6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
2010 I planted about 8 seed last 3 years and grow only 5, one died, one I sent to my friend in AZ, 3 I kept, but every year one by one died, now only one left. You should keep in partial shade or green house this time of year and winter put in green house with light or inside the house close to window that get light. For dirt I love using miracle grow moisture control and fertilizer I use Epsom salt. This plant is hard to grow as my place is dry and hot, even though I am in CA but I get snow in the winter some time or just freezing cold. I just plant again couples days ago, see picture.
I could get really technical here, but the flowering mechanism for snaps is light accumulation. Long days and intensity promote bud formation. Your observation that it didn't matter when you started them is spot on. Until they get enough daylight accumulated, they won't form buds! :-)
I grow many kinds of celosia. They do not need darkness to germinate. If anything, they need light. I sow them on top of the soil (indoors under lights) and sprinkle some milled sphagnum moss on top (as I do with all my seeds). They germinate fine this way.
In my garden, the seeds from last year that have fallen, germinate in abundance, and that happens even when I have turned compost into the soil. So they must germinate under many conditions. They are easy.
What seeds are you trying to sow? That makes a difference in the answer. Some seeds can be scattered now and some in very early spring while snow is still happening. Some can be started now and when they come up, you put some protection over them during winter to keep them at an even temp.
The vegetable and flower seeds would likely be fine in the refrigerator, or your garage if your overall humidity isn't too high. The palms may need to be looked at differently though - there are many kinds of palm and most don't store well under any condition, they lose viability if not sown as fresh as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with palms myself, those that are hardy here look a little silly among landscapes of conifers and rhododendrons :)
"With few exceptions, it is best to plant palm seed shortly after cleaning. If this is not possible, the best general storage procedure - cleaned and air-dried seed, seal the seed in plastic bags, and store at 65-75ðF. Seeds of most tropical palms will lose viability if stored at temperatures below 60ðF"
Apparently seed is a rare occurrence with these, they normally don't set viable seed. " Although the Egyptian Walking Onion is a top-setting onion, it will occasionally produce miniature flowers among its topsets, so you'd look for them there. The flowers are only about 1/4" wide. They have 6 white petals and 6 stamens. Each petal has a vertical pea-green stripe. Most of the flowers dry up and wither as the topsets fiercly compete with them for energy. Result is Egyptian Walking Onion seed is a rarity".
In zone 7 you may be okay to plant them out. How big are the seedlings? I've got 2-3 month old Echinacea seedlings I started in May that are ready to plant out, they are 3-4 inch clumps now. But it's been so dry and warm, and they are easier to water in the containers, so I haven't planted them out yet. Really waiting for a good rain, the ground is dry as dust!
If your seedlings are tiny and you have doubts, you can overwinter the plants in the pots in the garage or basement, and water about once a month to keep roots moist. I over winter some tender perennials (like Salvia guaranitica) and sometimes small seedlings every year in the garage with pretty good success. Just have to remember to water them once a month or so to keep the potting mix moist.
I am going to plant some seeds as well tomorrow. Purple basic coneflowers (cheap seeds!) I cut the bottoms out of some cheap plastic pots and stuck them in the ground, so I can easily remove later. I mostly did that so that I remember where I planted them :) I figure this is the time of year the plant would naturally drop seeds so worth a shot.
That is what I was afraid of. I had a start of Evil Ways seedling and it looks a lot different than the original plant but I wondered if it was my imagination.
I have had a white one that seems to have white seedlings and Potters Purple seems to have the same seedling.
I guess it is live and learn on buddleia.
Thanks
There is an entire forum dedicated to winter sowing if that is the route you choose to use....in the W's, under Winter.You'll find that containers that are at least translucent rather than light blocking will be better choices. The lid in particular, although altering an opaque lid is demonstrated here:
Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org - lids
The internet is a wonderful tool and if you use it diligently will give you all the answers you need. I find it is well worthwhile researching where the plants you want to grow come from originally. If they are not from southern USA, locations with a similar climate will do best ie. Southern China or Japan. Plants from tropical climates will do well for a season but then die as the winter is too cold.. Plants which have a different rainfall pattern ie. Mediterranean (wet winter, dry summer) are also tricky, as they get diseased easily. As for containers, really anything that has the right amount of drainage will do. Plastic is good as it is easy to perforate and put in extra holes. Don't try and economize and use ordinary garden dirt for seedlings and young plants. Get (or make) some good quality compost. Good luck. Ian
Oh, I'm not too worried about the above-ground pests: the neighbor's dogs, the local fox and coyote populations, the owls and my .22-cal rifles keep them in check. It's the damn pocket gophers that kill me. They never come out of the ground to be killed. I had a row of apricot seedlings in the garden last year, and the little bastards pulled them straight down, Bugs Bunny style, into the ground as they ate the roots off! I lost a 6 ft tall Honeycrisp apple AND a 6 ft tall Northstar cherry after they ate ALL the roots and the trees basically fell over in a strong wind one spring day!
I would think it's the digestive enzymes in a mammal's gut that dissolve the covering on the seed so it can germinate.