SSGardener - Would make sense to keep the pots off of soil/grass/dirt. I'd be afraid of the roots to crawl through the holes in the pots & down into the dirt/soil/grass. Disturbed roots = bad.

I could be 100% wrong though. But that is just what I think (thinking is NOT my strong suit though).

No, no, she means to keep the plastic on the top of the pots off of the soil where the seeds are! So the seeds have room to grow up.

oooh... ok, uh, duh?

Yep, that's what I meant. Sorry I wasn't clear.

If you cover nursery pots with a tarp, pull it tight and secure it well to keep it off the soil surface. Rain and snow can crush it down and your seeds stick to the tarp, or after germination, the seedlings are squished. One of the many things I like about milk jugs- a nice, secure rigid roof which doesn't collapse. And headroom for seedlings.

Karen

Skiekitty said:Huh. Rats. Too late for me to WS maybe next year then.

Year ago while gardening in Massachusetts, I grew them from seeds. They were the blue varieties. They sprouted fine. Since then I have learned that they need stratification (moist cold) for best germiation. It is not too late. This is January and we still have many freezing weather ahead. Sow them in a flat and leave outside on a north side or in a unheated garage. When the weather warms they will sprout. Then give them light.

Most hardy perennial do best when stratified. Meaning below freezing weather as nature intended.

Like Tabby, I've sprouted delphinium seeds indoors under lights. Commercial seeds germinated pretty well for me without stratification - say around 50% germination.

But then I would kill them with damping off by overwatering commercial, peaty soil mix (Jiffy-Mix). The stems turned very soft right at soil level, and the seedlings fell over and died. Fungus causes this, and it can happen even with soil mixes that were sterile when purchased - spores can blow onto a tray.

I solved that by watering less and using a faster-draining soil mix despite the advice on the Botanical Interests seed packet. (I add medium-coarse screened pine bark shreds.) A fan will also help the soil surface to dry out faster.

Then I would put young plants with 1-2 pairs of leaves out on the porch for hardening-off, and slugs would mow them down right to the soil level. Eventually I learned how to reduce the slug population, at least neat my seedling trays.

I finally got ONE adult to survive in the gorund, with a lot of slug-holes its very first year.

Last year it was 5-6 feet tall, bloomed and seeded beautifully. Want some seeds from just one plant?

Delphinium elatum 'Pacific Giant' from Botanical Interests
blooms are pale blue with light purple edges
OP heirloom Perennial, short-lived Perennial in Zone 2, 4 years in Zone 7 & warmer
needs stakes

Here was BI's germination advice:
heat causes dormancy
stratify 2 weeks
sow 1/4" deep in peaty soil - needs dark,
optimum germination at 50-55º F or 71-75ºF (two different sources)
emerge 14-28 days
slow & irregular germination

are most that short lived?

No, my Pacific Giants lived several decades until the voles moved in and destroyed them. They were gorgeous and six feet tall.

thank you!

>> are most that short lived?

I'm glad to hear that they last ages in Zone 5. I was just quoting from what I read about them.

So far, my oldest (and first) have lived through two winters....

....we'll have to see about last year's seedlings, come spring. If they do make it, I sure hope that they get taller - I planted them behind some other stuff.

thank you karen for clearing up the "sterile" potting soil situation. finally i get it.

i have never sterilized soil mainly because i worked in the o.r. and i know FIRST that nothing is really sterile. well maybe surgical instruments that were gassed or radiated. but even the hospital sterilizers just kill a certain portion of bacteria. so it made no sense to me to try and kill bacteria from the soil. but again you are only trying to minimize bacteria count WHEN INSIDE because if it was outside all the elements would take care of most problems. was i right? do i get it?

Right, mamajack. You got it. Though potting mix might be sterilized before it's packaged, once the package is open to air it's no longer sterile. Airborne pathogens get in. So baking or nuking the soil, as well as sanitizing containers and equipment, is necessary to kill pathogens. Otherwise, that nice, damp, warm soil in the house can grow from a few fungal cells and cause damp-off. Outside, with sunshine, wind, fresh air, damp-off has never been an issue for me. I've wintersown for 7 years now, never sterilized anything, and never seen damp-off.

But I do sterilize everything for indoor seeds- soil, containers, utensils, everything.

Karen

you know, it sounds more like a pain in the patookie to try & grow them from seed than to just purchase plants. What can I say, I'm lazy. LOLLLLLL

You have to be a glutton for punishment to enjoy sowing seeds indoors! Green houses are NOT for the faint of heart!

Where's your sense of adventure? Desire for satisfaction in success?

I wintersow most things, but I do start a few heat-loving seeds inside too.

And, you can grow dozens of plants from seeds harvested from your own garden, or traded, or that you paid a dollar or two for. Compare that to the cost of buying dozens of perennials... plenty of motivation in that for me!

And honestly, for me, that's a big part of what I love about gardening. Starting from a tiny seed, growing a beautiful plant, and someday it finds it's way back to the compost to be returned to the earth. The circle of life, and I make it happen.

Karen

Karen - I do saltwater aquariums about 2000miles from the nearest ocean and have about 400 roses in zone 5. That's pretty adventurous. I also used to breed canaries with a house full of cats. Doesn't get any more adventurous than that. :D :D :D

I *did* try growing things from seeds once. Did the jiffy pot w/starter soil, bought tons of seeds, planted them all per instructions on a windy March day so they'd be ready for May.. and then had to keep them in their aquarium for an extra month because on Mothers day we got about 4" of snow & the temps wouldn't get above 30 for a week. Lost almost every single plant that had sprouted (except the orange cosmos.. they actually flowered IN the aquarium these teensy little dime-sized flowers!) and had about a 25% germination rate. But I was able to grow some kind of fungus REAL easy.

Skiekitty said:Karen - I do saltwater aquariums about 2000miles from the nearest ocean and have about 400 roses in zone 5. That's pretty adventurous. I also used to breed canaries with a house full of cats. Doesn't get any more adventurous than that. :D :D :D

Yup, that's pretty adventurous! We raise goats, but have big, predatory dogs (a wolf and two malamutes)...and cats that have enough sense MOST of the time to stay away from the dogs ....and then, trying to have a garden AND goats is pretty challenging, too.....AND I'm also *trying* to grow roses in zone 5. Isn't this fun? What the heck, what's one more challenge? C'mon, starting seeds in January in zone 5 is LOTS of fun!

We all pick our battles!

Karen

...and look how cute they are...