Germination of corkscrew vine

Hi

I am now in the process of attempting to germinate my corkscrew vine seeds and I have a few questions.

1 How deep should I be nicking the seeds, should I be able to see the white seed inside the brown outer covering.
2 Do I leave them in warm water until they sprout.
3 Am I right to put them in a heated propagator while they are soaking.

I have managed to purchase several seeds from 2 different sellers on ebay and I really really want to be successful.

Thanks in advance

Sue

Hi Sue, I start lots of these each year. I just started another couple dozen for Roundup and what always works for me, I just nip the very outer coating with the fingernail clippers & then put into really warm tap water overnight. The seeds will swell up alot. Then I take my peat pot disks and get the hottest tap water to expand the disks with, then I stick the swollen seeds down in the super warm peat pot and cover the container. That holds the heat in for quite a while. Then I set the container on top of my computer monitor for bottom heat, taking the lid off after the first couple of days to prevent mold from growing. I always get good results. The last 24 I started all came up but 2, and considering that I put in about 6 dud seeds, ones that were small and shrively and I did not think were viable, that was really good odds! :~)
Hope that helps. They really are eager to grow and seem to be pretty forgiving. At least that has been my experience.
Donna

Hi Donna

I have nicked, soaked and now planted seeds in heated propagator. How long usually, do the seedlings take to show. I am so eager to see them.

Thanks for all your advice.

Sue

They usually take 5-7 days for me. If I don't have enough bottom heat, it just takes a few extra days.
Best of luck to you! :~)
Donna

Hi, I am new to this site and gardening. This is the very first "forum" I have ever been involved in and I find everything so fascinating. I live in the southeastern corner of New Mexico and I really love the pictures of the corkscrew vine. Will it grow in my area? I planted one last year and it grew but never flowered. It died back this winter and I haven't seen any signs of it returning yet, although it is a little early I am assuming. Does this vine need anything special to thrive?

melacard

wow, I am surprised you got no blooms! It likes full sun and I know you are plenty hot there, so not sure what to tell you. What zone are you? Here in zone 9 it has not started leafing out yet. (Mine does not die completely, just loses its leaves).
Welcome to Daves! Hope you like it here. :~)
Donna

Hi

I have one seedling so far, I lost 5 seeds which were the first ones I planted 3 weeks ago, I think I left them soaking in water too long, when I looked at them today for any sign of life I decided to carefully check the soil to see what if anything was happening. The seeds had got green mold on them and they had gone soft. Keeping my fingers crossed for this second lot I have planted. Thes seeds are too expensive to lose.

Hello melacard, hope you enjoy Daves Garden, there lots to read and learn and lots of new friends to make.

Sue

shoot, sorry to hear that! But glad you had at least one survive. I don't think the soaking was too long, I have often forgot about them & they have actually sprouted in the water. More then likely the soil you planted them in just stayed too wet, is that possible? I find I have better luck keeping the cover off the tray I use after the first couple of days. Otherwise I am forever dabbing peroxide on the soil to kill the mold. Once they start sprouting they do not like to be over-wet. Even when you plant them outside.

Hi Donna
The peroxide you use, is that what I would buy from my local chemist (usually used for bleaching hair) and does it have to be a particular strength?

I have put my last 5 seeds to soak today and I will plant them tomorrow.

Still only one seedling so far. I had 21 seeds in all, 6 were from France and the rest from 2 ebayers in USA, just hoping that I get a few more seedlings.

Sue

Yes, regular store bought peroxide. If I am soaking the seeds I use 1 TBL peroxide to a quart of water and if I am killing mold I just dab it right on the soil with the mold using a cotton swab. I use the peroxide water to soak my peat pellet pots in too, the kind that look like a flat disc & when they get wet they swell up? I use the peroxide water with the thought that if there are any cooties in the pots it will kill them. No idea if true, just the way my mind works. LOL

Stop caring so much if they sprout. Another theory of mine. The more I want something, the less comes up. When I first started the Corkscrews it was from seeds I bought, a dollar a seed! and I wanted them SOOOOO bad, and even though I did the same method I do now, only a couple of the 20 seeds sprouted. Now I really could care less and even the duds sprout! So start ignoring them and see if that helps. LOL
Donna

p.s.
it is safe to ignore them because you have one plant. That one plant, of given full sun, will give you so many seeds that you won't know what to do with them! My 4 plants last year (2 of them were first year plants) gave me 88 PODS! And then about a month ago I saw that one of my vines had gone into the neighbors yard & when I pulled it over, there were another 20 some pods. LOL So when you start feeling blue about only having one plant, stop yourself. LOLOL