swan (or any other) Echinacea seed yourself very easily by winter sowing the seeds. Check out the Winter Sowing forum here on GardenWeb and read the FAQs. I'm actually summer sowing White Swan Echinacea from commercial seeds at the moment and they sprouted in just 7 days. Germination appears to be about 60% so far but I expect more will sprout in the days ahead.
I prepared a recycled milk jug with drainage holes, filled the lower half with growing medium, moistened it and sprinkled the seeds on the surface. I did not cover the seeds. Stuck a label in the jug, closed it with duct tape and set it in the shade on my breezeway. The seeds were Burpee, bought at a discount outlet for 50% off.
I have to agree with the outdoors voters. Apples are totally hardy and would be much healthier and happier outdoors. Once hardened off - and that is important - there is no reason to waste energy on growlights. You could put them under cover if a storm was threatening. They also need to go dormant come winter to remain healthy and they won't do that under lights indoors.
Outside definitely...Even in a hurricane the seedling is likely to be unaffected unless a tree drops right on it and crushes it. The wind just plain isn't going that fast that close to the ground and the seedling is tiny and has no wind loading....big tall trees are in danger of high winds, young trees are not.
I grew an avocado from seed that I ate from the store. I put it in peat and top soil 50/50 mix waited 2 weeks under a clamp lamp with an incandescent bulb and 3 flourescent tubes and had me a nice 5 inch seedling! I soaked the seed in warm water for 5 hours and peeled off the outer layer, worked for me at 80 degree F.
The Clothiers site says only to direct sow weigela seed. Druse (Making More Plants) states simply 'seed - outdoors in Spring' so from that I'll assume they germinate at coolish temps but don't need a prolonged moist chill.
Plant World Devon (and they do give very good sowing suggestions with their seed) says "Sowing advice: COVER WITH COMPOST OR GRIT 2mm. DEEP. SOW ANY TIME IN A COOL BRIGHT SPOT OUTSIDE. MAY BE SLOW TO GERMINATE. GROW ON INDIVIDUAL SEEDLINGS IN 3" POTS. PLANT OUT IN A WELL-DRAINED SHELTERED POSITION".
I wouldn't usually quote a seed vendor for growing instructions, but I'm not finding a lot of propagation info for weigela seed (and probably because they are easier, faster, from cuttings) in my usual sources and I do have plenty of experience with seed from Plant World - if that helps you at all.
I grew delphinium from commercial seeds via the winter sowing method in 2010 and got lovely, healthy plants that bloomed this year. You might also check Swallowtail Garden Seeds' website--they include seed sowing instructions for all the seeds they sell, including delphiniums.
Summer is a bad time to sow seed in hot climates. Many plants go into a kind of dormancy when temps are high, even if they have enough water. You could speed things up by sowing in late winter/ early spring. My late sown peppers usually flower 6- 8 weeks after sowing and peppers start to form a few weeks later. I find they crop better though when sown in late fall, when it is still pretty warm, so germination is good, then grow fairly slowly over "winter", which is not very cold here, to flower and fruit late spring to summer. That way they also withstand drought better. Plants that are allowed to develop more slowly are often more robust. I used to grow Alyssum in England and I would think that would do best in the coolest possible conditions.
Hard to be specific with that info, but some critical factor must have occurred -- too little/much water at key times, seeds buried in mulch or weeds, seed rotted or was munched by critters, fertilizer burn on seedlings, Round-up, ...? You'd need to investigate back to last year's blooms and think about what changed and if it was a big enough impact to take down a fairly reliable annual.
I was in southern OR recently and the stands of giant orange poppies were everywhere. Gorgeous, I can imagine you miss yours.
I can only assume that you are talking about oriental poppies since you are in zone 5, and they have been coming back for 18 years. These typically bloom very early Spring - you saw nothing? No new growth? (these die to the ground after blooming)Is it possible something was dumped on that area?
Thanks for your reply. I think you were right that the seedlings were suffering from transplant shock. They must have been rather delicate, because I transplanyed them carefully into individual litle containers. They've now recovered, and are growing vigorously.
I often start perennial and biannual seed in July. Right now I have shasta daisy, sweet william, foxgloves, painted daisy already germinated and am waiting on delphinium, columbine, salvia and sage to get started. I find it much easier to get them started outside when the soil is already warm and the temps make germination faster. If you start seed in July you can expect the plants to flower the following year. Some perennial and biannual seeds are very easy and some are hard. I follow directions on back of packet as far as if the seed needs to be covered or needs light and some need to be frozen for a while, set them on wet miracle grow potting mix, water well, but gently and put in a shady place until germination starts and then I move them to an area that gets a few hours of morning sun a day. Once their first set of true leaves is out I will move them into a place that gets 4 or 5 hours of morning sun. When their second set of leaves shows up the seedlings will be moved to either a nursery bed in my veg garden or for some into their permanent spot right away. The bulk will go to the veg garden and those I might cover with shade cloth if it is very hot (it will be in Arkansas in August). The hardest thing is to keep the soil moist while germination is going on and when they are vey small. Sometimes I have a complete failure, but for some like shasta, sweet william, foxgloves, painted daisy, gillardia they are so easy you will get dozens of plants. Almost always I get at least a few. Well worth the couple of bucks the packet of seed costs. Hope this helps.
I'm in zone 5 also and do the same as claire1--sstarting biennials and perennials about now and planting them in ground in early fall.
BUT, I was wondering if you have any tricks for delphiniums. My last sowing was early July and I only have about 5% germination. Last year it seemed to go a lot better, so I am wondering if it is my seed source or if it the high humidity and temps we have been experiencing. Any tips on good delphinium germination appreciated.
If you look into it a bit you'll find that some sources say Coriander does require Cold Stratification (and my personal experience is that, for whatever reason, I've not had much success with a second crop). I don't really know one way or the other so shouldn't have mentioned it and regret that I did. It simply happened to be on my mind at the time of writing so I provided it as an example ..and apparently not a very good one.
So please let's "strike from the record" my mention of Cilantro and get back to the original question and how it pertains to an anonymous seed that definitely does require Cold Stratification.
overwatering could do it. Brown crispy edges for houseplants are usually overwatering , underwatering or overfertilizing.
my zinnia leaves are turning brown and curling