Woofie, I'm thinking like you. I did try too gal. size pots to root, one didn't take but I think the other is still living. I water them every day or every other day and the one that has made it I am keeping in the shade.. I want to try taking some cutting from my favorite azalea bush sometime. I had intended to get out early this morning and put down some mulch before it got too hot but you know what, I'm walking away from that and are going shopping and hope all the traffic lights are back working where I'm going. Need a change of scenery!

I don't have a whole lot of luck with cuttings, but I think that's mostly because I don't have a good place to put them while they're rooting. I'm going to try some on my new shelves on the back side of the woodshed. It gets a bit of morning sun, but stays shady most of the time. Heh heh, and they'll be visible so I don't forget about them.

Oh, and Steph, if you want some poppy seeds to try, just let me know. Mine have been sitting around for a while, but I have LOTS!

i also didn't know this about snapdragons. i'll try it sometimes. those plants will sometimes live here for years. i found out you can do toad lilies by cuttings as well.

i am going to try and do cuttings on a peach tree i have. anyone had luck with rooting fruit trees?

Toad Lilies also? Oh my gosh. I need to get busy, didn't know that one could be done from cuttings.

they root right up in water.

In water? I've got to get busy.

Woofie have you tried putting polymer gels in the pots with cuttings?.. helps keep them moist and will collect any extra water .. less of a chance of rotting.. I always see them as a win win with cuttings

Oooh, hadn't thought of doing that. Good idea! I'm going to try that.

Toad lilies will root from cuttings? Wow, I want to try this. I only have one fairly large clump but would love to spread them around!

they do teresa. as easy as ivy.

I was so happy to hear this. Now if my one and only plant will come back this spring I will try doing the cuttings.

T & M seed sale $5 off $40
This Email Offer Expires February 8, 2013.
Offer Keycode: 2406641

Hear ye, hear ye...y'all have an invitation to a seed exchange:

Come trade in your last year's leftover for new seeds!

http://cubits.org/ellasgarden/...

Evelyn

DavidLMO brought up Dr. Deno's book and supplements about germination requriements for difficult seeds:

SEED GERMINATION THEORY AND PRACTICE
Norman C. Deno, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/down...

AgSpace said these would be permanent links for downloading Dr. Deno's works:

Persistent URLs for Dr. Deno's book "Seed Germination, Theory And Practice" and supplements:
http://hdl.handle.net/10113/41... (1993)
http://hdl.handle.net/10113/41... (1996)
http://hdl.handle.net/10113/41... (1998)

-

Thank you Anne / Xeramtheum, for this link:

>> I use the Thompson & Morgan Seed Germination Database - it's rather old and out of print but still very useful as well as a bit easier to use.
http://www.backyardgardener.co...

It's great that we can DOWNLOAD the old T&M database. I did that and highlighted and bolded some rows. It is great that it is searchable, and has a great list of many different dormancy-breaking methods. Just in case Backyard Gardener ever drops or moves the T&M list, here's another link to it:
http://www.virtualseeds.com/Ge...

Shadegardener / Cindy mentioned Tom Clothier, a site with lots of gardening info including detailed germination instructions for many species:
http://tomclothier.hort.net/

-

Thanks to Leftwood / Rick R.:

>> Tom Clothier has "A Taxonomic Index to the works of Norman C. Deno" here:
http://tomclothier.hort.net/pa...

Thanks, Rick, for updating this. I've read through the thread and will check out some of these sites during long winter
evenings. Before I start winter-sowing, that is!

Angie, if wintersowing works well for you, you can feel superior to all those texts about complex stratification schemes.

4-6 weeks below 40 F in the SURFACE of moist peaty medium followed by
3-4 weeks at 70 F
repeat the cycle 2-3 times
add GA-3 Gibberish Acid
dance naked under the full Moon to drums
water seeds lightly with champagne
...

Or, just wintersow them.

Rick - thanks for expanding the sticky! Now I don't have to roam all over looking for them on my own.

Water with champagne? Are you nuts? I'll be drinking that while dancing naked under a full moon to a drumbeat!
I'll water mine with beer, which I don't drink! Bwaa-ha-ha!

Yes; winter-sowing works very well for me here in zone 7 and I've even made a few converts. All my tomatoes are
grown this way after my initial disbelief, then trial. Yes; it works much better than trying to start them indoors,
hardening them off (even if they get to that point and don't collapse from legginess) and all that involves. I'm a
total believer.

I admit, the choice between beer and champagne is a hard one. Both attract slugs ...

So you even manage the "spring-wintersowwing" method! Do you store them in full shade, or move them on sunny days, or open the lids frequently, or ... ?

Also, and I know this is hard to answer, but ...

Does your icy-cold-Winter transition into fairly-warm-Spring relatively quickly?

I have much of January through April cycling among above-or-below-freezing, pretty warm spells, rain and heavy cloud cover, and bright sunny days. For multiple months, my jugs might be either frozen or too hot or cycling between those daily or weekly. "Warm spells" followed by "cool spells" are pretty much what we have all Winter and Spring.

Besides, snow doesn't last long enough here to insulate anything.

I would only try WS again to handle a fussy dormant perennial with slow and irregular germination, but then I love starting seeds in trays indoors. Well, I guess I WOULD try it again because I have such limited light-shelf-space.