6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Hi Carol,
Wait until the pods dry, i.e turn tan color. They will split on their own and expose rows of thin black seeds. It may be a good idea to wrap each pod with a square of nylon to prevent bugs from tunneling through the pods and the rows of seeds. I don't know if this will work, but it's worth a try.
Good luck
:-)
I love Yucca too, especially the bluish green with curly threads and the green and yellow stripes.
Here is a link that might be useful: Yucca seeds
Tania, I looked for photos of sugar cane mulch in place in a garden (not something I would find in this part of the world :))
and it seems to be a shredded product. First, your seeds will not germinate under it, and second, I don't think you could keep seeds moist enough to germinate on top of it.
One of the purposes of any mulch is to keep weed seeds from germinating, and the mulch won't know a good seed from weed.
You would do better pulling the mulch back where you want to sow the seeds, pushing it back into place when the seedlings have gained a little size, or sowing your annuals in pots and transplanting them.
I also am in zone 5. I'm in Adrian Michigan & I have had good luck with liatrus when I winter-sowed it. (Winter Sowing Forum explains). But it didn't bloom the first year and was very small. I almost forgot that I had it in my garden until this yr. and it's blooming it's head off, looking very healthy. My friends say that when you have larkspur in the garden, you will always have it since it's a rampant self-sower. I find that with cone flower it's slow going with any method, so I just let it reseed usually. Happy Gardening.
Carol
I would suggest the electric heater and a "green house" to keep the warmth around the plants. There are a variety of ways you can create your own green house. I have used large cake containers (like they sell b-day cakes in at the grocery store). I have also used plastic sheeting to enclose a complete shelf (above, below and both sides) on my plant stand. I have not used an electric heater so I am not sure about the temps this would create but you have plenty of time to experiment before spring sowing.
Bonny
The seed should be allowed to "ripen" on the plant when they start to "dry" then may pick & store the heads upside down with a paper (etc) to collect any seed that fall. Seed does need at least a 4 week cold period which could be outside or in the vegi keeper.
It depends on which yellow baptisia you are growing. If you have one of the native yellows (i.e. b. spaerocarpa) and your plant is isolated (they cross pollinate easily), your seedlings should be like the plant you gathered the seeds from. Hybrids like Carolina Moonlight (cross between a white and a yellow) will not come true from seed, at least not 100% of the time, although you could find you have some nice plants if you are patient enough to grow them to flowering size.
Well, unfortunately I canÂt do anything about our 80-degree temps during the day, though nights are a bit cooler. Is that whatÂs keeping them from getting any bigger?
They have to be about 8 weeks from germination by now but they are miniscule in sizeÂÂweÂre talking no height to speak of and not even 1 mm (yes, you read that right) wide. Nowhere near big enough to plant out. They are not going dormant, they are just sitting there.
How can I encourage them to grow more?
I don't know how these will do in your climate (recommended zone range is 3-9 generally), but I do know they are fairly specific in what they require for germination. Warm moist, cold moist, cool moist, in that order.
Impervious seed coats. Shake in dry sharp sand or nick carefully with a file. Sow at 64-71ºF for 2-4 wks, move to 24-39ºF for 4-6 wks, move to 41-53ºF for germination which may be erratic (meaning not all the seedlings will appear at the same time)
Easy way to do them is put them in a tiny zip lock with just a tsp or two of sterile moist vermiculite or sterile moist sand, leave them on your desk. Date the bag. Then move the bag to your refrigerator (not freezer) and date again. If your temperatures by the end of the second period are close to 50, or an average day/night of 50 in Fall to Winter, take your bag of seeds and sow the contents, vermiculite and all, place outdoors. (I have a problem achieving that 50ish temp indoors and depend on Mother Nature here).
Wow! I am glad I ask the question. I will try but from the information given I may be wasting my time but then again learning is what it's all about.