Germinating now- - photos of seedlings

[Lesley Cox]

That is a very telling difference Hannink. You can't possibly say it's down to co-incidence or anything except the difference in treatment. A lesson surely, for plants which are sometimes very slow or difficult to germinate.

[Garden Prince]

Germinating now:

Cytisus battandieri (why do I keep sowing things that are not hardy and probably die their first winter?)

Because you can get seedlings that survived minus 15 degree Celsius. My Cytisus battandieri have survived now 6 winters. Every winter we have minus 15 degree. The plant "lost" the foliage, but recovered. Flowers every year with me.

Good to know! I just was a little bit pessimistic because that "horror frost" in early february (down to minus 20 where I live) killed some precious seedlings that germinated last year (Davidia, Cercidiphyllum, Prunus serratula amongst others). Luckily the Lindera obtusiloba, Sassafras albidum, Magnolia officinalis biloba and Chionanthus retusus survived the cold. Seedlings were in a polytunnel and covered with double fleece.

I would have expected the seedlings of Ang. gigas, especially at the true leaf stage, to be dark red?

This is the first time I grow Angelica gigas from seed. It is difficult to get FRESH seed from this plant. I had a plant of this species in my garden many years ago. What I remember is that the leaves were green but the stems were reddish. Don't know for sure if my memory is correct though.

From the germination front this week:

Lilium duchartrei from China via Norway
Acer pseudosieboldianum from Gardens North

[Lesley Cox]

You're probably right GP, re the colouring of the Angelica. It's a few years since I grew it from seed and the memory ain't what it used to be.

Here are a few, a couple of which have already been posted but there is some further development worth noting.

Rheum nobile, now beginning to get true leaves and I think should be potted up now before the roots get too long. A total of 12 good seedlings but there seems to be a sort of squashed one still coming.

Saussurea ?gnaphalodes also with the beginnings of true leaves, very white and felty. I think it's time to pot those too even though they're very small.

Cosmos atrosanguineus

Arisaema CC 7142

Geranium farreri, 3 precious seeds from Canada. As Helen asked, why is it so difficult to get this species nowadays? It used to be reasonably freely available.

[arisaema]

Geranium farreri, 3 precious seeds from Canada. As Helen asked, why is it so difficult to get this species nowadays? It used to be reasonable freely available.

I bought seeds of it from Hokonui in 07, don't they list it anymore? They grew it as G. napuligerum.

[Lesley Cox]

I posted the wrong (previous) picture of the Saussurea. Here's the one from this morning, complete with felty leaves. (When I looked at what I'd posted, I wondered if something had nibbled out the new leaves between my taking the picture and posting it here! )

[Lesley Cox]

Hokonui don't list it at present, either as seed or as plants or under either name. I may have still had it here in 07 and so didn't order/notice it then but it is certainly not around much now.

[Lesley Cox]

These started to germinate the day before yesterday. Any thoughts anyone? Apart from the obvious one of course. I've emailed a note to CC to see what he thinks. The speed with which they've germinated suggests something like an Astragalus or something related. The seeds themselves didn't make me doubt their ID. There were so many seeds I sowed 3 100mm pots!

[Paul T]

Lesley,

If only they were Colchicum luteum.  You could have a goldmine there, selling them in the future. 

It will be fascinating to see what they end up being, particularly if they are something new and unusual that you don't already grow (but would like to!!).  Good luck.

[Lesley Cox]

Paul I had visions of large lawn closely dotted with yellow colchicums.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

Hmmm.... I don't think you should be posting in the "small glass" topic then.  Obviously MUCH more than a small glass. 

[brianw]

We all know the "never throw old seed pots away" saying.
Today I noticed a pot that was due for disposal, when I have time to sort through them, and noticed 2 familiar seed leaves. Trillium nivale, date sown June 2007. Trillium seed leaves I am familiar with but rarely T. nivale. Now I know why.

[Maggi Young]

We all know the "never throw old seed pots away" saying.
Today I noticed a pot that was due for disposal, when I have time to sort through them, and noticed 2 familiar seed leaves. Trillium nivale, date sown June 2007. Trillium seed leaves I am familiar with but rarely T. nivale. Now I know why.

Brian, what a triumph! Congratulations, both on the new seedlings and on spotting them in the nick of time.

[TheOnionMan]

As usual, I have multiple flats of Jeffersonia dubia germinating thickly.  I use decomposed pine bark mulch as seed cover, the flats left out to weather all winter.  They germinate so profusely that germination tends to lift the whole bark mulch "crust" up; I try to gingerly tamp it back down and poke to break the crust up, I should probably use something else for seed cover.  When I jest that I want to replace parts of my lawn with Jeffersonia, I do so with a degree of seriousness, I want a Jeffersonian lawn

Two years ago after posting photos of my seed harvest and sowing of Jeffersonia diphylla (here on SRGC), I received feedback that I harvested seed too early which lessens viability of the seed, eg. harvested before peak viability.  Last summer I harvested seed as I do normally, just before pods split wide open, when the "lid" on the pipe-shaped pod will easily "pop" with the slightest squeeze, or the lid seam visibly starting to separate. Because pods ripen and pop open so fast, a half day delay can be too late and all seeds spills out (when that happens, I've been known to rout around the base of mother Jeffersonia hand picking seeds found among the leaf litter ).  Seed is sown immediately in flats, covered thinly with soil and then a layer of pine barch mulch, kept cool and shaded and just moist through summer, left out all winter. Flats are covered with wire cloth to keep chipmunks and squirrels from digging and eating the seed.  As with easy-germinator J. dubia, my 3 flats of J. diphylla are coming up so thickly as to raise the bark mulch "crust".  Below is a photo of both species; a bit hard to see with J. diphylla, the seedlings are smaller and come up a little bit later than J. dubia, and are an earthy camouflage beige color.

Jeffersonia dubia germination:


Jeffersonia diphylla germination:

[Kristl Walek]

A few weeks ago we had a sudden heat wave here, like so much of eastern North America---with temperatures rising to 25C and higher and pushing all the overwintered plants in the unheated greenhouse into active growth and into bud.

Murphy's Law deems that these summer-in-winter temperatures will almost always be followed (as they were) by a period of serious cold. For two nights after the heat, -17C and colder were predicted --- and I was concerned with all the soft growth on the plants in the greenhouse. So Henry and I improved with flannel sheets, blankets, curtains, and just about everything else I could rustle up---what a sight for the next while, as I left the coverings intact.

It was in fact only today that all the coverings finally came back off (+5C during the day, -8C tonight). What was fascinating is how steamy it actually was underneath the coverings during the cold period, even with the space so chilly you could see your breath. In fact, all sorts of interesting things happened during that time --- for instance, the Diapensia lapponica that I had been nursing since Newfoundland last year suddenly had not only greened-up, but had produced two flower buds under the flannel sheets. From Newfoundland as well, the Silene acaulis & Saxifraga oppositifolia came alive, Thalictrum alpinum and Anemone parviflora emerged and Dryas intermedia, which I thought had totally died, returned.

Most excited as well to see the Newfoundland clones of Primula egaliksensis, P. laurentiana and the white form of P. mistassinica up.

When lifting the blanket off the Primula section, I was surprised to see a bunch of silver and gold laced primula I had grown last year flowering, as well as a few other interesting "victorian" clones from last year.

I am not sure what was the most exciting---but it is probably a toss up between the Diapensia and what I found last under a stretchy cotton sheet---grown from Janis Ruksans seed many, many years ago---the pot brought from Ontario---my first flowering of Corydalis ornata!!!! Yippee.

[Kristl Walek]

It is in the unheated greenhouse that I also kept all of my cold germinators this winter. I had some early problems with rodents scrounging around the pots (as is always the case), but after setting up the traps/poisons, that ceased being a problem.

Germination has been excellent in this environment---the real issue always being what will I do with all the seedlings....

Lewisia is always easy after a brief cold---L. rediviva will stay in the pots for a while (to deal with the summer dormancy issues that also affect seedlings), as well as the numerous Dodecatheons that are up.

Dactylicapnos macrocapnos and torulosa will go into the garden this year. Not sure yet about the various Corydalis (heterophylla shown here).

I think every one of (my own seed) Erythronium albidum (wild collected by Graham in Ontario last season) germinated.

Ditto on my wild seed of Paeonia brownii (3 pots worth).

And an experiment with seed that has still been moist-packed and in its original zip lock bags since 2010 (kept at warm---but needing cold)---great germination of a number of species includeing Anemonopsis macrophylla, Viola pubescens and Anemone nemorosa.