6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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
Hi jhough,
In one case I just threw the seeds in the garden as I was pruning early this spring (mid-March in zone 5/6) though seeds could have blown into the garden at any time since last fall. In the case of the others they were true volunteers. I did nothing at all. The seeds just dropped and started growing. I now have 3 rose of sharon growing in that bed.
Next I have to figure out how big I should let them grow before I move them to a good home. Does anyone know?
It might, it probably does, vary with the brand name. The only time I tried it they all unrolled in a day or two after the first watering.
(I had seen some reforestation people planting tree seedlings grown in cardboard cylinders and I decided to try it with toilet paper cylinders. My experiment failed.)
I tried it and they alternated between drying out completely and getting mouldy. Also the compost fell out of the bottom and the whole thing was a sorry mess. I'm sure there are advocates of "bog-roll-planting" out there, but for plants with long roots (e.g. sweet peas) I now use 500ml yoghurt pots - they're nice and deep. Yes, the plant has some root disturbance, but it doesn't make a huge difference, in my opinion.
lyinseeker,
here's a site with good info, just start down somewhere around 50. Good luck with the seeds.
Here is a link that might be useful: Rose seeds
Annual coreopsis are prairie plants that grow in meadows and grasslands, their stems are supported by the surrounding plants. They also have seeds which are distributed by dropping, the seeds are not windborne, so again the leaning nature of the plant allows for the seeds to be dispursed away from the plant base.
Plants which are native to dryland, natural environments usually require lean soil and plenty of sun. After seedlings are established, gradually reduce waterings and then let the rain be their source for moisture; only water when the plants are near wilting. It's better to prepare their bed well with a few shovelfuls of compost than to provide supplemental feeding.
By giving your prairie plants "tough love" you'll toughen their stems so they don't flop severely and you'll stimulate the groth of a better root system to support that plant as well.
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Seeds offered as bonuses in seed catalogues are great varieties because they want you to order with them again. They're not going to send dud seeds or hideous and difficult varieties...this is business and they want your money; it doesn't pencil out for them to turn off customers.
T
Hi Birkie,
I don't recall him ever saying rain was a problem. Unless it's a massive storm or the rain goes on for several days I guess the bags hold up just fine.
I suppose cheesecloth could work just fine as long as you used several layers of it so smaller seeds down fall through the weave.
happy gathering!
I don't know if they need to dry on the plant or not but the seeds need to dry before planting. They germinate pretty easily but are slow to reach blooming size. I started some about 4 years ago and am getting my first blooms now. That might be because I'm in zone 7a and have a fairly short growing season (I did winter them over inside). I was pretty excited to see my first flower. So far I only have a blue one blooming, none of the whites have put up any flower stalks.
Karyn
Jiffy mix is nothing more than Peat Moss & Perlite with some hydrated lime to balance the pH to a neutral 7.0. It makes a great topdressing for (some) mushroom substrates because of it's total lack of nutrients...
It also has a bad habit of being infected with all types of trich and cobweb mold spores out of the bag and (if used for mushrooms) needs to be pasteurized first to destroy them.
For seeding, mixing in a little coco-coir and coffee grounds really seems to give it what it needs...but as always your results may vary.
heya,
i've also been wondering about this. usually, i mix my own soil of about 3 parts humus-y soil, 1 part peat moss and 1/2 part vermiculite (i've read about its connection with asbestos.. but they are chunky compared to the perlite which i accidentally breath in everytime i open the tupperware, and that freaks me out!). then i line the bottom of the pot with coconut fibres.
germination is not a problem with herbs and flowering plants. and true leaves also.
i've tried using a horti 'soil-less' starter mix, and they germinated at a slightly slower rate as my own mixture, with pretty much the same effect. so to save costs, i just continue using my own.
after i transplant them to bigger spaces so they are not crowded together anymore (using the same mixture, except i increase the amount of soil and lower down the amount of peat moss and vermiculite), most either grow painfully slowly or start to get leggy. not sure what the problem is.
but my balsams are growing wonderfully strong, and also a flower box of celosia which is growing like crazy and starting to look like a proper plant.
it's put in the same place (windowsill) as another flower box of celosia that isn't getting past the first true leaf stage, with the same soil mixture. so i really can't put my finger on it.
i've tried using starter solutions after transplanting, and they just accelerated the dying process. so i've stopped putting in any kinds of fertilizers or chems. is this the problem?
Here is a link that might be useful: my blog on the seedling process
hi there i would love to get some crape myrtle seeds if anyone has seeds to share. my mailing address is
elma remando
1216 ave k north
saskatoon,sask
canada s7l2n9
i would really appreciate a answer either way, i could send a sase envelope also. and one can send seeds to canada with no problems as i get seeds from the usa all the time . elma
scarecrow, the seeds are within the dried seed pods. Clip off a cluster of the pods and shake them over a table with some newspaper on it. Many scale-like seeds will fall out of each pod, unless they have already fallen out.
At this time of year, the seed pods will have opened up naturally, allowing for the natural spreading of the seed.
Most all of the crape myrtles sold today are hybrids. That means that the seedling offspring are not likely to carry all of the characteristics of the parent plant.
not to hijack your topic, but I have something yanking out my cosmos and bachelor's buttons and they're about 6" tall sprouts. Funny thing is that they just leave it next to the edge of the bed, I would be more happy if they actually ate the sprout, but just yanking it out and leaving it there isn't a very thing to do. I suggest using bricks, build like a fortress wall sround the newly sown seeds, then put a piece of wire netting over the rtop, remove once the sprouts out grow it. The milk crate ides will work also
I had trouble germinating podophyllum as well. Tried this year with GA-3 and seeds rotted. Am trying agin now.
I have found that some seedlings will only send a root first year and need second cold period to send up leaves. Also for seeds like gingers is very important not to get temps changed fast- meaning you can't put them into to fridge and take it out. They will do much better with oscillating temps outdoor to produce valid seedlings.
I put the flat of remaining ungerminated seeds outside in mid-March to see if the elements could work their magic. It took patience, keeping the flat watered and in shade, but I am happy to report that I have three small seedlings up.
Thanks for your advice.
kms