6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
This is a very good question and I'd like to see if somebody more knowledgeable can help us both out.
My assumptions are ...
1) That you can sow tropical seeds any time of the year as the equatorial sun shines at about the same brilliance all year round. However, I have reservations that overall, there are changes due to changes in trade winds caused by more temperate zone temp shifts caused by seasonality that might even affect tropicals.
2) That you might be able to fake seeds out by growing them indoors at spring-like temps and having perhaps kick-started them with Giberellic Acid.
What do I know for sure? Well there are some seeds like Gingko Biloba that need to experience a successive temperature shift, from cold and gradually to warm. If you plant them in warm, forget it; they are not going to germinate. But you can still fake them out by using your refrigerator to keep them cold for 3 to 4 weeks. That's what they say. I tried it and my Gingko seeds still haven't germinated. Stratification? I'm not sure how important layering the seeds between deposits of mulch which replicate fallen leaves can be. I think it's more to do with the temp cycle.
But anyway, if your seeds aren't tropical and germinate at any time of the year, there appear to be ways to fake any seed out and coax them into germination. What happens after that, depends on how good your indoor environment provides for what they need which I suspect doesn't have to be much more than room temps and appropriate soil and water requirements.
Finally, some seeds, even in their native soil and locale, can be sleepers, taking months or years to germinate. I suppose even the experts don't have a clue how to motivate these.
But yes, if someone wants to chime in with some suggestions beyond my assumptions, please do. I'm sure Missti would be as grateful as I.
Try the FAQ in the link below.
also try this link: http://images.parkseed01.com/parksgardens/pem000082/pem000082.html
I sowed the following seed outside June 1st and they all garminated already. I used 2L plastic pop bottles and located them in a very shady area (under shrubs):
- Echinacea white swan
- Echinacea "sunset"
- Echinacea pallida
- ballon flower
- Lychnis sp. Cross
- Coreopsis (4 varieties)
- Trumpet vine
- Yucca
Good luck!
Here is a link that might be useful: Is there Spring and Summer Sowing?
This should be the same as for all conifers. Wait for the cones, which for Arborvitae and Platycladus, may be odd shapped, to brown and dry out. This time of year, they are probably still green and could easily be mistaken for seed, but are cones.
After they brown and dry out, sometime around October to February, pick them and then break them apart to find the white pine nuts inside. This is your harvest and what you will plant.
I saw the image of your poor little seedlings on another forum, so we know FOR SURE that lack of light is the problem. So, it's a normal response under those conditions but not the kind of growth that you want to encourage. Unless it's just for fun, that is. ;-)
True sunlight is required, but you will have to introduce the plants slowly or they'll fry.
There is all kinds of mail order seed companies. I like to use certain companies more because I have reliably good germination from them.
JL Hudson, seedsman- many rare plants, my source of GA-3 and really cool tiwsted catalog, also got few rare bulbs from them as well, have been their customer for years.
Gardens North- just found them last year- very impressive seeds of rare plants, shrubs, woodies, excellent germination. Many seeds sent moist packed so germination is great.
hardyplants.com- does not have pictures but excellent prices and varietes.
Superseeds- small seed count but prices are affordable and germination always decent.
For veggies I used Totally tomatoes.
Chilterns - all time favorite, expensive/UK/ but one can have a field day browsing through catalog.
Secret seeds/ UK/ - the only company that has aconitum hemsleyanum seeds, always like them even that ordering overseas are somewhat pricey with present $$ standing.
JJA- lots of rare seeds for collectors.
Recently I used Summer Hills perennials and Swallowtail Perennials- found them to be very good with germination and good varieties of annuals.
Park seed has good $1 deal section so always nice to find something on clearance.
And of course, my best all time favorite is NARGS seed exchange. Your membership is $30 and then small nominal fee for the packets, there are two rounds so I usually end up with about 100 packets of seeds per season.
I am on the West Coast of Florida and have the same problem with the jiffy pots. I stopped using them and just use the pellets or clay saucers now. Works fine for me. I do find that if I use the right size clay pot with the top of a soda bottle i get the perfect balance since the clay pot absorbs the extra moisture.
Kristen
For the past 2 years I have used the ones in the mesh netting, they swell up when you water them. I liked them only in the house. What I liked was they were very easy to water, I only watered them a few times as they did hold the water well but didn't have a problem with too much water. I have tried and do not like the paper pots tho. They do dry out too fast and I don't think they use a very good grade of soil in them, the concept is good,ie, place them in the ground no need to remove the seedlings. That's all well and fine if they make it that far, mine never did.
This past spring I used a plastic bag, not a zipper one just one you tie with a twist tie. I like it cuz I could open it up when it needed to be and when it was time to plant them out I just put the soil from the bag right in with the seedlings (in a pot or in the ground) and I didn't loose one seedling due to exposed roots. I don't think I would use them for WSing tho, too flimsy. I like Trudi's method best.
It is the easiest plant to direct sow where it will grow. It always puzzles me to read how people have trouble sowing the seeds. Mine reseeds everywhere. I also shake the dry seed pods over the spots where I want them to grow. The seeds germinate in late summer and overwinter unscathe. They are blooming now.
I wintersowed some and direct sowed others in a warm spell in February (even though in my zone April 15 is the sow date). Both sets germinated. They take a while to get going but mine have buds now. They don't seem to like to be transplanted and the direct sown are taller than the ones that have been moved, but I do have a wintersown bunch that is doing quite well. Cut your seedling hunks big I guess :D
George
I love Four O'clocks; they are very pretty :) I have some that I started from seed that got leggy and when I cut them back a little they did amazing.
I am curious about something a older lady told me when she gave me some that she just dug up. Do they overtime produce a large brown potato looking bulb? Since I have never lived in the same place long enough to notice this nor have I ever desired to dig them up. I planted the ones she gave me and the leaves look exactly like 4 O'Clocks but they just wont bloom. I would imagine they could be a different variety, she did say something about Colorado 4 O'clocks....
Kristen
I think it might be mold
in my humble experience, every single one of those peat-pod mini-green house thingies are infested with either trichoderma (green mold) or "cobweb" mold.
Technically the cobweb mold that you see is parasitic to other types of molds and mushrooms but it's such a fast colonizer it'll end up killing (drowning) off your seedlings anyways.
I've had pretty good results by creating a 20% mixture of hydrogen-peroxide in water and spraying it on the cobweb mold, directly and increasing the airflow significantly.
Try to only make as much mix as you plan on using because hydrogen-peroxide (H2O2) quickly turns into water (H2O) + Oxygen (O) when exposed to light.