Propagation: Starting Seeds in Sponges Experiment, 1 by aknapp

aknapp wrote:
Well I didn't make it back last night to post all of my results to date. I also took some more photos. I will look at them again and decide if they are enough different to post.
Things done Saturday
6 Moonflower Seeds
All 6 seeds germinated rapidly and started to develop leaves, kept popping out of sponges so I potted them up.
12 Scarlett Runner Bean Seeds
All 12 germinated with large roots, also had to pot because they were popping out.
4 Acer Palmatum 'Disectum ornatum' Seeds
Nothing Yet
6 Love-in-a-Puff Seeds
5 out of 6 of these germinated and 3 had the beginning of leaves. I broke one trying to get it moved. The last one now has roots on it. So these are also 6 for 6
6 Seeds Butterfly Pea Vine
I had not originally nicked these and regretted it, so Tuesday night I nicked 3 to see what would happen. Tonight I can see roots popping through on 2 of them.
3 Seeds in 1 Cube of Ligularia
Nothing so far
3 seeds Datura Tatula
1 out of 8 has just started to pop
3 Seeds Datura Raspberry Swirl
2 seeds are just beginning to show roots
6 seeds Ornamental Cotton
4 out of 6 have decent sized roots other two are just starting.
4 Seeds Red Passiflora
Nothing so far
6 Seeds Cardinal Vine
Nothing
4 Seeds Crotolaria
Nothing

My experience so far is that the roots are pushing themselves right out of the little holes when they start to get very much growth on them. On a lot of them I have just stretched the hole larger to allow them to have the moisture around them.
I had one love-in-a-puff seed that actually attached to the sponge and that one I just cut down all the way around and left a piece on it that was probably less than 1/4 inch in diameter.
Out of the things I have put into pots, I was able to re-use all but 3 of the sponges.
I am more concerned now about how everything will do as I put them into pots. That seems to be the place where I can get into trouble in a hurry.
Most of the things that I have potted so far, I put into pop bottles and left on the heating pads, my thoughts are that they need the bottom heat until they develop some leaves. Please let me know if that makes sense of if I should be doing something else.
I have used chick grit on the top of the soil and am hoping this will help with the dampening off problem. I did read something about Chamimolle (spelling) tea and am wondering how to use that.
I started 11 more kinds of seeds on Monday night and am happy to report that 5 out of the 11 kinds have all ready started to sprout.
I am really jealous of all of your brug seeds that you have to start. I am thrilled with the ones that I do have, as this will be a first for me.
The 4 cuttings that I received from poppysue are all doing very well, I am pleased that I have been able to keep them growing and apparently thriving. I have been trimming them back a little at a time, and they are getting nice and bushy.
So I will have 7 all together if my 3 kinds of seeds grow. I think that is wonderful for a person who didn't even have one before now.
Brugie I did 6 of the red moonflowers you had sent me and they had roots on them within 24 hours also. I will need to pot them tomorrow they are all ready showing leaf growth.
I am so blessed by all of you!!!
Gretchen after watching mine for the last few days I don't think the roots will be a problem.
Pudge YEAH YEAH Congratulations, isn't it great to be able to see what is happening.
I wish my rockwool would get here, I really want to try a couple side by side experiments and see if the results are about the same or different.
I also did 6 more grandpa otts morning glories on Monday night, and I nicked 3 of the seeds, the three I nicked are all ready starting to show roots.
Enough for tonight, my little mind has been going overtime all day.
I bought some more light fixtures for the breezeway and spent a couple hours getting those up, and things moved around and straightened up out there. It was beginning to look a little more like a potting shed than I thought it should.
Have a great rest of the evening everyone, and I will check in on everyone's experiments tomorrow!!!

I looked at the pictures that I had taken yesterday and none of them are very clear. I will attach a pic of one of the moonflowers before I put it in soil