Indoor Seed Starting

Are you starting some seeds now? I just received my Trachelium (Throatwort) seeds & some fibrous begonias seeds. I'm going to try a Cocoa Peat brick for a seed starting mix. It is exciting to start seeding.

I always get a thrill out of the "seeds to plant" experience.
Besides hosta and thyme, I have poppies, yellow flax and delphiniums on the go.
I would normally do delphiniums as a winter sow, but when the seeds were expensive I thought I would baby them along in the house.
These are all in my crowded south windows.
I'll start tuberous begonias under lights soon.
Caroline

I started some Solanum laciniatum AKA Kangaroo Apple. Its pretty easy and makes a nice foliage plant. I hoping to get some blooms this year too :)

Steven

Sorted the seed fridge this weekend.

I always want a seed,bulb i.e. gardening frig.
One of these days after I downsize the house, then I will get me one.
Meanwhile WS will do for cool germinators. Can't do the bulbs that way though.
Caroline zone 3 Calgary

Verbena bonsariensis has sprouted after 6 weeks.
Last year it took about 3 months.
This is the tall "see through" plant.

Oh yes, I really like the Verbena bonsariensis. I found last year it was great with cracker jack marigolds!

I like to place it near the centre of long flower beds.
Might combine it with vanilla marigolds or white zinnias.

I got babies!!! The begonias are starting to germinate that I sowed on Jan 12th. The seedlings are so tiny, the size of a pin head.

I used to have a lot of trouble germinating my Verbena bonsariensis -But I found out a system that works for me. (I usually plant my seeds in Feb. - on seeding mix that is just damp & don't cover the seeds with any mix and then Put in a plastic bag. I have a root cellar that stays between 2-4 degrees C & I put the pot of seeds in there for 3-5 weeks. take them out put them under fluorescnet lights & usually within 10 days they have germinated. Usually way too thick. I have found that keeping my own seeds from year to year works the best. I usually have a long row of themm & the butterflies love them in them late summer. Here is what they look like in July.

That is a beautiful flower bed. People are telling me that they successfully
do verbena b. as a winter sow. I did one year ,but it seemed too late.
But another year and another weather system they might be good that way.
Some say they reseed here too so perhaps direct seeding is an idea.

I am still in the seed ordering stage. But perhaps I will start some datura, they seem so slow and temperamental to germinate for me.

A seed and bulb refrigerator, great idea Dahlianut! This is real food for thought!

Over the last few years it has really been hit & miss to successfully germinate impatiens for me. I have had 0% germination with some varieties, even from the packages that state EZEE from seed. Last year one variety germinated great, others did not. The variety was Envoy, Orange Star, so I ordered those again for this year. There were new instructions on the package that I had never seen before.

Apparently there are certain colors and varieties of impatiens that will have low to zero germination due to the red in the spectrum of light (both artificial light and natural light). I have a 4-bulb grow light assembly from Lee Valley and the light is quite intense. The seeds are surface sowed since they do require light & heat to germinate. Anyways, the package instructions say to cover the tray with blue plastic until after germination. So I will give that a try. Thought I would share this info for others that have had hit & miss germination results with impatiens.

I've got a sprout from Solanum laciniatum and also the Hibiscus cannabinus I started has come up too.

WHOO HOOO sproutlings! Great news Steven!

I have sprouts on geranium (pelargonium type) which I seeded on Sunday, February 21----only 3 days under lights. I did not scratch the seeds as they usually crumble when I try that. I did wash them with about a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution.
These were freebee seeds which I thought might be old. They are Horizon Red Ice which has white frosted with red flowers.

johanna - dunno why, but it appears that I've never written anything on this thread. Likely by now you've already started lots of seeds, but when I tried one of those Cocoa Peat bricks a few years ago, everything I started in them was severely stunted. I'll never use them again.

I'm finally getting going here. Started lots of hosta seeds last night. Have a number left over if anyone wants some - I'll make a list of the parent plants though they are OP and won't come true.

Since we don't get milk jugs here, I've settled on windshield washing solution bottles. Have been able to pick up more than ours at a parking garage I frequent. Will use them for winter sowing, but need to get more seed starting medium.

Ann

Thanks Ann....yes the cocoa peat is terrible and I would never use it again. The begonia have not grown at all. Germinated and stayed super tiny. I have been fertilizing them to see if irt will make a difference.

I bought the cocoa peat by mistake and it was such awful stuff that I wound up burying it in the back yard. I seeded over it and nothing that I seeded ever came up.

If we all have such problems growing with it, how do they get away selling it year after year?

I promised a list of the hosta seeds I have left. You must bear in mind that they won't come true to the parent, but they could have any or all of the characteristics of their ancestors. All are OP.

The ones I have available are:

First Mate http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/firstmate.html
Fortunei Aureomarginata http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/fort-a.html
Francee http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/francee.html
Frosted Dimples http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/frosteddimples.html
Gemini Moon http://www.hostalibrary.org/g/geminimoon.html (but I have my doubts that the first picture there is correct)
Kifukurin Ko Mame http://www.hostalibrary.org/k/kitukurin.html
Lakeside Zinger http://www.hostalibrary.org/l/lzinger.html
Last Dance http://www.hostalibrary.org/l/lastdance.html
September Sun (got some nice yellows from this one last year) http://www.hostalibrary.org/s/septsun.html
Summer Breeze http://www.hostalibrary.org/s/summerbreeze.html
Warwick Curtsey http://www.hostalibrary.org/wx/warwickcurtsey.html

No charge for the seeds but I would appreciate a post paid envelope. Dmail me for my address if you are interested. Canada only.

Ann