6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I'm somewhat new, but for direct sown seed, I use flour to draw out my boundaries. Just a baggie with a hole cut in it allows it to fall pretty much in some sort of line. Once I've got it all finished, I take a digital image and then print them out. Where I sowed seeds, I write on the photo. There are some shrubs and evergreens in my beds that give me reference. Next spring, I also take note of where bulbs have popped up. If I want to collect or move them, I use a plastic knife with the name written on it.
I have a lemon tree that I started from a store bought seed. The tree is now about 5 foot tall and has large thorns but after 5 or so years, still no sign of it bearing any fruit.
This tree was very slow growing and stopped at about 3 feet tall for about 2 years, I purchased a mexican lemon tree when we lived in Texas which was about 4 foot at the time, when I put them both side by side the tree from seed shot up to the same height as the mexican lemon and then they both grew to where they are now. Don't know if trees need friends but it sure helped mine.
I have not been able to find out any info on the mexican lemon, but that is what the tag says, so if anyone has any tips on what to expect please let me know.
Susan
Susan, I wonder if you what you have is a Mexican Lime rather than a lemon. If I'm not mistaken, the word "limon" in Spanish refers to what we in the US call a "lime." Every lemon tree I've seen did have some pretty good thorns, in fact, most citrus has thorns. Some can be vicious, others not. Don't know how long it takes them to start bearing from seed-grown trees, though.
--Ron
I haven't grown these, but it looks like the best temp for germination is 50ish, with germination taking from 2-4 weeks although some seeds may take longer (not all will germinate at the same time). In your area outdoors, unless you have a cold frame to protect new seedlings, you may want to wait until late winter/early Spring when danger of a likely hard freeze is over but temps are still cool.
Callistemon No pretreatment. do not cover seed soil temp 55-60F & takes 14-60 days to germinate.
Caranga. Soak seed in water for 24 hours then store at 40F for 3 weeks.... Then lightly cover soil temp 65-70F & takes 5 days to germinate.
Michelia I use cuttings NOT seed
Finally got my seeds yesterday, and am very anxious about getting the best germination rate. So, would anyone with experience with any of these please reply. Any pretreatment needed? Would baggie method work or sow in soil? should I nick the hull first? TIA for any responses.
Cananga ordorata-?
Michelia champaca-?
Cassia leptophylla-?
Thanks again.
Pattie
Thanks! I'm just starting (you couldn't tell, right? *grin*) but am excited - a bit less patience needed in this case, but nonetheless..
I'll check out the link and try the Name that Plant forum (and if no luck, may try a new id post here). Again your help is very much appreciated!
I have some unusual Iris that have produced seeds. These iris are extremely tall (4') and seems to have only the bottom part of the iris. They have very little on the top of the flower. Now they have produced seeds which look like enormous beans.
I'm interested to know what variety I have and whether the seeds are likely to produce plants and whether they must be soaked?
Mine are doing the same. I've read that some hibiscus won't set seed if they are hybrids. They also need to be pollinated. Hardy hibiscus are the easiest to get seed from. All of my hardies have already produced. My hybrids, not one seed.
people use plain old common H2O2 from the drugstore. Most of us do not cover the seedlings & allow for good air curculation. Cuttings are "aired" several times a day to allow for complete air exchange. Also if you start with steril soil you are less likly to develop "damping off' orother problems. Go to local bueaty shop for stronger H2O2
I use 3% H2O2 from the drugstore diluted either 10 parts water to 1 part H2O2 or 20:1. I like to spray the seeds with it before planting. It's strong oxidizing properties can actually hurt seedling's tender roots if not diluted and I try not to overuse it, prefering chamomile tea for the same antifungal action. I find it very useful in a spray bottle because I germinate many seeds with the coffee filter/baggie method and this prevents rots and molds and damping off.
You may want to post this on the seed exchange forum. Here is a link.
You should get more responses there.
Andrea =)
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Exchange
A third choice is to sow and put the pots outdoors now, either in a cold frame or someplace they are protected from foraging birds, rodents....or you can protect by putting a piece of screening or chicken wire over the pots.
Fall sowing lets mother nature take care of the temperatures and at a natural progression - I've sown seeds for several things this month and have the pots in tiered carts on my deck. I top seed pots with a layer of grit or very fine aquarium gravel for those things that will take several months to germinate - discourages moss, algae.
You could sow and leave indoors if you are sterilizing all your materials - sowing in potting soil indoors in an enclosed space can lead to some interesting fungal things growing on the soil surface when you are keeping them moist, and, you lose what could be some benefit of fluctuating day/night temperatures in conditioning your seeds.
There is a variegated ornamental called "Trifetti". You might try doing an image search on it to see if that is the one you're looking for.
I just looked up some sites. These are 2 good pepper and tomato seed sites.
http://www.totallytomato.com/ Has a varigated one.
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/ also has some listed under hot peppers. I've bought from both and had good results.