6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I did as you suggested, actually - after 24 hours one was still floating. I weighed it and it weighed about half the others.
So, out of curiosity, I decided to cut it in half to see. The cotyledons were white, but almost hollow. It may or may not have sprouted.
I use "Float Test" when selecting seeds that I save from tomatoes. After fermentation, I pour them in a tall glass and stir. The best one sink right away. I pour most of the water and floating ones out. I do it few times until I have just the ones that sink right away. Those are the ones I save. This way , not that you will have an improved germination rate, but you select the BEST seeds that will grow most strong and healthy plants. That is how the nature does in the process of NATURAL SELECTION.
Paulownia (sometimes called kiri in Japanese or princess-tree mostly by shyster Paulownia salespeople) is a weed that can be fairly invasive (environmentally destructive) in many locations. There is a paulownia tree industry out there that spends a lot of effort on promoting this piece of botanical trash, mostly by bending or covering up the truth. It should not be hard at all to germinate the seeds, but I definitely wouldn't waste my time.
If you have fresh or properly stored seeds of the other two trees, germination should be fairly easy. Keeping the Franklinia alive for many years, may be an issue (they are notoriously difficult to grow, but not impossible).
"Can anyone comment on this?"
I'm not sure what you want to know. Sheffield's provides instructions for each type of seed. If you want a second or third opinion, just google the scientific name of the particular plant along with the word germination. Chances are that you'll be able to find multiple sources of info. You can also directly check these sources:
The Seed Site
Backyard Gardener Seed Germination Database
Ontario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society Seed Germination Guide
Tom Clothier's Germination Database
B&T World Seeds Database
"For the first three, is 120 days right? That's four months stratification - seems long."
Lots of seed types need extended stratification periods. I'd go with the recommendations of those that have done the research.
"For the A. nigrum - am I likely to get decent germination rates from these 1 year old seeds?"
Sheffield's rates don't always reflect the germination rates you will achieve. They represent what they believe could be achieved, in ideal conditions, based on their viability tests of that seed lot. Acer seeds are notoriously more difficult to germinate than many "easy" types of seeds, so results will depend on how well you can give the seeds the conditions they need (especially including proper stratification).
Brandon7
This post was edited by brandon7 on Mon, Dec 2, 13 at 22:13
There's nothing wrong with starting some plants early (results may vary with different types of plants), but I wonder what you will gain. The plants that are grown early will still need light and even more space when they get big. What will you do with the ones you start early, while you are starting the next batch?
You might want to look into wintersowing some of your seeds so that they won't have to be started under grow lights, indoors. You could do some indoors and some outdoors.
My avocado has been "pruned" completely or down to just a couple of leaves, and had the top 6" completely broken off by my dog, a deer, and a skunk over the past couple of years. It looks terrible until the next growing season when things finally warm up again and I can get it back outside but every time it comes back fuller and better looking than it did before it was destroyed.
Pinus sabiniana, aka Digger Pine, aka Gray Pine.
Your sign in doesn't indicate your climate zone, but some facts about this pine -
prefers hot, dry summers; absence of summer fog, requires generally mild winters
Specific stands may adapt their own germination requirements according to conditions there - i.e. Digger pine growing on sites where winter temperatures fluctuate greatly, such as the Modoc Plateau, may have adapted a longer requirement for chilling to prevent germination until spring. Seeds from populations growing on low-elevation sites with milder winters tend to require less chilling, thereby favoring early establishment before soil moisture becomes limiting
And, It is classed as very intolerant of shade
Soak seed 48 hours, provide a moist chill of approximately 4 months, move to 70 for germination. Detailed suggestions here -
Here is a link that might be useful: USDA.gov - Pinus sabiniana
Cut off the first flower stem, down to a pair of leaves. The plant will grow 2 new stems and so on with many branches. Cut off the flowers as they fade, so the plant will keep making more flowers. Its goal is to set seed. By pinching stems and deadheading faded flowers, you can prolong flowering all summer and into fall.
Cut off the first flower stem, down to a pair of leaves. The plant will grow 2 new stems and so on with many branches. Cut off the flowers as they fade, so the plant will keep making more flowers. Its goal is to set seed. By pinching stems and deadheading faded flowers, you can prolong flowering all summer and into fall.
Hi Angela,
Well, I've never grown Arborvitae before but one thing for sure, you need to get the seedling out of that egg carton and into a larger container that contains a good potting mix. Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, for example, will feed the plant for up to six months. You'll also have to provide some kind of light; a very bright window location, fluorescent lighting, or maybe even both. The potting mix should be able to drain well and kept moist but not overly wet.
Hope this helps a little anyway :-)
Art
Hi Art thanks I have it under fluorescent light now I want to put it in my bright window but it's so drafty I guess I can create a little barrier and hope for the best. I always start these tender projects in the winter and it's such a long cold season.
Thanks Again
Angela
Redbud does poorly in pots as it wants to form a taproot very small. I pull the seedlings at about 6-10 inch high and the root is often a foot long. I grow some collected in the Oklahoma Ozarks here and they do fine so your zone should be okay but may be a bit warm in winter if it is as wet there as I think.
Rather than leveling you need to adjust the grade so it slopes away from the patio. It's a lot of work to do it correctly but only needs to be done one time.
Start by stripping your sod around the patio and out to the edge of your property. Then have a guy come in with a grader to scrape the yard away from around the house/patio. Then replace rolled sod on the new grade. This will do a lot of good things for your property. Protect it from water seeping and pooling around your foundation. Prevents molds and pests from accumulating near the house in the moist environment. Makes your yard a whole lot prettier, your mower won't leave those tracks on your turf.
This treatment can be expensive. You can rent a sod cutter and move you turf by yourselves. But unless you have a good friend who owns a grader that part could cost a couple thousand bucks.
1) I've noticed seed potatoes in the local Rural King in the spring. If you have a local farm supply type store or a good local garden center, perhaps try there. Since potatoes are heavy, I am guessing the shipping costs would be high (but worth it if you want a certain type of potato).
2) If the outside soil temperature is warm enough, many seeds can be direct sowed. Some veggies take a long time to produce (peppers, tomatoes, etc) so it helps to start them early indoors. Indoor lighting is almost never bright enough... 16 hours under your grow lights helps but plants still need to adjust to direct sun gradually. I find many seeds germinate without extra heat. However, pepper seeds and basil seeds germinate much better & faster with some heating (warmer soil). Peppers can take 2 or 3 weeks to germinate with heating... and never germinate without. Last time I tried basil without heat, zip.
Damping off can be a big problem when germinating seeds indoors. I like to put a slow speed house fan on a timer and have it come on periodically (for 1/2 hour every 2 or 3 hours). You just want to seem them vibrate a little in the breeze. The fan also helps strengthen the small plants so they can handle wind when they get planted outside.
3) Onions (and I assume shallots) are cool weather crops and can get in the ground early. I have not tried sets. I have been starting onions from seed (maybe 2 months before they get planted out). It gets old taking care of them that long, but they are good come harvest time! I don't recall seeing shallots sets locally... You may want to mail-order them to make sure you get some. But I would think you could find onion sets at several places locally.
4) It's one big experiment! You learn by doing. Hopefully your book mentioned cool weather crops and warm weather crops. If not, research it on the web. But by all means, enjoy!
Many grocery stores stock seed potatoes and onion sets in spring. They will cost least if you buy in bulk and split a large order with friends or neighbors. One other thing you can do is to select small potatoes from the open grocery bins and cut your own sets. Each potato will have several "eyes". Cut the pieces so there is one eye on each bit. Then lay them out to dry for a week or so. This will harden off the cut edges so they won't rot when you set them in the ground.
I, personally, think that 12 hours of GOOD light should be enough. In most places out there in the natures seedlings do not get much more than 12 hours of sun/daylight. Having said that, switching back and forth just require some extra efforts and if you are willing to put up with it , it should be fine. Plants need certain amount of light , like moisture that hey really need and can use. Beyond that, the excess is not utilized. That is why they have found out that a shaded plant getting 40%(~~) light for 6 or 7 hours will do fine. This is just my general opinion in the absence of scientific laboratory experiment.
The other issue is that our indoor growing seedlings is a temporary thing, until we plant them out. So it is OK if they are slightly less than perfect.
While I will agree that most plants outside don't get 12 hours of sunlight we run our lights longer to compensate for the lower intensity. Depending on lights, you may have to run them16hrs/day to make the equivalent of 6hrs of sunlight. While the OP has found results seemingly favourable, I have not found this to be the case running similar setups. YMMV
An aside - shipping is never free. All you are really asking is which sellers factor in shipping costs when they set their seed prices. It can actually be cheaper to buy from a seller that lists shipping prices than one that doesn't.
(There are charity seed sources that donate shipping costs as well as seeds, but that doesn't seem to be what you are asking for.)
I have to agree with the others that it isn't clear what you are looking for? Seeds are seeds so what do you mean by "complete kinds of sees"?
Do you mean one place where you can order all the seeds you want? If so, that would depend on what you want.
Free shipping? No. Sell and ship all around the world? No, that isn't possible as there are too many agricultural rules that vary from country to country that prevent that.
So instead, tell us exactly what seeds you are looking for and where you want them shipped and we can help.
Dave