6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Link below is to several previous discussions on how to do it. All the basics are covered in them. You'll also find even more info over on the Plant Propagation forum. Good luck.
Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow Million Bells from cuttings...
They winter over in the greenhouse or in the house. The only thing I would advise is not to neglect watering. Unlike many plants that slow water consumption in winter, the demand for water is continuous and the effect of missing a watering is quickly apparent.
As to rooting them, they are among the easiest plants to propagate by most any method(for me at least), in water or in any free draining but moisture retentive medium, with or without the benefit of rooting hormones. If you have ever rooted Coleus or Impatiens, you should have no trouble with Callibrachoa.
Have fun!
Well I don't know much about Zinnias, this is my first attempt at growing them.I am growing Green Envy I used one of those beginner seed starting kits (the cheap kind with a plastic top and individual seed holes. Did that make sense? Anyway I planted mine at the end of march some of them I started inside, others i direct sowed, and my zinnias seem to be doing well. Here are pictures.
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Week 4:
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Week 6?
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At this point, the zinnia sits outside 24/7. It hasn't been truly hot here in Austin yet, but this week it is supposed to get up in the 90's, so we'll see if I need to move it into shade. I have been spraying with weak miracle gro
I really haven't been doing anything special. They are a little tall and leggy because they got weak sunlight as seedlings. Does this help at all? I'm zone 8b and they've been doing well despite 100 degree temps.
let me know if you have any questions. http://www.greeneggsandsam8.blogspot.com
if you want t follow the plants through the season. I update my posts periodically with new plant pictures
WEll - here is what I did. Started WAAAAYYYYY too many zinnias this year - but they are a love of mine. :) Zowie, Highlight, Green Envy, Swizzle - I couldn't stop. Started on heat mats under lights and when they emerged I took the plastic dome off, but I left them on the heat mats, as zinnias are heat-lovers. I usually move my seedlings off the mats once they emerge. I fed with a new fertilizer I purchased from Gardener Supply Co. So far - they are doing very well. I have since transplanted them to a larger flat, and put them in the cold frame and pinched them. So far, so good. Son't know if this helps at all.
Yo digdirt! Dig this--'Dry out very fast'??? Obviously, you're not making the right blocking mix! 'Markedly reduced germination rates'??? Hah! I scoff at that remark. You obviously don't know how to germ seeds in blocks! And difficult is not the word when you're trying something so new; use 'experiment' And finally, they're expensive BECAUSE THEY LAST FOREVER!!! Nothing like buying a round of oil products year after year after year and watching them pile up around your place. Not me.
Here is a link that might be useful: The world's resource for soil block seed starting
I just started using a soil block maker this year and I'll be honest I was skeptical. But I am SOLD, 100%
Saves space, germination was great and no pots to sterilize.
I will definitely be giving my soil block maker a work out next spring ;)
Probably be shopping for a few different sizes as well.
You can take a look here on this database of seedling images.
Here is a link that might be useful: Images of Seedpods, Seeds and Seedlings
You'll find all the basic seed collecting and saving FAQ's over on the Seed Saving forum (linked on this forum's front page). Just click on the FAQ link there.
If you search that forum using "carnation" you'll get several discussions on them specifically.
Goof luck.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Saving Forum
I would save the seed until late this fall.
Then scatter where you want them to grow next spring, or winter sow them this coming winter. (check out the FAQ on the winter sowing forum for more info on that)
I winter sowed some this past winter and they did REALLY well for me. I won't have blooms this year, but I have a lot of healthy seedlings that should do well next spring.
Hi,
I just germinated some oriental poppy seeds - was my second try because nothing germinated the first time around when I followed all the directions. So with the left over seeds. I decided to just scatter them on a damp paper towel placed inside a plastic takeout food container with a lid. No startification or any thing, out of the packet onto the towel. I kept the container at 70 -80F with light exposure and almost all have germinated :-) Took 2-3 days. Now I'll have to figure out how to get them to grow up - thinking of just cutting up the paper towel into small patches and patting it into my bed with the sunflowers. Maybe you could try something like that with some of your seeds even though I guess yours aren't the orientals?
Amna
No way to know for sure which variety it is until you see the fruit and even then you may not be able to tell. The most common varieties are Bacon, Gwen, and Hass plus 2 or 3 others I think. But only the supplier that sold to the store would know.
It should bear fruit...eventually...;) assuming your climate is friendly for them. Fairly good size trees and average time from germination to fruit bearing is about 5 years based on what I have read about them.
Good luck! ;) Nice idea.
Dave
Sue, that is really cute for you and your son. :) I have a 6yo daughter and we play with trying to start avacado tress from pits too. I posted in another thread here about it. Also, there are a few threads on the California Gardening forums about avacado trees that might be able to help you, they know a lot more about them than me over there. I posted a pic of my tree there too so you can see about the size, and mine is considered a small one from what I can tell.
Good luck! And don't think too much about your little boy going off to college, wah!
No, you don't HAVE to pinch them, but you can if you wish to make them bushier. Just pinch off the growing tip of the central stem until it develops the bush shape you want. Wait till it is about 6" tall before pinching.
Why not try an experiment since you have more than one - pinch off some and leave some unpinched and see which end result you prefer. ;)
Dave
Did you ever transplant them or just leave them in their germination trays? The process of transplanting is what stimulates root development. It triggers the cellular structure in the roots to change so that the seedling switches to making multiple fibrous roots rather than just a few tap roots. Without transplanting, that change won't take place.
Also seedlings should never be fed anything stronger than a 1/4 strength fertilizer solution - never full strength. It just triggers top growth and the roots are stressed to keep up.
Now that you have transplanted them to the garden it will happen but it means "catch-up" time. Lay off the fertilizer for awhile and allow the roots to develop, ok? ;)
Dave
Well I dug mine out this year. I had gotten it as a gift several years ago and tried it and I didn't seem to get it right then. This time it worked great. I'm guessing I didn't have the soil wet enough the first time I tried it.
I had great success using the soil blocks. I made the blocks on a layer of excess quilt batting (that worked ok, but might try to find a substitute for that next year). The quilt batting was my cheap solution to a capilary mat. I could water on the edge (not to disturb the soil blocks) and the batting would disperse the water all along the bottom of the tray to all the blocks. It is essential not to let this mat dry out though, or it was hard to get it all moistened again.
Seeds I started that were relatively small did best. I tried a few cukes in my seed blocks (which are the smaller 1 1/2 inch blocks) and they didn't seem to have enough room to open up.
I had a lot of luck with verbena, millet, wall flower, lavender, and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting.
I plan to use them for most of my seed starting next year (I start A TON of things from seed every year: veggies, annuals, herbs, perennials).
What I really like about them is the space it saves. I don't have enough very small pots to start the seeds in so this allows me to only pot up what germinates and once they have a set or two of true leaves or I can see the roots starting to poke out the sides.
I am now a believer and may even look for a bigger soil block maker for some of my bigger seeds :)
no pretreatment gequired to germinate and/but will take 13-15 weeks to flower