6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Sow the small seed thinly, and barely cover, some light may be beneficial to germination. You can cover with a bit of grit or coarse sand - will help the seed to stay in contact with the moist medium while still letting some light through. Otherwise use a light layer of your same potting medium. Prepare nursery pots using a moisture retentive yet well draining potting medium.....many are good, stay away from Hyponex brand. Scatter the seed, mist with water, cover lightly with grit and mist again. I like roots of trees, shrubs, to have room immediately to grow down - I sow in pots with 5" depth. If you are very attentive and not likely to forget to check, you can cover tops with saran wrap - removing it immediately at the first seed germinating so circulation of air is increased.
Collect as above and then do some seed swapping. Make a post over in the Brugmansia forums, many people there collect the 'Devil's trumpet' (Datura) along with Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia) You could get some lovely brugmansia and other seeds from the trades. :)
They are very easy to take cuttings from. Make sure you have 4 or 5 nodes with all but top leaves removed and place in a see-through disposable drinking cup filled to the top with perlite. Dip end in rooting hormone, wrap in damp unmilled sphagnum and push into perlite, leaving only the top node above. Place in shallow tray, water well and keep perlite moist. You'll have to bring yours inside this time of year. Place in sunny window, and within a few weeks you'll see it perk up and begin to grow. :)
Full sun, they will tolerate partial shade. They prefer loose, rich soil that drains well. Drought tolerant once fully established.
Lychnis chalcedonica: No pretreatment of seed is necessary. Sow barely covered 68F, germinates approx two weeks.
If the plant survived the frost then the seed will continue to ripen..... This means the seed will continue to store nutrients & hormones that will enable it to germinate in the spring..... If the plant is frozen then no more sugars/oils & hormones so the seed will not ripen.
Thank you!! I guess I was lucky to get one nice ripe zinnia head from zowie before they froze, but not so lucky with Oklahoma cherry, I dont think I got a single ripe head from it, which is a shame because I havent seen it offered as a single color for years!
Thanks again,
Wendey
Most seed contain enough nutrients to get them through germination & production of the 1st set of true leafs therefor "fertilizer" is not neeeded untill later...
in the peat the roots will grow & expand in size BUT when you go to seporate them you will damage the roots & set the plant back.....FOR that reason I germinate my seed in crushed rock so I get good aeration, water & yet the cplants seporate easly.
It seems that if you end up losing your plants there is a good chance that some of those seeds won't sprout until next year. Be sure to keep them away from any plants you don't want choked to death as they can pull down a very large plant. They are very pretty and produce lots of flowers. I know they can live though our summers even on the coast without weeding or watering and re-seed themselves without any help. They don't like shade but love the sun. They love to climb but will run across the ground to anywhere and climb up any plant it can find. Once they get going they are very hard to weed out if needed, it could take years to stop them once they spread so I find locations where they won't cause any problems with other plants. I love their blooms and foliage so I keep them away from my other plants and enjoy their beauty.
Looks like Rudbeckia Tiger Eye is a F1 hybrid. Hybrids do not come true to the parent plant. In other words depending on what all was crossed with the original parent will be what the plant looks like. Though it will look nothing like your original plant. You could save the seeds by letting the flower head fade completely and the best way to tell if the seeds are viable is that the stem underneath the flower head will start to brown. The seeds will be found in the flower head itself.
Unfortunately it is an annual. If you like your plant though I am sure someone could give you advice on how to overwinter it. I am not the best at overwintering plants but there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum so maybe someone will key in that has that information.
Phlox drummondii
Type: Annual
Light: Sun
Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained
Height: 1-1.5'
Spacing: 1'
Season: Summer to fall
SEED:
Depth: 1/16"
Flat temp: 55-65F
Sprout time: 7-25 days
Tip: Sow indoors 6-8 wks before planting out after frost, or outdoors in early spring; fall sow in mild winter areas.
10-12 wks from sowing to bloom.
(as found on select seeds' website)
I tell ya I use to have the hardest time trying to start anything from seed. I hated to spend money on the little green houses or even all of that material that they recommend seed starting. I mean heck I prefered seed cause they are a heck of a lot cheaper. Well I had some success in direct sowing but I usually never watered it enough and in my southern heat that is not a good thing for seedlings. So I went on a searching quest and I found this forum. Well then I found the winter sowing forum. Wow, now that was right up my ally. Planting devices made from recycleables. Talk about economic!! I did not winter sow this past year but this coming January I plan to. I did though use some of the techniques for winter sowing. I started my plants outside. No hardening off which that always confused me. Here is my growing area that cost me nothing that I used this spring. I put holes in the bottom of the bottles and I watered by putting water in the pan. Yes it was that easy!! Same technique is used for winter sowing, just take off the lids and tape up your bottles. No need to make room in your windowsill or go buy those expensive seed trays or the indoor lights.
Here is just one of the plants that was grown in my "economic" growing area. This is in the top row 2nd container from the right hand side.
Coneflower is extremely easy to start as a matter of fact here is some that I started just in a pot within a pot. Cover them lightly with soil and water, and wait. Some echinacea take up to 3 weeks to germinate. In the picture is Tennessee Coneflower. Yes there are other plants in that pot, just look over those, lol.
à ¹Â
Another vote for Winter Sowing.
Here's the link to Winter Sowing FAQ.
Have fun!
I have been winter sowing for at least 6 years. I have never regretted stumbling into this forum. It is a fun, inexpensive and easy way to sow seeds and very successful at that.
The folks there are the most helpful, friendliest and kindest people around.
Reseeding annual, California native. 1'-2' tall. Rich moist soil, full sun in cool summer areas and part shade where summers are hot. Direct sow in late Fall or in Spring, seedlings are not frost hardy. Surface sow or only barely cover seed.
T's gives info on how to start on her website and when she sends you the packs they have detail instructions on the packs also. Color bloom height width how to germinate. She tells you up front the important things!!
Some seeds in the catalog do not have seed instructions till you get the seeds. So really if you need to stratify or a cold frame you really do not know until you already got the seeds.
I like a lot of perennials and bulbs-- love those bulbs. Taller with interesting foliage or twigs in the back. Then have patches to fill in with annuals. Enough space to get a variety of flowers in there, but not enough empty area that it is a monumental task.
I did a monochromatic bed that really looked super. Different shades of pink with a couple of reds for accents and a few whites to help blend the colors. Silver birch trees at the very back so the silver and black trunks formed a nice background for the colors.
I like mums and fall asters because they come back every year and are a nice size. (plus they grow well here, which can't be said for a lot of things)