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impatiens from seeds

2 months ago

So I bought some bags of impatiens seeds bc they were so cheap and thought it’d be fun to try it out. But i don’t really have the time to care for them indoors from what im reading. Can I just toss them out in my flower bed and see what happens? If I can just plant them straight outdoors, what are your recommendations? Im in zone 8a

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 months ago
if you have hundreds.. or thousand or seeds .. just try any number of methods.. and keep notes.. and let us know how which works.. etc ...

back in my seed days.. one trick i had was.. find some sticks around the yard ... and plant a line of seed with a stick at both ends .. so you know where you are.. nothing more stupid than weeding out your seedlings because you forgot or dont recognize whats growing ...

but the sticks at least tell you.. you did something there..lol ..

anyway.. when they are an inch tall.. and during a rainy day.. take a hand trowel.. and move them around ... spread them out if you will ...

or do it in early evening after a good afternoon watering.. or in the early morn of a day you know will be cloudy.. etc ...

understand.. you are growing a root mass.. and you will succeed in growing the flowers above.. always take care of the roots thru proper watering..

ken

ps: also try a few in a pot.. in cell packs.. in trays.. etc .... i once did way too many in a 8 x 8 disposable aluminum cake pan.. and then never got around to transplanting them ... as i found i could root cuttings of the seed i planted 2 months too early in my MI .. i had to keep pruning them back until late may when i could take them outside .. lol .. who knew Is rooted so easily ... i had a million of them by the time it cam to plant.. lol.. boy did i waste a lot of them.. but i had fun inside while it was snowing ..... learned a lot also.. and that was my original point.. try a bunch of methods...
party_music50
2 months ago
If it’s Impatiens walleriana, just surface sow in a shady area.
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i am zone 5.. and last frost date is 5/25 ... if you are really in z6 .. you are NOT past frost ... its too soon for tender annuals ... but maybe for seed.. i dont know how much cold the seed will take and still be viable .... i did them from seeds once.. under lights.. in the house ..... very easy ... they also root easily ... buy a 4 or 6 pack ... and slice off small pieces.. and stick them in a pot with a baggie over it.. and you will propagate many more ... rather quickly ... so from 4 plants.. you get 8 cuttings.. in 2 or 3 weeks ... you will get 2 or 3 cuttings from 12 plants ... then a few weeks later.. 2 or 3 from 36 plants ....inside a month or 45 days.. you could easily have 100 ... store seed cool and dry and dark .... like in the basement in summer... they will not do well in the hot garage ... or there in the winter .... ken
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Hmmm, well that's odd because you say the other seedlings are growing well. The only thing I can think of is how far away are the fluoro. lights. I normally keep mine about 2-3 inches above the top of the plants and adjust the height of the lights as the plants grow taller (have a hook and chain set-up -- not fancy but hey it works). You could try setting them out in the sun during the cooler weather (but harden off over a period of days - see my reply to Dave from Michigan's post) to see if that helps, but keep in mind impatiens prefer warm conditions so not sure if outside during this time of year is the best idea. Might be worth a try to see what happens, though.
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I planted 3 packets of impatiens seeds (each packet in a different container), about 4 weeks ago, into pots, using moist potting soil, that were covered with plastic and used bottom heat. I used bright fluorescent lights. House temp was about 20 c (70 f ?) after about 1 week, one pot germinated. Time went by, and the other two pots showed no life... Until a couple of days ago. Now there are many small seedlings in the "lifeless" pots. Conditions seemed identical, only the flower colours differed. Anyway, if at first there is no progress, don't give up hope.
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not under humidity dome. Biggest cause of dampening off which i constantly fight. Two days ago spent all day at an annual grower that supplies all of west MI Home Depot. green houses as big as foot ball fields. Asked all kinds of questions. There starting mix is 80% peat, 12% vermiculite, 8% pearlite. Fanatical on hygene and eliminating pathogins. Even had to step on Chlorex soaked pads before entering green houses. Both for controlling disease to seedlings and for eleminating any disease as they ship across state lines. They do not cover seeds, was told almost all seeds germinate uncovered as they do in nature, My guide said no problem getting impatients going. Start New Guiney from cuttings, just stick into same potting mix and NO hormone powder---too harsh. The whole secret is humidity, heat and light They heat from bottom to 72. Air circulation important in eliminating dampening off, also keeping surface dry and using a sterile mix, They don't even use trays over again. Send to plastic recycler to grind up and remold. more efficient than a Chlorine wash. they Add 2% chlorine to water as they have well water. City water is 3.5% also use both a basic and acidic liquid fert added to misters and drip system. . I'm starting to add 2% chlorine as i have well water and have sterilized all starting medium in the microwave 3 min until it reaches 200. I am experimenting with some impatient seeds in a wet paper towel/plastic bag in a sunny window. This will determine rate of germination
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erasmus_gw
2 months ago
I am surprised that they self sow here. ( zone 7a, NC) I often find them coming up in pots of soil. So I think surface sowing works with these.

I started seeds too early too. ( this year) I have been willingly hauling flats of them in and out of my house to get some sun. I also have some lights indoors. But I guess I'm a little tired of it because I planted some out today even though it could freeze again here. Some of them are pretty hardy.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 months ago
They need warmth to germinate. The soil temperature (not the air temperature) needs to be 70 ish. No point sowing outside until then.
rob333 (zone 7a)
last month
last modified: last month
The one thing I found is, they need dark to germinate? Not until I covered the pot with foil did they germinate. Many times of trying. I had been so successful with my typical methods with everything else, that it never occurred to me that might be a possibility. But there you go. Years ago, but it taught me to find out how to germinate each type of seed before starting ;)

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