Spring seed sprouting progress: 2010
 

Well, I started 8 varieties of perennials this Tuesday under my lights. I chose the seeds that had directions on them, that they would take at least 3 weeks to germinate. The plan is to do those first, grow them up, then put in the cold frame, and then start the gazanias and other faster ones (that need heat, or whatever).

Well surprise... The calamintha seeds are starting already, and so are the other catmint (these are not catNIP)seeds I collected from my plant upNorth.
Now I will have to move them into cells in 10 days or so, and they will eat up my light space too soon!

So this is just a reminder for others who are following seed directions from the growers, or internet... Expect surprises!
The Calamintha even said.... if no germination in 3 wks, place in refrigerator for 4 weeks to cold treat, and then put back at normal temps! So much for that! Must be a standard perennial recommendation when no one really knows the truth!:rolleyes:

Even with Burpee seeds, you get that. They say one thing, and you never know what to expect. Most seeds take about 7 days, but I've seen em sprout in 2 and take as long as ten.

I get them that far then lose them.

:o

I love to garden but since the granddaughter came along, have not been able to keep it up. Most of the plants are perennial, so they survived the neglect. But the yard looks horrible (even under snow lol).

I've been watching Jadi since she was a couple months old, on and off, and no way can I do both babysitting and yard work. She's one of those kids, you know? Eyes on her ALL the time or else, lol.

We have a pool, so if I bring her outside I really have to watch her, can't be distracted weeding.

Hopefully this year ds will have a real sitter most of the time and I can get back to being a normal grandma - take her once a week and have fun, and still get something done.

I need to figure out two things - better weed control and more privacy in the back yard.

I was hoping to supply 4 projects this spring. Looks like I have a big problem coming up! heheheheh

My yard, the public corner garden, my son's new home, and my good friend who I gave stuff to last year.

(my hairdresser got some and the mail carrier, and one engineer who was doing the road in front, last year too!)

I have lights in my studio, and a couple of portable ones, that are getting old now. The trick for indoor growing, is keeping the temp cool once they germinate, and lights close to the plants by propping the seed cells up etc. I bought two 128 cell inserts on Ebay, this year to keep as many as possible in a small indoor space. You have to use a special growing medium also. If one is not careful the seedlings get leggy, and damp off with fungus.

If we get a nice spring I can get them out under my portable cold frame and that will help. I also got some trays/cells at Lowe's last year on a clearance. I always keep my eye out for low prices. I am growing things this season that are not available in local nurseries. The Calamintha, a new variety of gazania with silver foliage, some ornamental grasses, two types of upright purple sedum (I expect failure with these), and a dark purple JoePye weed, for my son's moist yard. I also have collected some globe thistle seeds from my plants and I will try those. (I got a nice case of painful dermatitis on my hands from those babies!--gotta wear gloves to collect and sort those!)

Anyway, this keeps me from going stir crazy in Jan and Feb!

Last year I grew my seedlings outside. I started them late, and put them in my containers I take upNorth. I just left them out there and most germinated. Then I moved them to cells and kept them out there. I haven't done indoors for several years.

Wow... you really go for it!

I tried a couple times. It's just too much, trying to keep them moist but not too moist. Temps in my house are not stable, either. Hard enough to keep the house plants alive this time of year.

:o

I am using some old clear scones containers for the starting. Then when the seedlings get bigger, I move them into cells. They are long and narrow like a hot dog. So they all fit under the first lights.

The gazanias and some of the annuals I will do right into the cells to save labor.

Most of these seeds are tiny, so I can't put them into cells with a
tweezers like I can with some others.

I've done seeds many times, so I do know some tricks. But still there are failures.... always failures!

Well the failures are half of it - the ones that are successes mean more that way. I tried to get a gailardia going for years - too dark, too crowded, too wet, etc. finally found the right spot for her and then she went wild. Even had some of her seeds sprout and grow to bloom!

I think the hardest part of doing seeds is moving the newly sprouted things up into the first cells.

One has to handle the babies very very carefully, not to touch or squeeze the stems but hold them by a leaf (which is replaceable).

Some things don't like to be moved. And not all seed packs tell you this. So if you get one variety that doesn't like being moved, well...failure is upon you.

The germination process is not so bad, if you get good seeds.

I just moved 18 Catmint (from my album) that I harvested upNorth. We'll see within 2 days if they die now or not. ( I tend to lose 10-20% of transplants at this stage when things are good.)

I gently break the root balls up with a little plastic fork, and move to a 6pk cell.

Tomorrow will be the Butterfly weed... which doesn't like being moved. I got those free from a grower who sent me infertile JoePye weed (dark variety)... so what I paid for is not working out. But her freebees all came up, more than I can use.

I'm going to put these 3 to a large peat pot, and hope at least one survives moving (in each pot). I have 2 wild spots that they could do well in. IF they survive tomorrow!

Things are going well.... far better than I expected! ;)

Here is a picture of some of the transplants I did this week:
They are all doing well so far, knock on wood, and this week will be critical for success.

They are in a cool room under special fluorescent lights.

I wish I'd seen about the butterfly plants sooner. I know, tough to move when young. But you can move them easy when they're over one foot tall. What I wanna know is, my first one grew 8' high. none of them since - all from that ones seeds - got over 3-4 foot high. What gives?


Also, do you ever start daylily seeds indoors? I have a couple from plants I crossed. Wondered if it's easier or more successful indoors or out. I usually forget where I put them outside, lol.

Yes, I did daylilies years ago from seeds I bought from Park's.

They need to be cold treated for best results.
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/DLPlace/stratify.html

As I recall I lost about 10% of the seeds during stratification.
They rotted. I checked them frequently and removed quickly so as not to have the fungus spread to the others. It helps to put a little square of paper towel in the ziploc and to separate the seeds from each other so they don't touch to prevent spread of any fungus/or rot.

The seeds are large and easy to handle. And after they finally germinate they are easy to move around. I thought the transplanting was much easier than with other more tender type plants. It was the cold stratification that is the tricky part.


I just started 7 more perennials this week.
2 more ornamental grasses, a dwarf black eyed susan I bought at a nursery and saved seeds from (this is small enough for container growing), a new plant I've never done before called Agastache Purple pygmy, and two types
of forget me nots for my son's wet yard, and globe thistle seeds gathered from my plants, to naturalize in the wild garden across the street.

Also I should add that I am using a special seed starting mix. I bought MiracleGro seed starter, and mixed it 1/2 and 1/2 with fine vermiculite. I notice that the vermiculite encourages the roots well, and falls off easily when transplanting so there is less damage. I think this is helping with my success rate. I gave the little babies a shot of very dilute fertilizer a few days before moving. I mix the soils in their own tubs (one for seed starter and a separate one for transplanting soil). I bought the tubs cheaply at WalMart and they have lids. I have to do this indoors so I wanted to control "mess". I moisten the mediums a few hours before planting, so watering is kept to a minimum. I use a water bottle with a nozzle for drinking and put only drops in each cell as needed. Park's directions say to bottom water, but if done carefully like I do it, top watering works too. I also open the scones containers a bit now and then and let them air out.
It is a fine mix of keeping fungus down, but humidity up for germination success.

Sounds like ground planting is probably just as easy. I used to just let the pods mature on plant until mostly dry, pick them and dry in the shed. Take the seeds and plant with some kind of moisture holding whatever - if I had leftover compost, I'd use that, or just good soil - under some other foiliage for protection. Keep it watered.

I guess mine didn't need to be frozen first. I have 9 or 10 daylilies and started out with 3.

That was one of the fun things about this plant. I was surprised it took me so long to *discover* it, once I figured out how easy it was to propagate. Great fun to garden with kids with this one. Always a flower to let them pick, seeds easy for little hands to manage, and this year we can divide and replant together.

You know you can eat the flowers too!

There is even a book of recipes! Delightfully Delicious Daylilies, by Peter Gail.

And yes, planting in the ground is feasible too. The seeds are really not much trouble as long as they get that cold treatment, somehow.

I am planning on doing some Nastursiums this summer and will try the flowers in salads.

hardening off 2 flats already:
 

Here are two pics of 2 of the 5 flats I am beginning to harden off.

The first picture is of the same flat I posted earlier in this thread.
(ornamental grass and 2 varieties of catmint--see my profile album)
The catmint on the left of this picture is more vigorous and is from seed I collected from my own plant upNorth. The one on the right is related...called Calamintha I bought these seeds from ThompsonMorgan. I don't know what the Calamintha is going to look like when it flowers. :Dunno: I am hoping the deer won't eat these, as they have a lemon scent to their leaves. That would be a big advantage for ME. LOL

The other is another one that was ready. (it has Butterfly weed, globe thistle, and a few ornamental grasses that were extra)

Today I am starting my gazanias indoors. I am doing that right into their cells so I won't have the tedious sensitive task of
transplanting, which means "losses".

Things are going pretty well. Only 4 major germination failures out of 16!

I used to do this when I had more time. I bought some lettuce seeds that I'm going to start outside today. I have the seeds you sent me and I'm going to make a spot in the yard to plant those.

Oh, those are beautiful, Wiz!

Ours are just starting today. Hubby uncovered them yesterday afternoon. It will be really warm today too, so we should see more open up as well.

I put one of the yellow ones up for my avatar this week, and the purple ones in my siggie banner.

Those seeds from the Campion, go on the surface... don't bury them. But do cultivate and break up the soil so it is aerated for them to penetrate and keep them moist. If you have some old carry out plastic containers? The tops make mini greenhouses and keep the moisture in. Just put a rock on top so they don't blow away ( and pray the squirrels stay away!!) They need some light to germinate. I saved some really nice high domes, from the rotisserie chicken we get at Costco....perfect little greenhouses! LOL

I just started some indoors yesterday. Gotta keep them going in case some died over winter ;)

I planted the rose campion seeds around the house today. I loosened the soil then sprinkled some seed and just gently raked the ground lightly.

I planted all around the yard and house in about a dozen places so I hope to have them come up in at least a few places. :)

I've started some indoors as well. I started mine on Mar 18th,
under my plant lights, and yesterday was the very first showing of rootlets coming from the seed. That is 11 days. (this is one of the longest times I've had this season, in fact).

This will give you a time frame to watch for the beginning sprouts.
If it is cooler where you are it might take longer. (it is 70 degrees in my seed starting room here). They are very small when they first come up. Then they turn silver when the first true leaves begin.

If the seeds dry out, they will not germinate. So you have to watch that factor, which is critical. That is why I do alot indoors where I can have control. If they don't work, I have plenty more. ;)

It has been rather difficult here, I had to bring in my 4 flats that I was hardening off back inside, where I have NO ROOM to put them. So we have a portable table set up in the kitchen, and one light system on the dining room floor! I am hoping after today, the warming will stabilize and I can leave them outside.
I also have to move some of the butterfly weed, up into larger containers, but I can't do that while it is soooo cold out! meh!

Mrsd,

Does the rose campion seedling look sort of fuzzy like lambs ear? I have three spots of that coming up where I put the seed in early spring. I'm hoping that's what it is anyway.

Yep,... little fuzzy wuzzies! They will just grow this season and
if they get leaves about 3-4 in long by fall, you will have flowers next season. Mine all bloomed early this year. I have twelve babies too, growing them up for next year in pots! ;)

And surprise, my butterfly bush/weed is blooming too. They are about 15 in tall now. I am hoping it will bush up by next year? I've never grown this plant before. I didn't expect it to bloom at all this summer either. LOL

Here is a picture of the street side garden on the city property I've been building. The butterfly weed is in the upper right, just before the shadow starts. There is one in the lower left front too.
The gazanias and alyssum I did from seed too and they are doing well. The string is to dissuade people walking their dogs to keep them off and so far it is working...it just doesn't look terrific!

I'm including a pic of a new grass I did as an experiment, called Bunny tails. (Lagurus). It is an annual, but is very cute I think.
I did it from seed also, that I bought at Park's.
It was very easy from seed, but it needs warm temps to get going. So I did it inside.

Here's a link to my garden pics from this year. I had more but this is enough, lol.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/album.php?albumid=454

I enjoyed your pictures! I always love seeing other peoples gardens!

Say, we just had the most horrific heat wave, and I swear my campions grew at least an inch in one week!
I had rescued 1/2 of them from cracks in the flagstone along my car where seed had washed them down over winter. It was hard to get them out, without damaging them some. They limped along for about 3 weeks, and now they are going like mad!

I have to take them with me on vacation, because I won't be here to water them, if I put them in now. I do this with some special plants. One year we had a toad up there move into one of the planters! LOL --it is in my album.

ThompsonMorgan is having a sale on odd-ball plant seeds now.
I found a BLACK millet, an annual that I am going to try.
here is a link for it:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54760/
It was 3.95 for 10 seeds, and they have them on sale for 1.58 now. So I sprang for 2 packets, and if they work (there are nice reviews) I'll save the seed and use that in the future.
The annual bunny tail grass I did this season was easy and they are fun, so I am up for another experiment!