No, I would sow them in a mix such as cocnut coir and perlite or cactus mix with added perlite.
I do not believe that the gritty mix would be a good choice for seed starting.
Rick

Thank you Rcharles and Happy new year to you.
Dottie

Hi Dottie, I agree with Rick as seeds need to be kept rather moist to get them to sprout and also during their early stages.....so don't let them dry out.

Happy New Year from the UK.

Gill UK

Thank you Gill. I so enjoy growing my Adeniums but I have never tried growing from seed so I ordered some from Ko and then I got very nervous that I might kill them but to start the new year off I am going to plant them up today. Happy New Year from Palm Springs, Ca.
Dottie

I also agree with Rick and Gill. ( HI GIll! ) Happy New Year!!

My seeds are started in more of a peat based mix and then I will repot them Into gritty mix after several months.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Laura

Thanks for asking this question Dottie. I was thinking of using the gritty mix for seeds. Glad I read this before I started. Lol!!!

Mark

Thanks Laura, everyone is soooo helpful and I appreciate all the advise I can get.
Mark, I planted up my seeds today and now have them under plant lights....it has been getting cold here so I don't want to put them outside (in the lower 40's) and I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Dottie

I agree, I planted seeds in gritty mix fines once and had a dismal germination rate, but I think I've heard of someone having done it ok. I also think I did not water them and keep the mix moist enough when I did it. As a newbie, the germination rate I had in peat and also in coir was near perfect :)

-Heather

Hi Laura, Happy New Year to you also!!

I have always soaked my seeds for a couple of hours in warm water before sowing to plump them up a little, but it depends on how fresh the seeds are. As long as the soil is moist continually, but not saturated/waterlogged, they should do well if you have already sown but not soaked previously

I have had them show above soil in as little as 59 hours after sowing!! They CAN be very quick so keep a close eye on them especially if you have them in a warm/dark place to germinate as they can catch you unawares and will grow tall and thin rapidly. My last lot I germinated in coir pellets then transplanted into individual finer gritty mix pots. My older DR's are in a larger particle gritty mix.

Gill UK

Hi Daniel. !

Great post!

You are more than right about starting in gritty , but if your not familiar with it and how far to plant and what and where to place on top it can be complicated for some.

I have done it too using Turface fines on top of gritty. It can be done and I thank you for the great info.

When you become comfortable with any type of mix it will be easy. I agree that seeds can be sowed in a lot of mixes. Happy to hear that you had great germination rates . You do have to watch them a little more in the Turface fines and keep them moist .

Thank you!

Happy New Year!

Laura

This is an old post, but thought it would be of interest to the New
growers. It is very informative for a novice. BloomnBill

@rooftopbklyn do you break up the turface into a powder and mix it in with the peat, or are there just big turface globes in with the peat mush?

I have started Arabicum black pearl seeds in gritty mix with soil on top. The first seed started to germinate on the fifth day.

Danny,

I use fines left over after screening turface over a 1/12" screen (finest screen i have thats easy to use), so its fairly powdery turface that gets mixed with the peat.

Recently I germinated a few seeds using chopped up long fibered sphagnum moss as the top dressing on top of seeds lying on gritty mix - the stuff used for orchids - instead of the turface peat mix, it works well too.

As Laura said above, you do need to make sure you keep it moist on top - some kind of dome or bag for humidity helps a lot.

But nothing wrong with regular seed starting mix either. It might be easier. Clearly lots of media can work. Bottom heat + some kind of dome or bag are probably the best ways to increase germination success with any kind of media.

Daniel

@shh0051 Thanks! I think I'll try that but I don't have any non-als-gritty-mix growing medium on hand so thinking I'll get some "Hoffman 30103 Seed Starter Soil" for the top thin layer, unless someone feels somewhat strongly about using something else :-)

The above mentioned product includes "Good earth" Canadian sphagnum peat moss, horticulture vermiculite, limestone, wetting agent, and two other things.

I've had my best germination rate in one part cactus mix to one part perlite. I've also gone a little heavier on the perlite and that didn't seem to bother it.

i found out that seedlings growing slow in gritty mix