6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I have a nice bed of Alpine Strawberry(Reugen), and I also put them in containers. Nice flavor. Every year I save some berries for their seeds and start a dozen or two plants. To save seeds pick ripe strawberries, slice them in half and let them dry naturally. The seeds can then be gently rubbed off the dried berry halves. Easy to start - cold treating seeds helps. I transplant my new plants into containers and get lots of nice bugless and slugless berries every season from those new plants (keep them watered). Kids love finding and picking the berries when they are off the ground in containers. Like finding little treasures.
University research over the last few years has resulted in some changes in planting recommendations. Now they say to bare root your seedling grown in potting mix and plant in your native soil with no additives what ever. I have two apples and a pomegranate to plant this fall that I have grown in containers, and I will use this method myself for the first time. Al
I have used their seeds, and I have had good success with them. They are extremely cheap, but just as stated above they usually contain seeds that are very common. With that said I love those wildflower mixes, (I love daisies though) they have all kind of flowers in them which most are perennial. Some 2nd year bloomers some not. One year I got the most beautiful poppies out of a wildflower pack, and I didn't save the seed and I have been unable to find anymore packs like that.
Another place I discovered that has some good seed variety is t's online all seed packs are $1.00. I think shipping and handling for 19 packs is like $4.25 not bad if you ask me. I provided the link below, she has a great selection of seeds.
Here is a link that might be useful: T's Seed Sale
Thanks for everyones feed back. I had boughten about 23 packs of various seeds. Some wildflower mixes too like someone suggested above. I'm anxious to see if they germinate. I guess for the price ya can't go wrong. We'll wait and see what spring brings. :) Thanks again.
Seed companies love to load seed mixes up with annual rye grass. It germinates quick, has lovely color, and is easy to grow.
The problem is that it is an annual, so the end of the year, it is gone for good.
The perennial grasses are slower to germinate, and you will lose them if you allow the seeds to dry out. To establish lawn, you must water briefly several times each day.
Washington DC, you might consider one of the hybrid Bermuda grasses, bred for golf courses. It never gets tall and it's tough as can be. You'd buy that as turf, but to save money, you can cut turf into plugs and it fills in fast.
Garf,
I can attest that oilpainter has it right. I do it the exact same way (I've had well over 100 seeds in the same tray) with the exception I don't have the mix soggy but rather barely damp. I use my finger to make a hole in the target pot, gently pull up the plant, stick it in the hole and push the mix around it. Most of my trays have 18-36 cells (nursery flats) and after I finish, I soak the trays till they are completely saturated, thus helping the mix to settle around the roots. On a real bad day, I may have two plants not survive.
Mike
If you don't have the wet environment that they need to grow in, then there is not much sense even trying. If you do have the wetland, it will take a long time to produce a tree of any size.
The best way to store any seeds is to dry them in at room temperature out of the sun. Put yours in an envelope to transport home.
As for germination--you'd have to ask someone down there--like an arboretum. I don't think there are many here who grow them
Drying the seeds is probably not the best way to go here -
Not that I grow them, but in looking for you I find these are really interesting seeds, and they begin to germinate while still attached to the tree before they are dispersed into the water. I find too though that if you are 2 hours from the ocean, you may only be able to sow and grow them on in an environment like a salt water aquarium so it's not likely they are going to make a successful keepsake from your trip.
The seed do not require any pre-treatment lightly cover with soil soil temperature 18-21C for germination which takes 28-55 days.
A "Baggie is a small plastic bag which can be sealed... often used to transport a sandwich from home to lunch at work
Purple Hyacinth Bean: I was able to germinate 5 year old seed of these and the green hyacinth bean. I used the paper towel/coffee filter method to do it. They were easy and quick to germinate.
I would say you have bad beans. Get new ones and try it again. These are easy seed to germinate. ALSO, mine germinated in an unheated room in March. After they germinated they were placed in a pot and then kept warm until planting outside.
:) Fran
I have had four successful Hyacinth Bean Vine seasons, but with one discovery. The beans I planted and shared kept in paper bags all were great producers. The beans put in zip locks that I shared did not grow well and some not at all. My conclusion was that the beans do not like to be kept air tight.
First You can find a lot of info that answers a lot of questions you may have from reading the FAQ's at the top of this and other forums.
Most here who grow under lights use shop lights with 2- 40 watt flourescent bulbs. The fixtures should be suspended by chains or fixed so you can raise and lower them. I have a greenhouse and don't grow inside but from what I've read here the light should be about 1/2 inch and certainly no more than 2 inches above the plants. If your plants start to get leggy they are not getting enough light.
What else you need--trays, a humidity lid, pots, a good fast draining soiless potting mix--please stay away from miracle grow products--I hate them.
I use pro mix BX. It can be expensive in small bags but not so much by the bale. It will keep for years if it is kept very dry. I store my excess in a garbage can with a tight fitting lid.
The humidity lid is used to keep seeds moist until they germinate and then is removed so you don't get damp off. That is a mold that kills seeds and seedlings. Damp off is also why you don't overwater. Before you plant mix the soil and water so it's wet right through. Squeeze a handful and a little water comes out not a stream. That is perfect moisture for planting seeds. Try an experiment--put the dry mix in one pot and the moistened one in another. Now lift them--see how much heavier the wet one is. That's your test for watering. A pot may look dry on top but still have plenty of moisture underneath.
Pots--I start mine in 4x6x2 inch containers. You can use recycled berry or mushroom plastic containers or any shallow container. It is easier to control the moisture level in shallower pots. When they have their second set of true leaves I transplant into 16 oz cups. If you want to go individually use dixie cups with a couple of seeds and then transplant into the 16 oz. cups. All containers must have holes for drainage. I have a crafters soldering iron that I use punch holes in mine.
Planting out---Find out the last frost date for your area and add a week or so. Your seed package will tell you how much earlier you have to plant before your last frost date--EG. if your last frost date is May 1st and a package says 6-8 weeks, you would start them 8 weeks before May the first.
You have to harden off plants grown indoors so they get used to the UV rays. For at least a week before you set your plants outside. You start by putting them out in a shady place for a few hours and then taking them back inside. Gradually you give them more time outside and more sunshine until they spend all day outside in the sun. Them they are ready to plant in your garden.
A hint--when you transplant your tomatoes sink the stem into the soil up to the leaves. The plant will grow roots all along the stem. Just be sure when you plant them outside they do not go too low in the soil that the roots will be in cool soil
I hope this helps and you grow beautiful plants next year
[bump] and another link: Bougainvillea
I've collected and grown plants from both.
Yes; the imaptiens should have light brown/brown seeds. The white ones aren't ripe yet. If they have snapped off the branches, they weren't. If they were ripe, they would've already popped open when they hit the ground. The ones I've picked have always been still on the branches, and are bright green and fat. I usually collect them by snipping off the branch the pod is on, and then gently put them into a cup, which a lot of times enough to pop them open. They aren't called 'touch me nots' for nothing!
As for the begonias, definitely let them get nice and brown until they are practically falling off the branches before gathering. Then, dry them well and store them until you are ready to sow, sometime in early winter. Mind you, I've only gotten a few plants from many pods. They are indeed dust size, and very tempermental. I rubbed the pods gently over the soil and hope for the best, but germination is slow and really tiny. But if you do get some to germinate, be patient and you will be rewarded with beautiful plants that are tougher than the store bought ones. I put mine out in the winter sun on a windowsill and they never burned in the summer sun.
The ripe impatiens pods turn light green, get bulbous, and lean at a right angle to the stem. The ripe pods will come off stem with very little effort. These pods usually have mature seeds. I grab them from below with three fingers and gently remove them from the stem ("sneak up" on them). I then squeeze and burst the pod over a cool whip container to save the seed. I dry seed and burst pods in a pie tin until dry enough to sort out seed.
Previous poster covered begonias quite well - I have nothing to add.
Have Fun!
TK