No apology needed. It's just easier to answer specific questions than general ones. I have to take a shower, and then watch an important baseball game, so I'll just shoot off some quick thoughts, and respond more fully in the morning, when I'm rested and on my big 'puter. The two Miscanthus sinensis varieties you collected may not (probably won't) come true from seed. If they germinate at all, they'll probably yield species Miscanthus sinensis. 'Cabaret' may germinate if you harvested them late last fall. Their seeds wouldn't be ripe yet in my zone, much less in yours. M. purpurescens may or may not produce viable seed. The warm season grasses you have seed for do not require any cold stratification. If the seeds are viable, they'll germinate after a week or two on the surface of moist medium at temps in the mid-60's F. They would be best sown in groups of 10-20 seeds to a small cell (1.5" square). This way you'll have a better shot at a saleable clump by May. I'd guess you'd need at least 12 weeks from germination, to grow them to 3.5" pot size in greenhouse conditions. A caution would be moving them out of the greenhouse (selling them) in May in your zone. That's pretty early in their growing season up there. Acorus...my only experience is from plugs, and it's really a slow grower. I don't have a greenhouse, so all their growing has been outdoors. 2.5" cells are just getting to 4" pot size after a year. H. sempervirens is a terrific cool season grower. I'd expect plugs in March to be ready for at least 3.5" pots by May. A lot depends on how big the plugs are. As you probably know, they range widely in size. It's going to want a cold frame, or at least the coolest spot in your glass house. Same with 'Overdam.' They'll do best in cool bright situations. 'Purple Majesty' is a whole 'nother thing. It's an annual for you (and me), and it doesn't start to grow quickly until temps and day-lengths are early summer-ish. Last thought...for May sales in your zone, look at more cool season grasses. You can force warm season plugs in the greenhouse, but you may have unhappy customers who take them home and plant them in May. Gotta run now, but let us know as many details as you can, as you get them, and I'm sure we can help a bit.

It's quite easy. Boil water, pour water in a mug or cup, and place seeds in very hot water, and allow seeds to soak overnight. Seeds will germinated close to 100% within a week when sown in potting mix. This method works with almost any pea family member including Cercis, Baptisia, Thermopsis, Indigofera, etc.

If you would install a heat pad to set your pots of cuttings or seeds on it would work fine in the cool parts of the year. I can not keep my greenhouse cool enough in the summer to use it for propagation. I have a partly shaded plastic covered area, open on both ends that works fine in the summer. Al

Yes, it works for me. I don't even have a grow light, just an old shop light with 2- 48" inch fluorescent bulbs. I do have it suspended from the ceiling so that I can raise and lower it to fit the size plants that I am working with. I waited until time to bring Mandevilla inside and stuck my cuttings in Oct... it worked so well I had to keep cutting them back all winter. I have done several other plants such as Oleander in late fall to be kept over inside the house. You will need to keep the humidity up by enclosing in plastic or use a humidity dome such as 2 liter soda bottles for taller cuttings. I have stuck smaller cuttings in a cell type flat, placed it in a large plastic bag like huge packs of paper towel come in...spray the inside to raise the humidity..tie if off with string and tie the string up to the light fixture to keep it off the plants..works really well. You can make a slit in the plastic to prop open as you begin to lower the humidity on them or want to reach in to check on them. It can be pinned or paper clipped shut if need be. A basement is good...higher humidity, but you would probably need some bottom heat to encourage faster rooting. I would think that the basement would be a good place to move them to once they are rooted. Higher heat makes for good rooting, but not so good for long term holding. You would need a light set up down there, also. Even if you have a greenhouse it is questionable whether it would be economically sound to heat a green house in order to avoid paying the nursery man. I have wondered if having one attached to the house with an open window for heat gain to the house in the day time and the house to heat the greenhouse at night might balance out the cost of heating one. With insulation blankets on the glazing at night, it might not be too bad. By the way, I have a 12x12 greenhouse that is used for growing cold weather veggies in winter...no heated air, but do have hot water lines under the growing beds to keep the soil temp up around 60* when it gets really cold. I can use that for dormant cuttings...just sink the pots down in the beds to get the benefit of bottom heat. The cold air prevents the tops from wanting to grow while they make roots. If you will be doing any woody ornamentals, they can go out in a bed in mid December for zone 7. Hope this gives you some ideas to consider.