Starting seeds indoors.......

I have begun "dabbling" with seeds indoors to stave off upcoming winter cabin fever. I have two small greenhouses (tabletop style) over which hangs a flourescent light. In one green house I planted Rose Of Sharon seeds (bluebird) that I collected from my own shrub this fall. Within a short time all had sprouted nicely. A few weeks later I planted Helene and Minerva Rose Of Sharon seeds that I also gathered from my yard and put them in greenhouse #2. Nothing seems to be happening in there. (This sounds like one of those word math problems you get in school)....Much more time has passed for this set of seeds. Are they bad? I am new at this....(the right house is obviously the one doing well) Also, can the sprouted seedlings stay in the greenhouse until spring, space permitting? Thanks for any input.-Brit

Hi brit I don't have to grow seeds like that but either the temp is different or the moisture ...as I see no or very little condensation on the glasshouse with the non germinated seeds. If the seeds are hybrid they may need longer, check out the water and heat just to make sure.
good luck.

One thing you'll need to think about is that in order to not get leggy seedlings, you really need to have the light no more than a few inches above the tops of the seedlings once they germinate. I'd also think about gradually weaning the sprouted ones off of the dome--I've found if I don't do that I end up with a lot more fungal problems. Some seedlings you can just pop the top off all at once and leave it off and they're fine, others are a little more sensitive and you have to wean them off it gradually.

As far as the seeds that haven't germinated yet, some plants are variable in how long it takes them to sprout so unless it's been a really long time I wouldn't give up on them yet. Especially if the Bluebird seeds were super fresh when you planted them and these are slightly older that could make a difference in the time to germinate. Or as Chrissy pointed out it could be the heat and/or water is a bit off. There is also a chance that the seeds aren't viable, some hybrids don't produce viable seed (I don't have any specific knowledge of these particular plants and whether they should produce viable seed or not)

Also you may know this already but in case you don't--don't expect that your babies will necessarily look like the parent. All three of the ones you mention are hybrid cultivars so they may come close to true and look almost like the parent, or they may not. It'll be a fun surprise waiting for them to bloom and see what they look like!

Chrissy; I have the temps and watering exactly the same in both, I checked. I think the reason one is so misty is because there are fifteen misted plants as opposed to the other greenhouse that has only two (I assume).

Ecrane; I suppose I will have to raise up the houses towards the light or move them down in the basement where I have a very large flourescent that can move up or down accordingly. Do you think legginess in a seedling now will effect it later in its mature shrub stage? Also, I never thought about the plants looking different than the parent-that kind of deflates my balloon of excitement! Mostly for the bluebird. That is my favorite shrub ever. Blue is hard to come by around here!! If I take cuttings instead of seeds will they look like the parent plant?
Well, I live out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, I am sure I can find a place for all the gazillion seedlings I collected if they don't turn out okay! Thanks for the help......Brit

Cuttings will look like the parent so if you want more Bluebirds that look the same as the parent that's definitely the way to go. Seeds you never know--some hybrids do tend to come pretty close to true from seed but others will look very different, you'll never know until they bloom (who knows, the babies might even be prettier than the parent!) As far as how legginess will affect things down the road...in the long term it probably doesn't make much difference, but in the shorter term leggy seedlings have very weak stems and tend to be very floppy which make them much easier to damage when you're moving, transplanting, etc, so I'd try to get them some proper lighting if you can.

I moved the seedlings downstairs to the big "SuperNova" light. Hopefully they will get hardy. Thanks so much for the feedback, I didn't see your last post for some reason! :)

In case you haven't already, have a look into winter sowing outdoors, too:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4561099

http://wintersown.org/

Someone mentioned that. I looked it up and found it very overwhelming! I have to sit down and read about it carefully. Can any zone do it? I am 5A or B on the margin-Thanks Claypa

Zone 5, no probIem, I have friends in zone 5 who do this every year. Put four inches of soil in milkjugs with drainholes, seeds at whatever depth they should be, put the jugs out in the cold, rain, and snow around January, and that's about it.

It works great with most any perennials, trees, shrubs like your rose of Sharon, and a surprising number of annuals, too, like Poppies, larkspurs, bachelor's buttons and others. With some other annuals it's better to wait until March or so, but winter sowing really is as simple as it could be. No leggy seedlings, no damping off fungus, no lights, and no need to worry about water until springtime, when it starts to get warm.

That second link has a list of plants people have winter sown, listed by zone. Here's zone 5's list, rose of Sharon is on it:

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/WS_Database_Z5.html

Thanks! I will definitely look into it! I miss gardening now that the winter is fast approaching! :(