It seems to be a fact of life that rosemary germinates poorly. Is there any advice regarding optimum temperature or special treatment that can improve the germination rate? Also, my limited experience with rosemary shows sporadic germination over an extended period. Is that to be expected and when should the first seedlings appear? Paul
Rosemary seed germination
I hope somebody who's had luck growing rosemary from seed will share tips with us! (not me, though, sorry)
Your thread interested me because I've been trying to get ephedra seeds to germ. for me for a couple years now. I've learned that plants from dry, arid climates like lavender, rosemary, and ephedra develope long, sporadic germ. periods to help their seeds sprout with the unpredictable rainfall. Many seeds are sown and few are chosen! I am going to wintersow them this year to see if that doesn't do the trick. Seeds like these are viable for 10 years, so there's no need to feel rushed! I just need to be more patient and expecet it may take months or years to get a seedling.
But I found this on a website for self-reliance:
Start indoors and transplant the seedlings. Darkness will aid germination. Cover a liberal amount of seeds lightly after sowing. Optimum soil temperature for germination is 60
degrees. Germination time 14-21 days. Sow heavily because the seeds have a poor germination rate. Some seeds can germinate up to 3 months after sowing. When you have shoots that are around 4inches high they may be planted out.
cactusman8,
Do you have to do it from seed? For growing in quantity possibly? I've never bothered with seed, I root it in water. If you don't have a large rosemary yourself, you may know someone who does and they yield tons of cuttings.
Sherry
Hi,
According to Horizon Herbs http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=jpeqlnp4 , rosemary is a light dependant germinator. From: http://www.horizonherbs.com/organic-growing-guide.htm
Light-dependent germinator: Light is required to stimulate germination. These are usually quite small (e.g. Wormwood and Saint John�s Wort) and are best pressed into the surface of the soil or barely covered. Water by misting from above or soaking from beneath, as the seeds must not be dislodged if they are to germinate properly.
I planted a row of rosemary seeds in a flat with potting soil and after a month or so, 8 or so of them germinated. The flat was left outside, exposed to Sun with 30% shade cloth and about 3-4 times per day misting with a mist system. Rosemary can also be propagated by cuttings and root division (like horseradish or comfrey).
I have also grown ephedra, which I successfully germinated in an easy-green sprouter and then planted the sprouted seeds. I don't remember how long it took.
Nataraj
You're the one we've all been waiting for! It's interesting that one source says yes and one source says no on the light.
So what is an easy-green sprouter? It's too bad you can't recall how long it took, since that's the part that's killing me.
Thanks very much, Nataraj for the info. I'm inclined to agree with the need for light because my 2 lone seedlings from a previous attempt sprouted after being moved to my greenhouse. Do you agree with Renwings about the viability of seed of up to 10 years? I try to grow everything I can from seed. I guess I just appreciate the diversity that you can get. Paul
This message was edited Oct 26, 2006 10:46 PM
See http://www.easygreen.com . Also http://eatsprouts.com has a sprouter that they sell, or sell plans and parts to make your own. The eatsprouts.com sprouter is based on a mist system. In the warmer months I have a shadehouse covered with 30% shade cloth and a mist system on a timer, where I germinate seeds in flats.
The easygreen, though, has a fan which blows air and moisture across the seeds. I've had good results with both types of sprouters as well as the shade house.
All different seeds have different lengths of time for which they remain fresh. Keeping them cool and dry helps alot, but some seeds just don't keep that long. It can't hurt to try them, but if they don't germinate, you might try fresh ones.
Nataraj