Growing Shooting Star From Seed?

Has anyone grown shooting star from seed before? How long to get some substantial sized plants? How do they do if they are transplanted?

I have a bunch of shooting star seed and there are some areas in the woods behind me that were disturbed by construction last year. I would like to plant it there as well as some other natives in those areas. Would it be best to just put the seed there or better to start them at home?

I think what you have there is Dodecatheon. I've got them here. They take a while to establish and they also take a while to germinate. Based on my personal experiences with Dodecatheon, you need a period of cold moist stratification of 90 days. Once you've taken care of that, you can plant them out but I've noticed that about half of the seed germinates the first year and half the next year after another period of cold moist stratification. This plant is not listed as a double dormancy seed but for me about half the seed germinates the first year and half the next. I now hand broadcast the seed into the area where I want it to grow. I've got some out there right now that I tossed out there the first snowfall we had of the year. Heads up, English house sparrows and European starlings love the seed so if you are going to go out and try to broadcast seed direct, wait until our weather forecast states it is going to snow. If you sow while it is snowing, better odds of more seed not being eaten. I do this with a lot of seed to protect it from those two species of birds.

When I winter sowed them, I covered them up with an ever so thin layer of the medium. When I broadcast them outside, I didn't cover them with soil.

I've got several different species of Dodecatheon. None of them bloomed the first year. They're busy putting down roots and establishing themselves the first year. In year 2 you won't get any blooms either but maybe by year 3 and usually by year 4.

I'm sort of hoping when you mention planting them in the woods behind you that you own those woods. If not, let me know where you are located and I will look up who the land steward is to the woods behind you and give you their contact information. The state and counties of Illinois are trying to use local genotype seed when ever possible when establishing plants in natural areas and if there is already a population of Dodecatheon on that property somewhere, the land steward may not want a genotype of Dodecatheon from say southern Illinois, Iowa, or Michigan. They're going to want to try to keep the gene pool clean and they'll also want to know exactly which Dodecatheon you have.

Great spring ephemeral. I love mine. Does take about 5-6 years to get a substantial sized plant though providing it likes where it is planted.

I have grown Dodecatheon for quite a few years, and Eqilibrium has it down pretty well. The plants are tiny the first year, and take on a little more size in the second year. I have gotten them to bloom in 3 years in the greenhouse, but it would take longer outside. I have about 1,000 plants of the amethystinum and 500 of meadia. I have found that generally with tiny seeds the mortality rate of the seedlings is a lot higher outside since conditions are not as ideal, and it is easy for the seeds to get eaten, washed out, stepped on, etc. If you have a lot of seed you might try throwing it out and seeing what happens. If you have just a little, you might want to start it indoors. The hard part about indoors is that it only is green for a few months in the spring, and then goes dormant again (that is why it is so slow), so shuffling brown pots of dirt for a few years is kind of difficult... and it is so easy to forget about them!

Do you know exactly which species you have? I am always looking for new species....

By greenhouse do you mean a temperate greenhouse or a hoophouse?

I have a heated greenhouse where I start my plants

Ok, I understand. You're just starting them in a heated greenhouse not growing them year round in it.

That's right.