Stolen Idea!

That's amazing. Now if I could get started on one I would be happy. The only one I had died this winter.

Just spent a good bit of time reading this thread. I have learned a lot from all of you. I have some plants I just got a few days ago that look more dead than alive. Plain water has done nothing to revive them. I am going to try the H2O2 method, and see if they will perk up. I will also be using the H2O2 soak for seeds next time I start some. I am really looking forward to seeing for myself how well this works. Not that I doubt the amazing things I have read here. lol

You can try watering in some Superthrive. The stuff often does wonder for plants, especially transplants and rooting. the next best thing is a foliar feed with Miracle Gro or some other high nitrogen. Just use a spray bottle and spritz it.

I have put the Superthrive on my shopping list (after reading this thread) to try and find. It's a long way into town from where I live, and I don't get in very often. I think I may try this weekend again. I was wondering if a little fish emulsion in a spray bottle would help?

Superthrive is great to use.I had a really hard time finding it and one of the members from the rose forum bought and sent it to me a few years ago.But than later on I found it at WalMart.You might want to call them first .Good luck and have fun :-)

At one time there was a 1-800 phone number on the back of the superthrive bottle that you could call and order. Don't remember what the price or shipping costs were.

I have been a vendor in the garden center at walmart and other big box retail chains.

Don't bother calling. No one knows what the product is, let alone where to find it. Down your way they may still have it in stock, but late in the season most stores stop ordering garden supplies to focus on the fall/winter holidays.

The product is great though. Hope your plants pull thru.

A.

I have been hybridizing both daylily and Iris seeds since 2009. Two cultivars bloomed while still in my coldframe this past summer. And the rest will bloom next season. Since this is a daylily forum, I will refer to that plant.

Mix Peroxide at ratio of 9 parts water to 1 part Peroxide to help prevent mold. Also be sure to mark the cultivar. I mark pod parent x pollen parent. If by change you have a blooming plant that deserves to be registered, you will want to know what parents produced such beautiful child.

This method is called the Deno method from Dr. Deno who invented it years ago.

First, soak the seeds overnight in hand hot water to plump them up. Then use a kitchen paper towel, cut into 4th and moisted it in the Peroxide. Squeeze out the excess. Fold it in half. Place the seeds and fold to cover the seeds. Place this package in a small ziplock bag and zip it, leaving a small opening to blow air into the bag to fill like a balloon. Once filled, zip it closed. Place in fridge for 3 weeks to stratify (moist cold) the seeds. After 2 weeks, check to see if any have begun to sprout, which often they do. After 3 weeks, move to room temp to germinate.

Sprouting time depends on variety. At this point, check the seeds at least twice during the week, starting after the 1st week since they can sprout overnight. As soon as seeds have formed a radical (tiny roots forming) with a tweezer grasp the seed casing of those and transfer to seed flat or pot. Make a hole with a pencil and guide the root into the hole. Plant so the seed is 1/4" below the surface, 1" or more, apart. Be sure to place roots downwards in the hole. If the roots have grown into the paper towel, just tear around the roots and plant it. Do not try to remove the roots from the paper. The paper will eventually rot. Sometimes it is hard to tell if the tiny growth is roots, or leaf buds, which sometimes appear fist. If that is the case, lay the seed on its side and let the seed determines which is which. Water young seedlings once after potting with Miracle-Gro QUICK-START a hormone to help establish root quickly.

Until the sprouted seeds have broken through the soil, they do not need light. However, once they do, grow them in a sunny window, under light, or place the flat outside in a protected area if weather is warm. Daylily seedling look like blades of grass when young. I plant the seedlings in my coldframe end of May when there is no more chance of frost. I space them 4" apart.

The Deno method above can be used for all perennials that are large enough to handle. Most hardy perennials require stratification (moist cold) to begin sprouting. Mother Nature devised that plan so that hardy perennials wouldn't begin to sprout outdoors during winter when they can't survive.

Below are Daylily seeds sprouting in a kitchen paper towel just prior to planting. Photo taken February 2010.

You know my sister just sent me some Japanese Maple Tree seeds. I have been trying to get them to sprout for a year or 2. This time I have enough seeds to try every imagineable method. Will print your method for day lilies and try that too.

When you are desperate, you will try anything.

For Japanese Maple, seed should be collected from the tree before it dries, then sown directly outdoors for germination the following spring.

These seeds require stratification, meaning flunctuating winter temperature to break them out of dormancy. It is the same with Iris seeds, which I sow.

I would soak the seeds over night in hand hot water. Then sow the seeds in a plastic container, like a shoe box from Walmart. Plant the seed 1/3" deep of its size. Leave the container outdoors on the north side of a building. Melt drainage holes with a hot nail. Premoisten the potting soil, then keep the container covered.

Below is a photo of this years harvest of Iris seeds. Any perennial can be sowed the same.

I could be wrong, but I have read that Japanese maples need double stratification (equivalent of 2 winters) to germinate

Hi ecrane, you may be correct. I got the information online at seedsite. com. I know many tree seed have double dormancy that have to be broken. Sometimes nicking helps.

This message was edited Oct 20, 2011 11:20 PM

blooma,
If I use your method above, do I water them occassionally? I do have some seeds that have been in pots for about a year and a half. Never though about checking if the seeds are still there. Guess I'll keep them right where they are.

I did look at the site: seedsite.co.uk, but found it difficult to maneuver. Am I missing something?

This message was edited Oct 21, 2011 10:45 AM

plantsfor peg, if your pots are not covered, yes I would wtater them. The reason why my seeds are covered is so I don't have to worry about them drying. I do chieck once in awhile but they really can't dry out.

Blomma, does your set up have drainage holes in the containers? I like that. I could plant lots of hardy perennials that way. Thanks,Linda

ibartoo, Hi yes the small containers have drainage holes made my a hot nail. The larger bin don't have it since I don't want anything crawling into it, then into my seed boxes.

Yes, you can start many seeds in my setup.I had a smaller setup last season. It worked so well that I added the large bin to put the shoeboxes in.

Thanks Blomma, I think I will try it. It could work wonders for winter sowing for me.

Thanks blooma for the info.

you are welcomed.

I found this thread last year and incorporated many of the methods described here. I have one tip to add: I used plastic sweater boxes to WS in, with drainage and top air holes burned in with a small soldering iron. To keep critters--and slugs--out, I wrapped the top and bottom with old reemay and secured with duct tape. A stone or two on top kept the covers from blowing off. I had great results!

Pam

Pam,
Read my message above on Oct 20th

What is Reemay?

Blomma, I think I got the idea to use the plastic box from one of your old posts. The only thing different was taping the fabric over the holes to keep invaders out. I followed a lot of your suggestions last year, and they were a huge help, so thank you for all your encouragement and support in these forums.

Ibartoo, Reemay is a type of fabric row cover used to extend the growing season. It lets in light, air and water but helps against frost. I had some pieces left over from previous years were too torn to be of use in the garden.

Pam

Pfg, Oh, great. Glad I helped someone. I don't need to use fabric since my shoe boxes are in the large bin which does not have any holes for invader to crawl into.

The only seeds that go in those boxes are perennials that need stratification. Mostly it is Iris seeds. They will sprout in the spring with warmer weather.

Thanks Pam, In my climate, we don't really use row cover's so I had no clue. I am going to try some of the boxes this year. Last year I tried 2 litre bottles and they were disastrous.

Thanks again everyone for the tips.

ibartoo, the problem with using litre bottles is that it is almost impossible to remove the seedlings safely. The shoe/sweater boxes I use makes it easy to remove seedlings with roots intact. Walmart carries the boxes and they are cheap. Actually, Walmart carries plastic boxes in all sizes. If you only have a few seeds you want to sow, save the plastic containers that holds sliced ham. I use those also.

I just took out 4 cuttings I had started of Mock Orange shrubs that I had started in the soda bottles. I used a large meat fork to take them out and they really did great. All had a lot of roots and they looked sooooo good. I think what I might have done if I had had trouble, is cut down to the bottom of the bottle in a couple of places with scissors. That should have helped if I had needed it.

Jeanette - that's exactly what I do.

I guess if you have difficulty working with your fingers WS in bottles and jugs can be hard, but I don't mind the very delicate work of lifting seedlings with their tiny roots from milk jugs. I don't use a whole lot of soil either, that could probably increase the difficulty level. As it is, an inch or two of soil is all I use to start my seeds.

Guess everyone has their own methods/preferences, but I certainly do appreciate all the tips on germination here.

A.

I did use too much soil with the cuttings, however, maybe cuttings are different than seedlings. They had a couple of inches of plant to get nodes in the soil. Guess it depends on the type of plant and there is definitely a difference between cuttings and seeds.

Bump

Sorry pfg, I thought I did bump this thread. My computer just doesn't always complete what I am trying to do all the time. I have heard others have the same trouble with this site. I was thinking it was my computer, but after hearing others, I am not sure.

I just saw a reference to this thread somewhere else and it looked kind of far down. I'm still learning from it too.

Pam

A lot of good stuff in it.

[quote="blomma"]"For Japanese Maple, seed should be collected from the tree before it dries, then sown directly outdoors for germination the following spring.

These seeds require stratification, meaning flunctuating winter temperature to break them out of dormancy. It is the same with Iris seeds, which I sow."

Does this mean that I shouldn't used the Peroxide/water solution for japanese maples but let mother nature stratisfy them?

Also, does this mean that I shouldn't use the plastic box idea but rather just put JM seeds directly in the ground?

Here are some great seed sowing sites. Off hand I can't remember the Latin name for Japanese Maple. But one or more should answere your question.

http://tomclothier.hort.net/page10.html

http://theseedsite.co.uk/index.html

http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/index.htm

You will find that most hardy perennials and trees require that Nature stratify them.
Yes, use the plastic box idea rather than planting in the ground. That way you have more control over the seeds.

Some of my irises are beginning to sprout. Been outside all winter. I bought the first box that I sowed back in October in for the fun of it.

My first iris bloomed today. I never tried growing them from seed because I'm constantly dividing tubers but that sounds fun!

I would allow the seeds to "fatten" up. They need to be ripe or they will not germinate.

1] Photo is my 3 year-old iris seedling with first bloom. Cross is Raspberry Blush x Little Chestnut.
2] Pod parent
3] Pollen parent
4] same as 3
5] All my seedlings for 2012 before planting in nursery.


This message was edited Mar 24, 2013 12:26 PM