A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 propagating winter fun!

i took my seeds 12-1-06 folded em in a paper towl, stuck em in a bag!.i have,
blue flag iris
leopard lily
lily of the nile-2 seeds are sproutin!
blachberry lily
g,solomans seal
blue columbine-3 seeds sprouted!
beauityberry bush
hosta
pink,purple,white clematis
rose of sharon-10 seeds have sprouted and their already put in pots cause they got their true leaves!!!!

any one else doing this over the winter???????

I will be starting some things in the new year....just have to decide what

I did it last year and I may not be able to resist doing a few things this year. I'm trying not to but it's so hard. Maybe I should just go live in the national forrest and plant little things here and there throughout the forrest like Johnny Appleseed did across our nation. lol. I know I'm going nuts lol.

I don't know how you all do it... I've killed so many plants indoors already this fall that I'm terrified to try to *start* anything inside. I've told Tammy, at least while they are seeds they still have life in them - as soon as they germinate and see who's taking care of them

those are all but the pink clematis from the seed swap lepardlily and purple clematis from roflol!
i did hostas one year and they took months to germiate, so i thought id start early this time.

Tammy would be the gnome holding a LARGE bag of seeds!

and it just got larger. I couldn't resist buying more seeds when I got my parks seed catalog. But I'll fill in the details down in garden chat.

Well i am glad its not just me.....i have so many wonderful seeds and only a little area in which to start them....decisions decisions.
Let me know what you start

penny you could always keep em as house plants!
heres my rose of sharons

How are all of you starting these seeds? Grow lites? Heat pads? Anything else I should know? I was so excited to see your rose of Sharons-- I have some of those seeds! I want to start some things inside now and then I got a bunch of seeds from the wintersown people that I will start in the cold frame in probably March or April.

i just got a all white paper towl, sprayed it with water to dampin it, folded my seeds in it, then stuck it in a ziplock bagie, put em up in one of my baskets. [i have baskets hanging from my ceiling in my kitchen] you could put em anywere.
once they sprouted i put em in little pots with seed starter soil and once again put em in baggies [ the bagies give em the green house affect]just dont over water or youll get rot, or mold,
ive never done a cold frame so i dont know much about em.

heres bluecolbines


blackberrylily


i took other pics but you couldnt hardly see em.

Sibyl are u serious??? I have always done mine in either pellets or potting soil. Never thought of the paper towels. And I have a few of the seeds that you have started growing, also from the swap. Thank you all so much for your generosity btw. Oh boy, oh boy. I have more to do this weekend. Here's what I have so far tho. Love in a mist, Brandywine Tomatoes, Poppies,Hollyhock, Calendula, Malva Zebrina, Dianthus and what I believe to be a Musk Mallow according to envelope it came in, but it looks nothing like the pictures I've researched so far. And Saturday I started Anthemis Tinctoria, which already germinated. Waiting on Gerbera Daisy mix, Salvia Farinacea, Jimmy Nardello's sw. pepper, Maltese Cross, Amaranthus Candelabra and some Super Chili.

Sibyl,

Yes, I have started several seedlings as well over the winter. I just could not wait until spring.

(8) columbine
(4) rose of sharon
(12) delphinium
(6) Coleus

Is it true that perenials started from seeds will not bloom the first year?

i seen kennyso has answered your question! hes way more experienced with pernnial seeds than me ive only did hosta before and i put em out in early spring it got too cold[frost] and all died off this is my first year for the others so im still learning. thought id start early so there strong enough for when i do plant em outside, and im waitin till mid spring!

Update on what has germinated so far.
Calendula, Purple Coneflower (not a very good germination rate,I must have done something wrg), Dianthus, Foxglove, Liatris over 2 weeks for this one, love lies bleeding (only 1 survived

columbines bit the dust!
iris,leopard lily lily of the nile; black berry lily, rose of sharons are doing great!!!!!

hope your love lies bleeding dose good, get alot of seeds from one bloom

Will keep ya' updated!

let us know what all you start ks!

2 of the beauty berry bushes just germinated! gonna put em in pots !!

Oh, I bet those bushes will be pretty when they've grown!

Will do! I am really excited to try this, but I need to get a few things, and I want a fluorescent light so they have good lighting. My breakfast nook will look like a greenhouse come March! I still need some more seeds, but I do have some here to start out with, & definitely need to get in on the seed exchanges now!

Sybi, I'm sorry to hear about your Columbines. Any idea what may have happened? I guess this is an awesome way to learn when we do things wrong. There can be directions to seed sowing, but not all of them a fool proof.
ksgardnr, I agree the paper towel thing is an awesome idea. I just put in some Kellogg's Breakfast Tomatoes and artichoke to germinate this way we'll see what happens.

Yay!! Sybyl, I love the plastic baggie/paper towel method! I have columbines and rose of sharon starting to sprout!! I'll have to refrain from starting everything right now because I am so excited about this! Or my dining room will look like a greenhouse too! I also did some the traditional way, but no progress yet. A friend of mine has a solarium room and he is out of town this week. I may have to invade while he is gone!

I have a question......I would like to start some seeds with a baggie and paper towel but am wondering if they need to be in bright light??

yay!amy! hope that helps plantqueen

Thank you sibyl! I will be starting some this week then! As soon as I clean the house! No, it's not that bad...just like to get that stuff done first. Doesn't mean it will happen though!

We're going to start a garden club in our area. So I may be starting some seeds for other people. Still looking for homes for my larger plants. I just don't think I'll be able to move them with me.

I just came home from walmart, bought those jiffy peat pellets, 25 for a dollar, not bad! Going to start whatever I can!

keep us posted kenny

my blue flag iris and lilies are doing great,

heres a pic of some

Looks good so far!!

Well finally after how long? I've decided what I want to start indoors. At least I think I've decided. If you see any no no's on my list please let me know. Sometimes I make booboo's.

Bronze Fennel
Egyptian Walking Onion
Banana peppers (anyone know how many per person)
Hycinth Bean Vine 5
Heart seed Vine
Licorice Basil
Madagascar Jasmine 'Stephanotis Floribunda'
Aster 'Matsumoto Red Stripe'
Cantaloupe 'Ambrosia Hybrid'
Marigolds double dwarf 'French Vanilla'

I'm not sure if I'll get them in there cups today or not but sometime this week is my goal.

TAmmy, I've never grown hyacinth beans before, and I want to this year! I remember you telling me they need a big pot and I read they grow really fast and also beans don't transplant easily...so I'm not too sure if you should start yours this early (I should say should I start mine too? )

On the other hand, I nicked five canna seeds and put them in warm water. covered the cup and put it on top of the furnace, changed the water once and they had a little radical poking out the second day! I planted four of them (tossed the last one out because it didn't have a root but still swelled...didn't want to get another pellet, the lazy me!) I have four pellets in which I sowed basil seeds in and another four pellets which I sowed some peppermint stick zinnias in...let's see what else I can start! I potted up five calla bulbs and let's hope they make it through this winter so I can put them out in spring...all I need is room!

Hey Kenny I'm in zone 7a so I can plant out on April 15th. So I'm probably a little earlier than you.

And your right I do need to put the hycinth bean vine in the direct sow pile rather than starting it indoors. Thankyou for the reminder.

Tammy you're so lucky to be in 7a. I think I'm a 5a/b It would be nice to grow things hardy to zone 6 and 7 without having to dig them out every fall (cannas, callas, 4:00s...)

I sowed peppermint strick zinina seeds into four jiffy peat pellets and they have all sprouted. I can see the little white elbow sprouts!

kenny i just googled them! those are realy pretty!

I have enjoyed reading this string of dialogue. A comment about seeds and light. Some seeds do need light to germinate while other need darkness. If you just Google the seeds name you can find out its requirements. Some require cooling periods (Stratifying) to help break dormancy and some by just cooling them you will get higher germination rates.

I am not a fan of the peat pellets because once the peat has been compressed I think it changes the peat structure and you do not get as good of air exchange. I like the biodegradable pots that you can plant and I use a seeds starting mix in them. This way the root structure does not get altered.

I am about to start my seeds, about 2 more weeks. My heirloom tomato seeds arrived today and cant wait to get them going!

Kenny I feel ya. But when u start feeling down about your zone. Just think about all those people who are worse off, like me :p . And even then I don't care what they say. I want to have everything ready for that day when I can finally plant outside. So even my zone 3 hasn't stopped me from beginning my seeds. Cuz right after our last frost summer is really hot here. I have a beautiful indoor garden happening. wanna see?

cancolgirl i wanna see!

buglady, i use those biodegadable pot for plants that dont like root disturbance
clematis need winter sown wich is proubly why mine havent done anything, so im gonna try em the wintersown way,

When getting your biodegradable pots you need to make sure you get the ones WITHOUT holes in them. The pots WITH holes will not allow roots to penetrate through until the pot starts to break down, those are peat pots. the pots without holes are woodfiber pots and the roots will pop out of the pots faster then the other pots. they don't have holes because they are so porous they don't need holes.

So when I started in Dec. I had one shelf unit. I got another shelf as i was running out of room on just one. This is the original setup


And this is my most recent setup

What a great set up you have!!!!

I can't see the zinnia sprouts anymore! hopefully they'll pop back up

What kind of soil did you use for propagation? Maybe you have damp-off problems. The soil can be detrimental to seedlings at times if you don't use a "soil-less" mix. I thought starting zinnias in January is awful early. They grow relatively fast.

I start my zinnias in late feb. if you start them to soon and don't have enough light they will stretch and not be able to hold their flower heads up later in life.

Yes.. damping off can be a big issue. Make sure you do not have a fungus gnat issues because they make the problem much worse by 1. vectoring the different damping off pathogens 2. the larva of the fungus gnats eat the roots of your seedling, and can cause death in young plants.

If you do have a gnat issue and it hasn't gotten too out of hand, I have success using the sticky strips to catch airborne gnats before they can lay more eggs. Actualy, as a precaution I add a stick pad just for peace of mind around my indoor seedlings.

yes... yellow sticky cards are great for adult fungus gnats ! i love them and make my customers use them.

If you do get them and really want to stop them benefical nematodes are the way to go! and organic!

Thanks for the advice! I use compressed peat pellets that I get from Walmart, might be because someone kicked the dish with the pellets on top of the heater, that's where I found them this morning, oh well...:sigh:

Yes, I know zinnias wren't the best choice to start, but I just wanted to get something green going! LOL that winter bl;ues have got me! I'll try to sow a few more wonderegg seeds later tonight

sorry.. I know I am the bringer of bad news. Usually I bring the bad bug news. This is what happens when you start researching this stuff. Also I am in the nursery business so I have to know what really works for my growers. (I also teach plant propagation at the local college)

No need to be sorry! WE same the same profession, I'm the one who brings bad news to my friends and people around me...must be nice to be in the nursey business. It's going to be some time before I kno wenough to teach at a college! You advice is certainly most valuable to me!

cancolgirl i love your set up!!!!!!


buglady i didnt know you teach plant propagation!! kennys right your advice would be greatly valued to us!

right now im learning about the tacca bat plant seeds! cause i got some! their seeds can take a month to 9 months to germinate! i hope i get it right, i so love this plant!

Actually I am an entomologist but also have a degree in horticulture. I am in and out of nurseries helping them solve their problems so I get to see a lot of real world stuff.

I will be at the Philadelphia flower Show next month answering bug/plant questions if anyone is going to be there.

you should post that in members interaction!!!
i live way on the otherside of pa, by the wv border, but there are lots of members close to philly

And then there's the Nomad Method:


Sieboldiana hosta seedlings

A recycled pastry box, some dampened vermiculite, and a warm location inside the house is all I need. This picture was taken yesterday, and the seeds were started early November. It now sits on a sunny window sill.
No damp-off, mildew or what-have-you; has worked for me for years. Now I have more hostas than I know what to do with.

In addition to this, I have some peony seeds incubating, using this method, but it'll be months before I see any development there -- doing that just for the challenge.

What's the nomad method? I've been trying to get my hosta seeds to sprout but still nothing in three months! I guess seeing all your sprouts is a good sign, eventually mine should sprout! LOL Just noticed you're from Kingston, I'm in Markham!

Check out my reply at Planting Flowers From Seeds Some of the pictures have been deleted, but you can get the drift from my narrative. That's the Nomad Method. As I mentioned above, my hostas didn't require the stratification step. They'll need hardening off later on, however, but they'll be potted by then.

If you're space-challenged as myself, this is a neat way to start perennials small-scale.

The gentians should bloom this year.

Hope this is helpful...

Happy Ground Hog Day-- Wiarton Willie's prediction is encouraging. :rolleyes:

I didn't see him on the news yet, maybe tonite! LOL I am definately space challenged, with very little lighting (my mom doesn't like me starting plants in the kitchen next to the backyard glass sliding door!)

kenny you need a set up in your room like calcongirls!

Nomad, enjoyed your tips and pics:-)

The only bad thing about growing hosts from seed is you do not know what you are going to end up with. Good old genetic variation, but you might end up with a cool chimera. My mom just got one in all the cucumber seeds she planted.

I finally started my wintersow lol. I have Egyptian walking onions, Banana peppers, Tomatoes "Sweet William", and Madagascar Jasmine "Stephanotis Floribunda". I'm thinking that the last one isn't a true Jasmine. Anyone know this plants lieage? My packet says it is from New Zealand but that doesn't tell me much. Although I do remember Longy saying that there soil is way different than ours. So I'm wondering if I wasted my money on these seeds.

Okay - question here!

I'm in North Dakota, can I start seeds indoors already? I had on my calander to start, you know, the 6-8 weeks before last frost thing. If you start then this early, and say they have a summer bloom time- won't they bloom in spring if they are already big?

I want to start - can I?????

PS - Left the house this morning - first time in 5 days....know why???

As we left for my son's basketball game this morning at 8:30, the temperature was 28 below zero - that was the temperature, 40 below windchill.

If you want to start something indoors this early for you, your going to need lots and lots of space and the necessary lighting to supplement your natural light.

I started my peppers and tomatoes to early last year and boy howdy what a mess. I have very limited space and they took over my living room. And moving them outside was a nightmare. They did produce earlier than the year before but the amount of produce was disappointing for all by the tiny tim tomatoes.

I'm not sure what affects bloom times. The mum that I over wintered this year has bloomed alittle pretty much all winter long. The blooms are scraggily and don't last long but they have been consistant. I'm going to start cutting the plant back now so it can store up it's engery for next fall.

Any good seed supplier will tell you how soon before the frost date you should plant. Then find your local frost date on the calendar and count the weeks back.

here is a helpful plating table Spring planting

Did I mention that I finally got my Egyptian Walking onions, Sweet William Tomatoes, Banana peppers and Madagascar Jasmine planted indoors? I am excited. I just love the start of the planting.

Of course right now I can't find my dinningroom table and I'll have to get it cleared away for the spring Fling Round Robin seed Exchange. I just posted the rules in the seed Exchange and I hope everyone will join.

Today I planted the Aster 'Matsumoto Red Stripe' 6 seeds since they are suppose to get between 2 and 4 feet tall. I love the picture of them in the parks catalog. Now the question is will the flowers live up to the picture.

Of course this means that my table is cleared off for the spring Fling yet lol.

my last frost date is around may 10!
i still think you should move into a green house tammy!

i started my batplant seeds, they can take 1-9 months to germinate!

I think I belong in a greenhouse too.

That's a long time for the bat plant. The lentil roses could take up to 18 months so I know exactly what you mean. I ended up giving away the seeds because I just didn't have the patience.

If they had been peonies I'd have figured a way I'm sure. I'm nuts about those flowers.

i'll have to keep some peony seeds next year for ya. mine are white. dont know if the pink are gonna bloom this spring or not.

Thanks Sibyl,

I do love peonies.

Tammy, I might divide my peony up cuz we might be moving, I can take off a few extra corms for your if you' like

Thanks Kennyso,

But since I'm moving too I couldn't store the croms correctly. But it's a lovely thought just the same. Maybe when we are both settled in our new place we can do something with peonies.

i checked on some i had up on the shelf! HLC! theres somthing growing and its big! i cant remember what it is, i know what its not, cause lilies and iris look pretty much the same, now just have to see what it is,

just found out!!! it was one of my ginkgo seedlings! wow! didnt think they would grow that fast! dont know how that lone one wonderd off, but its back with the rest of the ginkgos,

Sybil,

I don't have time to read this whole thread tonight -- just now saw it, but the great solomon's seal and the beautyberry bush probably need cold stratifying before they'll germinate. Can you put them outside, planted in a pot, protected from heavy downpours or stick them in the refrigerator? They both self sow here, so I know they are totally cold-gardy to zone 5/6.

I want them to do well for you since I believe they might be my contributions from the fall seed exchange.

they did come from the fall seed swap! thank you!

i have a cold green house, got clematis in there now, i'll pot the rest of the solomons seal and beauityberry bushes seeds and put em in the green house. thanks!!!!!!!


i always wanted a beauityberry bush!!!!

ok there potted and out in the greenhouse!

now i got dwarf morning glories and monkey flowers galore coming up!