6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Bingo! I think I have two populneus seedlings (the larger one clearly shows a leaf shape of that variety of brachychiton and the smaller one I cannot see yet, but since that whole row of 6 seeds were brachychiton populneus, I have a fairly good idea that that is what it is). Curiously, these seeds were from a pod from a tree in Uruguay (where they are used as street/park trees. The seeds I bought from Pennsylvania have not yet germinated, but I'm determined to try. What sources did you get your seeds from Karyn1?

I bought the seeds from Rare Exotic Seeds in Canada. I've bought a number of seeds from them and have had decent germination rates.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Exotic Seeds

chemical,

I use tap water but I let it sit for a day or two so the chlorine (chloride) dissipates. Last year, I switched from tap water to rain water (bringing in nearly freezing water and letting it warm up to room temps) and the plants did much better. So far this year, I'm using tap water that sits and don't see any difference from the rain water.

Like you, though, I certainly would not use bottled water! What a waste of money.

Mike

The fruit that dubayew is speaking of is Synsepalum dulcificum, AKA Miracle Fruit or Miracle Plant.
I actually grew two of these a few years ago, but they unfortunately died off before they could bear fruit (at about 2-3 years). They are very, very challenging to grow from seed. They do germinate quite nicely if you treat them with some sort of hormone, I hear, but otherwise my germ. rate was about 15%.
The ones that did sprout were grown using a somewhat unorthodox method, and here it is:

I have a fish tank, with tropical fish, that stays consistently at around 80-82 degrees. Simply put, it was the baggie method, in a fry net, submersed in water.

They germinated in about a week and a half. The other plants I tried with this method, should you be interested, sprouted in a day. One. Day. It knocked my socks off. (the 'other' plants were Datura, Borage, and Basil).

If anyone has a fish tank I highly recommend trying this!

Cheers!

:)

I would love to send you an envelope too. thank you so much for your offer.
Linda

Will these freeze coming thru the mail? I can pick up the envelope at my PO so it is not sitting in the mailbox.

Yes ive been turning the tray around, only thing is sometimes they dry out completely and some stay soaked. I have a fan on them now, so far i'll have to see how it goes. The ones with the problems are my Impatients and Zinnias. I do have alot of seeds though so if some dont make it i'll still have alot left, it's just annoying. Also I never have the clear tops for these. I bought roughly 100 trays and 2000+ jiffy pellets from a supply store out east. The one thing thats really annoying me is some of the same pellets continuosly dry out no matter how much water I add, which is bad because the excess water is only soaked up by the next pellet. Not an easy chore to watch over roughly 48 trays of pellets.

A good treatment for mold is mixing a tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a gallon of water. Use sparingly so you don't overwater, though.

Mike

jaynine,
Let me know how it goes for you. I've been dancing around trying to be brave enough to purchase the t. tricolor. I under stand they can be tempermental.

Peggy

I've had t. speciosum in my garden for approx. 15 years now, but not from seed. When I bought it (Dan Hinkley, the former Heronswood not Heronswood as it is now), it came as a baggie of loose white roots that were about half the size of a pencil. No crown, not a plant - just roots (root cuttings). If you knew my climate, you would think it would have produced self sown seedlings from the Clothiers description of how to treat the seeds, but I've never found a seedling. It spreads around freely and comes up in some surprising places not of my choice, but by root not seed.

Clothiers: Tropaeolum ciliatum, and speciosum, Impervious seed coats. Shake in dry sharp sand or nick carefully with a file. Soak seeds 1-2 days or until swelling noticeable. Sow at 18-22ºC (64-71ºF) for 2-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 4-6 wks, move to 5-12ºC (41-53ºF) for germination. Short viable seed.

Funny you should mention this topic. One of the articles in DG newsletter this week, talks about making seedballs.
Here's the link.

Theresa

Here is a link that might be useful: Seedballs

Thanks for the link, Theresa.

I'm guessing using less seeds in seed balls and therefore planting with more precision is not an option, based on the lack of responses about that. Ah well!

I am sure that the work to profit ratio is less than desirable AL...I personally would find a less labor intensive venture too ;) I once made a killing on snowcones as a kid. I remember making like $40 on one HOT saturday afternoon and that probably felt like a $1,000 to me at the time.

I'm In! Great site! Thank you!

Here is my 2 cents.I live near St.louis Mo. I started Geraniums and Impatiens the day after Thanksgiving for the same reason except I am not selling mine. If you can provide quality light and take time to pinch them back occasionally you will be fine. I started some Ageratum(first time) and they are starting to bloom already. I'm cutting them back to promote new growth. Most Annuals will bloom all summer. some need more attention but not to worry.

Check out my blog

Here is a link that might be useful: gardening by the seat of my pants

Nice Blog! Brandy

That is fast. I planted some Broccoli and Brussels sprout on a Saturday morning and germinated the next evening.

Here is a link that might be useful: gardening by the seat of my pants

All I did was nick the seeds and soaked them in warm water overnight,then planted them in seeding mix and put them in my small table top heated propagator which I got from Canadian Tire.It doesn't get too warm but the bottom heat remains constant.I have been using this for years and have always had success with germinating most seeds, but never as fast as these,I was really amazed how fast the seeds came up especially since they were not fresh seeds,in fact the Hibiscus and snail vine seeds are at least 3 years old.

I get little craft zip lock baggies and either write the name of the plant on a sticker which i place on the bag or on a piece of paper and place it in the baggie.
~mike

Glad you figured it out! :) Just in case you don't know (and I apologize for my presumptuousness if you do), chive seed loses viability rather quickly compared to other seeds that can last years, so I'd get those seeds planted or traded before they're a year or so old.

And for future reference, many people can ID a plant from just a seed pod. Or even just seeds ~ I'd think many of us avid seed-collectors and seed-starters know exactly what many kinds look like since we've planted hundreds or thousands (or even hundreds of thousands in some people's cases! :). So if you find yourself in this position again, post pics here or in the Name That Plant forum. Bet you'll get an ID quick.

From Seed they can take up to 20 years before fruiting.

Just want to add my agreement to a few points.

I have loads of native pecan trees on my small farm/ranch and I think Freemanhouse has it about right. I've never tried that exact method, but it sort of mimics the conditions I have here naturally, and I pull loads of seedlings every summer from the flowerbeds (Ugh) and see them pop up in the pastures all the time.

The nuts drop in the fall, just in time for a pecan pie for Thanksgiving. Most winter days are warmer than 40-45 and the ground stays warmer still, but I don't see where keeping them that cool would hurt them. And the most likely places I see new seedlings is where it's moist, so I'd think soaking them for a good while before planting would be a good idea, or at the very least keeping them well watered until they germinate would be smart.

Judging from where I see seedlings, they love organic matter as well. I have many of them popping up in old piles of leaves that have half-rotted, and they seem to thrive when I transplant them into pots with half compost and half potting soil.

I also agree on planting the nuts on their side. Some of the seedlings I pull up still have the nut attached and the sprouts come from the point. So planting them on their side makes sense.

I don't know for sure how old a tree must be before fruiting, but I'd say 20 years for them to get into full swing is probably right as well. I've seen some trees on a neighbor's place that were well taken care of (watering, feeding, pruning) and were maybe half that age when they produced nuts, but since the trees weren't that big there weren't that many.

I do know from my own experience that keeping them well watered and limbed up (pruning the lower branches off) helps them take off and grow taller MUCH faster. I have a few eight year old ones at the edges of my yard that I've taken care of that way and they're about fifteen feet tall with a good sized canopy, compared the ones about that age in the pasture that are around ten feet tall and not nearly as full.