6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
There's no reason why the cornstarch thing shouldn't work. I sometimes mix tiny seeds with sand. I figure a couple of finger tip dribbles back and forth will make things pretty even on an average. Seems to work.
I saw it in a movie, one of Richard Gere's worst, and they were planting tobacco.
You can dig it up and pot it (carefully, taking as much root mass as possible), bring it indoors, and set it in sunlight in a room temperature or slightly cooler locale.
Blooming inside, even with supplemental plant lights, will be poor, but you might get a few.
Snaps are short-lived perennials, not annuals, so replanting in your mid-spring garden should reward you with a second showing from the plant--and again the following fall.
I often have snapdragons survive the winter. Leave it in the ground and cover it with a heavy layer of leaves. It should survive. You can also wintersow some snapdragon seeds. I find that they germinate very well using the Wintersowing technique. Good luck.
Martha
I did a Yahoo Image search and your Milky Way Morning Glories are as you describe, white with a purple star. It would follow that such a flower would be white since the galaxy itself is white.
I planted morning Glories one year -- about 12 years ago. I have not been able to get rid of them! They are a pest (they strangle any other plant) but are pretty also so I tolerate them just enough on my terrace for them to reseed themselves. Mine are a dark royal purple. I never had any variation of color.
I had great luck the first year with the far more gentle Sweet Pea but after that I could not get the damn things to live so I have reluctantly accepted the MG in their place. At least the Morning Glories want to live!
So I hope you like your Morning Glories because you will be stuck with them for-fricking-ever. No need to save seeds. My Morning Glory seeds are black. If they are off-white than maybe those are not viable. Just one way to find out though!
Here is a link that might be useful: Mily Way Morning Glory
I had always thought that ginkgo required a prolonged, solid freeze in the winter, such as zone 7 or colder, so the trouble may be related to that? There are very large ones growing not too far from me, here in coastal Connecticut, zone 6. If you collected your seeds from a tree in your local area, then I withdraw my theory!
Good luck!
--Rick
I agree that there is a lot of information that we do not have.
If you collected the seed from a tree in your area, why not collect some more when it next fruits and try again?
I would recommend that next time, you plant them in your garden, in the soil. There are several advantages to doing this:
Less likely to over-water or under-water;
Less likely to be sitting in a too hot micro-climate (black pots can get so hot, especially when the sides of the pot are exposed to the sun, as they often are);
Your garden soil is probably a LOT better than a bought potting mix (a lot of potting mixes are 'orrible).
Are you in a climate that gets cold winters? Your Ginkgos will need that.
'Organic' when applied to anything means very little. I learned recently that chook poo from battery hens that is sold in Austalia (under the name of Dynamic Lifter) is labelled as organic. Apparently it is OK to call it 'organic' but they can't call it 'certified organic'.
You just can't trust anything on a label anymore. Or maybe we never could.
Pansies are one of my favorite annuals. The colors and varieties are beautiful. My experience with them has always been challenging. I don't feel I've yet mastered growing them but I try every year. I think my expectations are too high. I search the internet every year to see possible tips from others who are also starting pansies at home. Your seedling looks healthy to me. The leaves are not curled or yellow. Pansies grow slow, real slow. They also like to be grown in a cool environment. You may not think your seedling is a success but google pansy seedlings and images and look at how seedlings from other home growers look. They look similar. Most seedlings grown at home not by professionals look similar to the ones I've grown and what I see on the internet. Also, google pansy societies and see how the seedlings of members look and what tips they have. I had to remind myself that pansies from nurseries and garden centers in the spring may have been grown under conditions that home growers don't use. Many growers use growth regulator and chemicals to get those large healthy looking plants we buy in the spring and fall. I am also trying some again this fall but I started with some old and new seeds and don't know if any will germinate. As long as you provide the correct temperature, enough hours of light, and fertilize, you should have healthy seedlings in the spring Post again on how your seedlings do. I would enjoy seeing them.
Here is a link that might be useful: Bloom Where You're Planted-Urban Gardening in Philly
I just realized after reading your post again that you started your seeds in he summer. It's difficult to keep pansies cool enough during this time. I guess you started them for this fall. How did they do? Did you plant them out? If you start some for spring you may want to start earlier than suggested to give them a longer time to grow.
Prunus x yedoensis (Yoshino Cherry):
2 - 3 months cold stratification (moist chill) and is best sown as soon after ripening, not stored dry too long. The seed can be slow, sometimes taking multiple cycles of fluctuating temperatures, up to 18 months to germinate.
You don't say where you live, but you could sow and place the pots outdoors now if you are about at a Z8 or colder. Or use your refrigerator for the moist chill if you don't think you can expose them to several weeks of temps of approx. 40F or lower outdoors.
I think that lifting weed fabric that's underneath rooted plants could either be a great thing, or be disastrous. If the roost grow into the fabric (as they often do), you'd be ripping root systems apart as you lift the fabric. If roots don't penetrate, the fabric will hinder root growth and plant growth in turn. ;The fabric will also prevent some amount of GOOD critter action among the roots too, although this might not be that big of an issue for you. Also, if you have "wildflowers" that like to send down fast and deep taproots, this barrier will not be good. Nor will you have great luck transplanting them. :P
I use a lot of cardboard, newspaper, and even paper grocery shopping bags as a method of creating new beds primarily. Thinner paper material is good in areas where it's more dry and the breakdown of organic material happens slower (like on hot dry sunny slopes and in a new rock garden, for example). I use cardboard where stuff happens faster, and in my yard cardboard is about the right thickness and has the right "stuff" to quell weeds while breaking down fast enough to allow the plants on top to establish happily.
A good recipe for a fast and beautiful bed without a lot of work or worry:
- a space that's about 10x10 feet in size or so
- about 100 paper grocery bags
- about a cubic yard of good compost
-a roll of black landscape plastic or a bunch of black garbage bags
- one order of a great seed mix
This time of year, you mark your space, put down paper bags on the ground, wet them with a hose, then layer over about 6 inches of compost. Wet really well, then lay black plastic or plastic garbage bags over the top and let it sit over the winter. Then in the spring, pull back the plastic, seed it, and keep it watered. Viola, a new flower bed!
Here is a link that might be useful: An Awesome Wildflower Mix
Sprouted seeds should be removed from the refrigerator and planted as soon as they appear. You don't list your zone or where you are from to comment on whether you can plant it in the ground or if you have to put it in a pot. It most certainly could grow under lights for a while.
SCG
I have never saved desert rose seeds but I can't imagine they would be much different than any other seed. Keep them dry and out of extreme temps. If the seeds are dry I store them in ziplock bags. You could also drop the whole pod into a paper bag and leave it on the kitchen counter until you return.
Good luck
SCG
There is a great source of information for seed saving at the link below. Use seeds from ripened plants. Scroll down on the link for more information.
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Save Org - Beginners
I'm wondering if you are putting your plants out too late. Small plants can be transplanted into the ground before the last frost by several weeks.
In the garden they need full sun for six hours a day plus fertile soil...lots of aged manure and compost.
Try one of the mini headed cabbages from Johnnys Seeds. I always have luck with them. Keep an eye out for slugs and green cabbage moth caterpillars.