6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
You can stratify anywhere from 3-6 weeks - after that they don't require overly warm (as in bottom heat)...just 65ish is fine. They aren't dependent on being surface sown or kept in dark either one, so you can lightly cover with your sowing medium to help keep them moist. Germination average is approx 14 days after bring back to warm.
So when the plants root in the 3 inch pots I'll graduate them to quarts. But when do you transplant? Early spring just before they bloom or in fall when they go dormant?
As for whether or not the varieties I am learning with are good in pots I chose ones that local nurseries often carry. Of course I do not anticipate all of them to do well - some simple will not root, others will not do well in pots, and so on. But I am learning:)
I can't find a picture of the seed to help you with which end down, but on their sides is almost always a safe way to sow...
How many days has it been? There may be nothing unusual going on with your germination -
"Seeds germinate very erratically. Soak seeds in warm water for 24 hours before sowing in moist sand. While there may be a sprout or two in 3-4 days, most seed germinates anywhere from 21 day to 6 months at 72°."
The photo you supplied is that of asters. I have never seen an orange aster but have seen red. The seedlings you have are an annual and they look great. Perennial asters have a narrower leaf. If you plant them beware of leaf hoppers. They love asters and cause a disease called aster yellows.
Too late now, cuz you've already had your rainfall, but I would have tipped a seed flat/s over the seeds to help dissipate the rain. I do that when reseeding small areas of grass- helps keep it cool, keeps birds and other pests from pecking at the seed, etc.
P.S. Newest research dispels the old theory of putting rocks into the bottom of your pots. Now, they say best thing is to keep the same medium throughout your pot.
What kind of clematis seeds are you planning to try? Different species have different requirements/germination times. Easy ones like C. alpina and tanguitica would be fine now. Hybrids take several years to flower from seed so it's not too late for those either, though late winter/early spring would be better.
Are you possibly on a well, using well water to water with? If so try using jugged water.
Given all you have tried with no luck then there must be a common source of contamination and it seems the water or the air in the room are the only sources left unexplored. Changed the furnace filter? I know it sounds weird but the fungus has to be coming from somewhere.
Dave
We don't have Menards in this part of the country so I don't know exactly what tray you mean, but I wonder if the recycled paper trays don't have some of the same moisture issues as the peat can...very hard to control moisture, they are either too wet or too dry (paper/peat wicks water from the sowing medium). One recycled paper tray product that came prefilled was mentioned earlier, brand TerraCycle - or something similar to that. The sowing medium was one component, pure worm castings which didn't seem to make sense...the tray compartments were quite small so clearly for newest seedlings which don't need that rich of a growing medium when all nutrients required for germination, initial early growth are contained in the seed itself.
Just an update folks about my calendula. I saw flower buds today. I direct sowed all my calendula seeds. They were very easy to grow similar to cosmos. Cleome was a bit more challenging but my experiment produced 99% germination.
Anyways, here is my calendula flower bud. :)
Hi Virt - How are you? I remember meeting you at the swap. I planted some castor beans about 4 weeks ago. I planted some in the ground and some in a half-barrel planter. Only one of three sprouted in the planter, and none in the ground. It had been pretty cool, so I'm guessing that is why the one's in the ground didn't sprout. I've planted some more seeds in some peat pellets. When they sprout, I'll set them in the ground.
Okay, I'm not a pro. But I just went through the same thing so I thought I would let you know what I did.
I planted my seed a week before the pain washed it all away so I had some sprouts. And during the week of rain we got the whole area at the base of the hill (which is a driveway for me) started sprouting grass which just proved the seed had washed away! The point? Without anything weighing it down there is a very good chance your seed is gone so reseeding is a good idea in my opinion.
So, of course, I reseeded and it's raining with no end in sight. I am in Reno NV. It NEVER rains this much - let alone in Summer! :) Anyways - I re-fertilized because I could see that the soil I had put down before was also washed away by looking along the base of the hill and seeing the white nodes of vitamins, small pieces of mulched bark, and overall black colored soil. It stands out on my sand! And of course I laid straw as well. I laid just enough to cover the ground - with about half an inch more at the top 6 feet of the slope because I wanted to weigh it down more up there. Then I got wood stakes (the ones used to tack down sod while it takes root) and put stakes in ever square foot to keep the straw from sliding down. It's been 4 days of rain and everything has stayed put:)
Good luck!
If the rain happened about the same time you planted, you might as well smooth out the yard, use the rain as a settling, leveling aid. Re-rake, re-level, and when fall (proper grass planting time gets here) try again.