Starting Seeds 2013, Part 3

Ooh, Celene, purple? We should talk!

We should ;) I def have at least a couple hundred saved seed, I want to see what comes up. We put in a fence last year, and the fence installer had some personal emergency, so he installed 2-3 weeks late, and stomped some plants that were not so happy about it.

Rick, I won't let any cows graze on them. ;)

Seedlings are all doing fine with just the watering, no superthrive or hydrogen peroxide for a few days. There is supposed to be fertilizer in this soil so maybe it was too much of an adjustment too quickly. Should I still try to add a fertilizer? Which ones do you like?

Next issue --- I can't get any of the marigold seeds to germinate and very few of the poppy seeds. I started them in 25-coir pellet trays with plastic domes. Of the 3 trays I started (so 75 coirs), only 3-5 coirs have shown any germination whatsoever. Ugh. What should I do differently?

Poppies need cold to germinate, I just throw seeds on the ground and they come up in the spring. For pricey fancy poppies, I wintersow in peat cups and set them out when the seedlings germinate.

If there's fertilizer in the mix, don't add any, it's enough until they go out into the garden. If you're not having any problems with damping off and your seedlings otherwise look healthy, you're probably fine without anything else. I started using it because of fungusy plants and still like my results enough to keep it up even though I've fixed the other causes (too cold, not enough light). I do think that the peroxide plus a drop of Superthrive give my plants a boost, but that doesn't mean you won't get results any other way. Plants want to grow, after all.

I had a lot of trouble with coir earlier this spring. Try a different seed starting mix. I've been adding lots of vermiculite to Miracle Grow (not liked much on this thread, but all I could find locally), which has helped a lot to lighten it. Look up the thread, follow links to previous posts, and you will see lots of info on what people are using, Good luck!!!!!

Celene, plenty of yellow... do I have anything else you want? :)

Pic, Platycodon Astra Blue, oh happy day!

I will send you some seed for the purple now, and I will probably have some Impatiens balfourii, it reseeds so I don't intentionally plant it, and always have to weed some out. I may have I. sodenii, I'll see what comes up.

My poppies (oriental) germinated in 5 days with my method......peat/peralite mix, surface sown and domed tray with lights...... Will be starting my annuals in a few weeks.

Pam, I have some with your names sake, Digitalis p. 'Pam's Choice' (find pix), many many babies to share, are you making your list? LOL............. And wow, your Platy looks great, looked at mine this morning, no buds yet, but then again it's another that needs potting on... I'm afraid I'm going to run out of room in the house pretty soon... Need to get a few more lights so I have more shelves that I can use. Was going to make a pot run today but they are saying possible rain turning to snow so might be later in the week. Oh, one thing I did notice this morning was a small shrub rose that I grew from seed, (4 or 5 seeds and I got 1 plant), Rosa China was on the packet(seed trade), it's got several buds on it already. The only thing I know about it is it's a groundcover type.

Boy, you have all scared me away from using the coir method, am thinking I like my peat/perlite mix. I'm sorry but I would have given up years ago if I had had such dismal % of germination..... I have had a few failures this season but a very low %, most probably from not the correct method used, (ie, needing cold for x amount of weeks, maybe bad seed and some who knows). I had germination on a pot of daylily seed ( from susies seed trade this winter, maybe those from czimm.) anyway hers are all germinating without any special treatment at all, yet another pot (seeds from Fruity) are just sitting there. I can see they are taking on moisture and plumping up but no sprouts yet. So if they don't sprout in a week or so I will place them in the fridge. Another failure was my Cephalarias. not a thing...phooey. I had germination on Campanula latifolia Alba, but not the Purple, so who knows... And my Persicaria was a failure, both bistorta and polymorpha. And there's probably a few more, but all in all, I'm very pleased with my crop of flowers this season. I may have to give a bunch away but that's better than the opposite, ( I guess). Hang on til you see new pix!!! This is my first crop of flowers in 3 years. I did a few last year but only what I could do in a couple of trays in the bathroom, (let me tell ya that wasn't much at all). Later all, Kathy....

Kathy, you are such a dynamo! I'm pretty happy with my over-all this year, also a few disappointments, but you are the big winner here just in volume. And you're running out of room?! Hard to believe! Btw, I will have a piece of Cephalaria for you (I hope!) once things thaw out. My D Pam's Split did well this year, but I have been keeping a list of various things we've mentioned, will dmail you...

In CT I found small bags of peat moss/perlite seed starting mix, brought them to the city for the annuals :-)

Celene, thanks for the purple seeds. I can send you a clump of the yellow once things thaw out.

Do you think the I balfourii will get the same blight that's been killing the I wallerianas? My I w's were destroyed last year, but I had a few volunteer balfouriis not far from them that were fine. I read that the New Guineas now get the blight too, and so I'm a little worried about counting on the balfouriis to fill in, in case they get it too.

Hmmmm... Always something...
I still have a few coir pellets, and plan to use them for tomatoes. They did fine in them last year, I think they'll grow in anything! But that will be the end of coir for me. Meanwhile, just out of curiosity, I tried damp vermiculite in cups under the dome for a few things, and Dianthus Zing is the first to tell me it likes it.

Pfg, the Platycodon is beautiful!

I'll try the poppies and marigolds in the ground. If the marigolds don't germinate, at least I can buy them at the local store and plop them in the veggie garden for pest control.

>> And Rick, when are you going to start your babies this season?

You noticed that I'm still procrastinating? I'm about 1-2 weeks before my avg last frost date, so I'm about 10 weeks late starting Lobelia, Petunias and Salvia indoors. I'm so late that I'm considering starting no flowers indoors this year, only Brassicas. Maybe even start most seeds outdoors this year, since it's been amazingly dry lately.

The two-week forecast predicts a low of 36 one night, and 37 another night. All the rest are warmer.

I finally kicked my butt into the garden for the last two weekends: serious weeding on two beds that had been taken over by Ranunculus and Snapdragons-from-Heck. My legs HURT!


schaff20,

I wouldn't add any more fertilizer until I was SURE they needed it. Like, widespread turning pale green and slowed growth. Even then, I would ask: "Do they want more fertilizer, or a bigger pot?" If they have 3-4 pairs of leaves, they might want a pot bigger than 2-3".

Or listen to them at night: are they scratching at the door, trying to get outside and put their roots in the ground?

I tend to use very dilute Miracle-Gro soluble chemical fertilizer, if I add any to seedling trays at all. Mostly, if I keep them indoors so long that they can "take" or want any fertilizer, I've been keeping them indoors too long.

But the people who use fish or kelp emulsion instead of soluble chemicals may have a better idea. It is harder to kill plants with organic fertilizer!

Nothing from the Mirabilis- 4 o'clocks yet, so I carefully dug up the seeds one by one-- I only have 6-- and one was making roots, the others looked like they would never, hard as rocks. So I snipped them a little with a small clipper and stuck them back in.

Finally started tomatoes in peat pellets in small cups under the dome. When they get going a little, I'll put them at the bottom of large Solo cups, fill with soil up to the leaves, and keep doing that as they grow. That way they'll have a good root system by the time they go out.

Kathy, do you happen to remember how long the Verbascum Chaixii took to germinate? I looked up the thread but couldn't find a post...It seems to me it was just a few days, or am I mixing it up with something else? My latest has been a week, and no sign of anything yet :-(

I know, a week isn't long, but I feel like I've been waiting for months...

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 11:24 AM

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 11:58 AM

blomma,

>> Does that plant you have a photo of produce yellow flowers? I have something that looks like it with the same leaves and it sends runners out.

YES! (grumble gripe moan curse)

Yes, lots of yellow flowers if your neighbor lets them run amok! (She got sick and couldn't weed, so it's more my fault than hers.) But she also seemed to think they were her strawberries, which used to grow near there.

The roots go very deep, and also runner around. It looks like the plant drops back to the ground and sends more runners, but I can't swear to that. They spread FAST.

This is what the Plant ID forum seemed very sure of:

Weed #1:
- - - Ranunculus / Buttercup
- - - Ranunculus repens 'Pleniflorus'
- - - Double Creeping Buttercup

looks ~ like a Strawberry - invasive, runners
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57000/


This message was edited Apr 2, 2013 3:24 PM

Thanks Rick
that is what I thought. I got rid of it last summer but one pops up once in awhile. Not really hard to get rid of. I dug the mother plant out and tore out her babies. As long as you can get at them, no problem. there is always weed killer if digging don't do he trick.

I grow this in a pot, planted around the edges. Variegated lysimachia and tall horsetail are in the center. It keeps all of my thugs in one place where I can enjoy them, and keep them from trampling neighbors. It is a great combo for kids to water, all of these can deal with super sogginess with impunity :)

Happy lil' fat girl here - I've got Canterbury Bells seedlings!~ Did a happy dance, 'cause I've never grown anything much before. I've now a small apple orchard, Super Italian Pastes, Balsam, and one lonely little Eggplant so far. Yay me!!!

Good for you!!!

RE: Ranunculus / Buttercup

>> As long as you can get at them, no problem

I guess you're right. But you have to get all of the roots! And you can't give them a few months of inattention to establish themselves.

Pulling them out of cracks between pavers, or out from under neighbor's bushes is the hardest part.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 11:55 AM

Orlaya aka Queen Anne's Lace grew wild in upstate Massachusetts where I used to live years ago.

I think I need to increase the priority of "weeding" on my long list of overdue tasks. And move invasive weeds to the top of the list!

Rick
I do my weeding early spring,like now. Mine are already done. Growth is young and roots are not as deep. It is easier to weed now, than later in the season. I still do later as I see weeds, but my main weedy chore is early spring. I like to stay ahead ;of them.

Pam, V. chaxii took 6 days to germinate, I have plenty if you need a few...

YEAH for Barb!!!!!

I'm ready to start getting outside, I'm thinking spring is finally here and it's beginning to feel like it..Here's a pix of an Orchid I picked up at the grocery store for 1/2 price after Easter ($20), it's 42" tall!!!!!! Now I just have to find it a home in the house.... for now it will stay with my babies so I can enjoy it all day, sure wish it was fragrant.....

Got fresh batteries so will update progression of the babies in the next few days. Got 2 more days of sitting the Gkids and then back to potting things on and maybe some outside things as there are many........... I know we'll still be getting snow, but it melts in a day or two.

Your orchid is beautiful! And I may take you up on the V Chaixii...

Platys going nuts! Pic 1, Astra Blue with on bud on a Perlmutter on the far right. Pic 2, Astra Pink about to start.

Gave DD a flat of deer resistant babies, Alchemilla, Aquilegia, Dianthus, and a couple of maybes, Campanula and Platy, probably better kept on the raised deck for safety.

New sprouts du jour: Dracaena draco, Aristolochia elegans, Schizanthus, ground cherry, and two that made me especially happy: Adansonia digitata and Pandanus utilis! They're the ones that make you run around and say "I am the germinator!" in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

ROFL... Congratulations! You are the germinator!

How did you do it?

Oooooh, I've had the schizanthus before...love those liitle things. Is the Aristalochia elegans thee perennial vine? (Dutchman's Pipe isn't it?) Gosh all the others are complete blanks..lol.

This thread is such an education! I love it!

Dracaena draco, a large growing relative of the spikes sold as a throwaway annual everywhere. Soaked and sowed in 1/2 vermiculite, 1/2 Promix with bottom heat.

Aristolochia elegans-yes, the perennial vine, but annual here unless you bring it indoors. Sowed on the surface of the soil with Promix.

Schizanthus-Promix, bottom heat, sow on surface, needs dark to germinate.

Ground cherry, just like a tomato

Adansonia digitata-Baobab. Pandanus utilis, Screw Pine. Both germinated with bottom heat + extra heat from a lamp, in 1/2 vermiculite and 1/2 Promix.

Ok, you got me. I googled Schizanthus and found seeds for a rare white strain on Amazon - is there anything they don't carry?

Nope! That's how I get in trouble. I don't know what a plant looks like, so I google it. I find the seed on Ebay or Amazon, then I think...might as well see if the seller has other stuff I want, let's economize on postage. So, before I know it, I have six colors of zinnia, for instance. lol

Oh, and if you run out of seed you can't live without, hit Pinterest for five or ten minutes. That'll fix it.

This message was edited Apr 6, 2013 1:41 PM

At least this was only $1.09 for shipping and handling... Only a tiny addiction fix... Lol!

Saw the mention of 4 o'clocks. I'm starting them from seed for the first time this year in an experiment with Japanese beetles (and because of the cheerful flowers!). I wasn't going to start them until 5/1 and I had read they prefer to be sown in place. Am I misinformed? Should I be starting them now for late May plant out? I had already planned on starting them in paper pots and was going to soak/nick them and give them some warmth for germination. Any advice is appreciated!

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 11:57 AM

Cindy
You can start them now. Nick, then soak in hand hot water overnight. I used to grow them. Last year I started them for my daughter. Unfortunately, the deer found them to their liking.

4 0'clock are perennials in warm climates. I used to carry the roots over in damp peatmoss in my basement to plant the following year. Cut the stem back to 2".

Mine overwinter against the south wall of my house. I start mine in newspaper pots, so I can just plant the whole thing with minimal root disturbance.

Sooooo... Does the Schizanthus need any special,treatment? Somewhere I read it needs darkness? Cover the pots? Heat? Cold?

Pam ~ You found white schizanthus? Do you have enough to share a small amount?

Thanks, Evelyn

I use heat mats for the schizanthus, and they do need dark to germinate. Sow them on top of the soil, I just cover that part of the flat with foil till they sprout.