Aconitum from Seed

[Gabriela]

I have  Aconitum hemsleyanum flowering now in the garden. The picture was taken three days ago

It is gorgeous! Probably 'Red Wine' cultivar. Too bad it won't have time to set seeds.

[kris]

it's very beautiful  , kris

it flowers in how many years after sowing ?

It took 2 years  to flower after transplanting.

Yes Gabriela it is the red wine cultivar.  There are some seed setting but I am not sure about maturity.  The winter started very early  this year.

[samsgarden]

Looking up my records of Aconitum seed sown in "baggie" method; in moist paper towel I sowed Aconitum lycoctonum late January 2015 (SRGC exchange) to the refrigerator. In April 2015 I potted up seeds and put pot at 10C (still cool) in my greenhouse until trays positioned outside for summer. Records show by September 8 there was three rooted seeds and designated to stay outside for another winter. May 2017 I divided the three seedlings to their own pots.  So it is possible to germinate six month old Aconitum seed using the cold 'baggie' method!
Otherwise, my experience here in Canada with long cold winters is to sow seed as soon as it arrives and leave outside until germination occurs. Sometimes two years or winters.
Sharon

[Leena]

Otherwise, my experience here in Canada with long cold winters is to sow seed as soon as it arrives and leave outside until germination occurs. Sometimes two years or winters.

I have the same experience here in Finland, and most of the time it takes two years (two warm-cold cycles) for them to germinate.

[Gabriela]

Some Aconitum species will germinate in the second year after sowing when dry seeds were sown. Others will never germinate if the seeds were kept dry.

At some point I tried to start a discussion about which Aconitum species may germinate from dry kept seeds - somewhere in the Germination thread.
It would be good to have a list with species that are not too fussy in regards with the germination. Stefan also added his results about few species.

I will post a picture there to bring it to attention and maybe Maggi can do her magic and combine the threads
The discussion starts on pag. 62 of the Germinating now - photos of seedlings thread

[Gabriela]

Thanks Maggi! it's good to have everything on Aconitum germination in one place
I hope more people will post their notes about sowing various species with dry or fresh seeds/moist.

[Rick R.]

Since the genus Aconitum has both recalcitrant and "non-recalcitrant" seed species, then I would guess that there might be some recalcitrant types with dried seed that can be brought back through slow hydration, as opposed to direct planting.  Has anyone experimented with this?

[Gabriela]

Here’s a Christmas gift - I compiled all the data available about Aconitum in the table below (hope it is readable). It provides guidance and a good framework for those willing to contribute further.
My advice is to try and get close up pictures with the seeds before sowing; most often they can be used to confirm the identity of species and keep track of the seeds provenience.

Contradictory results are possible due to: incorrect ID of species (to err is human), natural variations in the germination pattern due to collection region, garden cult. versus wild coll. seeds. I will update the table when more info becomes available. Feel free to contribute.
Merry Christmas! May all your seeds germinate in 2019!

[Maggi Young]

Now that's a useful present, Gabriela!  Thank you - and Merry Christmas! 

[Véronique Macrelle]

I was hoping that the GA3 would make them sprout the first spring, but no ..

thank you Gabriella, it's very useful for me.

on the fresh seeds of A. hemseleyanum that Kris sent me a few weeks ago: I put them in a wet bag in the refrigerator while waiting to treat all my seeds at the same time. by examining the bag today (ga3), I saw about 10 well-swollen seeds that seem ready to germinate. the others are either empty or do not react.
 thank you Kris

Merry Christmas

[Gabriela]

Let's not forget Veronique that there are so many other Aconitum species than those in the table, they may have different patterns of germination.

Good luck with the hemsleyanum! it is very beautiful. Do not forget to take good notes so we can add to the table above.
Fresh seeds may not need GA3 treatment but it's always good to experiment

[Leena]

Thank you Gabriela for the useful information in table form!
I will have to keep better records of my Aconitum sowings, mostly I think all have germinated for me after two years, but I don't have many species. I have gotten plants from seeds at least from the following: A.kirinense, A.napellus, A.septentrionale, A.vulparia and A.yezoense.

[Gabriela]

Thank you Gabriela for the useful information in table form!
I will have to keep better records of my Aconitum sowings, mostly I think all have germinated for me after two years, but I don't have many species. I have gotten plants from seeds at least from the following: A.kirinense, A.napellus, A.septentrionale, A.vulparia and A.yezoense.

Thanks Leena! i will have these in the table right away and in the spring will post it here updated.
Maybe others will add more species until then.

[Bulb-boy]

Helped greatly by this forum (this thread in particular, thanks all!) I have managed to germinate some fresh seeds of A. incisofidum. Now that they are up, I'm wondering at what stage to prick them out/repot? Only the cotyledons are currently showing, so probably better to wait for a bit?

Thanks in advance,
Marco

[arisaema]

I'm wondering at what stage to prick them out/repot?

I would wait until you have at least 2-3 real leaves, but they're not difficult once they've germinated. Give some weak fertilizer when watering, and they should be "prickable" in May.