hi all, I have collected seeds from wallflowers, delphiniums, lupine, foxgloves and alliums, I put them all in brown envelopes and labelled, how should I now proceed with each? Which are best sown fresh ( ish !) and which dry? Thanks in advance
All seeds are best sown fresh, even if it means overwintering the baby plants. I regularly sow seeds June/July time and over winter the young plants in cold frames. Some I plant out in Autumn, if they're big enough, others I plant in spring/ early summer. All the above can be sown now, even some failures won't matter, they were free in the first place.
Delphiniums: I had good success with delphinium germination this time last year by putting the seeds into a self-seal poly bag and chilling them in the fridge for two weeks, then sowing. You could try this method with a few seeds and the regular sowing method as Dave mentions above for the rest of the delphiniums to see which works best for you. Don't delay sowing and be prepared to wait up to 3 months for successful germination under ideal conditions . If they don't germinate then don't give up on them as they will probably need an extra spell of cold weather to break their dormancy.
Alliums: If they are large alliums like purple sensation, then it might take ~5 years to grow enough to produce a flower head - I don't bother doing this as it's much easier and fairly cheap to buy large bulbs to start off with!
Rose mummy, have you left them on the plants until the pods go black?
when you say ....fresh or dry ......I wonder if you may have picked too early as none of mine especially delphiniums are black yet. The wallflowers are no where near turning.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Not worth keeping. They won't be fully developed as seeds and would never germinate. They will just rot. Are there any left on the plants to have another go later?
I am so sorry to have said that, but just put it down to a learning curve and now you know, I am sure you can find more seeds and they will germinate for lovely plants next year. x.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
hahaha Bob you must know me... I am terrible at labelling and often have no idea what things are when they pop up in the garden! although yesterday I did sow a tray of bought seeds ( stocks and delphiniums)..and labelled them! Nut I pulled all the wallflowers up, I did collect a few from lupins that were brown and very dry looking, and I have loads left on delphiniums and mathiola incana (different from the brompton stock seeds I bought)
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All seeds are best sown fresh, even if it means overwintering the baby plants. I regularly sow seeds June/July time and over winter the young plants in cold frames. Some I plant out in Autumn, if they're big enough, others I plant in spring/ early summer. All the above can be sown now, even some failures won't matter, they were free in the first place.
Delphiniums: I had good success with delphinium germination this time last year by putting the seeds into a self-seal poly bag and chilling them in the fridge for two weeks, then sowing. You could try this method with a few seeds and the regular sowing method as Dave mentions above for the rest of the delphiniums to see which works best for you. Don't delay sowing and be prepared to wait up to 3 months for successful germination under ideal conditions . If they don't germinate then don't give up on them as they will probably need an extra spell of cold weather to break their dormancy.
Alliums: If they are large alliums like purple sensation, then it might take ~5 years to grow enough to produce a flower head - I don't bother doing this as it's much easier and fairly cheap to buy large bulbs to start off with!
Regards Paul.
thanks both allium is uniflorum
Rose mummy, have you left them on the plants until the pods go black?
when you say ....fresh or dry ......I wonder if you may have picked too early as none of mine especially delphiniums are black yet. The wallflowers are no where near turning.
oh dear, no they were all green, I rush in like a bull in a china shop when I get a minute or I'll miss the boat
Not worth keeping. They won't be fully developed as seeds and would never germinate. They will just rot. Are there any left on the plants to have another go later?
In the sticks near Peterborough
I am so sorry to have said that, but just put it down to a learning curve and now you know, I am sure you can find more seeds and they will germinate for lovely plants next year. x.
don't be sorry like yyou both say, learning curve, just snatch any minute i can and have a go..like now!!oops being called!!
And don't forget to label the trays & pots rosemummy or we'll be seeing 'please identify these seedlings' messages from you next spring.
hahaha Bob you must know me... I am terrible at labelling and often have no idea what things are when they pop up in the garden! although yesterday I did sow a tray of bought seeds ( stocks and delphiniums)..and labelled them! Nut I pulled all the wallflowers up, I did collect a few from lupins that were brown and very dry looking, and I have loads left on delphiniums and mathiola incana (different from the brompton stock seeds I bought)