Filter paperWhat do you do when you are gone for five days

I am going to be gone over memorial day for about five days. I have a bunch of seeds on filter paper that could start germinating whilst I am gone. The daturas get very long very quickly. Can you slow them down by keeping it cool or will it hurt the plants?

Why not just go ahead and sow the seeds? Generally, it doesn't hurt to wait a few days after sprouting starts, but it can make the sprouted seeds hard to handle, and if the daturas get long quickly then that might not be the best thing. I haven't tried starting daturas, but I'm thinking that if they've started developing and are about to sprout, moving them to cooler temps could hurt the embryonic seedling, but I don't really know.

If you don't want to sow them, you could consider taking them with you.... LOL!

The daturas get very leggy very quickly. I guess I will just wing it. I did a few just now before taking off. Too many to sow, there are over a 150 sheets with at least 6 big seeds on some sheets and lots of little one on others. Most look like they will not sprout for a while. The erythrina have been the biggest problem. They get very big very quickly with giant roots. Also very subject to rot and have to be nicked to germinate, even after soaking.

I have been wanting to germinate some of my Datura seeds,so far have not had time.
Can you fill me in on the process with Filterpaper ? have not heard of that before.are you talking about coffeefilters ?

I am sorry if this sounds stupid but I grow alot of roses and Daylilies,other Perrennials and just found this thread.

You use the flat, mr. coffee type filters, dampen them but not soaking. Use a plastic container slightly smaller than the filters. Label the filters with indelible ink, either with the name or if you use a spread sheet the number. Place the seeds on the filter separated so that if some get fungus, not all will be involved. Put another damp sheet on top and continue this until you have done all the seeds. Put the plastic container in a warm place. Or if there are special germinating requirements like cold stratifying or hot cold daily routines, treat the container like a seed. Check the seeds every two days. Lift out the germinated seeds by the cotyledon, not the stems as they are very delicate and put them in the trays or pots or whatever you are planning to grow them in. I usually make a hole for the long root, or if it is just getting started then put a little coir over the top, or make a depression. If you are planning on doing a six-pack of the same plants, some of them are quite small and you need to identify which cells have been planted. Coir works for that or maybe a toothpick. I usually put a lid on and put them in the propagator for a couple of days until the root has a chance to establish itself and then start hardening them off. They get enough light if you use a clear plastic container. I make up a couple of trays ahead of time and then number the 6 packs or cells the same number as the filter paper when I plant them. I have been using the little round circles that people use to seal postcards. So far they have not fallen off when watering from below and the permanent ink is not blurring.

When you go through the container of seeds, I use a second container and just reverse the order, as the ones on top tend to dry out a little and ones on the bottom tend to get damper. I replace the filter papers that get the fungi or start rotting and get rid of the bad seeds. I have two little bowls, one with a diluted clorox solution and one to rinse off the clorox. I go through a container of seeds and pull out the ones that have germinated and put them in a separate container and then plant from there. If you do not have a lot of seed germinating, this is unnecessary.

So far, no problem with waiting five days, though I have only looked through about half the seeds.

Thank You so very much for your detailed information :-)

Had my Datura seed envelopes in fridge since last year.
Will I still have to put them into the freezer also and if so how long ?
Thanks,I really value your input.

Datura should sprout with just a warm water soaking for twenty-four hours. Most all of mine sprouted readily. There are a few laggards but overall they were easy to germinate. Legginess was the biggest problem I had.

They got along fine for five days, though they were pretty dry for the first few filter papers. If I have to do it again, I think I will get them wetter or put extra, very wet paper on top.