I put my containers outside and I am afraid to look at them. A few nights ago we had very cold weather and some frost. The sweet shrubs took a direct hit and all the blooms are showing brown tips. They were loaded with new blooms. So sad, it makes me feel like crying. Here is a picture of one that survived the frost. It is #3 plant. It has no fragrance at all.

Well, my update was a little premature. I set the plant cups inside the greenhouse to protect them from the heavy rain. Did I mention that the greenhouse is one of those cheap plastic ones and I had only recently assembled it and did not yet tie it down/secure it from high winds? Yep, you guessed it. I went to the grocery store and the wind toppled the greenhouse and I was scraping the plants back into their little pots. Well, the good news from all this is that the plants seem to have very strong roots and the little plants look just fine. I'll go up-pot them now. Maybe tomorrow I will get to work on finishing the greenhouse project.

Still no germination on my first six seeds.

This morning I planted 6 seeds of the #2 that have been in the refrigerator since 1-29. I soaked them all night and tried to knick them this morning before planting them. Those are not easy to knick ! Not sure how much I really penetrated. Anyways they are in little cups sitting in the very warm sun. Hope these do better then the others.

Wahoo!! That's what I said earlier today. Yep, I did. One of my Michael Lindsey seeds has decided to germinate, yep. Also (not part of this experiment) one of my Athens seeds has germinated as well. Maybe these two types like the very hot weather? I'll keep you posted and take photos when they get a bit larger. Wahoo!

I have not totally failed in this experiment after all.

I decided to check on the Sweet Shrub seeds before leaving for church this morning and was SHOCKED to see that one of the #2 seeds I planted on 5-17-14 had germinated !!!!! This is in the group I did nick. The funny thing is this afternoon I checked again and a seed from the other Sweet Shrub seeds, Michael Lindsey, that I planted on 3-4-14 one had also germinated. These were not nicked. How strange that both from the different groups and different planting times showed today !!

It might have something to do with 'degree days'. The weatherman can explain what that means - I learned about it years ago when I took some classes about growing my own orchard fruit, but it's very confusing.

I just did a random search to find any old link related to degree days and seed germination - please don't expect me to read this stuff again, I never did quite grasp the concept. http://www.ipm.montana.edu/Tra...

Edited for spelling.

This is amazing. I now have seeds germinated in all three. More of the Michael Lindsey than any. Some of the plants are now 4 or 5 inches tall, while other seeds are just sprouting. Craziest thing I ever saw. I wonder what we do with all those new plants? Yikes. Now I have another problem no room in the GH so I guess I will plant them outside.

Good news JB. I have 4 plants growing. Two from the #2 pack of Michael Lindsey that I planted unknicked on 3-5-14 and 2 from the other #2's that were knicked and planted on 5-17-14.

Update on mines. (My own experiment)
These are the biggest of the bunch. I planted 4 each of the Athens and sweet shrub. In each group one died and didnt make it. So i have 3 of each.

Took a photo of the two largest plants from the experiment;
both are from Batch #2.


All the plants that germinated successfully have been removed from their original vermiculite and potted in a good soil mix.
They are growing in a protected area (protected from excessive sun and from energetic dogs.)
Each received a diluted dose of Miracle Grow.

For the slow pokes that are still in the 'modified winter sowing' containers, I check them once a day hoping for a sign of life.

They look great ! Mine are not that big yet but just so pleased that some finally germinated. I have never waited this long for a seed to germinate.

I must transplant mine but just now we are in the 90 deg. temps and it is so hot outside and humid it is all I can do to get the field work done in the morning and then I hide in the AC in the PM. I hope they survive this crap. I am not complaining, am thankful it is not snow. It just makes it difficult for an 85 almost 86 year old to be outside too long. The sun is so hot and although I do not burn, I just get darker, it makes me feel sweaty and my allergies go crazy.

Good news.
I had another Sweetshrub seed germinate.

Bad news.
I don't know which batch of seeds as it was one of the vermiculite cups that I had given up on and started using for lizard eggs.

(Two of the lizard eggs are swelling in size - a good sign that all is well - and the temperatures here give the eggs a good chance to hatch.)

I had to move my little seedlings into the greenhouse. They were burning up outside. I want to put them in individual containers when I have time. I think we all did good. I am amazed how long those seeds take to germinate, no wonder the plants are expensive.

I agree JB it does take a very long time to germinate. The heat seemed to help that along here, however. I have repotted two of the Sweet Shrub #2's into 4 in. pots. Only getting some morning sun but that might be too much.

I have 12 little baby seedlings growing in pots .....8 of them are #2 and 4 are Michael Lindsey. I am thrilled and without your help this could not have been accomplished. I think we did great and I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of you for all the time, effort, patience and help you gave me in making this happen. I only hope I can keep them alive. They are now in the GH with the other babies and seem to be happy. I just brought them in the other day when I noticed the sun was burning their leaves....they are now protected from the hot sun. Actually a note of interest here.......the sun is so hot it also burned the leaves on the three mother plants....it has been brutal. Never saw anything like it here in NJ.

I think we can close this thread now, but before we do let me say again , Thank you. I love you all and prayers for you and your families from this old lady.

Thanks, JB. This is a fun experiment.
I found the ideal spot in my yard for these babies; bright shade. And they are close to the water source so I am less likely to forget to water on time.

@Greene It is strange that the mother plants are all in full sun here at the farm and never get watered unless it rains. You have yours in the shade. Interesting....I will be happy to hear how they progress. I have no idea what to do with mine...12 more of these are a bit much...maybe they will be eBay bound after I give a few away.

One day I was moving a million plant pots around as I needed to do some work. I stuck all the extra potted plants along the 'shady' side of my mobile home - just to get them out of the way for a few days. Well, I got busy and forgot to move them back to their original locations; a new Pot Ghetto. And surprise, surprise - the plants were thriving.

When you sent the seeds for the experiment I decided to put the baby plants in the same sweet spot that made my other plants happy. The bright shade must be adequate because I have American Beautyberry, Fig, Mint, Mock Orange and quite a few assorted plants and all have flowered. Even one rosebush was happy there. There is a short time period when the mid- to late morning sun shines there, otherwise bright shade all day. The first photo is Sept 7, 2013, the second is Jul 9, 2014

You can see one of your sweet shrubs just to the right of the watering wand in the second photo.