The purchased seed should work fine. Seed is not a problem if the pollination of the plant producing the seed is controlled. The seed produced in your garden is from a plant produced from a cross and can revert to either parent or anything in between. The purchased seed will be an F1 cross where both parents are known and the resulting seed is predictable, though not as predictable as a plant produced from a vegetative part of a plant with no sex involved. Al

Now?...January...? I wouldn't start them before late April/May at the earliest! They grow super fast after you nick the seedcoat, presoak, and plant. When you soak the nicked seed, the white root comes out within a few days. The seeds put out about an inch of growth every few days under lights. You'll need a lot of indoor space to keep them until you can plant them out. They get planted outside when the soil warms up in June, otherwise they'd rot (especially in your zone). Remember, these are tropical plants. Good luck.

A friend of mine that runs an public garden in Florida has sent me lots of fresh tropical seeds harvested this fall. I am mostly interested in fresh commercial tropical seed but I am willing to trade for rare interesting garden plants not common ones. Here is the list: Dietes Bicolor Gelsemium sempervirens Agapanthus africanus Tecoma stans Hibiscus coccineus Canna Flaccida Sabal Minor - Palm sabal Palmetto - palm Butia Capitata - palm - a few seeds to offer Sesbania punicea Sapium sebiferum Caesalpinia, pulcherrima Let me know what you have and I'll check it out Cheers Jeff

I have a purple and white heirloom mum (although my aunt never knew the name that has been in the family a very long time if you are interested in a piece of that. I am certainly willing to share. Susan