Depending on the seeds, they can respond to soaking overnight in warm (not hot) water, sometimes with a few drops of detergent. Others like to have a period of cold in the fridge before they sprout, and others you have to nick some of the tough seedcoat before you sow them. What seeds are you asking about specifically? I have a really good propogation book and it has every seed imaginable in there.

Hope I could help,

Lauren

I have quite a few, mostly bulbs: mixed lily seed, cardiocrinum, Dicentra, some of which I tried presoaking as well. Some seed I have no idea what it is as it just had a code from ABA. I know some seeds need stratification, but I don't think these do. Other seed I just plant and it grows. Some germinates and then just sits and sulks. I found the seed forum on the US site, but not much help for my problems. I may try the damp paper technique again with some others.

The lily seeds, and maybe the cardiocrinum, need a warm-cold-warm cycle before they grow above ground. I sowed some Lilium Martagon seeds a couple of weeks ago, and they'll only emerge in Spring. In the meanwhile they are making a tiny bulb and collecting nutrients with their little roots. It can be quite frustrating, but you get some pleasant surprises sometimes. I bought some Orienpet seeds and sowed them at the same time as the Martagon seeds, and I just assumed they'd sprout in sping and forgot about them. But two have sprouted this week!! I'm most excited about my Lilium Pumilum seeds though, they have almost all sprouted, and if they can gather enough energy this summer they'll bloom next summer. The bulbs stay pretty small, not much bigger then marbles.

Hehe well maybe I'm getting a bit off track. But I have a really good lily book by Michael Jefferson-Brown (RHS too) that lists all the lilium species and their germination requirements, so I'd be happy to look a few things up for you. It's pretty new (2003) so I don't know if it's in libraries yet, but if you can get a hold of it from somewhere you'll really find it helpful.

Cheers,

Lauren

The code on the seed packets from the ABA can be matched to the seed list .Cardiocrinum can take a year to germinate,try soaking the lilie seed in cold water,with a little seasol.

I went up and down ABA's listing but a couple just beat me!! Thanks for the advice re the cardiocrinum and lilies. I just wish sometimes that books gave all the info. I'll be quite happy to leave it now and they need not stay in the propagator as it's warm enough in the house. But to cheer me up, my Sprekelia seeds have just taken 4-5 days to throw out roots, and I almost wish I had sown fewer. And the Frangipani are also germinating, also in 4-5 days. Two Polyxenia ensifolia have been put into pots, whatever they are!!!

Quite a lot of bulb seeds (and a few perennials such as hellebores), go into a double dormancy unless sown fresh. This protects them from a "false spring" break which, in their native climate, may be followed by a fresh onset of freezing weather.

To break this dormancy, place the seeds in a screwtop jar with some moist peat. Place in the fridge for six weeks. Remove to a warmer spot such as the kitchen bench for six weeks and then put them back in the fridge for a further six weeks.

Take them out and sow them as normal, peat and all. I recommend in a deep 6" pot. Sow them on top of some good potting mix (not seed raising mix) and top the pot with some coarse gravel or 1/4 minus bluestone chips about 1 cm deep. They should germinate promptly if kept moist, but if you do this in winter, they will appear with the first warmer days of Spring unless on bottom heat.

Incidentally, this method of topping the pot with gravel works fantastically well as some seeds cannot germinate without receiving some light. The bluestone chips in particular, let just enough through to the seeds to initiate germination for those fussy sods. Seeds don't wash around the pot either.

Don't transplant them until they are a few inches high. I then move them to polystyrene veggie boxes (the ones with holes in their base) where they can stay for ages until you can get around to planting them. Do give them a feed from time to time if they are to be left to grow on for months.

Hope this helps.

My frig now has a lot of plastic bags with ungerminated seed in it, but I took further advice and put them in a container lined with alfoil along with some I knew needed cold. I also had seed that did not germinate so the old packets got the same treatment. There's nothing to lose!! Just as well I do not have to share my frig.

Lauren, what propagating book do you use, does anyone else have any recommendations on propagating books

pezza

Pezza, both me and Annabel have the Royal Horticultural Society book called Propogating Plants. It says it is for Australian gardeners, and it's very informative. It should be available from any of the good bookshops, the RHS has heaps of good books in their range.

Lauren