Limas are very prone to rotting, especially if conditions are too wet and/or too cool. Because of my exceptionally cool wet spring this year, I started mine indoors, with great results... "King of the Garden" was 100%. When starting beans under lights, I always use peat pots (usually Jiffy strip 32's, or pots for the largest limas), sterile seed starter, and boiled water. This reduces the chance of the seed rotting, or damping off. I do not recommend the use of inoculant for starting beans indoors, since I have had some poor results using it. If you don't want to use seed starter, I've also used play sand for beans with good results. The drainage is excellent, and the seeds have no difficulty breaking through. You need to transplant them quickly though (or feed them) since there are no nutrients in the sand. Watch for drying too. If you are able to control temperature, 80 F. degrees is ideal for most beans. Bottom heat works well, if you can supply it. You can also make a small temperature-controlled germinator, with a box of sturdy material, a baseboard thermostat , and an incandescent bulb at the bottom as a heat source (be sure the socket is protected from water!). I modified a small "Germanette" greenhouse for seed starting, adding lights above the shelves & a small thermostatically-controlled electric heater. Beans sometimes germinate poorly in peat-based mixes. Adding a little nitrogen to the water used to soak the pots initially will give the best germination rate. A relatively weak solution is all that is necessary; about 1 tsp. of liquid fertilizer per gallon. If the fertilizer is from an organic source, boil it with the water to ensure sterility. Be sure not to use too much water; I soak the pots in a flat over-night, then pour off any excess solution in the morning. Once the beans begin to germinate, get them outside as soon as possible. They get leggy quickly under fluorescent lights. This also avoids the necessity of hardening them off before transplanting. As with all peat pots, tear off any loose edges before transplanting, and be sure the pot is buried completely.

I haven't used Hollytone but many people do successfully. It's a lot safer than ammonium sulfate. The later is safe if dissolved first at a modest concentration. I got my fastest growth in pots by mixing 1 teaspoon per 2.5 gallons and applying once a week. In ground once a month should do. Small frequent doses are much safer than one large shot. Right now I'm mixing 1 ml per gallon which is, I think, a fair amount less than rate above. Where I've burned plants with ammonium sulfate is applying it dry at excessive rates and watering in. That can fry the roots. PS: A teaspoon is 5 ml. So rates above are 2 ml per gallon vs 1 ml per gallon. This post was edited by fruitnut on Wed, Jul 30, 14 at 12:00

You want more seeds? I have two huge packs of pods and chaff. I have a medium purple color and White Profussion. I know the seeds from the purple may not come true as it was the volunteer's mother. The White, it should have been far enough away, but I did see the hummers going for it. I can slip them in your swap pack.

lantana is a wonderful plant for phoenix. we see them growing in the hottest places. I would guess that for some reason your soil in that area is not agreeable. Id get a couple of buckets.. pick up the rocks, put in a bucket.. dig up the soil and discard it.. take soil from another place.. put some peat moss or mulch in it and plant another and then return the rocks. You don't know if at sometime in the past someone poured out something noxious to plant growth.