Germinating now- - photos of seedlings

[Lesley Cox]

Jan, I wouldn't fault what Matt says about seedlings of Daubneya aurea or others but I would be uneasy about "baking dry" just about any bulb seedlings in their first dormancy. While they are so tiny most bulbs just don't have the energy to cope with extreme drying. In my experience even onco irises don't like full drying off so early. I don't water such material but I do permit whatever rain there is to fall on them and also keep them shaded if they are dry rather than risk dehydration. Every climate is different of course so different conditions apply and we here in NZ get pretty dry and warm in summer.

[Robert]

Jan,

Lesley has sound advice!

Here in the hot interior of California I do "bake dry" seedling of many bulb species. Of coarse they are kept shaded and as cool as possible. Cool might not be considered cool when it is 40 C. Calochortus, the Themidaceae, and many other summer dormant bulbs thrive for us. There are species that are tricky, such as Lilium washingtonianum - the bulbs like to be dry during the summer, however the roots cannot dry out. One method does not fit all. If possible, understanding their natural growing conditions can be helpful.

I would be inclined to consider Lesley's advice, however there are wide parameters that can still be workable. For me, some first year seedlings of Lachenelia just survived a whole summer of soaking only to start into growth this autumn. I am lucky that they did not rot while dormant, however they are thriving now.

[fermi de Sousa]

One seedling germinated this week:
Erinacea anthyllis AGS Seedex 2016 sown 25-09-16
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Campanula thessala, NZAGS 2012 sown 18-10-13;
as it was sown 3 years ago, I hope these aren't weeds!

They at least appear to be campanulas! Should I have separated them earlier?
cheers
fermi

[Cfred72]

Today, in the framework of outdoor seeding.
1) Seeds from Tulipa sylvestris.



And also in the pots placed in the cold greenhouse
2) Seeds from Narcissus romieuxii



3) Seeds from Narcissus cantabricus



The Tulipa were sown on the surface, under a few millimeters of gravel. The Narcissus half-way into the pots.

[Carolyn]

Fred,
When did you sow tulipa sylvestris? I must go and look for mine when it is daylight.

[Cfred72]

Hi Carolyn. All of these seedlings, including Tulipa, were planted in the first week of September.

[Carolyn]

I couldn't find mine, then realised that was because I hadn't sown them yet! I have found the seed packet and the seeds are now sown. Thanks for reminding me, Fred.

When do the rest of you sow tulip seeds? I don't have much experience with tulips from seed. If I planted them in September and they germinated in December, I would worry about protecting them from frost - I don't heat my greenhouse any more, so the only protection is a bit of horticultural fleece. I would be interested in what other people do.

[Yann]

some seedlings

Anemone heldreichii, from fresh cretan seeds
Iris pamphyllica, the spikes are funny, after 2 years the rhizoms lenght is 1.5-3cms
Helleborus torquatus, the pots were frozen
Crocus armeniacum, seeds offered by Janis
Delphinium semibarbatum, a fast grower, easy in the garden

[Gabriela]

What a joyful sight all these fresh seedlings!

[Lesley Cox]

A real joy to see the Iris Yann. Hopefully you will be able to show it yearly until it flowers. I've only every seen photos but even those are exciting to me.

[Cfred72]

some seedlings

Anemone heldreichii, from fresh cretan seeds
Iris pamphyllica, the spikes are funny, after 2 years the rhizoms lenght is 1.5-3cms
Helleborus torquatus, the pots were frozen
Crocus armeniacum, seeds offered by Janis
Delphinium semibarbatum, a fast grower, easy in the garden

Concerning the iris, it seems that it is a point that made it possible to pierce the substrate to leave the first young and tender leaf.

[Carolyn]

The first seeds of the year are starting to germinate. I was given some GA3 by a friend last winter and thought I would try some on eranthis seed from the seedex. I know that old dry seed of eranthis does not tend to germinate well, so I was very pleased to find these today. There are about 30 seeds in the pot. It will be interesting to see how many more germinate in the next few days.

[Matt T]

Narcissus ex AW 2488-17 - The parent, which I lost, is a selected clone from Anne Wright from the cross N. watieri x N. rupicola marvieri. Why do I struggle so much to keep the Apodanthi alive?? 
Narcissus albimarginatus - an absolute treasure, but guess what... Section Apodanthi 
Narcissus cantabricus from near Almaden, Spain
Fritillaria karelinii - in need of more light, seed from Kurt Vickery
Crocus adenensis - delayed germination of seed from the dear, late Marcus Harvey

[Cfred72]

Hello. Can anyone tell me if it is a semi of Corydalis sempervirens? They were sown in October in an outdoor setting. They were returned last week in the greenhouse protected from frost. Thank you.