Germinating now- - photos of seedlings

[Roma]

Two surprises in the cold frame.
1 seed of Erythronium japonicum sown November 2018.  I hope I can keep it alive.  I have germinated E. japonicum before but have failed to grow it on to maturity.



Jeffersonia dubia alba.  I collected the seed in a hurry before I set off for the David Boyd event in the Western Isles in June 2018.  I put them in a zip lock bag and forgot about them.  When I looked at the seeds with a view to sending them off to the SRGC seedex I found they had all gone mouldI gave them a good wash and a soak the sowed them not expecting much if any germination.  They are quite difficult to see but there are a lot of seedlings.

[Gabriela]

Jeffersonia dubia alba.  I collected the seed in a hurry before I set off for the David Boyd event in the Western Isles in June 2018.  I put them in a zip lock bag and forgot about them.  When I looked at the seeds with a view to sending them off to the SRGC seedex I found they had all gone mouldI gave them a good wash and a soak the sowed them not expecting much if any germination.  They are quite difficult to see but there are a lot of seedlings.

This is good to know about J. dubia Roma. It definitely made a difference that you store the seeds in a plastic bag (even without moist media). So they maintained viability for 6-7 months (June to Nov) with germination in the second year - after warm/cold moist cycles.
It could vary with the source of seeds though.

[Gabriela]

About Pachyphragma macrophyllum germination.
Few years ago I obtained only 1 plant from a pck. of seeds. But, when sowing lots of things, accidents happen so I didn't think much about it.
The plant flowered and produced seeds last year and upon hearing from other people they also had poor results with dry seeds I sowed them right away (warm/cold moist cycles).

I just found the seeds germinating, 100%. Unfortunately I didn't have enough seeds to experiment by keeping some dry and sow later (I did share some though
This species is known to self seed by itself in gardens (which again means: warm/cold moist cycles).


I would like to hear others experience with sowing dry kept seeds of this species.
*The seedlings are elongated because I found them germinating under a tarp, don't understand how come they were green.

[Tristan_He]

A few more from the cold greenhouse - I really do have far too many seedlings this year. Lots of SRGC seed exchange material coming up now. Thanks so much to all you kind donors.



Muscari azureum



Lilium rhodopeum. I had this years ago, but lost it when I went to university. I'm looking forward to trying it again in soil that is better suited to lilies.



Scilla verna.



Pelargonium endlicherianum



Narcissus romieuxii x cantabricus. I sowed this and other bulb seed directly after receiving it from the seed exchange six weeks or so ago, then read Ian's article that it would have been better to wait until the autumn. I won't say the germination is stunning, but I seem to have got away with it this year, quite a few of the bulbs are coming up.

[Tristan_He]

Celmisia ramulosa. This is the first time I have managed to germinate one of these.



Anthyllis aurea.



Meconopsis rudis.



Lilium canadense var. coccineum



Muscari sosnowskyi

[Tristan_He]

Campanula thyrsoides



Narcissus 'Craigton Clumper'



Fritillaria graeca



Bellevalia pycnantha



Campanula alpina.

[Lesley Cox]

Re Pachyphragma macrophylla. I had a single plant from a few seeds I brought home from Australia a few year ago. It never did get planted because we moved house and was put in a storage area with hundreds of other plants-in-waiting. Then when it flowered several people asked for it so I planted it in a damp place where it flourished and set masses of seed after a brilliant bloom. I really like the snowy whiteness of it. Anyway I collected a lot of seed - like rather large mustard seed - and sowed it but only after I'd forgotten it for about 6 months so it was pretty dry. Really good germination after about 6 weeks and I planted 2 sdlgs in each of a number of pots and was really surprised when I sold most and not even in flower. Most people said they didn't even know it but still liked the foliage which is certainly OK but not outstanding to my mind. More seedlings are now waiting to be potted.

If most don't die I shall have hundreds of tiny sdlgs of Rhodo. camtschaticum to pot up. I'll leave them until after the winter I think. In the meantime although only one or sometimes 2mm high, they have all turned red and sit in their pot like a little sample of a roughish fabric. I suppose they'll lose their leaves soon. The seed was from SRGC in 2018.

[Leena]

About Pachyphragma macrophyllum germination.

Gabriela, I sowed fresh seeds last summer, kept the pot outside the summer and moved it in the root cellar in November. The seeds started to germinate in late January, and I had to take them to light to a cool place (inside it is too warm I thought). Not enough light so that they have also elongated, but all are alive and soon I have enough space to prick them out.  So they seem to have a inner clock which says that two-three months of cold is enough and it is time to come up (just like Epimediums which tend to come up too early here).
Anyway, I'm so happy to have them now, and the fresh seeds did the trick.

[Gabriela]

Gabriela, I sowed fresh seeds last summer, kept the pot outside the summer and moved it in the root cellar in November. The seeds started to germinate in late January, and I had to take them to light to a cool place (inside it is too warm I thought). Not enough light so that they have also elongated, but all are alive and soon I have enough space to prick them out.  So they seem to have a inner clock which says that two-three months of cold is enough and it is time to come up (just like Epimediums which tend to come up too early here).
Anyway, I'm so happy to have them now, and the fresh seeds did the trick.

Happy that yours also germinate Leena. Yes, it's clear 2 months of cold are enough, plus the warm period before them.
But if I get seeds again this year I will keep some dry to test them. Maybe they have short viability or we got old seeds the other times. It would be good to know.

[Gabriela]

Re Pachyphragma macrophylla. I had a single plant from a few seeds I brought home from Australia a few year ago. It never did get planted because we moved house and was put in a storage area with hundreds of other plants-in-waiting. Then when it flowered several people asked for it so I planted it in a damp place where it flourished and set masses of seed after a brilliant bloom. I really like the snowy whiteness of it. Anyway I collected a lot of seed - like rather large mustard seed - and sowed it but only after I'd forgotten it for about 6 months so it was pretty dry. Really good germination after about 6 weeks and I planted 2 sdlgs in each of a number of pots and was really surprised when I sold most and not even in flower. Most people said they didn't even know it but still liked the foliage which is certainly OK but not outstanding to my mind. More seedlings are now waiting to be potted.

Thank you very much Lesley. So, the seeds were dry for 6 months before sowing.
Here it flowers in late April, so you sow it +/- Oct/November. Could you detail a bit more please about your temperatures during sowing?

It has a particular charm in flower and yes the foliage is not near outstanding. For us in a colder climate the attraction comes I think more from the fact that the foliage withstands very low temp. I couldn't believe first winter when I saw it rebound after a deep freeze, just like Arum does. Also, it takes very well dryish areas under trees (at least that's where mine is).

[Lesley Cox]

Gabriela I'm sorry my times and temps are very much guesses at this stage. In general I sow seed at any time at all except mid winter and of course our winter is very mild compared with yours. We have had no snow on the ground for the last two winters and only a fall which never settled in the winter before that (2017). We've had light frosts but very few of them and none for sustained periods longer than a few days at a time.

I sowed the seed in our autumn, about your flowering time I think and the day temps would have been around 15 - 18degs C I should think but our climate and temperatures are so crazy now that short of daily recordings it's really hard to be certain. Once the seeds germinated they grew quickly in the seed pot.

I'll take better notice this year of when it flowers, seeds and when I sow (assuming I sow more.) 

[Gabriela]

Gabriela I'm sorry my times and temps are very much guesses at this stage. In general I sow seed at any time at all except mid winter and of course our winter is very mild compared with yours. We have had no snow on the ground for the last two winters and only a fall which never settled in the winter before that (2017). We've had light frosts but very few of them and none for sustained periods longer than a few days at a time.

I sowed the seed in our autumn, about your flowering time I think and the day temps would have been around 15 - 18degs C I should think but our climate and temperatures are so crazy now that short of daily recordings it's really hard to be certain. Once the seeds germinated they grew quickly in the seed pot.

I'll take better notice this year of when it flowers, seeds and when I sow (assuming I sow more.) 

Thanks Lesley, more or less it is enough - so it is fair to say that your seeds germinated 'warm'.
Mine (and Leena's) although were sowed in early summer have only germinate after a cold period. It is very interesting and another confirmation about the genetic inheritance of seeds germination, a factor not taken into consideration much.
My initial seeds came from a region with winter cold.

[Yann]

Tristan you cover your campanula seeds, i've tried with small grit but all failed.
I only had success with those not covered and pot moistened by the bottom.

May be perlite let the light reach the compost.

[Tristan_He]

Tristan you cover your campanula seeds, i've tried with small grit but all failed.
I only had success with those not covered and pot moistened by the bottom.

May be perlite let the light reach the compost.

Hi Yann, I use perlite for all my seeds. I like it because it keeps a good open structure and retains a little moisture. I also believe that keeping the seeds away from direct contact with the compost helps against damping off.

With small seeds like Campanula and Gentiana I barely cover the seed and often grind up the perlite a bit so it is a bit finer, so maybe not so different to your method. As you say I expect the white colour helps with light sensitive seeds.

[Leena]

Gabriela, I sowed fresh seeds last summer, kept the pot outside the summer and moved it in the root cellar in November. The seeds started to germinate in late January, and I had to take them to light to a cool place (inside it is too warm I thought). Not enough light so that they have also elongated, but all are alive and soon I have enough space to prick them out. 

Here are my  Pachyphragma macrophyllum  seedlings, now over two months old.