what does the herbal tea water do?
Planted the pentas today from margaran and lantana miss huff from frausnow seeds are soaking now :) I have some more seeds planted and babies sprouting from the swa-op seeds but no time to post on that thread right now....maybe we can combine our baby posts?
Piggie Swap babies and seed starting #2
Cordeledawg, does the herbal tea have any nutrients for the plants, what does it do besides help with dampning off?
I'm pretty sure my lantana seeds are starting to germinate they have the fuzzy stuff on them, yeah!!!!! Thanks Suzy, I used your instructions 8^) If I have more than one to germinate it will beat my record of at least one in four years! LOL I'll be forever grateful! One of my most favorite plants!!!
Lebug, I don't know if herbal tea has any nutrient value to the seedlings other than what I've heard about reducing the dampening off factor. Most nutrient rich "teas" are actually aged manures but I don't want to use that in my sunroom inside my house.
I'm getting started now with wintersowing some of the seeds y'all left behind! This little piggy didn't get left behind & I'm so grateful for the enormous amount of crumbs.
So you don't use anything to feed your seedlings after the first true leaves apear? I've got to feed mine, I'd be afraid they would keel over on me LOL I wouldn't use my compost tea in the house either but wouldn't think they would be ready for that it might be too strong, I do use a seedling feedler though.
Oh yes, I do too. Once they're ready to transplant either outside or into a bigger container, I do use a weaken liquid fertilzer like bloom buster to promote root growth. Up until then, nothing but herbal tea water.
Does anyone know how to start Stachys minor? I have no info on the this species, I have info for same genus:
Stachys byzantina, coccinea, lanata, and olympica , Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), germinates in less than two wks
Stachys grandiflora, monnieri, and officinalis , Sow at Max. 5ºC (41ºF), germination irregular, often several months
Stachys palustris, Sow at -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 12 wks, move to 20ºC (68ºF) for germination
Hi All,
Lebug, Hardy geraniums germinate slowly and irregularly. This means some seeds will germinate in 2-3 weeks, others in 2-3 months. Just be patient, prick the seedlings out and let the rest of the seeds take their time. If no germination occurs, put the seeds in the fridge for a couple of weeks and then out again. Germination may then take place......
Meredith, Stachys minor seems to be one for wintersowing. Sow now, put the seeds in a warm place for a couple of weeks and then put them outside. They should germinate in spring.
I don't feed my seedlings. I put them in the same compost that's used for patio and house plants. This contains nutrition but not enough to burn the tender rootlets!
Thanks Tuink! But do I cover them or not? I've seen some directions to be covered and some not, they look like a seed I would cover. Should I use a heat mat? Sorry, I really want these to germinate LOL
Do I need to keep all my WS plants indsie for a bit or right outside after I get them ready??
My wintersown stuff gets watered and put directly outside. Our winter temps range from 0-60F, so that could be a factor.
If you're talking about your jugs wind, yes put them outside, they wi germinate when the temps. are right, I can't wait until you all that are WS for the first time get babies in the spring :) I want to hear all about them!
Tuinkabouter--loved your slide show on how you plant your seeds. And so many of them!
I would love to see your garden with all the flowers--or are you growing so many to share with friends!? Have you posted any garden pics?
Working on my seed sowing today. Started some morning glories and other annual vines. I guess I will have to set up my light farm to keep them going until Last Frost Date, although it's 64 degrees today (and giving me spring fever!)
Oh, and, yes! I have a 'snow drop' blooming by the back door today! Spring is just around the corner! (-:
Gah..now I want some hops!!
Those "aureus" ones are just stunning..
I am thinking of cutting a few forsythia and pussywillow branches branches today to bring inside and force..I've got the spring fever too..:)
Oooh. I hadn't thought of checking the forsythia and pussy willows for forcing shoots. I wonder if I have buds...
Tuinkaouter - Love the video of you starting seeds, I recycle many styrofoam cups the same way, Helen
Tuink I also loved the pictures of seed starting, it inspired me to copy your idea of sowing in cups and putting them in zip lock bags. Thanks for the info on Stachys.
Does anyone have suggestions for Filipendula rubra? TH's site says 12 wks warm 12 wks cold then warm again. Seems like a long time 12 weeks do you think I could put them into cold sooner?
tabosco..you're a bit farther south..I think if you check your pussy willow you will be pleasantly surprised, I was.. ;)
I brought some stems of forsythia in about 3 weeks ago and they're in glorious bloom! Pussy willow forces easily in a vase too.
Popping in to find out what a piggie swap is???
Canna seeds - did you get that sorted out? I haven't read this whole thread. I have canna seeds soaking in water right now. Instructions say to soak for 24hrs prior to sowing ... you probably already knew that though. :)
This may have been discussed and I missed it...Can poppies be sown now or in the fall.?
I need to get a Forsythia and a Pussy Willow -- I always mean tom, but then it never happens.
Wrightie, It was the 2nd Chance swappers -- they were acting like a bunch of piggies! We started a thread for all the seeds we got that we aren't sure what to do with, or the seeds we *do* know what to do with, well, we started a thread for all the seeds. LOL!
Meredith, I don't know on the Filipendula, but I have grown F. rubrum Venusta for over 20 years and can count the self-sown seedlings on ONE hand. I think it must be more difficult that a regular seed, and wouldn't be surprised if a fall direct sowing is what it needs.
C-Dawg, Sow them now. You can also start them in fall, but then you'd miss this whole season, so sow them now :))
Tuink, That's the way I start them , too, sort of. I use 3" tall plastic pots with the ziplocs over them. Some of the kids fit right over rather snugly, but others i just use a rubberband. I also have to use lights in the basement because we can't rely on sunshine this early in the season-- soon, though, about the end of February, I could start moving the heat lovers upstairs. Who-ooo!
I had a plan early on where one style pot was to be in the house for a month before going outside and a different style pot was for those that remained inside the whole time, however I have forgotten the "key" and don't remember which is which! LOL! I will say I prefer round pots 10 to 1 over sqaure pots, not matter how efficient the square ones are, the corners get dry and they are hard to evenly load with soilless mix. They are also hard to grab when I want to pick one out of the lineup.
I had some germination this weekend, and my Paw Paw seeds have a couple of bumps and sank over night.
My Hibiscus might have some tails...they aren't all that big, LeBug. Do I pull them out of the water one-by-one? Even if it's just a mm long?
Suzy
snort. gotcha.
Thanks Suzy! Is the bumps and sinking on the paw paw a good sign?
Yes, I am pretty sure it is good. LOL! (Keep in mind I don't know squat, ok?) I think there is a bump before the root comes out, sort of like a baby teething where there is a bump before the tooth pokes through. On little seeds you can't see it, but these are as big as a Lima bean.
I think the sinking means I am getting water into the seed itself. A good sign, but not proof positive of anything. I am sooo glad you said soething about those seeds losing viability, because I would have been disappointed if I had killed them all by leaving them in their packets!
Suzy
None of my pawpaws sank, so I potted them up and am crossing my fingers.
Suzy you can do those hib seeds individually or what I do is dump the whole thing into the potting mix. Just try to distribute them around a little. Sometime I cover them up with dirt and other times I don't, the roots will find their way into the soil on their own.
I thought I'd try to germinate those 2 in water, Robynz...LeBug put me up to it, if I recall. :))
LOL - I got so excited about seeds sprouting I posted to the wrong darn thread!! Anyway, I do finally have some sprouts, and some are even large enough (well, enough roots) to require moving up to a larger pot.
Tuink - confess - you really teach this stuff to people on a regular basis, don't you??
All of you have provided me with so much information, in addition to the wonderful seeds - I want to keep you all on these threads through the whole season!!! (wrightie - what took you so long to "find" us??? we've been rooting around with these seeds so much it's rather embarrassing!)
I've been caught up in PUPPY MADNESS, Dryad! ... don't get too excited, I don't have photos to share yet as the babe is only 5 wks old and hasn't "come home" yet. Still, I've been buried in puppy preparations as well as seed starting and couldn't bare the thought of another pile of seeds coming through the mail slot! LOL
I'm glad to see that you've all been having fun in the piggiepen!
Oink~Oink
Cool Suzy! Let me know if you get sprouts from the paw paw that way. If you do I will take mine out of the mix and soak em longer.
I'm not sure that was me Suzy :) I soak my hibiscus seeds and a lot of seeds in H202, but I've never planted Paw Paw, I could if I had some seeds LOL Just kidding I have more than enough LOL
Soon as the hibiscus start getting tails pull them puppies out and plant them in dirt girl no matter how small the tail :)
Wrightie, Congrats on becoming a new mommy!
What if I have 10 seeds and only one has a tail -- do I try to fish it out? Oh, Lord! Or can I wait until most of them have tails, then dump them all out (separating as Robynz says?
Robynz, the reason I call you that is because Dryad's first name is Robin.
Suzy
You probably could Suzy, I just fish mine out right away because I'm so excited I got one lol
LOL! I actually have to find a pair of tweezers. Not that I don't pluck an occasional stray hair, but I don't use the kind of tweezers for that job that would work for this kind of job.
My Torenia seeds from Critterologist 2005 germinated today. I had them upstairs because I thought they needed heat, but I sort of forgot about them. They are more elongated than I prefer, but I got a nice crop of them. Thanks, Critter!
I need to go through the list of seeds to start now, then I need to go through my seed boxes.
Oh, and if anybody has that Pink Pyrola Wintergreen from Weezinreens, don't forget it needs 60 days of winter to germinate...a good WS candidate, but it would be a good thing to startnow and set outside right away.
Suzy
Here is a fantastic article posted by Ladygardener who posted the link in the Seed Starting forum. I forgot there was a seed starting forum, isn't there a propagation forum, too? Sheesh!
http://www.gardeners.com/-/5215,default,pg.html?SC=LNA7005A
Morning all!
Lebug,
I always cover my geranium seeds and I don't have a heat mat. If they don't germinate they should get a cold treatment, so a mat won't be of much use. If you're uncertain about covering the seeds, why not cover some and leave the rest uncovered.....
Fairy,
If you keep the seeds you've sown for wintersowing inside for a couple of days, the seeds will swell/become softer. This not a must (well, for a few species it is), but it helps. In fact you're kind of mimicking the temperature conditions the seeds would experience when they fall from the motherplant in autumn. After that you can put them outside. They will germinate when temperatures outside will reach the right level for them.
Merdith,
If you want to sow Filipendula rubra now, you'll have to stratify. This means sow it now and keep it inside for about 2-3 weeks and then put it outside in the cold. If lucky it will germinate when the outside temperature reaches 10-15°C. Another option is to wait until september. You can then sow it, put it outside and forget about it till spring.
Cordeledawg,
Poppies are hardy so you can sow them whenever you please. However, they usually germinate in April (at least they do where I live, in zone 8b) so March would be an excellent time if you don't want to share too many seeds with the wildlife in your garden.....
Dryad,
You're right, I like to teach people. However, this is not my knowledge (well not all of it!). I'm just extremely good at finding information on the Internet!
Tuink - You know I am taking notes everytime you post :-))
Suzy - I have a number of varieties of hibiscus soaking per Robyznest method, at present I have Hibiscus Trionium Simply love (all 5 seeds) and Hibiscus Mutabalis Confederate Rose from Cordeledqg (1 of 6 seeds) with white tails, the Hibiscus T showed tails 24 hours ago and have just grown longer overnight, and the confederate rose is just starting. I have had to change the water quite a few times as it got murky, I am just using a tea strainer seems to work well and not break the tails off. KD
I put 1 ot my trays or seeds outside, then 1 in the garage-will be doing more tonight-I hav a bunch that say 68* for 2-4 weeks and if no germ, then whatever degrees for 6 weeks, so I want to start them now in case they need to be put out in the lower temps.....ahhh, all these bazillions of seeds....
Suzy, My torenia germinated yesterday too! My original seed came from critter last year, and they were such wonderful and well behaved little shade plants! I was shocked at how well they tolerated the drought. I tried separating the 4 colors when I saved the seed, and 3 of them are up. I'm curious if they will still be a mixture due to cross pollinating. The colors are all pretty together, but I'm hoping to isolate some purples to combine with oranges and yellows and I don't want the pinks and magentas in there (I have other plans for those!).
Have any of you saved seed from the trailing varieties of Torenia? These I've been referring to are bushy types, T.fortunii.
Does wintersowing work for hardy hibiscus?
I would think winter sowing hardy hibiscus should work for you. I think the only time it wouldn't be good is for somewhere they are not hardy. Added - if you start them early indoors they should flower the first year though.
I would like to know how you all start brug seeds?
This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 7:40 AM