I have found leaving my seedlings on the germination mat for a few days is ok. As for what percentage of germination I am looking for?.....no hard number here. I usually plant more seeds than the number of seedlings I desire, so when I see a flush of seedlings appear I pull them off of the heat bed. Guess you will only know what # will satisfy you:)

3 days is fast, 5 days is the average for me. I sow them in little 3oz plastic cups, 5-6 seed each, and then move each cup individually as soon as anything sprouts. I think moving them has a lot to do with what kind of change in temps they will get.

I sowed 6 different types this year and got very different germination rates from the various kinds. Mostly 85-95 % but one type, "Ultra Burgundy" was a dismal failure, very few germinated and what did are very weak looking compared to the others. It may have been seed quality.
I have close to 200 little petunias going now - not quite sure what I will do with them all!

Thanks folks for your input! This is day five & I'm seeing about 50% germination....... Will more germinate once they are removed from the heat mats? The packet said 5-10 days for germination, but of course that would depend on conditions...... These seeds have been maintained around 75F, covered,under lights....... in my (high tech LOL) prop chamber.

{{gwi:3197}}

Yes they can, and probably will continue to germinate out of the chamber and under lights.

Thanks for that mandolls! That's been my (limited) experience with other annuals, but I wasn't sure about Pets.....

I grow my petunias in my greenhouse with no heat mat. With temperatures that dip down at night and get hot during sunny days and I always get good germination. I know they say they need bottom heat but I go with what works for me and has worked for many years.

In mixed colors the different colors tend to germinate at different times. They say the nicest colors are usually the last to germinate. Yes there will certainly be more to germinate once you remove them from the mat. Even in all one color they never germinate all at the same time.

Thanks dowlinggram for chimimg in! If you're getting good results with just the greenhouse, there's no need to fix what aint broke!

I'm waiting for this crazy Kansas weather to settle down so I can start constructing my hobby greenhouse....... Hopefully it will enhance my existing seed starting operation that's housed in my heated shop. I also use low tunnels & some say I really don't need the GH, but I'm sure I'll find uses for it!

since you admit to being a noob ...

do you know how to harden them off.. when you switch from a heated shed with a plant oven.. to the greenhouse???

perhaps a new post????

ken

Hi Ken! Yeah I'm guessing you'd harden them off in the same/similar fashion as other transplants started indoors........ Is there anything different about hardening off pets? Anything I should know?