6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Have SOME experience with 3 1) Serruria lightly cover with soil. soil temp 64-75F taking 14-42 days to germinate 2) lightly cover with soil soil temp for germination (cooler than above) 43-54F hence fall planting 3)PRE TREATMENT scarify seed or soak in water for 12 hours THEN light cover soil temperature 64-75F taking 15-42 days to germinate

yiorges,

Thanks for the response--it's good to see someone has experience with some of these seeds.

I confused, though, which seeds your conditions (2) and (3) apply to.

Do you remember what sorts of germination rates you got?

Thanks.

AT THE TIME OF THE FIRS TRUE LEAVES IS THE CORRET TIME TO TRANSPLANT. DIG A CLUMP OF SEEDLINGS, SEPORATE THEM GENTLY & TRANSFER TO A BED WITH WELL PULVERISED SOIL

Watch that caps lock there, yiorges -- no need to yell :)

To what yiorges said, I'd add, be sure to water the bed well afterwards.

The two best approaches are 1) fut the stems of the weakes plants leving only 1 per pot OR (if entend to plant in garden) plant the 2-3 seedlings together. if transfering to a pot then make sure the soil mass is enough to support the 2-3 plants

Yea, some herbs are one of few things that will do well if planted in "bunches." Some like Cilantro, actually prefer it that way. I say, if you think it's going to be too tough to seperate them, just plant them together & if one of them doesn't survive, it will be because the other two got too strong for it & kind of took over the root space. Make sure, like yiorges says, that you plant them in a space large enough for all 3 though.

- Steve

Thanks

Camassia -
"Seedlings should remain in the seed pot undisturbed their first year. When the plants are dormant in late summer, pot up the small bulbs putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another year cold frame before planting them out when dormant in late summer....most container plants grown from seed were ready for planting after 2 years. "

You have seeds? My own in just beginning to bloom in what I heard today is the coolest, wettest May on record.

Don't wait till Spring - Clothiers database and Druse both suggest Calycanthus floridus , Carolina allspice , sow fresh seed outdoors in the fall (warm, cold, cool germinator, needs extended weeks at all three seasons to break seed dormancy)

I'm growing these from seed. Sown last November outdoors in a protected container, they sprouted in March and were potted up last month. Only a handful of the seeds germinated.

Could be hundreds of reasons. Has the tree seeded before?

Also, are you looking for ways to control that? If you find any, let me know! I get annoyed by those buggers every year. They'll root straight through wood mulch!

Can you post a photo of the parent Maple tree?

I'm guessing that someone recently planted another maple of the same species nearby.

The seeds are tiny(but larger than poppy seed)and dark brown. You should be able to see the tiny hole in the top of the seed pods. Turn your flowerheads upside down in a paper sack and shake it. The seeds should fall out, provided you didn't already hang the flowers upside down to dry. Also, if you collected flowers late in the season that were dry, brown and open, the wind could have knocked them around and spread the seed before you got them. If you collected flowers that still had color, you may have taken them too early. HTH

Thanks, I'll try again this year!

I know the feeling, I get it every year. I lost some of my seedlings to the dry hot air here in Texas as they were hardening off out on the porch. Lost a few when the dogs ran through the flats and flattened them. And of course there are always the June bugs, which start swarming in April around here and can chew through about a mile of plant material overnight. Mice ate some. But for the most part I still had more seedlings than I could plant in a weekend and, darn it, I had to take a day off from work to stay home and finish getting them all in the ground. Cheryl

Can't help you with the seeds but get some Actinovate and start drenching your soil. It made a big difference on a couple of areas that had wilt issues. It's not a cure but it seems to slow it down to a crawl and give the plant chance it needs.

You'll probably have to order it but maybe a local nursery might have it. It runs about $20.00 for a small package but you only use a teaspoon a gallon. It's used on lawns for mildew and lawn diseases so it's becoming more available down here in the south.

I figure anything that might give the soil a chance to re-balance itself is worth a try.

Thanks shebear, I'll check it out.

Hi, welcome to gardening! You can save all three sprouts in each pellet, but they may crowd each other out. If you plan to plant the chamomile in the ground be sure to tear off the net cover on each pellet as some plants roots have trouble grwoing through it. Once the seeds have sprouted they don't require heat and you need to not let them dry out. Those peat pellets are very bad about soaking up water again once they have dried out. Try to keep the pellets moist while keeping the little seedlings dry. If the pellets are too wet, your seedlings will have a problem called damping off. It's a fungus that will kill them.

You don't say what kind of container you have them in, but the seedlings now need light and water. If your container is clear, they may get enough of both if you set it outside, but protect it from overheating and cooking the little plants. They are very tender and vulnerable right now.

If you lose some of them, or even if you lose all of them, try again. I've been gardening for over 50 years and I'm still learning new things all the time. One thing I learned this year was that soilless sterile seed starting mix is much better than peat pellets for starting seeds. the pellets are handy and convenient, but plants outgrow them very quickly. Cheryl

Thanks for the reply!

Here is my frugal setup:

http://img27.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=p1010017qdi.jpg

The container im using is actually i think some kind of tinfoil roasting pan with a plastic lid on top of a heating pad and inside is a thermometer which is surprisingly staying at 80F. I had all of these laying around and its amazingly working well so far. The second picture is my of my Chamomile seedlings that i planted 2 days ago. So you think i should take anything that has sprouted out of the container? Where should i put them? How can i keep the pellets from drying up?

Thanks!!

Just as an FYI, I almost placed an order with Park Seed Company (also known as "Park's Garden"). The prices were so right and the shipping reasonable. Luckily, I googled "park seeds ratings" and on Dave's Garden website, the Company received 86 negative and 10 neutral ratings and only 20 positive ratings (ratio of about 5 to 1 negative/neutral). I didn't place the order based on what I read in the reviews.

I wish I'd done the same...I still didn't receive my seeds...apparently, they are still in shipping and will be shipped out within "a couple of business days."

Those are general averages and nowhere close to exact. The time will always vary. For your best estimate (via my previous experiences with Ferry Morse seeds), plant the seed. Once it germinates, you will have your first bud (maybe even flower) by the time the days to harvest arrives.