Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Seedy Subjects! => Grow From Seed => Topic started by: HairyBeast on February 05, 2025, 03:29:55 PM
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Hello,
I received some Paeonia Mlokosewitchii seeds from the seed exchange, and have started them in damp vermiculite in a small pot. They were sown about 2 weeks ago. I've noticed that some of the seeds have developed a fuzzy mould around them (at the top of the pot in the image), I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to nip this in the bud/prevent it spreading?
Many thanks, Jordan
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It seems too wet to me.
you can collect each seed, clean them with absorbent paper and soak them for 1 or 2 days in water with 1 drop of washing-up liquid.
For me, it's easier to sow them in the soil/potting mix, avoiding getting the sowing pot wet too.
in my house, even when they were rooted in vermiculite, very few were able to adapt to real soil afterwards
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Remove the seeds, wipe clean then soak them for 24 hours in water to which a mouldicide has been added, this will hopefully kill existing moulid and mould spores. In my experience dishwashing liquid will not kill mould/mould spores. Not sure why but paeony seeds do seem to be susceptible to mould, maybe the seeds were not sufficiently dry before packing and sending.
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I would remove the moldy seeds and throw them away. Many times there are always some seeds which get moldy while others don't in the same conditions, and I have thought that there is something wrong in those seeds. Maybe they were not dry enough or maybe they were not fully mature when collected, and there is something wrong in them. Sometimes seeds may look right but they are not, and then they get mold instead of starting to germinate.
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Unless the vermiculite was sterilised (easiest to do in a roasting bag in the microwave using damp vermiculite), there is no guarantee where the mould came from.
Does this species not go through the 2 year cycle from seed typical of Paeonia? I have grown it from seed, but can't remember.
I have grown many, many random Paeonia from seed and just sown it in a pot and left outdoors, and two winters later, I have plenty of seedlings. Unless someone wants to play with the timing, shortening/halving the time to get a seedling by using refrigeration, I see no reason not to sow seed conventionally, and possibly even if I did want to shorten the timing by a year.
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From Facebook page of Friends who like SRGC - Geir Moen's notes on how he germinates Paeonia seed :
" I lightly file the seed 2–3 times, making sure to remove only the outer layer just slightly exposing the lighter interior. After that I place them in water with a few drops of dish soap for 24 hours.
Then, I place the seeds in a zip-lock bag with slightly damp vermiculite and keep them in a warm spot at around 25°C.
Root growth usually starts within 4–12 weeks. Once the seeds sprout, I either plant them outside or cold-stratify them in the refrigerator for 2-3 months at 4°C."
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I would have to agree with others on this. clean them off. I don't think chemicals would be necessary. Sow them outdoors in soil based seed soil mix. Grown them many times just leave them to it. Hope you get good results in a few years :)
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Maggi's quote from Geir is one "recipe" to shorten the germination process to one season, but if you have the room in a fridge, the same regime would be perfectly OK if the seeds were sown conventionally.
If anyone wants to germinate in vermiculite, scald the vermiculite and perhaps add some fungicide and/or soak the seeds n fungicide for a while.
As for filing/abrading the rather leathery testa...............
Viable peonia seed germinates freely, so I can't see any reason to spend time on filing.
It is worth bearing in mind that many Paeonia produce "fake", usually smaller, often very small, seeds.
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Hello to you all
I usually sow fresh peony seeds as soon as possible in the ground. Seeds that have been stored for some months usually germinate the following year. Forced germination could be tried putting seeds in moist vermiculite inside ziplock bags and exposing them to warm and cold temperature cycles
In my experience seeds showing mould on their surface are not viable and should be discarted
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Thank you all, I have repotted them outside and will be eagerly watching them next spring!
Meanwhile the 1 seed that germinated is now in the fridge and the root has swollen, so hopefully I'll see a plumule soon!