6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

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flora_uk(SW UK 8/9)

I don't have any experience with Japanese maples but common sense would say to wait until the maple itself decides its seeds are ripe. i.e. when they start to fall naturally. I have grown other trees from seed which I have just collected up off the ground. Why make things harder?

    Bookmark     June 10, 2010 at 6:50AM
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morz8(Washington Coast Z8b)

When the 'wings' on the seed begin to turn tan, but before they have become completely brown and woody, is ideal time for collecting the seeds of acer palmatum/Japanese maple. That's late summer into early Fall here.

    Bookmark     June 10, 2010 at 11:35AM
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albert_135(Sunset 2 or 3)

At least online, just like all the others that have pink poppies. Swallowtail Garden Seeds does not have Linum lewisii. To give them the benefit of the doubt they may be calling it ''common flax''. Their pink poppies are in a mixture, not sold separately.

Since pink poppies are fairly common and Linum lewisii is fairly common it is curious that it is difficult to find both.

    Bookmark     June 9, 2010 at 12:39PM
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albert_135(Sunset 2 or 3)

I just discovered the ''sources'' forum. I will go over there.

    Bookmark     June 9, 2010 at 1:58PM
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tammyinwv(z6/WV)

I did a lot of winter sowing this winter, and now as I am emptying milk jugs I have been re sowing annauls back into them. I dont fasten the lids down, just let them drape over on their own, and it still allows plenty of air movement, but keeps them from drying out too much, oh, they are also in an area with almost no direct sun, but plenty of light so they dont over heat. Then when they have their first set of true leaves, transplant.Zinnias grow pretty quick. Its been working well for me.
Tammy

    Bookmark     June 9, 2010 at 10:38AM
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thinman(Z5 MI)

I grow lots of these and I believe most zinnias take about 90 days from planting to bloom, so you should have them by September. I have a few hundred zinnia plants set out in the garden, but I will be direct sowing some more for fall use. Keep the soil moist and they should be up in three or four days, as long as your weather isn't too cool.

ThinMan

    Bookmark     June 9, 2010 at 11:11AM
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oilpainter(3)

Lucky you, I can only wish!!!

The best time to collect seeds is when they have seed pods that are ripe and that is usually a month or 2 after they start blooming.

If you look closely you will see a football shaped pod that comes to a point on the end. Make sure it's big and fat. It will be where a flower was, but don't touch it until you are ready to collect the seed. Have a container ready to put the seeds in. Make a fist around the pod. As soon as you touch it, it will spring open scattering the seeds into your fist. Put the seeds in the container and throw away the pod. Let them dry inside for a few days, in a spot out of the sun. Then store in a jar with a tight fitting lid in a cool dry dark place.

Collect Seeds from each color and 3 or 4 times as much seed as you think you will need. Some of it may not be mature and you'll want to experiment with planting them. Scatter the seeds on top of the soil. They need light, and must be kept moist, but not overly wet until they germinate. You might try some in pots too.

Good luck and may you enjoy your new home

    Bookmark     June 9, 2010 at 10:55AM
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flora_uk(SW UK 8/9)

Oilpainter, do they come true? I'm surprised they don't revert to the single Bellis perennis.

    Bookmark     June 8, 2010 at 7:16AM
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oilpainter(3)

I think so but since mine are the mixed ones I couldn't say for sure. After many years I still have all the colors, and they still have the same pom pom flower. I have noticed the size of the flower is dictated by the kind of Spring-- early summer we have. Last year it was cool and rainy and the blooms were big. This year it has been hot and dry and the blooms are half the size. We haven't had more than a couple of showers in 2 months

    Bookmark     June 8, 2010 at 7:11PM
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cocoabeachlorax

Would anyone agree that this is good information ? It looks like bottom heat should not be necessary if I sow them outside right now based on our recent temperatures. It also looks like although the seeds are just a few millimeters the pod should open and the fruit will ripen and I'll have time to monitor the situation and hopefully collect the ripe fruit ?

I would really love to hear from anyone who has done this or seen it done.

Here is a link that might be useful: general palm germination information...

    Bookmark     June 3, 2010 at 2:58PM
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mehdiservina

hi there...id advice you to take have a look at rarepamseeds.com,am sure you will gain the information you're seeking plus,its a whole community of palms seed,they do have cool tips on how to get 100% germination..

i did tried some technique and invented some of my own..they were successfull,,but some seeds might take few months while some might take 4-7 days to germinate eg christmas palm,very elegant,grows fast and easy to maintain...

i just started my blog and am gonna post few cool tips bout palm trees..feel free if you wanna share any tips or comment..

hope its helpful

Here is a link that might be useful: exotic palm trees

    Bookmark     June 8, 2010 at 1:21PM
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sharvil6

@oilpainter
haha thnx, we'll see how they do
i just moved some of them to individual containers
I love impatiens
Wish Me Luck!!!

    Bookmark     June 6, 2010 at 11:55AM
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oilpainter(3)

From a long time grower of impatiens--Be careful with the water. Impatiens are very suseptible to damp off. I think it has much to do with their tender stems.

    Bookmark     June 6, 2010 at 8:01PM
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oilpainter(3)

The seed pods will be where the flower was. It is an oblong pod with many tiny seeds inside. Wait until the pod turns brown and starts to open Then collect the pods in a container. If you do it before this you will get immature seed that won't sprout. Stick your thumbnail in the opening and peel it back. Do this over a piece of white paper so you catch the seed.

    Bookmark     June 6, 2010 at 5:03PM
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gardenweed_z6a

Hostas are easy to grow from seed and don't need cold stratification. I'm growing them from seed I harvested from my own plants a few years ago. They take a really long time to get any size to them. The ones I planted 6/20 last year went dormant in December but are back up again this year. They still only have about 3 leaves on them. They won't come true from seed--the ones I'm growing all came up green, even the seeds from variegated cultivars.
Oilpainter is right--it's faster to divide mature plants every couple of years to increase the number of plants you have to work with. You can also divide them into smaller segments. I've got smaller divisions planted around the base of an oak tree. They'll be small this year but slightly bigger next year. By the third year they should have grown to almost their mature size. I've got some gigundo designer hostas that need to be divided but I missed my window of opportunity this year.
I also winter sowed hosta seeds. They're tiny but they're up. Check out www.hostalibrary.org for instructions on how to grow them from seeds. I grew them indoors last summer by a sunny window. This year I winter sowed 2 different types of seeds--'Dream Weaver' & 'El Nino.'

    Bookmark     June 6, 2010 at 5:59AM
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morz8(Washington Coast Z8b)

Many people grow hosta from seed trying to see what variations in plants they can come up with...they don't come true to the parent plant. Takes some patience....germination may be anywhere from 15-90 days or so, and the plants stay small for the first 2-3 years.

Hostas are not bulbs. They have a root system extending downward from a crown, and quite an extensive one at that...One of the few times I've broken a shovel was lifting hosta to divide.

    Bookmark     June 6, 2010 at 11:23AM
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susan2010(6 Massachusetts)

Have you visited Swallowtail Garden Seeds? They have a really good assortment of perennials. I went to the site for bellflowers and ended up with a whole lot more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swallowtail

    Bookmark     June 5, 2010 at 10:14AM
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sleepy33(5b KS)

Oh, I love them. Also, hardyplants.com, hazzardsgreenhouse.com and geoseed.com are some of my favorites.

    Bookmark     June 5, 2010 at 10:37AM
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susan2010(6 Massachusetts)

Oregonwoodsmoke, maybe you don't have hardy hibiscus? I have a blue hybrid Rose of Sharon that looks and behaves identically to my hardy hibs, but the seed is sterile. Or at least it's never reseeded.

    Bookmark     June 2, 2010 at 7:52AM
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gardenweed_z6a

I've never been able to find seed pods on any of the hybrid rose of Sharon. My daughter has several mature bushes growing in her garden and they don't appear to set seed. The flowers just fall off the stems as soon as they're past their prime. The regular ROS have distinctive seed pods that are loaded with seeds. I harvested hundreds of them last fall. If anyone wants seeds, let me know!!! ;-p

    Bookmark     June 5, 2010 at 5:50AM
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oilpainter(3)

Lovely Sleepy. You did a good job. If the bride loved them then that's the most important thing.

I love the cranberry box for a container too.

    Bookmark     June 4, 2010 at 2:50AM
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sleepy33(5b KS)

Yeah, I thought the crate was really cute; there was another one that I didn't get a picture of that was in a galvanized tub that was cute. The cupcakes turned out well, too. We ended up bringing them all in and frosting them there at the site; much easier than trying to transport frosted cupcakes!

    Bookmark     June 5, 2010 at 2:01AM
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oilpainter(3)

I don't know for sure but it sounds like you may have cucumber beetle around. The adult feeds on the leaves but the larva feeds on the roots. It would be worth a search to see if that's what it is and what to do about it. You can find photos and info on the web

If not the beetle it must be some melon feeder. Some burrow into the stem. Try cutting open one that is dieing where it is twisted and see if there's a larva there.

The cracking in the leaves is the result of what's going on below.

    Bookmark     June 4, 2010 at 5:23PM
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oilpainter(3)

After a frost--Ty your germination rate is so poor. You probably got quite a few that were not ripe and the frost didn't help. Collect your seed before frost after the pods have turned brown. Let them dry for a few days inside, jar them and store in a cool dry place.

Do not sow them in a trench unless you want to do a lot of transplanting and any ditch will be burying them too deep. Broadcast them, rake in and water. Marigold seed has to be just covered with soil. Keep the area wet--but not too wet for a week and they should be up.

    Bookmark     June 3, 2010 at 4:34PM
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skayc1(7)

is it possible to get the seeds to germinate in a ziplock bag with a moistened not dripping paper towel? that way I can plant only one seed per peat pot lol, and not kill a wonderful seedling.

    Bookmark     June 2, 2010 at 12:52AM
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oregonwoodsmoke(5 OR Sunset 1A)

I start my pepper seeds that way. It works quite well.

Don't zip the bag closed. Place it is a warm, not hot place.

When the root grabs the paper towel (not that often), I simply take a pair of scissors and cut out a little chunk of paper towel around the seedling and plant paper towel and all.

I just lay the seeds on top of the towel, so I can see then through the plastic and check on them every day without disturbing them.

    Bookmark     June 3, 2010 at 2:49PM
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