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Gemination Problem

I sowed these EC seeds 9 days ago and not one has sprouted yet. Am I doing something wrong, this is my set up. It's been hitting the hundreds this week, but the nights drop to 60's. Could that be my problem?

Comments (53)

  • 9 years ago

    Ryan,

    Keep Temperatures around 85F - 90F. There seems to an awful lot of condensation in your container. The excess moisture without air exchange will cause rotting and also temperatures inside the container will rise much higher than what the outside temperatures are. They seed tray does not need to be in sun, best if not. They just require the warmth in the soil and lots of good light once they have germinated.

    Rick

  • 9 years ago

    Check for weevils I bought seed of him in got 5 out of 50 dug the seeds up they were full of weevils I contacted him he replaced them no problem im going to germinate my next batch in cotton to keep a tab on them if it happens again. Just dig a seed up if it looks like growing put it back you will not hurt it if it's squishy cut it open to inspect for bug's

  • 9 years ago

    Peter great advice I'm going to do that now

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry my camera isn't that good. But this seed has black spots. Most of the seeds I found was hard and fly out of the husk once I squeed it. I didn't find any growth ;(. Also didn't find any bugs. I checked 10 seeds

  • 9 years ago

    I bought mine from Comsan too, kinda suck! I've heard real good things from him. I will make sure and check the seeds myself too

  • 9 years ago

    I had 0% germination on KHZ and only 3 germinate on emerald crown.

  • 9 years ago

    Wow really, did you use a heating mat? What is your set up like

  • 9 years ago

    No, I use I use a misting system and auto timer. I know it wasn't my setup since I've had nearly 90-100% germination on all my other seed

  • 9 years ago

    Ok awesome so it might not be me

  • 9 years ago

    Try the cotton wool method he has on FB I have read they are not ezy to get to germinate sue from Mackay had good results. I had little maggot looking things with sharp heads Comsan said to spray them before they ate the rest I had around 200 seeds sown I was packing it is thought I would loose the lot ,so I dug up all my DHA seeds picked the good seeds out dropped infested seeds into poison the bugs were everywhere I'm waiting for my replacement seeds now he is really good to deal with contact him he may replace them.put the seeds into moist cotton wool put it on your hot water system. I bought a heat pad off Ebay they are cheep it works very well my germination has doubled over the years. Saves you money.

  • 9 years ago

    Yeah, I think he may have just gotten a bad batch. I bought 200 seeds and was planning on much more, but it all depends on how and if he refunds/resends seed I bought that ended up duds

  • 9 years ago

    You have a big set up looks good I'm the same my seeds from other supply same very high germination it's just DHA

  • 9 years ago

    Peter my bang wang seeds are really good I got 19 out of 20 first batch. 2nd batch not so good I sent comsan a line to say I thought the seeds was not very good and sent me back to say they are hard to germination so I dug up bang wang and peel the husk off they look like a sml corn kernel so I replanted them and put a pot over them and they have produced leaves so far so good nearly all up. now kHz dug them up and they were not any good so I might send him a email to see if he can replace that lot.

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks Peter, I used the most fine tip mist I could find as it is a lot more gentle on the seed and less labor intensive than my last method. I actually want a bigger setup lol. I'm hoping to win the lottery as I'm buying lots of hybrid seed in hopes for a couple good flowers I can propagate later :)

  • 9 years ago

    Sue as soon as I get home I will be checking and digging up by kHz aND see what they look like. I'll make sure and post results.

  • 9 years ago

    He said he's going to test the batch and report back to me in 5 days. He said EC germinate really easily and usually take 5 days max.

  • 9 years ago

    My Comsan seeds germinated well but I only had a few. Of my two KHZ DHA's I had from him, one germinated and is so fat and cute and the other didn't germinate. I did soak and peel the seed coats as advised but I don't think that's needful with EC's.

  • 9 years ago

    Ryan just received about 60 seeds today off Comsan I'm going to try the cotton wool method only to keep an eye on the bugs in will probably sow them next week with about another hundred seeds so I have to kick my seedlings I have growing in my grow tent out first I will keep you posted how my second attempt goes.last lot 5 out of 50 DHA not good 20 out of 25 bang wang bit better all from Comsan.

  • 9 years ago

    Ok thanks peter keep me updated

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Comsan showed me a picture of a customer of his who germinated them with the paper towel method and it looks like it's working well. He said he is going to send me 70% of what I ordered to try again. How nice of him!

  • 9 years ago

    Same here, he's sending 70% of order to me too

  • 9 years ago

    Got into contact with comsan sending 15 seeds also maybe he did have a bad batch??

  • 9 years ago

    I hope the 30 i have are ok fingers crossed :x)

  • 9 years ago

    Peter - X my fingers for u :)

  • 9 years ago

    Stxericape, did you receive your seeds and have any germinated yet. I tried the paper towel method and let the napkins try out, I don't think I'm going to have any success with them.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Like any other germination, the paper towel method only works if you cover it or otherwise seal the container (or are using baggies) so that the humidity stays high and it can't dry out. Just be sure not to use totally sopping wet paper towels. I squeeze out some of the water so it's contained in the fibres and not just pooling.

    Here you can see the seeds on wet paper towels inside of individually labeled baggies sealed shut. I pre-treat all of my seeds with a 10 minute soak in a 10% bleach solution to kill fungal spores and bacteria, then soak a few hours in clean distilled water before bagging them up. Prevents contamination.

    Here and assortment of germinating seeds are ready to be transferred to a flat. Or you can start them right on top of the soil and dome them.

    This is the phase when I transplant them and slip off the wet seed caps. If the caps are too dry they will stick so for me it's easiest to remove them while everything is fresh from the baggie or still domed before air circulation is allowed to start hardening them off.

    I don't know if any of that is helpful to you but maybe it will be. For varieties that have extra thick seed covers, I peel those after the initial soaking and before germination (Such as for DHA). Lightly sterilizing seeds and using sterile soil and distilled water initially prevents die off by fungus and bacteria but won't help seeds that are not viable to begin with.

  • 9 years ago

    I received my seeds from Comsan and planted them on the 24th. 8 of 10 of the EC seeds are up and the 9th one is pushing up today. I've had them in the direct sun, covered with the dome. It's Been in the 90's in the day and about 80 at night. (The EC are the ones with the blue sticks) I've really had good luck with most every kind except the KHZ DHA, and I really think that was my fault. Cosman told me to soak those and I did but when it came to peeling off the husks I didn't do so well. The other varieties I just planted with no soaking or anything. I'm probably pretty lucky they seem to be thriving anyway.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago


    My Cosman KHZ DHA is growing a well and a lot faster than I had been expecting. I may have to try some more of his next year but there's not a lot of my summer left. This one didn't turn out Golden but as my first DHA, I don't care. Probably growing a lot faster for being a regular healthy green.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's gorgeous Hyn Patty! I can only dream!!! This is the only one out of five that seems to be trying. But it just doesn't look right to me.

  • 9 years ago

    Hyn i done the method you use it works well for DHA i only lost 4 out of 35 this time i used surgical dressing the the thick cotton type I'm happy with the results .the bang wang are a bit slow i don't know how many i will get out of 25 yet. your DHA looks choice lisa be patient i have found these types are alot more fussy use Hyns guidance u will get there:×)

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks Peter cause I'm flying blind! When my regular adeniums started seeding a couple of years ago I went seedling crazy. I've given away at least 50 plants and planted the other 50 or so in all the flower beds on the property. They seem to thrive in my sandy soil. I was sure this variety of seeds I got from Comsan were going to be different. I've been reading through all the posts here trying to learn.

  • 9 years ago

    Lisa, you see that faintly brownish clear coating over the top of your seedling? That's the clear under seed coating and it can keep the leaves from coming out. Simply wet it with a drop of water to soak it, or spray it, and let it soak in and once it's wet you can slip it off. Otherwise it dries like a thin layer of plastic wrap and can keep the seedling from progressing.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wasn't sure if that's what it was and what to do about it!!! I tried, and tried so hard to be gentle. Over thin tiny bit of husk came off. The best part was that it stayed stable with whatever root system seems to be anchoring it!!! So a before and after pic.

  • 9 years ago

    Hey Ryan, I still haven't got them but they are on their way. Registered mail for me takes about 21-28 days. I'll be sure and update once I plant and the results.

  • 9 years ago

    Patty, thank you so much for the information. Next time I'll copy every step, but for now I know why I failed. I had to much air circulated and dried out the paper towels. I read somewhere it needed it, so I poked holes on top of my container.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Patty, this is very helpful information. Thank you so much, I wish I had spoken with you before I started my second try with gernation,

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So an awesome update, after 15 days I gave up, I took it off the heat pad and walked away. 6 days after I look to see if anything changed and what did I see some of the little guys surviving!

  • 9 years ago

    I still have them covered, should I uncover them now

  • 9 years ago

    I have received my seeds and planted them, will update on germination and see if it got better in about a week or two

  • 9 years ago

    Ryan, open the lid and place it over the box at an angle to let some air into them so as not fully closed if you see what I mean, gradually move the lid around to expose them more to the open environment over a few days or so then remove it fully. Keep warm and moist but not sopping wet as the tiny roots can and will rot. Keep in a sunny/bright spot till a couple of sets of leaves have grown and turned green.

    Gently reposition now any that aren't root down leaves up, to give them a better start, go easy on those tiny root starts they are more fragile than the tops. Brown seed husks and the clear cover underneath should come off in their own, if they're reluctant to slip off, moisten and ease off very gently.

    Gill

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's a update

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So something bad happened, I placed my tupper ware box on the side of the sink and I found a seed growing under ground with roots. I removed it and was removing the shell of the seed for it can grow. While I was doing that, the box started falling over and I caught it in air... well, because of that it folded in half! This little guy lost his leafs. This happened a week ago, so it looks like it's surviving!

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Also this guy was cut off at soil level and was planted back with no roots because of the fall. But, it's growing new leaves!!!! I hope it survives.

  • 9 years ago

    This is the seed I found growing underground... what the heck is wrong with him. He's growing straight up and is skinny

  • 9 years ago

    Update on my germination for replacement seeds. I had about 90% germination which is a lot better than first batch of seeds I had received from comsan

  • 9 years ago

    Maybe its not an Adenium

  • 9 years ago

    Agartta, it's from the same batch. I hope it is.

  • 9 years ago

    @stxeriscape you are doing better than me in at 80%. But, this is my second try at this

  • 9 years ago

    I did have seedlings that started to grow long and skinny and in a few months I couldn't tell which one's which lol. All the best with them, and yes I had seeds germinating after 4 weeks in winter.

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