Every time I go to a nursery, or even Lowes or Home Depot, I look at the big plants in pots and lust after them.
But I'm still optimistic enough to think that I will eventually learn how to start almost anything from seed, if I just keep trying.
But my advice to novice gardeners learning to start seeds indoors (or outdoors):
start with something really easy, like annual flowers or vegetables. Let that build up your confidence and mastery of mysteries like "moist but not soggy" and "enough light".
And one that's still tough for me: "pot up before they're too root-bound".
Another tip for novices:
"startification" is not a mis-spelling of "startification", and it is not just a fancy name for "start-ify-ing" seeds.
It's actually a technical term for starting certain perennial seeds that delight in frustrating us by going "dormant" after some time in storage. A higher percentage may germinate, faster, if "woken up" by time spent moist and cold, as if laying in the ground through winter.
Look up "winter sowing" or start with something easier! (Or try starting them anyway, ignoring the need to "stratify", because you will probably get SOME germination anyway, especialy with very fresh seeds
