Germinating now?

[Lori S.]

More germination at room temp, no conditioning unless indicated.

Lysimachia lichiangensis - germ in 10 days        NARGS
Michauxia campanulata - germ in 8 days           Pavelka; 1600m, Ala Dag, Turkey; monocarpic; 2008 seed.
Napaea dioica - small amount of germ in 18 days after scarification     Gardens North
Omphalodes kuzinskyanae - germ in 5 days              NARGS
Onobrychis argyrea - germ in 4 days after scarification  Pavelka; 1500m, Urgup, Turkey
Ononis spinosa - germ in 4 days after scarification     NARGS
Rheum rhizostachyum - germ in 5 days               Holubec; Tajikistand: Yazgulem Range, Pamir, 3800m; 2006 seed
Satureja montana illyrica - germ in 13 days        SRGC
Scutellaria altissima
Scutellaria zhongdianensis - germ in 18 days    SRGC
Senecio polyodon - germ in 7 days
 

[David Nicholson]

Some lovely, and different stuff there Lori. Are you going to have room to grow it all?

[Lori S.]

David, the answer is a cautious and forward-looking yes... we have plans for greatly expanding the new rock garden area from last year.   

[cohan]

I'm also trying Soroseris umbrella this year, and have some germination after 10 days.
I planted out several Saussurea nelapensis last year; waiting to see how they do this year.  If they're deciduous, I suppose they might be OK... if not, they're dead.  

i have soroseris rosularis to try;
will you plant most of these things in the ground the first year, or do you keep any of them in the pots (sunk i would assume) til the next year?
will be waiting anxiously to hear about the saussureas..
what was your snow cover like this year? i still have a lot in open and/or shaded areas--that is everywhere except on the sunny sides of buildings, along paths, and around trees; rock garden area is still completely covered, as are my proto woodland beds, and a couple of other areas i plan to develop...

[Lori S.]

Everything will get planted out this year.  (I have no interest in taking care of things in pots for any longer than necessary.)  We will be increasing the size of last year's small tufa garden by 4-5 fold, after taking out a huge red leaf rose (that had been failing for the last couple of years for unknown reasons) and a couple of nanking cherries...  And then we have also been talking about taking out some groundcover junipers and extending the crevice garden through a much larger area; not sure if that will happen this year.  Very exciting, anyway.
We had another snowy winter, with unusual snow cover (almost complete snow cover from December until recently) - that's 2 years in a row now!  It's mostly gone in the yard now, though, except for a few patchs.  We've been cutting off perennials the last couple of weekends... so I'll be crippled again tomorrow (sore muscles from bending over)!  

[JPB]

Very useful information here!

Lori, I notice that you keep seeds of (cold-)temperate species also at room temperature. I do have them in my greenhouse now (at approx. 5C) but I will put them in my room like you do. I have good fluorescent lamps here so no problem.

First seeds ar germinating of the bunch I seeded ten days ago! All at room temperature: Salvia apiana; Salvia verbenacea; Lavandula multifida. More later...

I use small containers with cover and holes drilled for air and drainage. I was collecting these from the Chinese restaurant but now I bought a box of 500....this was the smallest amount available. At least I don't have to eat Chinese two times a day in the sowing season 

[Lori S.]

Lori, I notice that you keep seeds of (cold-)temperate species also at room temperature. I do have them in my greenhouse now (at approx. 5C) but I will put them in my room like you do. I have good fluorescent lamps here so no problem.

Yes, unless it is a species that actually requires a cold growth period for proper development, there doesn't seem to be any adverse effects from growing seedlings indoors at room temperature...  or am I missing something?    More light intensity indoors would no doubt be an improvement to my system, I suppose.

I also stratify the seeds that need it outdoors most years (potted up in pots in trays and then chucked outdoors, and covered with snow or not, depending if there is any).  This year, though, most of these species were unfamiliar and not possible even to research (plus I'm lazy!), so I just went by trial and error... if no germination within a 2-3 weeks, I put them in the cold room (~40 deg F) and will pull them out again later on.  I suppose another reason to start them indoors is to end up with reasonably-sized little plants by planting-out time... they get a significant advantage over the pots set outdoors here, which may be little more than 2 seed leaves by planting-out time.  Hardening off the indoor-grown seedlings is easy; I just set the trays out in the shade for a few days, and then they are ready to be planted out. 
Hans, after you have germination in your fast food containers, what kind of pots/containers do you use for potting on?  (Am I the only one with a collection of hundreds of plastic alpine (and other) pots?  )

[Giles]

After 30 years of trying......

[Maggi Young]

Hmmmm.... thirty years trying to get Davidia involucrata to germinate.... success at  last... but, errrrmmm, now how long to flower? 

[cohan]

Everything will get planted out this year.  (I have no interest in taking care of things in pots for any longer than necessary.)  We will be increasing the size of last year's small tufa garden by 4-5 fold, after taking out a huge red leaf rose (that had been failing for the last couple of years for unknown reasons) and a couple of nanking cherries...  And then we have also been talking about taking out some groundcover junipers and extending the crevice garden through a much larger area; not sure if that will happen this year.  Very exciting, anyway.
We had another snowy winter, with unusual snow cover (almost complete snow cover from December until recently) - that's 2 years in a row now!  It's mostly gone in the yard now, though, except for a few patchs.  We've been cutting off perennials the last couple of weekends... so I'll be crippled again tomorrow (sore muscles from bending over)!  

i was wondering what you'd be removing to make more rock garden space--i didn't have the impression you had any ground sitting fallow...lol
i also don't want too many things in pots too long,esp those that don't like to dry out i'm not a good enough waterer;

i also found myself with seeds i couldn't find any information on, and/or the little to be found contradictory;
i agree with you reasons for indoor start--can't hurt to give the poor things the longest season possible first year--especially in this climate where the season is so short--even a lot of plants that can manage our minimum temps actually come from places with a longer growing season...

[cohan]

Hmmmm.... thirty years trying to get Davidia involucrata to germinate.... success at  last... but, errrrmmm, now how long to flower? 

congratulations on patience rewarded!

[Giles]

I'm taking it with me when I go !!!

[james willis]

Many thanks Gail, I shall try my luck.  Jim Willis

[maggiepie]

 (Am I the only one with a collection of hundreds of plastic alpine (and other) pots?  )

Nope, I have @ 14 trays of seedlings 
Not game enough to start more seeds, some of the previous ones germinated so fast.
I'm doing what you do btw, with regards to seeds you can't get germinating information on. I do them at room temps and if nothing happens after a few weeks it's into the fridge with them.

[TheOnionMan]

After 30 years of trying......

Giles, on the Pacific Bulb Society newsgroup, someone posted an off-topic message looking for seed of Davidia involucrata.  I stepped in and replied that normally I could easily collect seed of this (Davidia involucrata vilmoriniana), it grows at Mt. Auburn Cemetary in Cambridge Massachusetts, a historic cemetery/arboretum close to where I used to work.  Via PM I received about a dozen requests for seed.  Since I'm unemployed and not closeby anymore, I was able to make the special 84-mile roundtrip commute twice, and was only able to get enough seed for two of those requests (and some for me). One can pick up the large walnut-sized pods after they've fallen (they cannot be picked from the tree for several reason, one being that it would be frowned upon), and on my second visit in late November, even after all the leaves had shed, the pods still mostly hung on tight to the bare branches.

One correspondent gave a link to specific directions on how to germinate Davidia involucrata, let me know if you're still interested, although since you got germination, maybe you don't need it now.

Also, see the interesting SRGC thread on "Cemetery plants", I posted a link and some photos at Mt. Auburn Cemetery:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5069.0

Photos of this remarkable tree, also known as the Dove Tree, Ghost Tree, or Handkerchief Tree (I like the last name).
http://www.halesia.nl/images/bomen/51/Davidia-involucrata1.jpg
http://www.koju.de/pflanzen_pictures/DAVIDIA_involucrata_vilmoriniana_250_1.jpg
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Zakdoekjesboom_bloemen_(Davidia_involucrata).jpg
...hanging fruit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Davidia_involucrata_vilmoriniana1.jpg