2014 Seed Starting, continuing from 2013

Here's another breath of spring-- a nice clump of Adenophora. I think it's a native here,may have come from a wild wooded area near a stream that runs through the back of the property. Or someone at some point in years past may have brought it in. I do try to weed around it, but have no idea where the roots could be with all the other stuff so close!

Is C pyramidalis a biennial? Or a short- lived perennial? Does it self sow? Should I be planning ahead to replenish it, or can I trust that if it's happy it will perpetuate itself?

One more of the original Lupine seeds sprouted, just when I was giving up on them. All the sprouted Asclepias have emerged, 11 total, the remaining seeds doing nothing.

Also there are a few tiny radicals on Platy Astra Blue, so I planted them all, several seeds to a cell, 12 cells. The 2nd batch of the pink double are not sprouting, but the seeds are cracked open. I decided to plant them just in case there's something in there willing to grow.

I put the Aquilegia back in the freezer for a 2nd round. That's all for now...

Pam ~ Have you sprouted your Asclepias indoors? Platys? Refigerator or room temps? Soaked beforehand, right?

Do you need more Asclepias seeds? Someone gave me a lot, probably more than I need. LMK.

I'm soaking everything 24 hours, starting in hand hot water. Then everything goes in Deno packets. Asclepias, Lupines, Campanulas-- anything needing stratification-- goes in the freezer for 24 hours. Everything else sits at room temp- hopefully 60-75 degrees. A couple of things--leftover Asclepias, Lupines and Aquilegia -- got a 2nd overnight freeze. Platys stayed warm the whole time.

So far, pretty good results, with room for improvement. Thank you for the offer, but the Asclepias have been particularly successful, and I still have lots of seeds left. I've heard so much about how difficult they can be, so it must be beginner's luck, lol.

Pam...the Campanula pyramidalis is suppose to be Biennial. Altho you can get pups to the side of the main stem. Last fall I noticed that I have 1 pup next to mama, so my fingers are crossed that it makes it to spring.. Hoping this season I can get some seed from it and more pups!!!! I'ld go look but there's snow on the ground now...will look in a few days when the snow melts off. Also wanna get some clippings from some plants to root, faster than trying to seed again. (Santolina, Lavender,Clems)

Started some things yesterday. Digitalis Dalmation Purple; Platicodon: Fuji Blue, Hakone Blue and White, Miss Tilly; Baptisia Alba; Campanula both White and Pink (packets says clips but also lists height at 30-36", if height is correct is probably persicifolia so will grow and figure it out next season when they bloom); Alcea: BlackBeauty, Double Icicle. Will be doing more today. Nothing put in the fridge yet.

Kathy ~ Is Santolina easy to root? Would this be a good time to do it?

Evelyn...Don't kmow yet....lol. Figure since it's got a woody type stem in could be a good candidate. Will let you know...that's if I can still find some green on the stems, usually they die back to a few inches above ground over the winter but we had that minus temps early this season and then a second blast so not sure what I'll find. Still snow on the ground and am getting more now (2" so far), so melting off will be a few days away....darn. But I will let you know if I get any.. Mine is Santolina virens, the green one.. love the smell of them. In summer I tend to awalk by and give them a brush thru my hands so I can smell them while doing chores close by. Lavender is another I like to do that to also.....YUM!!

Ok..More things that have been started: Alcea mix; Papaver orientalis: mixed, Brilliant Red, Marlene, Coral Reef; Campanula not sure if clips series or persicifolia...label on packet not clear but if stated height is correct they should be persifs. in both Blue and White, latifolia in both white and purple, Zeger, Rapunculus; Antirrhinum (snaps) majus Royal Bride, Madame Butterfly, Plum Blossum, nanum Black Prince; Digitalis purpurea Candy Mountain Peach, Pam's Split; Dietes iridoides; Delphinium requineii, Alcea rosea Black Watchman, Donkehart, and yellow. More today as soon as the snow melts off the pots I just brought inside...duh..I forgot to bring them in yesterday. Ok off to play, sure would like to be as lucky at the Casinos as I am with starting seeds...Kathy.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 10:48 AM

OK, I am in zone 8 and many are growing in my landscape. I want to propagate more. The deer do not like to eat it! Yay!! ^_^

I have the silver Santalina coming back since 2008, Zone 5. The sites I see it listed on rate it for Zone 6. It usually has some winter dieback so I cut it off a few inches from the ground every year and it fills out beautifully.

Kathy, you have been busy! That's quite a list! What are Zeger, and latifolia? That Delphinium looks interesting. Have you grown any Delphs from seed before? My Pacific Giants aren't doing anything yet. Just to be on the safe side I'm ordering a few types from Graceful Gardens. I can always find room for more blue, lol. I bought Campanalua Clips seeds, both blue and white, now waiting for germination. Maybe I'll have extras in the spring for your box.

The funniest thing has happened... I thought I was down to 1 Lupine, so the other day I started a second batch of seeds. Since then, the one that looked like it was dying threw off the damaged cotyledons and started showing true leaves, and the one that had sprouted in the paper towel but never came up suddenly appeared, that made 3 out of the first three.., and 2 more seeds from that batch germinated. So now there are 5. And the new batch has been soaked, frozen, and should start showing soon. So I guess I'll have quite a large patch after all :-).

Pam do you soak then Freeze ? or freeze then soak ? & Plnt

I soak 24 hours, then freeze in the baggy 24 hours. I usually wait until they sprouting the damp paper towel before I plant, especially the big seeds. But little ones, like Campanula, I've been planting within a couple of days.

Pam..if you would like some Lupine I had scads of a mix of deep dark Red and a dark Purple. Not sure on Zeger as the seed came from a trade with someone in the Netherlands..The latifolia is about 36", flowers are more single and spaced a bit apart on the stem but more toward the top of the stem.... The one I want to find is C. lactiflora which is more of a clustered type flower like a Phlox paniculata. I saw it on a garden tour years ago and fell in love with it...
Yes on growing delphs from seed, germination can take 7-21 days...

Evelyn...do you have the silver or the green? I just love the dark green one! This will be my first time trying to propagate.

wow, am suprized at the zone listed as a 7, I've had them in a few gardens at various alltitudes and they always come back for me...

Yes busy again yesterday, here's a list of newly seeded: Polemonium c. Alba; Antirrhinum Red 24-36"; Lysimachia atropurpea; Delphinium; White Galahad, Lilac/White bee, Dark Blue/Dark eye, Mid Blue/White bee, ? (forgot to write color on envi), Summer Skies; Chrysanthemum Clara Curtice; Penstemon palmerii (think I might have lost the plant in the garden tho not sure); Veronica spicata 18", spicata Sight Seeing Blue 28" (last summer I saw plants of white and pink in the garden and hope they make it thru the winter and I'll collect seed this year as I would like a patch of both); Centaurea: phygria Yellow, phygria Purple and found a plant of White in the garden last summer and got seed am now trying to grow, Macrocephala which is yellow; Lilium formosianum Pricei; Echinacea p. White Swan; Knautia macedonica maroon; Scabiosa c. Blue; Aqilegia c. Alba, McKennas Hyb Yellow which is the fragrant one; Rudbeckia hirta Prairie Sun.
Not sure what I'll get seeded today....but still have plenty to do yet.....

I was thinking of trying to do a spread sheet type of listing of my seed starting with germination times in my Journal that could be referred to by myself and others but not sure how to do it. Anyone have the knowledge of how to accomplish this>>>? Later all...Kathy.

How or where do you store them in the paper towel till they sprout ? or when do you put them into growing soil ? sorry for all the ??? really want to do it right .

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 10:53 AM

Just wanted to share some REALLY good news about taking all the tedious work out of keeping hundreds of seedlings moist in flats under lights. In another area his hint is to leave one of the center cells empty so that you can pour water easily into your flat.

http://allthingsplants.com/ideas/view/RickCorey/646/Bottom-Watering-Seedling-Trays-with-Cotton-Flannel-Prevents-Water-Logging/

Thanks RRR, that was very good and useful!

Your welcome, Pipli. I will definitely try this.

such a simply thing as that to make it so much easier... gosh, thanks for sharing.

Jan

Susie, this is how I do Deno: Fold a paper towel in half, then fold it again. Dampen it, put the seeds and a label on one half, then fold it over again. Then put it in a Ziplock baggie. I put several in the baggie together. The seeds stay separate in the folded paper towels.

If the seeds need a cold treatment, this year I've been putting the baggie in the freezer for 24 hours. So far, that has been working very well.

The article on bottom watering was very interesting. I've been doing that for years, using capillary matting on a platform over a well filled with water. I started out years ago with a system that came with all the parts. I've always been a weekend gardener, and that has taken away all the worry about keeping little seedlings from drying out. Burpee and Gardener's Supply have good systems, but for the last couple of years. I've gotten mine from IGS. I like their Permanest trays, they are nice looking and sturdy.

http://indoorgardensupplies.com/product/watering-devices/self-watering-kit/

Here are a few pictures from last year, showing Deno packages (1, 2), and bottom watering. Pic 3 is the matting from Burpee, with a thin layer of some synthetic fabric over it so the roots don't grow into it. PC 3 the white trays from IGS. Pic 4, the black ones from Gardener's Supply. I use these outside as well for hardening off and holding until ready to plant. They are a little bigger and really strong.

Plant stand setup setback: DH wants to affix power strips to each stand, and I'm waiting for him to do so. I can work a zip tie, but he has a man plan and I'm not going to discourage him.

I purchased seed for Mandevilla laxa for the third year in a row. I've tried the Deno method, light, dark, warmth, in soil lightly covered, in soil not covered, but zero germination. Ever. Any thoughts on this?

JL Hudson order is shipped, but hasn't arrived. Mail carrier now knocks on door and hands me the mail if there are seeds. LOL I pay her in vegetables and flowers in the summer, and other goodies I make.

Celene.....Mandevilla suaveolens...germ. 70*dark (90% in 1-3 wks Light had no effect...

Mandevilla suaveolens, Fresh seeds germ. 70*L (8/8 in 4 d-3 w) indicating a half life of about 6m. and seeds DS 1 yr germ. 70D (1/3 in 2nd w) indicating a half life of about 6m, and seeds DS 2 y were dead..

Info from Deno Method...

Thank you! Maybe this year will be the year it germinates!

Chuckle at Celene..."I can work a zip tie, but he has a man plan"

Pam, nice setup!

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 10:53 AM

I know it won't overwinter outdoors here, I plan to try and overwinter it indoors. I have a plant/cat/workout room and I suspect it'll go in there. Unless my variegated Pandanus continues to grow at the speed of light, then I may have to shift my plans.

Newly started: Helenium Rotgold Helen's Flower; Armeria m. Bee's Hybrids; Echinacea palida yellow; Antirrhinum majus Rocket Pink; Aquilegia Winky Blue; Geum pink; Tomato: Chocolate Cherry, Blackfoot, Tidwell German, Porter, Mexico, Rosy Morn, Dora, Sweet 100, Deiner, Verde Tomatilla, Sophie's Choice, Brandywine Sudduth's Strain, Arkansas Travelor; Dianthus: armurensis Siberian Blues, X Loveliness mix, Knappii; Aquilegia vulgaris Winky Red and White, Black Barlow; Salpiglossis Grandiflora Mix; Coleous Black Dragon; Asclepias; incarnata Pink, syriaca, tuberosa,variegata; Vespers Iris; Hibiscus mochatus Lord Baltimore, Lady Baltimore, Summer Storm, coccineus Red, Dinnerplate Pink; Lilium Lancer.

I am curious to see how you do with the Salpiglossis. They germinate well for me, then they all die.

Wow, that's a lot of tomatoes!

I'm curious to see what you get from Dianthus Siberian Blue. I started mine 1/5, soaked 24 hours then Deno. I got the first couple of sprouts 5 days later, then a couple more. Since then nothing, for a total of 4.

I wintersowed those Siberian Blue dianthus, and they grew well the first year, but didn't overwinter for me. I suspect the soil wasn't well-amended enough, I should try again.

Hmmmm... What's your zone? Our soil is pretty rich, and the drainage is quite good because we are on a slope. Also lots of rocks in the soil, which also helps. I've been lucky with all the Dianthus I've tried so far. This has been a tough winter, so far though, extra cold snaps, single digits and below, with long warm thaws in between. Other years the lowest has been above 10.

I'm curious to see what makes it through. I'm also very glad that I got just about everything except a few daylilies and iris out of containers and into the ground and mulched before we left.

I am Zone 6. I think drainage was my problem, I have clay soil I've been amending for years.

I think they're a little fussy about that, but don't know from personal experience. Interesting that you winter sow. I didn't give this year's crop any cold treatment, maybe I should try another batch that way.

I just looked, and I'm up to 5 seedlings today, maybe they just need more time.

Also sprouting today: Platycodon Perlmutterschale, one more Asclepias Tuberosa, and a Lupine from the 2nd batch.

I have a bunch of Dianthus species and cultivars, too. Another genus that I really enjoy.

Me too. I have lots of different ones, at least I hope I still do!

Sprouting today, now planted under the dome: Platy Perlmutterschale, a couple of Lupines from the 2nd batch, 3 more Asclepias.

The Campanula Pyramidalis came up in tight little bunches, so today I separated them. Tiny, tiny roots, in some cases almost none. I forgot they're surface sown, the leaves come first. I have 2 dozen cells now, a few double planted in case they don't all make it. I was using the magnifying glass to help see what I was doing. Took forever!

One more thing I did today is finally try the ice cube trick. Nothing is happening with the Aquilegia seeds after soaking and 2 sessions in the freezer a few days apart. So I put the whole Deno baggie in a separate container and put a cube on top of it. I guess I should do it a couple of times a day?

Kathy ~ Did you start all of them indoors under lights or winter sow??

I am also curious about the salpiglossis.

So, I ordered some salpiglossis to try again, you inspired me. :)

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 10:49 AM