6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Thanks anyway. I went out real early and dug up all the remaining sunflowers (3). The ants were doing their thing even before the leaves had began to droop. I found no evidence of worms or rodents or the like.

Hi, I started my seeds in a plastic bag that I poked holes in, when the seedlings were ready to put in a pot I just cut away the bag and set in in the pot. In the past I have used flats and trays and peat pots etc, it is always such a challenge getting them to their new home without crushing the new stems, so I tried this and so far it worked well, I knew what pot I was going to use and filled the pot with soil, then dumped the soil into the bag, when the seeds were ready, I cut the bottom out of the bag and set it in the pot, easy as that. I kept the bag twisted closed when I first put the seeds in it so it would stay moist, which worked well too. I will use the bag method from now on, it's cheap, easy and virtualy fool proof.

It helps if the soil isn't really wet when you move the seedlings, the soil seems to stay in tack better. Hope that helps.

i did it,with a spatula.put 'em in a long planter after filling with good soil.they got rained on today pretty bad,even under the big oaks,but might be good for them.
thanks for your advice maidinmontana.

I envy you. I had 4 going about 1 and 1/2 inches tall and we just got a string of 100 degree days and they all four appear to have shriveled and died.

Silver and red maples make their seeds in the spring after flowering. plant them up right away before they dry out.

cheers

Jeff

Maple seeds itself everywhere and most of us just dig the seedlings and pot them up. Al

Dahlia tubers take about two to three weeks above the ground. A lot depends on how deep you you planted them, how warm it is and the moisture in the soil. WEait a week or two more before you do anything

Yes, poppies (pollinated by insects) will cross quite readily. I wish I had more information for you about the distance required, but I can tell you that it would be several hundred feet. Even more than that! But since you are growing multiple colors....why do you want to avoid cross pollination?

You are correct in thinking your pits from pickled apricots aren't viable. You might try the Seed Exchange Forum here and see if anyone has ripe fruit or untreated seed they could send you -

Soak seed, stratify 4 months (give the seeds a prolonged moist chill of approx 40F), and sow 4" apart early in spring, just covered, well-drained soil essential, sunny spot preferred. Needs light to germinate. If germination is difficult, try planting and keeping seed warm for 2 weeks before stratification, or simply sow outdoors in early in fall.

Raintree Nursery (reliable) sells young trees, but they also caution that in a mild maritime climate (like my own) they may bloom so early as so not to set fruit. If you were to order a tree, you might ask about your own zone if it's the fruit and not ornamental quality of the tree you are interested in.

You can plant the pit so that the roots are down and the shoot is up. They WILL bend that way if you were to plant it in the 'normal' position, but there is NO need for you to do so. Roots will always exhibit positive geotropism (growing down in response to gravity), while shoots will develop under negative geotropism (against gravity).

Plant the seed in the direction it has already begun and give that poor plant some LIGHT!!! ;-)

Just curious, but does anyone know if avacados can be grown in north central Louisiana?

I have some questions about this plant too. Is there any preparations that need to be done to the seeds? I have the seeds but when I planted some nothing happened.

Jessica

I am assuming you have purchased Rosy Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). Once the flower petals have fallen off of the plant a small pod will form. The pods are approximately 1/8" x 1". Once these have dried the seeds within can be harvested.

Here is a link that might be useful:

On the tag it said Red Cooler. We have some others that are smaller but look similar. I don't remember what their tag says. The pod you mentioned sounds like what I see forming on the Red Cooler vincas.

Is it worth keeping these seeds? Do they grow fast or are they slow growing?

Jessica

Hi Sandy,

I did a little search for you:
Some times seeds can take a very long time to germinate unfortunately there are different things you can try. using sandpaper to scarify the seed - warm moist stratification -
usually in a ziplock bag with moist not wet vermiculite or peat. More advanced is something called GA3 or smoke - not sure if it is a prarie species it may reguire a smoke treatment to trigger germination - try a warm period for 90 - 120 days of moist warm - then switch to the fridge around 40 F or 4 degrees Celcius (Canadian) for another 90 - 120 days . A seed is like a little embyro sometimes they need to continue developing even though they can be picked and appear to be ripe - the warm moist period helps do this without the seed drying out - try the sandpapering if the seed is large enough before the warm period - this will allow the water to do what is called imbibe (penetrate) the seed helping the seed to germinate.

Deni Bown in her book "Encyclopedia of Herbs & their Uses" (Catalogue #B2730) recommends green wood cuttings with a heel taken in late spring or by division in spring or autumn. The plant is also grown from seeds, but you will find that cuttings are easier because the plant only sporadically sets seeds and the seeds are slow to germinate and develop.

I'd be interested in trying some of these seeds

Cheers

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,
I've already given all the seed away. The seed are very small. With seed that small I don't cover them, just sprinkle them on top of the potting oil and cover the container to keep it moist. It usually works but haven't had any luck with these.
The cuttings are gone also. We had a wind of about 60 miles an hour the day after I had put them on my front porch. Lost quite a few of my plants in small pots. A tornado did quite a bit of damage to my neighbors place about a half mile away.
When it blooms again I'll save the seed and your more than welcome to try your luck with them.

Thanks again,
Sandy