Ive been wanting to show off a bit (sorry ) but specially since i succesfully germinated 6 canna lily seeds this summer, finally, and now are well off on their way to becomimg their own eye-catching, tropical beauties.

and these are the last 3. Picture was taken today. =D

Good job,

That's great!!!!!!!!!
I like to do that with Hedychiums I will let some of my faves develop seed heads after they bloom and plant then in out of the way places around the ponderosa.

Thanks!
I was looking into ginger.... Maybe next year.

Is Elkhart Elkhart Indiana?

Gina1960 said:Is Elkhart Elkhart Indiana?

Yes

What a nail-biting, never-ending anxiety adventure, wondering whether they would live or die...
Now i can breath peacefully knowing that i succeeded in my little self project. These are my rewards and couldnt be more proud of it.

Congratulations, you should be proud.

I grew cannas from seed. The seeds are hard to start. Nicking the seeds and/or soaking in milk hydrogen peroxide helps.

i read that soaking them in very hot water (even boiling) about 140F helps to jump start them. it was a reliable source of info. also read reports that after that some sprouted within a week.
but that may be when they are very fresh..very little info on the subject.
i actually picked up and misplaced a dozen seeds a year ago..and just found them a week ago.
can they still be good? since i have nothing to loose, i soaked them in boiling water: no swelling of seeds after 24 hours.
just now filed off a bit of skin and soaked 4 seeds again. do they visibly swell after soaking?
anybody heard about very hot water soaking?
when i was starting cycad seeds they recommended to soak first in water+peroxide for 24 hours, then in OJ for 24 hours. and they did sprout after a few months (for cycads it can be 9 mo usually). How long the wait for canna indica var patens? should i put them on heat mat or just sunny window?

Well, all my seeds are sprouting already. I did a control batch: filed and then poured boiling water on them 2nd time. The others i filed and then poured very hot water on them, but not boiling. They are also sprouting. They are all still soaking in water. I read that it's best to keep them flooded for a week or so.

Once I had 1/8" roots I transferred all into flooded perlite about 1/2" deep (perlite saturated with water), covered with Saran Wrap to keep them very moist.
Yesterday I discovered 2 tiny green tips (leaves) on 2 in the 2nd batch (2nd pouring of very hot water, but touchable).
So.. 2 weeks . I am wondering that nobody commented.
Since several people mentioned that seeds are hard to sprout I thought there would be more interest?..

Thanks for posting the above skylark. I have some seeds from last year that I'm going to try to grow - I will have to wait til it gets a bit warmer here as I don't have a greenhouse or room in my house..

Have something to report:
4 sprouts on the batch that had 2nd hot but not boiling water soak.

The ones that had 2 boiling water soaks: only 1 tiny sprout visible. So prolly twice is too much.. may be it did damage them , though they did all sprout roots.
Not bad for 1year old seeds?

I feel that boiling water on any new growth would be damaging.

The boiling water was on seeds with very tough coats, not new growth: 100% germination and the roots are all developing.
I'll post the link for temps on tropicals. And they did all sprout in 1 week, while other people wait for months.

skylark said:So.. 2 weeks . I am wondering that nobody commented.
Since several people mentioned that seeds are hard to sprout I thought there would be more interest?..

Hi Skylark! personally, I think its awesome that some people are able to "crack that shell". you're story is very interesting. I would have thought even with the shell still sealed, boiling water would cook it from the inside but hey!
I actually didn't do anything the internet recommended and my experiment was successful. My problem is once they are inside for the winter . . . they die.
BTW

love your canna babies

If they have grown enough, they should've formed a rhizome. Then you can resprout them in spring.
Are they dormant now? Do you still have some leaves?