Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Seedy Subjects! => Grow From Seed => Topic started by: mark smyth on November 27, 2008, 07:57:00 AM
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I'm planning to sow Pulsatillas this weekend. I know I'm late but they have been in the fridge. Do I remove the tails? Do I surface sow or bury them? Any other info would be great.
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Hi Mark,
I surface sow and then use a thin layer of grit simply to hold down the 'tails' ... I have experimented in the past by removing tails, by inserting the seed point down into the compost and even by scratching the seed coat. My conclusion, for what it is worth, is sow fresh and sow thin.
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Just taken a picture of my seedlings sown earlier this year.
[attach=1]
As you can see, tails left on, surface sown.
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If mine grow I'll share them with whoever. It's the black P. ?pratensis I'm sowing
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If I have a very few of something I nip off the tails but only because if the tails remain, they tend to work themselves through the grit and the seeds come to the surface and can blow away. Generally I sow then cover with about .25 to .5cm of grit then poke down any protruding tails. If the seed quality is good in the first place, just about every one will germinate.
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Does anyone still have that excellent little book issued by the AGS many years ago, called "The Rock Gardener's Bedside Book?" I do ( but now I'm looking for it I can't find it) and somewhere in that there's a nots about sowing seeds with tails or pappi (pappuses?). I remember it said that Celmisia seed should be sown with the pappus erect, i.e. the seed pushed vertically down into the compost surface. That is true. Such seed will germinate, those laid down sideways, won't. Doesn't seem to matter with pulsatillas but I usually sow a few in any batch of a special clematis with the tail erect, just in case.
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Thanks for the information.
This is the parent plant
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I remember it said that Celmisia seed should be sown with the pappus erect, i.e. the seed pushed vertically down into the compost surface. That is true. Such seed will germinate, those laid down sideways, won't.
Perhaps this explains my consistent failure to germinate Celmisia so far :-\
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Thanks for the information.
This is the parent plant
Mark, that's a stunner! I love "black" flowers.
cheers
fermi
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That pulsatilla pratensis bohemica is amazing Mark. I was woken up to the huge range of Pulsatillas a couple of weeks ago when Kit Gray-Wilson gave a talk to our local society...but I mustn't get started on them as well, or should I 8)
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Wow, Mark. What a colour. Like Fermi, I love black flowers as well. So many out there when you look for them, but can't say I've ever seen a Pulsatilla that is black before now. Great stuff!! 8)
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What everyone else said...beautiful plant. Good luck with the seed!
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Just my two cents worth:
Celmisia seed needs light to germinate and temps around 10-15 degrees. I sow mine covered in sieved grit. I think most NZ daisies are the same.
Usually the problem people have is not having filled seed, seed exchanges often get a lot of not so good seed. Celmisia often have only a few plants with good seed or they get attacked by bugs. Its easy enough to tell the difference as good seed are heavy. I find Celmisia seed from gardens is often pretty low viability. It also needs to be kept cool until its sown. I keep mine in the fridge until June or so then sow it and it germinates in the spring. Usually I have to thin out the seedlings though because I don't sow thinly enough.
If you sow them in the summer they wont germinate well either because its too hot and the resulting seedlings often are weak and get damping off. Maybe sowing them with papus up is a good idea but its not practical if you are sowing lots of seed. If they are just covered with grit then light will get through and they will germinate well. Sorry to be off topic :D
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Just looked at my seeds Mark and found that I have four seedlings appear overnight. Many thanks, how are yours doing?
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weeeeeellllllll, ::) I only sowed them today
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My pot failed but ...
I sowed seeds back in August 2009 and while weeding the pot today realised there are many seedlings up and have their first true leaf already. Do I have to give them good light now?
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Yes.
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here's a baby
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I'd be putting these into individual pots (90mm) at this stage, for the nursery.
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I have many Pulsatilla pratensis ssp bohemica seedlings coming back in to growth. I'm surprised how many have some up because their leaves were killed off by the hard frost and snow in November. Sadly more than half have died over winter.
What is the best mix to pot them on in to?
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I'm curious to hear the answer on Mark's question above, as I'm about to repot my one year old plants (P. patens)!!!
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I just use a fairly gritty mix - whatever the local garden centre has in the way of John Innes type with some flint chicken grit mixed in.
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Thanks Gail, I'll add more grit and reduce the sand.
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I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your P. patens flowering Hans....