Well, unfortunately I canÂt do anything about our 80-degree temps during the day, though nights are a bit cooler. Is that whatÂs keeping them from getting any bigger? They have to be about 8 weeks from germination by now but they are miniscule in sizeÂÂweÂre talking no height to speak of and not even 1 mm (yes, you read that right) wide. Nowhere near big enough to plant out. They are not going dormant, they are just sitting there. How can I encourage them to grow more?

Tom - the labels come 30 to a sheet, 8 1/2 x 11 so they will run through a standard inkjet printer the same as a letter. There are templates in MS Word you can use to create labels with seed name, germination and general plant information. I collect seeds in paper cereal bowls that I set on racks inside my garage to dry and also to allow any hidden critters to escape. Once dry, the seeds are stored in salad dressing cups w/snap-on lids. I get those in the cafeteria where I work. They save milk jugs for me to use for winter sowing and are gardeners themselves. I asked the manager if I could buy the little condiment cups for seeds and he let me have 100 for $1.00. I use a paint pen (available at Michael's) to write the seed name on the cups. The small 2" x 3" ziplocs have so far been the best for mailing/trading seeds. To keep tiny seeds from sticking to the inside of the ziplocs from static, I also cut wax paper into 3" x 3" squares that I fold into pockets and seal with tape. WalMart sells the ziplocs @ 100 for $1 but they're also available from Michael's. WM also sells packs of the label sheets.

All my winter sowing was stunted this year and I wasn't able to use hardly any of it. I don't know what the trouble was and it wasn't late start b/c I put mine out the first of February. The beebalm and other perennials I started by wintersowing are still only 1 and a half inches in height. I'm going to just put them in a protected area for over the fall and winter and see if any return next spring. This was my final year for winter sowing. I've never had a good return and this year I did both winter sowing and then also did seed-starts inside the house and the indoor seed-starts were 5x+ larger than the winter sown stuff after only a month. I sowed Bottle Gentian right into the ground but that was this spring so most of the seed will likely lay dormant until next spring because it hasn't been cold stratified yet. I would take a spatula and put your little seedlings right into the ground now and see how much they can get established before winter sets in. Using a spatula and taking up large pieces of your flat of gentian will be the least stressful to the already stressed plants. Really loosen up the soil where you are going to lay the plants and then give the soil a good watering before you lay down the spatulas of seedlings/soil. Wait a day and then water them lightly as needed.

After the rose fades and the petals fall off, the base will swell. These are called hips or heps. They are the seedpods that have resulted from your rose flowers. When they turn orange (or red or yellow, etc), you pull the hips from the plant, and I just use a butter knife to split them open. Inside them you will find the seeds and also some hair-like fuzz. Remove the seeds, making sure that all the hip tissue is removed (It has a hormone in it that slows germination). What you'll need to do to grow your seeds. Rose seeds: They should be as fresh as possible. Containers: jars, plastic bags, etc. I use baby food jars. Sterile soil mix. Bake soil in a pan at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, or use peat which naturally resists bacteria. I use jiffy peat pellets or good potting soil. Some people even use moistened paper towels, or sand. Whatever works for you. Hydrogen peroxide. It prevents damp-off, a condition where your seedlings rot at the soil line. Water 1-cup measuring cup and tablespoon Seed starter soil mix - In a 1-cup measuring cup, add 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. Fill cup the rest of the way with water. This will be a 1:15 ratio. - Gradually add this mixture to your soil until it has the same moisture content as fresh-turned soil. If it's too wet it will rot the seeds. If it's too dry it will inhibit germination. If you get it too wet, you can either try squeezing it out or leaving it out overnight. Add the mixture to your jar and refrigerate. - Soak seeds in water/hydrogen peroxide solution for 6-12 hours. Place them in the chilled jar and return to refrigerator. - Wait three months. -It helps to vary the temperature a little during the last month in the fridge. Do NOT freeze! At the end of the three months, remove and find a warm spot (70-75 degrees) to place them in overnight. Check for germination of seeds, and then place back in the fridge overnight. Temps of 80 degrees will stop germination. - When looking for germination, you will see a single root-tip breaking through the seed. If you see lots of fuzzy little roots, it's mold (don't worry). There's a distinct difference. - If you need to add water to your planting mix, use the water-hydrogen peroxide mix. - Plant your germinated seedling. Make sure that it's covered by soil or the root will curl around the seed like a snail. Don't plant too deep, either; try for about 1/4 inch deep. - Water the seedling with the water-hydrogen peroxide mixture; don't over/under water. - You can lightly fertilize with a weak (about 25%) water-soluble fertilizer (like Miracle Gro) when they get their second leaves. - Repeat-blooming roses bloom after about 2 months. Once-blooming roses bloom after about two to three years. - If your rose seedlings wilt or die at the top, just below the first leaves, this may be due to an injury to the plant or because of a lack of humidity. If you think it's because of a lack of humidity, try to make a green house for it by using a pop bottle with the base cut off, but the top and sides left on, (used also for rooting cuttings). Open the top of the bottle to let air circulate a couple of days before removing the bottle. Replace bottle if plant begins to wilt. Milk bottles work too, so would even an aquarium, or whatever you can think of that will do the job.