Seed Propagation Question

I have noticed many people nick and soak their seeds before sowing them. Is this something you can do with ALL larger, harder seeds (i.e. daylily, brug, datura, nastrustian (sp?), etc....... I have 4 more types of daylilies to sow, and have only soaked the ones before, overnight. Some of them tend to take a long time to germinate. Can those be nicked? And other large, hard ones as well? I'd like to know if I can speed up the germination on these last ones I'm getting ready to sow, by nicking them first.

Karrie: I usually use my emery board to scarify large hard shelled seeds. It seems to speed up the germination process. If there are seeds for which this is not recommended, I'm not aware of them. Maybe someone else has the answer to that one. Otherwise, why not try soaking some, scarifying some, and scarifying, then soaking some. If you mark them, you can see which ones come up first.

i also usually use a nail file, or even an exacto to cut off the tip of the seed. i did it recently with cassia, acacia, clitoria, sweet pea, and morning glory and then soaked for about an hour and then planted. i got germination in about 2 days. the best advice i have gotten on the matter, as simple as it is, is that you just have to make it so that water can get inside the seed. so the faster it gets in, the faster you have germination. hope this helps.

Well said, art_n_garden! I've found that even the bit of etching I do with the emery cloth speeds things up. Does anyone know of hardshelled large seeds that shouldn't be scarified or soaked before planting?

Hmm..not me, Weezin.
I tend to nick my Moonvine (Ipomea) seeds cus otherwise they could take weeks and weeks to germ. I prefer to use an fingernail clipper, so much faster and easier for me than filing on them.

Same goes for canna lily seeds. I tried sowing a few without nicking and still no germ. after 3-4 weeks. The ones that were nicked and soaked for a couple of days came up in just a few days.

I never soak or nick any seeds, and have never had a problem, So I just stick in soil and keep damp..
Larkie

Daylily seeds don't need to be scarified. The seed coat is soft enough and they absorb water easily. I think my scaring them you might even be introducing an entry for rot.

Lupines are another that benifits from nicking. I use nail clippers for them.

Thanks everyone. I have noticed that without nicking them, the daylilies take quite awhile to germinate, but they DO finally get there (patience is the key). But Susan, you were the one that sent me those seeds, and I'm going to take your advice on those particular seeds. Maybe I should just soak them longer than 24 hours?

Karrie, nearly every daylily seed I got from poppysue (for SASE) germinated within 2 weeks' time, some within 4 days actually. I just followed the growing advice someone posted in a link - put the seeds in a jar w/water & peroxide, cover, swirl. Put in cool dark place. BANG! quick, painless, easy germination without any other treatment. After the root nub sprouted, I planted in soil. The earliest ones' leaves are 5" tall now.
I often feel "propogationally challenged" so I would classify daylily seeds as easy.
Eileen

Most of mine have come up - but some, for some reason, took longer, even though they all got the same treatment. Some are 5 inches or more tall - some have just now germinated, and they are the same kinds. At first, all I got was one germination of "Strawberry Candy" and was disappointed because that was my favorite one of all of them. But now, about 3 weeks later, 5 more have germinated. The soil on top has got a little mossy, and I will get rid of that as soon as I transplant them.

Hope you-all don't mind, I was down the street a ways and heard you talking about daylily seeds, I always wondered if you could plant those and get flowers this day and age, I thought you had to divide them, I'll have to look for that link with the water and peroxide, I have some beautiful ones and saved a few seeds to try, just haven't looked it up yet in the books, actually I just started getting into them.

LeBug,

From what I have learned, you can grow them from seed, but they may not look exactly like the parent plant. I also heard they won't bloom the 1st year. So I will be setting out plants this spring just to get going, but don't expect any blooms until the Summer of 2005.

That's fine, I'll just be happy if they come up, that's exciting, learn something new every day on here, love it:-). I have two different kinds that are pretty close to color, wouldn't that be great if they fell in-love.

It's been known to happen! :) You've heard of the birds & the bees!

Hi! everyone, have you ever seen this discussion?

Propagation: Daylily seeds
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/367710/#new

I'm trying some now just for the idea.

~ Bump ~