Crappy Germination Success Rate
ariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years ago
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ariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Low success rate re:seed germination indoors
Comments (34)The little non-climbing convolvulous minor (such as Royal Ensign) can be sown much earlier....but the climbing Heavenly Blue morning glory really will be OK if you hold fire till the nights are absolutely frost-free (which, in Yorkshire, can be as late as the end of May). The suggested sowing times on seed packets often assume you are using heated germination aids and extra lighting. I have 2 main sowing periods for annuals, including veggies (apart from the perennials which are sown all over the place). March, for the hardy types (cornflowers, poppies, sweet peas (although I do a lot of these hardy things directly into the soil in autumn)agrostemma, calendula) and May for French beans, zinnia, cosmos, tagetes, dimorpotheca. ursinia. I start my tomatoes between 15th March and 1st April. I will use a cold-frame for some things (such as the dahlia tubers) but in general, I wait for annuals till the weather is good because they catch up easily.....and I hate that hardening off, bringing them in, taking them out, moving around stuff....See MoreSuccessful Germination... what next?
Comments (4)It looks like your potting mix may have some kind of nutrient deficiency, and if they haven't started shooting after a couple months of germination, there is definitely something wrong. Someone on the bambooweb forums with the name Tarzanus claims to know the required nutrient, but I've happened to never have problems after growing hundreds of moso seedlings with my home-made potting soil. You might want to just go ahead an ask someone on bambooweb for a moso division because it is a pretty common bamboo. Mature divisions are much less picky on what they require for soil conditions. Here's a blog with pictures on how I treat my moso bicolor, a variagated kind which is a bit less common, but will also be widely available in a few years. Here is a link that might be useful: My moso bicolor and how it's treated...See MoreCanna from seed - percent success rate?
Comments (17)On March 4, I was given a few dozen canna seeds (very common old fashioned variety) that a friend picked last year. I delicately scarified a dozen, going only so deep as to show a tiny bit of white, using a VERY fine-toothed hack saw blade, then put into pre-boiled (and cooled, of course) water in clean glass tubes, capped. Stood the tubes up in a few cups on top of a radiator and they ALL started to sprout rootlets in 2 or 3 days. Then on March 8, I potted them up in moist sterile soilless mix in 6 oz solo cups, slashed for drainage on bottom. I might have broken off one rootlet when potting up, dunno. Back on the radiator for bottom heat. By March 12 there were 5 green sprouts; by March 13 eleven had sprouted. On March 22, I potted up to 16 oz solo cups, same soilless mix. The surviving eleven (92% success) are each about 8 inches tall with at least 4 leaves apiece. Not bad for a newbie at cannas. I attribute this success to: (a) reading this forum like mad before starting out -- thank you all! (b) not scarifying too aggressively nor going too deep -- just enough to break the shell and let a teensy bit of white show, (c) using punctilious hygiene and pre-boiled water to eliminate chlorine from my municipal tapwater, and (d) bottom heat on the radiator....See MoreGreat germination rates in Britain
Comments (1)Thanks. I have some seeds that I didn't start over the winter. ...might give it a try......See Moregreenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agogreenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agoariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years agoariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years agoariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years agoMaria Elena (Caribbean - USDA Zone 13a)
7 years agoariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.) thanked Maria Elena (Caribbean - USDA Zone 13a)ariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years agogreenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agoariel7576 (Puerto Vallarta, Mex.)
7 years ago
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greenclaws UK, Zone 8a