Usually, for the best survival of a plant, or shrub (as in this case a shrub/bush), you would be better off starting the seeds indoors so that they get a good head start. Once they are growing indoors, and are then exposed to outdoors during the summer, you can either repot them (depending on he pot size), or plant direectly into an area outside in the lat fall, where they can go dorment as their big brothers do. Cover the soil around them with some dead leaves to act as a mulch. They should survive a winter and start to green up next year, provided they have survived. I have never started these from seeds, and they are not considered 'herbs', but expect they should grow in bushes in several years from now.

Thanks, I'll try that. They're in heavy duty 1 gallon pots.
The reason I put them outside is because that's what the package said to do. I almost started them inside, but went with the package info instead.

Abby

Phantom - I think I would have to disagree with ksrogers on this one. Both blackcurrant and elder are natives of places where they get a good cold Winter. They definitely need to be outside, not indoors. They are not quick growing annuals or biennials. They will germinate erratically to give themselves a greater chance of survival. The best bet is to sow the seed, leave it outside protected from animals eg mice and birds and forget about it for one or even two years. I sowed dog rose seed three years ago and new seedlings are still appearing now. If you actually want blackcurrants to eat I would suggest you get named varieties from a fruit supplier. If you just want them for wildlife be patient. By the way blackcurrants are incredibly easy to grow from cuttings. Just stick some twigs in the ground and they will grow and you will have the advantage of knowing what sort of plant you will get from them, unlike seed.

flora,
I'll be sure to take some cuttings from mine when (and if...lol) they get big enough. Currants and elderberries don't grow around here (East TN) so it looks like I'll hafta wait awhile to get my cuttings. :)

Abby

I wasn't trying to say that they would do better indoors. I was trying to say they would have a better chance at GERMINATIING the seeds indoors under warm conditions, as opposed to planting outside and hoping one will sprout. I don't know of anywhere that elderberries or currents easily spread and self sow their seeds. If they did, these would be covering whole states. Even my asparagus plants drop thousands of seeds in the fall, and are encased in small pea sized pods. In all these years, I have only seen maybe 2 or 3 new asparagus plants that have very thin shoots sprouting nearby my patch. On the other hand, my wild onions are showing up many yards away from the small patch I keep them contain in. Raspberries too, send off runners, and could overtake my whole back yard if I let them sprout everywhere. I am only trying to say that a seed has a better chance to germinate and sprout in a controlled environment.

I seem to recall reading someplace that elderberry seeds are best for germination when the seed is fresh and not dried out. Other plants that have better germination with fresh seed such as ginseng and jack-in-the-pulpit have delayed germination times for any seed that got too dry. It canbe delayed a year with these plants. I'd let the unsprouted seeds sit a bit longer....probably until next year this time.

And winter-sowing is a terrific way to get any native perennials to germinate. The warm-cold-warm cycle breaks the seed's dormancy. Check out the Natives forum for many threads that mention plants that need this sort of treatment.

FataMorgana

The elderberry seeds came in a moist medium. 3 seeds had already sprouted when the package arrived, unfortunately those sprouts didn't survive transplanting. The rest of the seeds came dry. I'm also having trouble getting those to sprout. I have Shining Angelica, Baical Skullcap, and Bilberry seeds that don't seem to be coming up. I'll give them a couple more weeks before recycling the dirt and pots they're in.

Abby

The same applies to bilberry as to blackcurrant and elderberry. All three actually require a period of cold before they will germinate. Hence trying to grow them from seed indoors is unlikely to be succesful. I tried to emphasise that these plants can take a long time to germinate and that you will need to be patient. If you Google the name of each shrub and 'stratification' you will find information on the time and the temperature required to break their dormancy. FataMorgana explains this above. Regarding the statement 'I don't know of anywhere that elderberries or currents easily spread and self sow their seeds. If they did, these would be covering whole states' Both these plants will spread by self seeding in their native habitats but they do not 'cover' whole areas because they live in balance with all the other natives around them. If you grow blackcurrants you will soon find seedlings beginning to appear under the bushes and if there are elders around they will start popping up too wherever birds perch. Phantom - as a general rule shrubs take much longer to germinate then annuals and perennials. So, I repeat, please don't give up on your seeds yet.

I'm with flora_uk, be patient. You paid money for the seeds. Allow the pots to sit all summer, keep them from baking totally dry, and check next spring to see if you have some germination on items that didn't come up this spring. You can recycle your soil next spring if desired.

As far as self-seeding, there are many plants that have built in delays for germination. For example, I have a couple of mature hawthorns, they are very productive with regards to fruit and so seed. With all the fruit drop, if all sprouted I would have been overrun by hawthorn years ago. But the hawthorn has inhibitors on its seed germination too. It can take them up to 2 years to sprout from seed - which they do. Check out the Plants for a Future document I linked below on hawthorns. It will give you an idea of what flora_uk and I are talking about with regards to the seed going through a winter and the patience that may need to be required. Enjoy the document.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: PFAF - Hawthorn Culture

Thanks for the info everyone! Now, does anyone know of a site where I can find pictures of seedlings from the herbs/berries I planted? I would hate to accidentally pull up a Shining Angelica sprout after mistaking it for a weed. The seeds are planted in composted animal manure from a local stockyard so weed seeds are present in the mix.

Abby

If you want some elderberries that self-seeded come to my yard in West Tennessee and take all you want! Or better yet, take the ones from my neighbor's yard that spread into mine!

I don't recall any sites with pictures of herb seedlings but there are many sites with weed seedling pictures. Google or back posts here can probably get you those sources. If in doubt, wait until it becomes clear what it is. If it is a weed, it can always be pulled later. Good luck!

FataMorgana