papertowel method

Does anyone know where I can find a list of what seeds work well germinating w/ paper towel? I saw Poppysue's "how to" for daylilies on the "frequently asked questions" forum and I would like to know of other seeds this may work on.

-- For example has anybody tried this on . . Amsonia - Blue star, Blackberry lily, lilium formosanum, candy lily, 4 o'clocks, Texas Star or Bee Balm?

In addition - Could anyone also be able to direct me to a list of "throw and grow" seeds -- ones to put down in fall and ones in spring?

I am propagating a lot of seeds for next season and this information would extremely helpful!! I would be so grateful for any assistance! THANKS! :) I am a newbie here and sometimes have a hard time finding my way around.

I try practically any seed on cotton wool (same rules as kitchen paper) but I haven't grown any you've listed.

I did a quick search as some of our seed companies in the UK sell Throw and Grow seeds, I found this site that might be useful.

http://server105.hypermart.net/rebeccasgardenweb/throandgro.htm

As a general rule I find most fairly common hardy annuals are good for throwing and sowing.

Thanks Baa -- that gives me a start. Now if I can find a similar list for biennials and perennials.

Also - - I saw back in January there was some discussion of developing the propagation portion of the data-base a bit more. That would be great if they did that. I am sure that there are a lot of folks that would really benefit from hearing about how other members have propaged seeds successfully.


This message was edited Thursday, Nov 21st 12:32 PM

Hi Alyssum

I understand that was implemented by the inclusion of the propagation methods in the PDB options. Everyone can now enter the method that was successful for them with that particular plant.

Thanks Baa:

Yes - I guess I was hoping for a little more detail -- and I hardly ever see "paper towel method" listed. Or something like for instance with Campanulas - something like "start indoors in January - takes a long time to germinate."

I guess it is just trial and error. I was hoping to avoid some of the error. I am getting the impression with the paper-towel method that it works with most seed. -- Except for the small ones or the ones that need a nice cold winter to get them going.

Yes, trial and error is a big part of seed germination, especially for the hobby gardener. We don't have the perfect conditions that the professionals do. What works for one may not work for another. We've all killed off our fair share of plant life, hopefully we learn from it and do better next time.

Personally unless I know what works for me with one species, I use a couple of sowing methods for each lot of seed and never sow the entire packet in one go especially hard to come by plants. But then I will sow anytime of the year, in whatever there is to hand so perhaps I'm not the best person to comment *G*.

One thing is for sure, seeds don't germinate in the seed box.

What do you mean by 'seed box'? cuz I want to make sure I stay away from trying it!

Seed Box is a container some of us use (can be anything, mine is a shoe box) to hold dry and packeted seed in prior to sowing or trading.

Concerning "throwing and growing"... the success of this method would really depend on your climate and weather conditions, I believe. I live in a short summer, cool weather climate, and many seeds would not have a chance to bloom at all the first season if they were started outdoors.

Germination outdoors in cool soil takes much longer. I even start nasturtium and peas indoors for the extra grow time. Generally, I grow most native plants outdoors by broadcasting seed in the fall. This supplies them with natural stratification (chilling). Being perennials, the slow start in spring doesn't really matter.

This brings us back to the original problem we had with listing propagation methods... they vary from place to place, plant to plant. I used to find lots of good info on the PDB when we could link to someone's journal entry where they listed their methods and success rates with germination. That link option no longer exists.

I really understand Alyssum's search for propagation information... that is what initially attracted me to Dave's Garden... the detailed info on propagation on the PDB. In fact, I recall always being pleased to see Baa's detailed instructions. The drop-down is just not the same, in my opinion.

gonna stay away from the "seed box" method myself! ;)

Goodness, if all the seeds in my "seed box" germinated, I'd have to move out of the house to give them room! My seeds are stored in a 12"x12"x21" tote, in 2 gallon ziplock bags, in which are 1 gallon zip lock bags, in which are quart zip locks bags with the seed packets in them. These are sorted by the time of year in which I plant them. A gallon of mis-directed water, and the lot of them could fill the house with greenery!

Thanks WZ!

Detailed destructions? Did we ever have that on the PDB? I honestly can't recall those.

I think it would be neat ... to have seperate pages of all the basic seed germination techniques, with step by step explainations.... and then have those pages linked to the check boxes in the database. Does that make sense? So if you bring up a certain plant in the database ... there will be links to the pages of preferred gemination techniques.

Yes, PoppySue. I've visited PDB's and seed catalogs that do just that. Under propagation, they might have a codes like 1A, 3B, etc. You can then link to a page that lists all the different techniques by code numbers. If propagation is not an issue in your search, you just needed bother going to that page. I think we talked about this a long time ago... didn't we... last spring?

You got me on that one, Baa! I had to go back to see if I really said "destructions"! Yes, when I first visited the PDB back in late January or early February 2002, I was so pleased to see propagation information. In those days, all the information like that was credited to the poster, and you're name came up quite often and the information was always detailed and informed. (not deformed!)

Weez, what websites had that info;or do you not remember?
Thanks,
A

A few months back, Dave's PDB was reformated, and some of that propagation information was lost or made to fit into the pull down menu that is available now. I'm sure there are some other sites out there that offer good info, but I'll have to look for some and repost here. When you are looking for such information, it really is a wonderful thing to find. I'll get back to you on that.

OK, TLC, here's some I had in my Favorites: http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html & http://users.anet.com/~manytimes/page52.htm & http://theseedsite.co.uk/db4.html & http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/stse/store.htm

I've also found some pretty good info from online seed catalogs. Ed Hume's catalog features cold weather plants, & it offers lots of additional information. Here are a couple of those pages: http://catalog@humeseeds.com/ & http://catalog@humeseeds.com/

I really like Poppysue's idea of the separate pages of basic germination technique -- and the links that Weez suggested were great.

Although I have found some helpful things in the journals . . I find a lot of the comments are very brief. Also, when people do list plant info it is usually plant care related more than progation related. I think it would be great if they brought back more of the detailed propagation comments that were listed before the "face lift" of the database -- Do you think they saved the data from that and there would be a way to re-introduce it?

This message was edited Friday, Nov 22nd 9:17 AM

Alys
I just started a new thread;
OVERVIEW PROPAGATION TECHNIQUES

Please feel free to add to it if you come accross more info
Arlen

Thanks Weez!
Bookmarked all of them; am ready to do battle!
arlene

I actually found some good stuff on WPT method on other threads. I will try to link them in.

Oh, good!

Thank-you, Alyssum

This thread would qualify under the throw and grow method
http://davesgarden.com/t/53285/

You might also want to check out some of the wildflower catalogs. Their seeds would all be good to throw & grow...

Thanks Poppysue - that link was extrememly helpful!!
alys