Good news everyone! I started my impatiens March 1st and today is March 5th and they all are sprouting! Yay! I can barely believe how quick they germinated the packet says for one flat in 14-21 days the other flat ( different variety impatiens) says 21-28 days till germination. All I can say is thats a blessing for sure! I been keeping the light on the seeds 24/7 and it has been a steady temp between 73-78 (soil temp) since I turned the one out of two light fixtures off the second day. I will most likely remove the dome once the seeds have lost there shell. Then once they all are completely germinated I will turn the light off at night, it generally doesn't fall below 65f when the light is off. Does this sound like a good idea???

I wish you luck. A local grower says that luck is a large part of it as many of the seeds are not viable. The recent bible on the subject by Kerin Lilleeng-Rosenberger says to pretreat the seeds in hand hot water for 24 to 36 hours then surface sow them into a 3 part pearlite to one part potting soil mix, and germination is slow at two to six months. So far I have had no success with this process, as I think I have too much rain to be successful. I am at about 60 in per year of rainfall. John on Oahu

Canna seeds are tough. For best germination, they should be nicked. To nick them, you can use a file, a grinder, or even a drill to drill into the seed a little. You just want to break the hard surface of the seed just enough to see a little bit of the creamy white interior of the seed. After nicking, soak the seed in water for a day or two. You should see the seeds swell as they soak up the water. Then plant in moist soil. Keep the soil moist and warm and your seeds will sprout. If started early, like during winter in a greenhouse, cannas grown from seeds can bloom the first year. However, the seeds from the hybrid cannas do not produce plants like the parent plant. They usually revert back to the small flowered type with traits of both the wild canna and the parent. Once in a great while, you may get lucky and a viable canna will grow from one of those seeds, but it doesnt happen often.

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.