Has anyone tried starting 4 oclocks inside from seed? I usually bring in a few containers every fall that I want to save till the next year, mostly geraniums (really pels) but because I am truly horrible with houseplants, by this time of year they have been really neglected and have died back bunches. So I end up trimming them way back and then reviving them. But because they always die back so bad from my neglect, I end up with lots of extra space in my pots. Was wondering if I could sow some 4 oclocks in them and how they would do??? I have tried growing them from seed outside several times, and have had no luck with them, and have some seed left from a couple of years ago, so thought I would give it a try. Any suggestions?

Nicking and soaking the seeds might help. When I grew them I wintersowed them so they didn't need the nick/soak routine.

But I've never done them in the house.

Karen

The seeds have been stored in my fridge, but never thought about nicking and soaking them. Could do a couple of them both ways and see what works, if any

I start them inside every year.. they grow really quick so don't do them too soon.. I soak them in peroxide before sowing.. the one thing I figured out.. I started them in cow pots and once the tuber started forming it seemed to be too confined and slowed growth down once in the ground.. so I am not doing that anymore.. guess it's a good one to keep potting up until they are in the ground

How big do the tubers get when mature?

I grow them every year from seeds, too, but only realized this past year that they formed tubers! Not sure how big the tubers themselves get, but they don't seem to like growing in pots, unless the pots are pretty big. My mom grew 4 O'clocks year round in SoCal and they got to be around 4 feet tall there! Mine have done best in planters we built that were about 18" deep and roughly 20" x 40."
I always soak the seeds, but haven't needed to nick them.
And I agree with Allison, they do better when you keep potting them up.

kind of like a dahlia .. I have not stored them so I am not sure how large they will get over time.. but here is a good page with photos

http://cheeseheadgarden.blogsp...

Oh, that is interesting! 'Course, I haven't had much luck storing dahlias either, but if I can get my hands on some of those variegated 4 O'Clocks, I may give it a try!

I tried to WS seeds in cow pots... big mistake.. they sulked .. had no problems when I was using a milk jug and transplanting them direct.. cow pots or a coir pot is not the way to go with these.. guess they need to spread out

Now, that's funny. I started them in those little 4-cell nursery packs and just kept transplanting them up into larger containers and they all did just fine! But I did notice that you had to be really prompt about potting them up or they'd get kind of stunted. I ended up with more than I needed and left some in coffee cans in the shade. Oddly enough, the ones in the coffee cans in the shade did ok, but the ones in larger pots in the sun didn't do well at all. So maybe the moral of that story is that if you want to keep them in pots, put them in a cooler shaded area?

the first two years I did them they did fantastic.. tried to get fancy and messed em up

2005

Have you grown the "marble" ones? Only recently saw pics of them and I WANT them!

no I haven't.. broken colors are the ones at the bottom of the photo.. but those do look nice

I think my seeds are for just plain old white I love all the fancy ones, but since I haven't had too much luck with them before, thought I'd stick with the inexpensive ones before I experimented with all the pretty variegated and marbled ones

Ha! I had to hunt to find white ones!

Well, isn't that always just the way it is, Woofie, if I can get them to grow and set seed, I'll save some for you!

I got yellow ones, too. Gonna try those this year.

I got tubers once at the New England flower show and they did wonderful... last year I planted them from seeds (direct sow) and it took forever to bloom and some did not bloom at all ... this year I started some indoors to see if I get a good start... I am taking a chance and started them in 3in plastic pots (since I seem to have gazilions of them in my shed??? where did they came from????)

Anyway I just read an article on a old Garden Gate magazine about pre-sprouting seeds using a wet paper towel - according to the article you plant each individual seed as they sprout. They should be placed on a wet paper towel, roll them up, place in a plastic bag away from light - should check daily, wet paper towel if is dry, plant the ones that are sprouted right away and wait until they all germinate...

good for beet, carrots, cukes, squash, cardinal creeper, foxglove, hyacnith beans, lupine, spanish flag and other climber annuals... I wonder if that would work for 4 oclocks...

The paper towel methods works great, especially if you have limited space and seeds you're not sure of. I use it for starting morning glories all the time. I grow 4 o'clocks every year, too, from seed. I start them early indoors and transplant them up as needed. They'll outgrow those 3" pots in no time! My experience has been that you'll have better luck getting them to bloom if you keep moving them up into larger containers till it's time to set them out.

yes they will outgrow them fast