A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 seed problems

I am attempting to start some seeds indoors. Some of the seeds I am attempting to start are seeds I have received with no directions. I'm not having much success with these seeds. A few times I noticed that there was a filmed that formed over the seed trays (looked like a spider web). I immediately introduced more air to the seed tray and cleaned up most of the film. So far nothing has grown from these trays and it has been one month that I started these trays. So I am trying this again but this time, after soaking the tray I dipped the trays in a bleach/water solution. I read that will help with damping off or fungus. I have not noticed anything coming up yet.
1. What I would like help with is knowing what seeds need light to germinate and what seeds do not?
2. Would the light in front of a south facing window be enough or should I use a "grow stick"?
3. Where is a legitimate, reasonable web site to purchase items needed for gardening?
We don't have a Frank's in my area to purchase gardening items.
Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. I feel like a pregnant Mom whose long overdue! LoL

Mocha, can you list the seeds you are working with? They may have different growing conditions for each kind.

You can find some good information right here at Garden Helper.

Yes, I can list the seeds.

Canna bulbs
wand flowers
black eye susan
foxglove
glorosia (spell check)
coneflower
elepahnt ear
african tree

Canna bulbs are started in the spring. Why would you be planting them now? Not to say that they won't come up but they get really tall so keeping them indoors might be rather hard. Cannas like a lot of water and can even be planted in boggy conditions. They should be buried between 3 and 4 inches into the ground. Make the planting hole about 8 inches deep and round, then make a mound of soft dirt in the center of the hole to set the canna rhyzome on. The canna can right itself if planted upside down it just takes longer for it to come up so that isn't a big worry. In the planting hole place a sprinkling of bone meal. Back file the hole with dirt don't pack it down but water and then fill again until the dirt is level with the surrounding ground. Cannas like full sun, lots of water and average garden soil. plant each plant about 18 to 24 inches apart because they do multiple during the growing season.

The botanical name that I came up with when researching the wand flower was Dierama pendulum so part of your problem for this one is finding out which plant you actually have. If you received them in a trade go back to the original gardener and ask them for the botanical name or a picture of the plant in bloom. If you get a picture of the plant then post it down in mystery plant and someone will be able to help you.

With the Black-Eyed-Susan I am having the same problem there are several plants called by that name.

Foxglove doesn't like to be transplanted so I would definitely say wait until spring and then plant them where you want them. When I have had them they have moved from place to place as the years passed. foxglove is a biennial the first year you get foliage the second year you get the flower stock.

Glorosia here is what information I found on this plant. Propagation is by division of the tubers or from seed.

Gloriosa bulbs should be divided every third year. Gently tease apart the delicate tubers, making certain each division contains several axillary buds, or "eyes" (think potatoes). I prefer to do this in early spring, just before new growth begins, when the eyes are easiest to spot.

Future growth cannot occur without the presence of these growing points. It is here, and only here, that the tuber is capable of creating adventitious stems and roots. Eyeless tubers are worthless as propagation organs and should be discarded. Without eyes, the tuber is simply a storage organ for food. If your glory lily has not shown growth 2 weeks after being planted, this may be the reason.

Diligence and patience are required when growing climbing lilies from seed. Soak the seeds overnight in warm water, then plant in a well-drained medium. Germination is erratic and may occur anytime from three weeks to three months. seedlings grow rapidly and most will produce tubers by their second year. However, expect a four-year wait for flowers.

For outdoor cultivation in the South, try Gloriosa superba and its cultivars or the dwarf-like G. simplex, which has orange-yellow flowers with green striations. 'Lutea,' an all yellow cultivar, is sometimes available, but I have found it to be more delicate than its kin and more exacting in its cultivation.

coneflower - Average planting success with this species: 70%
Height: 2-3 feet
Germination: 15-30 days
Optimum soil temperature for germination: 70-75F
Sowing depth: 1/8" to 1/4"
Blooming period: June-October
Again these should be planted 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost for your area if they are planted inside.

I'm sorry I need to go to the store so I'm going to stop for now.

I haven't tried the plants you are trying now, but when I started seeds I read that seeds need heat more than light till they sprout. I used a regular heating pad under the plastic tray, put on low and covered the tray till they sprouted. Then they need light. Lots of light.
Good luck. It can be both exciting and dissapointing.

I am planting some of the plants inside now because I have a party next year in the early summer. I would like to get some plants established to plant in the yard for the party. I thought it would be a lot cheaper to start the plants inside rather than try to purchase everything I want.

Sounds like a plan. I hope it works out for you. I wouldn't have the room or enough light to do that. Do you think it's still a little too early?

no, i have the room
so that's not an issue

i also have the light as well
thanks

The coneflower seeds need to be chilled in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks before trying to start them.

Thanks, Comfrey! TK was kind enough to give me a slew of seeds for SASE. No way could I expect her to attach specific instructions for each type of seed. So I decided to look up the instructions on the Internet. Well I ran into problems finding specific instructions as far as which needed light for germination and so forth. Thanks for letting me know about the coneflowers. I am sorting them in the refrigerator, so that shouldn't be a problem.