6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Ive got the cones. I made a cone picker out of a coat hanger and a broom stick. The garage roof was a little sketchy, but I survived. Now Im debating how natural Im going to go. I found some great info at the forestry center website, although the link above is dead. That website seems to encourage cleaning the seed, stratisfying them (making them think they went through winter), and them planting them in january thru may, or somthing like that. I might take that approach with some of the seed, but for the sake of experimentation Im also going to try the planting method described above.
I found a baby fir tree on a two foot thick strip of dirt between my drivway and house the other day. Its barely three inches tall. I think Ill need to pot it and protect it from the cold over the winter because Im asuming it got a late start.
Its amazing what I find when I put my interest in a certain place.
Heres the link I ended up at.
They do self sow nicely. I collect seed too. A lot of the cosmos seed heads look like a little ball of spikes. The pink ones are softer in shape.
Here is a link that might be useful: Cosmos Seedhead
Morning glories are like weeds or relatives who come to visit. Once you got them, they are hard to get rid of.
I had some morning glory vines and when I got rid of them, I had small plant shoots coming up everywhere for two years. I think some sprouted from bird seed tho.
I can't offer tons of experience. I am planting palms from seed for the first time as well. I purchased them from seedrack.com which offers a huge variety of seeds including several palms. So far I have planted traveller palms, carboard palms, Florida coontie and pygmy date palms. Each variety came with an instructional sheet and each variety requires different handling. Some are planted in sand, some in soil. Some are kept in the dark until they germinate, some are not. Some are placed in wet ziplock bags with soil until they germinate, some are not. Depending on the variety, germination time can take days, weeks or months per the instruction sheets. I did find the prices reasonable, shipping was not bad, instructions were thorough and good and overall a good experience. My Florida coontie and cardboard palms have started their germination and appear to be doing well. I'm still nurturing the traveller palms and pygmy date palms as they have a longer germination time. I hope this helps!
I've used seedrack.com many times and they are excellent. The seeds are a good price, they dispatch quickly and the growing instructions are superb.
Personally i've had no problems starting palms indoors which is what you have to do here in the UK! You should be fine.
Thanks,
I hadn't seen seed saving but will post there.
Here is a link that might be useful: seed saving thread
you could attempt to grow foxglove, as they can overwinter pretty well in many places, and their blooms are a great addition to any garden.
Since they're biennuals, they have to be planted this year. Hopefully they'll mature enough to survive winter though!
Both are easy. Go for it.
thanks!