Guide from Seed to Bloom ?

Is there a web site where I can go to get the average number of weeks it takes for a seed to go from sprout to a blooming size plant.

I have a lot of seeds I want to start, both annual and perennial that I would like to get a general idea for each one as to how long it takes for it to go from germination to bloom size / or outside transplant size.

Thanks for any and all help.

Deb, I have 2 very good books on seed starting and neither of them give a "bloom date". The books are The New Seed Starters Handbook by Nancy Buble and From Seed to Bloom by Eileen Powell
I also checked out Goggle no hits that would help you. All give the # off weeks to start before last frost date.
I have keep some notes on my own seed starting but usually get very busy and don't record the bloom time for myself. That being said I have started on March 11 2008, Petunia seeds and Impatiens. I can't plant out tender annuals till around the last week in May (I'm in zone 5 too)
The impatiens started to flower about 2 weeks before I set the plants out and the Petunias started blooming about 2 weeks after I put them outside.
So this year I'll keep the Impatien date about the same but sow the Petunias in Feb.
I know we in zone 5 with a late last frost date want to set out blooming plants but I'm thinking that the plants we see blooming for sale at Walmart and our local garden centers were shipped from a southern zone.
I think the length of daylight and the closeness of the sun has something to do with bloom time.
Chris

You can have a look at these sites:
http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/germination.html

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

And if you don't find the seeds you want to germinate, you can always ask on this forum

Jonna

I have the Eileen Powell book mentioned by Chris as well and think it's a wonderful resource. That's the nice thing about gardening books, the basic information usually never gets outdated!

Here is a link to a seed germination database...as usual...there's so much info..ya have to sift..but still, it's helpful! Rj
http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html

I've been having that issue myself and just sent an email to Summer Hills yesterday regarding this same topic. They describe the plants in great detail and give good germinating tips, but I would like to see more companies provide bloom information too.

Stokes Seeds is one company that DOES give more detailed information, so you might check there to see if they carry the seeds in question.

Here is a little info on perennials blooming....
http://www.dianeseeds.com/flowers/first-year-perennials.html


This message was edited Jan 13, 2009 12:44 PM

I've been having the same problem myself. Being new to seed starting I'm a little mystified as to why this information is so difficult to get hold of. The days to bloom is usually NOT on the back of the seed packets that I buy and googling for the info is hit and miss.

Glad to have the links that have been provided and here's another one:

http://www.ferry-morse.com/seeds.asp?type=annuals&folder=seeds

and one more thing....

I think the "days to bloom" number (when you can find it) includes the number of days it takes for the seed to sprout in the first place which seems to vary a lot depending on moisture, heat etc.

There is tons of information on "days to germinate" which I'm not sure why that's such an important number anyway! What I think would also be very useful is the number of days from the seed sprouting to flowering. That way when my seeds eventually DO sprout I can think "OK in, 3, 4, 8, 14 months (or whatever it is) this will be in flower" and plan accordingly.

But as I say I'm pretty new to this so I might be missing something.

I think that all the information gathering on a plant is good, but the best information is that based on your own personal experience. That is why I encourage all to make use of the DG Journal and /or develop your own way of tracking your experience with your seeds.
If you are serious about starting your own seeds then starting a log is a must. But you have to find a way that works best for you.
The days to germinate is very important, if you have seeds that will normally sprout in 5 days and it is now 15 days then something may have gone wrong, time to start over. Maybe seeds too old, not stored right, soil too wet and they rotted.
Also check in DG Plant Files, sometimes there is more useful info there too. And don't forget to add your own information, as they say "We are all in this together"
Still buried in snow, can't wait for spring. Chris

I find using bottom heat makes a huge difference..
We're about to "Spring" here.
First Pink Magnolia bloom this morning

Here is a great data base site for germination of all kinds of seeds. Annuals are easy. Many perennials require stratification (cold treatment): others need scarifying (nicking); yet others require both. Seeds will not germinate until conditions are right for the seeds you are sowing. Some perennials take months, others less.

http://grow.ars-informatica.ca/index.php

The reason that there is no source for days to bloom is that time of bloom is determined by physiological age (and many other factors) not merely calendar age. Depending on the plant in question, high and low temperature, solar radiation, day length, moisture, fertility and age (to a certain degree) all determine when a plant blooms. Time to bloom can vary greatly from region to region, and from year to year for a given plant.

Many (not all) of the plants that are blooming when you purchase them from nurseries aren't blooming merely because they have grown for a certain number of days, rather it is from a very specific set of conditions that have been imposed on those plants. Usually, it is a combination of day length and temperature. Many plants can be forced to bloom at certain times of the year by increasing the day length artificially and by interrupting the "night" with a certain period of light. Temperature also plays an important role, not only in general plant growth, but in initiating flower buds. Nursery production of flowering plants for certain times of the year is truly a science with many variables that must be carefully controlled.

Models have been developed to predict bud and flower production, and have been used for many decades within the research community. However, it is not as simple as calculating GDD for insects. Every plant has upper and lower temperature limits for growth and an optimal temperature as well. Then start adding in variables such as solar radiation, day length, moisture, etc.... and it starts to get very complicated. On top of all that, with the constant develpment of new cultivars and adaptation of new species (all of which can vary from an original selection/parent), you get a huge number of variables that the average person is unable or unwilling to record and calculate.

In addition, now that we are growing so many plants from outside their original native areas it would be very difficult to give a general prediction for bloom time that would be accurate for all regions for plants grown from seed. Perennials are a little easier to predict, assuming of course you are growing them as true perennials and they overwinter in your area.

I didn't intend to get so lengthy in my reply, but it shows how complicated it can be to predict a certain number of days/weeks for an individual plant to grow from seed to bloom. Entire masters and PhD thesis have been written on growth and development parameters for individual species.

As with most of what occurs in your local microclimate, your best estimates will be from your own records and from experience of those close to you who are raising the same plants/cultivars. Keeping track of GDD accumulation from year to year can give you a pretty good predictor of bloom time once you have a year or two of records to compare to.

Thanks, a great help!
I do know that blooms of most plants require more light, that's why shady plants don't usually have as many flowers and roses and others thrive in over 6 hrs. of sun.
Would be nice to have info on seed packages that if kept at ?? hrs. of sun to expect flower buds at a certain date from planting.

Pamela...thanks for the chart, and Iclav....I really appreciate your explanation of the seed process and environmental climate for bloom time.

Debbie

trc65
You are right but to put it all in simple terms: plants will bloom when they are mature enough to have developed enough root system to enable them to sustain the energy to bloom. That differ in different species of plants.

Add to that to climate conditions. Once mature enough to have the energy, they will bloom when conditions are suitable for them. That too varies with different species. Plants don't bloom for our satisfaction, but to grow seeds and continue their species.

Interesting too is that each specie of plant has to produce a certain number of seeds. Once done, they stop blooming. This is why when you deadhead a perennial before it sets seeds, or before the seeds have ripened, it will react by sending up more flower stalks that will produce the needed amount of seeds.

This message was edited Feb 25, 2009 1:33 AM

Wow!! blomma, what a help!!
Thank you!!

If Ferry Morse can have a stab at giving approximate bloom times then I still don't see why other seed companies can't do the same. Unless, as trc65 says, there are so many variables that the time a plant can be expected to produce a flower (given the right light etc) is so wildly variable that giving an approximate bloom time would be meaningless. But if that's true why would Ferry Morse even bother?

Take pansies. The seed packet I had said nothing about days to bloom. When I looked it up on Ferry Morse I realized that because pansies take quite a long time to become mature enough to bloom I should have really started the seeds indoors in January. If I start them now the weather will start to get too hot for them not long after they are in the ground.

I'm very interested in experimenting with using the same space for bulbs, biennials and perennials & annuals to create a succession of bloom from spring thru fall therefore the approximate time I can expect annual seeds to produce a flower is kind of crucial to this goal. Sure I can experiment myself but with all the other information on the internet I still think approximate bloom times for annuals should be more widely available.

I'm more of a results-driven vs a process-driven person....can you tell!



This message was edited Mar 3, 2009 11:31 PM

Someone on the Annuals forum posted which annuals she needs to start in zone 5b in January and February. I found it helpful. Maybe it can help you?

Seeds to start in January: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/804677/
Seeds to start in February: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/809495/

The closest you can guess when a perennial plant will bloom from seed is to know what month they usually bloom in your climate.

The trigger to bloom is maturity, lenght of daylight/sun, and soil temperature. Consider too different climates. The same variety of plant will bloom earlier in the south than it would in the north.

Example: Spring-blooming perennials will set buds when the soil, and air temperature are still cool, and the days are still short.

With annuals, I found the smaller the seed, the longer the time for blooms. Also, these plants won't bloom until they have established a good root system to give them the energy to produce flowers. Usually, seed packages that you buy in stores have a tip on when to sow them according to growing zones.

Don't most perennials bloom their 2nd year?

I know the OP was asking about bloom time for both annuals AND perennials but my main concern is ANNUALS.

If I'm going for successive bloom from spring to frost then it is the annuals that I grow from seed that I need to know the bloom times for.

My perennials are anchor plants that will have, as blomma has pointed out, a pretty predictable month when they will start to bloom. With perennials I expect no flowers the first year, maybe some the second and a decent show the third. (anything more than that then I consider myself lucky.) If I have any first or 2nd year perennials I will assume they will not flower much if at all and therefore interplant them with annuals or 2nd year biennials - and also bulbs of course.

Also for late in the season I've read that if I start some quick growing annuals from seed in the summer then they will give a good display of annual flowers to take me into the late fall. Again 'days to bloom' is information I need for this. I mean I'm talking a rough guide here not an exact number of days.

And then if I want to get really fancy - I can try and actually time the bloom of the annuals with the various anchor perennials to get some nice combinations - but without an approximate days to bloom how am I supposed to achieve this?

OK. OK. I'm laboring the point here.

If anybody wants set up a website with days to bloom for annuals based on their experience - I promise to an avid visitor!