Propagation: 2015 Seed Starting, Part 6, 0 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
Dear Turtles, you are so sweet. I was typing away with suggestions when I saw it. Made my day!

For the plants you have mentioned that I have germinated:

Platycodons are easy, but definitely should be done in the spring so that you can get a pot with a nice taproot. If you do, it will overwinter easily. This is the kind of plant I start germinating in January, Germinating it in the fall and putting it in the ground has not been successful. I actually started Pam's double perlemutter at the end of December, had them on the front sun porch in March and put them in the ground in early May. So my guess for plants ready for the ground is six months.

Salvia viridis is so easy to grow that it germinates in two or three days. So you can start it at any time. The fabulous thing about it is that it will bloom through successive frosts in the fall! I had grown it for many years but did not realize that until last year. So I just seeded it last week. I usually do it in April. I love the blue and pink, and sometimes do the white too. I sometimes grow it in single color clumps, and sometimes mix them up.

Salvia farinacea is quick, germinating in a couple of weeks. I have actually delivered two of the new Red Jewel to a client. They are in the ground! I started perennials salvia verticillata and salvia Rose Queen and they have been in the ground for at least three weeks. The salvias are an amazing group of plants. Easy to germinate (I love seeds you start on the surface), easy to grow and long lasting. Red Jewel is a new farinacea. There are so many great ones now that I sometimes put them in one pot for fun. At the bottom are Victoria white, strata (two tone) and some form of blue, which might be Victoria, Reference, or Rhea. Occasionally they overwinter as plants. Often I get them from seed on the ground.

I started digitalis mertonensis last year and overwintered it. No matter what you do or how early you start it, unlike a lot of other perennials, it will not bloom the first year. And you tend to lose some of it. I started five to get three and have four. I LOVE this plant!

I love the pennisetums and like to grow villosum, the annual white grass. I have grown setaceum in the past.

Borage is a piece of cake. I have blue and white. If you put it outside it will volunteer. It's a wonderful plant.

Do try to keep records of some of your activity. After a while you know what works and what doesn't, that telling you to sow seed 1/8 of an inch down (huh?) means that they think you are starting outside and don't want the seed to blow away. But if you are starting indoors without nature's interference you can start those seeds right on the surface (took me years to figure it out so I want to pass it on).

I just have an obsession with records. The great thing about it is that I know what really works (and I tried to germinate some seeds three or four times before I figured out what really worked) soIi like passing it on. There are a lot of really neat people out here, like you!