6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Any one has Champaca seeds to share please?

Thanks,
Sridevi

First one is he raw seed of Michelia Champaka, and second one is the ripe one which is matured to the level of sowing.

How much water is it getting? A couple of mine started to do that after weeks of rain. A picture would help a lot. A lot of very knowledgeable people on here that will know when they see it.

Thank you, I took a pic but I can't upload it, for some reason. I'll try again at some point.

For my seed starters I use vermiculite. If you find you need more drainage add some perlite.

umm searches are boolean based if need be. just use key words

eg. Radish fertalizer
or Radish feeding

Please let me know if I understand this correctly.
PEAT MOSS- holds water and nutrients for plants, improves texture

VERMICULITE- hold water, nutrients and air, minimizes soil temperature fluctuations

PEARLITE-prevents soil compactation, improves drainage and aeration

COMPOST-provides nutrients as fertilizers do, contains micro organisms that help breakdown nutrients for plant consumption. It reduces need for fertilizer and acts as slow release type fertilizer

In order to create loamy nutritious potting soil, besides these do you need to add clay or sand??

A flower has lots of seeds in it. Let the flower dry on the plant, then rub the seeds out. I think the best way to propagate this plant would be by dividing in half. That's if it's big enough. You might have to plant it and wait a year.

A flower has lots of seeds in it. Let the flower dry on the plant, then rub the seeds out. I think the best way to propagate this plant would be by dividing in half. That's if it's big enough. You might have to plant it and wait a year.

thank you susanzone5. I did some research yesterday and saw how you can also use milk containers to start seeds. Im always looking to be thrifty... we are a family of 6 and im a stay at home mom. So.....now im looking around at all the plastic containers I could use. Like strawberry containers.

So you think the basement with lights is the best way to get good results. I'll definitely be looking into that. I would like to have a little indoor area for raising plants!!

Thanks!

Lisam625,

I agree, peat pots are terrible.

If it was me I would sow them where you want them right now. Two reasons for this. First you are in a pretty mild climate. I bet most would survive if mulched. Second, most perennials don't flower the first year. So those that make it through the winter will most likely flower for you next year. You probably have more seed than you need anyways so it won't really cost much to try. Foxglove usually has enough in the package to do a solid acre lol.

I then would set up the grow lights for growing more for next year!!

I didn't want to gross anyone out Susan, sorry.

But the water is actually safe, and everyone downstream that has public water is drinking it after a little more treatment.

I have actually saw a salesman drink effluent water! I wouldn't do it myself though!

The plant filters out the gross stuff just as good as the public water suppliers do!

Ted

Wertach, your experiment is not gross, if Susan knew what was in the river water then she would starve. The plants will filter a lot of the gross stuff but not all of it. Its not surprising that the tap water ones are suffering.

I fail to see any reason why you cannot grow them in the gritty mix. I would water more often, not look for more retentive mix, which would negate the reason for using the gritty mix. Use a weak fertilizer such as half a teaspoon per gallon of Foliage Pro every time you water. In gritty mix it is easy to underwater, but almost impossible to over water. Al

Thanks all for the comments. Here is a quick update.

I am planning to grow these as bonsai. I started from seeds and now have one each Wisteria Sinensis and W. Sinensis Alba growing. I know it will be years before they bloom, but think how exciting that day will be!

So - I have added a saucer under both to create some perched water. I read this suggestion at a bonsai forum and thought I would try it. It seems to be working, both seedlings are now growing well again. From what I have read they do not like to have dry feet, so this approach seemed to work best for me. I want to keep most of my bonsai in the basic 1-1-1 gritty mix as it works very well for my others. The only exceptions are my 3 giant sequoia trees. I planted them in the 1-1-1 mix with 15% peat moss by volume and no lime - they are growing exceptionally well.

As for the foliage pro, I shoot for 50 ppm nitrogen - 1/2 teaspoon per gallon is about 59 ppm and seems to be working well.

I'm going to pinch a few off tomorrow, any thoughts on how many I should have in that pot in particular? I used Jute Twine for the ropes, I've seen that quite a few people have used it with no problems?

I'd say 5-8 would be enough or one per twine. You could dig up the others and plant them somewhere else. I planted some in a small pot and old souvenir cups.