Dud Containers - what didnt germinate for you

Some of my lobelia is starting to pop up again ... I had w/s'd it 2/3 and saw sprouts 3/27, but the frost must have killed it off. Now I'm seeing more sprouts. So there's hope ... for Lobelia at least.

Lisa

Non germination is part of the reason why I keep records. I look at when they were sowed. Are they hardy. Did they need more cold and then warmth or just warmth? How old was the seed? Where did the seed come from? How hardy is the plant? Did it germinate too soon due to a warm spell and should have been sowed later in the season? [Lisa - I would sow lobelia in March/April] Is there enough drainage in the containers or too much? Once I've looked at this, I try something different the next year and maybe one more after that. Some seeds are not meant to w/s or are not meant for your zone. In general, I have found that most annuals I sow later in the season while perennials and annuals that reseed on their own are earlier - a guideline, not a rule.

tcs, that is awful about your Yvonne's Salvia! I got some last week..I did only 8 seeds after reading about your problems with it. I did them like WS in a container but have kept it inside. I have 7 sprouts already.

I did not do as this year because I over did it so much last year. I lost tons of seedlings over the winter, but I still have a lot to get settled into the ground or large pots.

I am using backups this year: I used the coffee filter/plastic bag for some seeds (mixed results,)
light set-ups for others, and now I am thinking I will summer sow in pots and have them germinate outside. This fall I will winter sow again. Oh yes, I have had good results by putting seeds inside a plastic bag in a little damp medium. I have several Louisiana iris and about ten Japanese iris from that method.

Sowing under lights is working out best right now.

My duds this year are : eupatorium maculatum 'Lil Joe', echinacea 'Double delight" which I discovered that the seeds are either sterile or don't come true, viola mammola, viola 'Blueberry pansy', gaillardia 'Arizona sun', red butterfly bush, pink butterfly bush and veronica spicata. Not a total bust as my other containers did quite well and I'll have gorgeous flowers in the gardens.

tcs: I'm sorry to hear about your Yvonne's Salvia. I think about every seed germinates for me, and I have hundreds of volunteers. My WSown ones are only an inch or two tall now, but my indoor-started ones were planted out a few weeks ago at about 8 or 10 inches tall. Unfortunately two of them were knocked over in the wind and rain a couple of days ago. (One was partially uprooted). I replanted and staked those but it doesn't look good for them.

I only sowed 30-some jugs this year because, after doing 60 to 80 per year for the previous 3 years, my flower beds are pretty full.

Lisa, are you talking about annual or perennial lobelia? I've never tried WSing the annual ones but my lobelia cardinalis (wintersown) is now in it's 3rd year. One clump is big and healthy, the other is small and doesn't seem to expand much. I wish I'd done more, must remember next year.

My duds remain red hot poker, platycodon, and geum. (3 duds out of about 35).

Karen

Karen AND Lisa, I tried to WS annual lobelia my first year (when I was very earnest and much more serious) and got about one flower at the end of June, I think. Now I don't take it so seriously and I KNOW I can't compete with nurseries in getting lobelia to bloom by Memorial Day. So I let them win that one. I'll take the columbines, cosmos, and other stuff that I CAN WS easily and in varieties not available at the big box stores.

Never tried the annual lobelia, but cardinalis wintersows well.

Karen

Yes, it was blue annual lobelia, which was so nice (from the nursery) last year. I got a few sprouts, but I know I'll have nothing in flower until at least August. I'm going to give up on this one, and stick with the perennials in the future.
Lisa

I do a lot of annuals like cosmos, cleome, bachelor's buttons, marigolds and nasturtiums. I guess ones that I don't have a big emotional investment in. I REALLY care about lobelia and sweet alyssum,

I had a batch of jugs that didn't germinate, and I have this feeling that if I looked at my records they were all sown at the same time. I used a bag of potting soil that wasn't my usual "MG with moisture control", it was something else. These containers in particular are like little bricks now even though they have been watered well. I am thinking that may have something to do with it. Most all the Miracle Grow containers came up really nice! (except for stuff that I had little expectations for like clematis seeds.... I will leave those for a few years apparently lol. )

Stuff I can think of off the top of my head that surprised me: Cleome... not one, liatris.... not one, also Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine, Moon Vine, Cypress Vine. People rave about how easy these are to grow. I guess that is why they surprised me.

LIssa -- there are a few that i can not sow to save my life, which come up like crazy for others.... i just dont get it.

i just move on.....