6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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'm living in Houston and Crape Myrtles are EXTREMELY prevalent here!
I thought that I would write a little bit for the questions that I have read using the knowledge that I have gained about this beautiful tree.
1. Crape Myrtles come in MANY colors and I have MANY seeds from most of them. Purple, candy purple with whitish edging, lavender, very dark pink, dark pink, pink, light pink, red, and white.
2. The Crape Myrtle seeds need a three month dormancy period, so after you gather your seeds, put them in the fridge for three months. The Crape Myrtle is a deciduous tree and should be sown in the spring.
3. You can also take the small progeny that grow up around the trunks of the main tree...separate them off...and grow a new one!
4. Depending on your growing zone and your needs, the Crape Myrtle can be any size you'd like. If you live in more northerly zones, potting it and keeping it small is just a matter of trimming it! I have seen testimony of growers having 20 ft. trees as far north as Oregon!
5. Because the Crape Myrtle is drought tolerant, it isn't the amount of water that makes it bloom...but the amount of sun light! A Crape Myrtle needs at least 8 hours of sun a day to grow it's best and most beautiful halos of flora.
I hope this helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email.
=D HAPPY GROWING!
Yes beet seeds will sprout more than one sprout from each 'seed' Think of them as many seeds packaged in one bigger 'seed.'
Some seeds like from citrus and mango can produce many shoots from one seed because they have multiple embryos inside.
Maybe the seed strains offered by certain companies aren't very good. I grew "Bright Lights" from seed this spring and, out of a mass of seedlings, I got a tiny handful of yellow-stalked plants, a few deep reds and an awful lot of wishy-washy pinks. No oranges at all. I've grown them in the past and had all kinds of stem colours.
Here is a link that tells you how to plant Sycamore tree seeds inside and outside. I hope it helps.
http://www.gardenguides.com/88679-plant-american-sycamore-seeds.html
I cannot rememember now but it was later than this. I rememember that i also lost some Morina longifolia. I had foolishly sown them in autumn thinking they needed a period of cold to germinate. We had a very mild spell that year just before Christmas, which made them germinate followed by hard frost lasting at least a week. I was grumbling about it to a grower and he said that was nothing, he had lost several hundred pans of seedling and was having to resow.
The toughest has been the red Meconopsis, M. punicea. I sowed that as soon as I got it, which was the advice and it germinated in mid winter after some frost. Before i could move them the whole pan got frozen solid so I left them. they seemed to come through it unscathed. Mind you the seed was sent to me from Alaska - I think they are tough out there!
I am not taking any chances this year. I moved all pans onto the garage windowsill where it is cold but above freezing. According to the forecast i will move them between there and the greenhouse. I think it will be worth the effort if i can get the headstart on spring sowings that this gives me.
I would love to grow the Meconopsis. I have tried many times. From seed and the plant. Plant died and the seeds never came up.
What would be the best way to grow them and where? I would love to see this poppy flower just one time. To all who can help Thank you :O)
I use heating blankets with no thermostat but I do check it 3 times a day to make sure it has not over heated, and yes, that is the main purpose (in my opinion) of the thermostat, to prevent overheating.
I agree with the above comments, a glass dome is much too hot for seedlings and they need more consistant light then the sun at that time of the year.
What are you planning on sowing?
Keriann~
I am jealous! I can't afford heat mats. I use my studio as a 'nursery' beginning in early spring. It's heated in there with propane heat. (The main house is oil, and my studio is an attatched building) I have had sucess every year by using the jump start grow lights on a large table, keeping the room around 70, and using a small fan to keep the air circulating. Prior to using the fan I had real trouble with damping off and lost many trays of seedlings. I wish I could use heat mats, but really, without them it's fine. The cost of heating that room is like maybe 50.00 a year. This winter I plan on overwintering many of my tropicals in there and still use the other side to paint.
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.