What a fun thread! I always really enjoy seeing the results of others' seed plantings. There are some really lovely flowers posted in this thread as well as some surprising colors. I think I'll try Nina's technique since I don't have a good indoor spot for seed starting and I have similar climate. I'd also like to add my thanks to Brian for sharing his knowledge and experience with starting clematis from seed.

I looked each up and I have an herb book, several, but they give the same directions mostly accept a few, there are 5 on the list I understand in every way they couldn't have sprouted. I cold treated the hops, as was noted on the package. I really liked the smell of them too, almost like anise. I would have tried them sooner if I had known what they smelled like. The milk thistle ones say it's easy to grow them, but you describe them as picky as they seemed to be. I direct sowed them in the ground, maybe too early, but I really got nothing accept poppies, fennel, castor bean, mullein, and borage from everything I planted herb wise. The borage got top heavy and died. The poppies didn't make many seeds, and I let them drop. I was really hoping to get mint plants growing, I know spearmint sprouted in a planter, but died due to neglect of it sprouting way too late once most of everything else had been taken out of the planter, not knowing anything would still grow. I'm looking for hints like maifleur gave, that is going to help. Direct sunlight is what most of them needed because they all said the same thing on the package. I'm afraid to plant anything in fall, my garden is under leaves right now, about 67 of them I counted now, but then there were more. I still have about 30 to dump and have to clear some areas of old stalks and the privot that keeps growing wild every where. Between privot and the onslaught of walnut seedlings I'm finding, I'm getting scared. Fall planting may make the onions rot, so I'll have to start them out in flats. The lavender sounds tricky, so they sent a big package of those, I'll try again under lamp just to get some sprouted. I'll do the same for the milk thistle under lamp then put in a cool damp, but warm enough spot to get them growing. The hops and cilantro, I've read to score the seed after soaking them 24 hours, then plant, the seed is a hull of 2 seeds, so it makes sense. I'll be looking each plant and reading blogs on each until I can see proven 100 percent method. I appreciate this and I hope next year I'll be in check, have a few of each plant at least.

I wonder if the foil reflector you used is more effective than the stock reflector on your fixture. Many fixtures have very poor excuses for reflectors on them, and maybe what you suggest could be an improvement. So, instead of talking out of my hat, I moved my butt, and took a precut piece of mylar, 46"x10", and JUST DRAPED IT over the two lamps in my 1241cw shoplight fixture, and then I took my Hydrofarm Digital Footcandle Meter, and actually measured to see what happens: Results: guess what, the mylar drape works better than the mylar lined reflector, close to the lamps there is a nice uniform 4000 - 5000 footcandle intensity! compared to 3000 to 4000 footcandles for the mylar lined reflector. I would like to take back what I said in the previous post. Cut the mylar so that you can slip it over the top of the two tubes and let it hang over the edges of the tubes to catch the sideways light and let it shine downwards. Wow, with this intensity, you could grow some serious crops!!! Note: the above measurements were taken in the overdriven configuration. Even with normal drive though, the typical intensity was 3000 foot candles, which is what I was achieving previously just with overdrive. This is a definite improvement. Hats off to the stoner potheads! Paul Mozarowski.

I don't understand why you want a new tree, of the same type, where the old tree was. If the old one was too big, the new one is going to get too large also. What type of tree is it, really. You say it's a mimosa, but I'm wondering if it's not just an Albizia julibrissin. If so, this plant is invasive (environmentally damaging) in much of the eastern US. You don't say where you are, but, if you are in an area where this tree is invasive and it is an Albizia julibrissin, you might want to reconsider! Albizia julibrissin has become a serious problem here in Tennessee, where I live. If I understood what you were saying, you seem to have a sprout coming from a root that was left after the stump was ground. If you get a good chunk of root, there's a good chance you could grow the sprout where you plant it (if you decide to keep it).