I cleaned seeds from one of my streakers last week. 23 envelopes with OP stuff and what I hope are fun crosses (using only fresh pollen). I still have maybe a dozen pods to collect from later bloomers. But I won't start them until late winter, if at all next year; I have to balance the desire to start seeds (and have the seedlings out for summer) with the reality of hosting the AHS convention next year.

I am still waiting for seed to ripen. No particular design, few streakers, rest just for winter fun. Will start after holidays.

in my z5 ... and with a very late last frost date near 6/1 .. it would be best not to start seeds until mid to late january ....

but i presume in your z8 .... now is probably as good as any time ...

ken

Yes. I've started my seeds. I'm using the moist paper towel Baggie method. I have 3 track light to set up for them. Only keeping streakers this year.

Just a post to keep the seed starters going. I love it.

I collected some seeds from Blue Hawaii.... IF I decide to try my hand at this in the winter... should the seeds be kept cold until then?

Seeds do not need to be kept cold. Just dry and clean. I too use baggie method with most paper towels. If it does not germinate in a couple of weeks it goes into potting medium.

I start them in plug trays and then put them in cold frames for the winter. They germinate about May.

This way, I do not have to fuss around with lights or indoor plants.

Ninamarie, I want to try winter sowing. Do you just put them in the trays like you would if you were planting them regularly? Do you water them during the winter? Sterilize the soil? How DO you winter sow?

Lindalana, do you mean you put them in potting medium to germinate?

Cathy, I now sow seeds in plug trays. But I have used with success almost anything
that came to hand. Styrofoam trays are
great because you canwrite on them and poke holes in the bottom for
drainage. Plastic vegetable and fruit
containers make nifty seed trays because many of them have lids. Baggies work well.

I sow the seeds either in commercial
peat-based seed or potting mix. Or if I
am feeling cheap, I soak peat moss well and add pearlite or vermiculite for
drainage. Often, but not always, I add a
handful of lime, horticultural sand, some compost or some soil-based potting mixture. I never sterlize and I never measure.

Plastic bags can be used successfully as
plug trays – just fill with moist
potting mix and mix in seeds.

Seed trays are then watered well. I place them in the cold frames
which are in part shade and leave them alone for the winter.

They will be covered by the year’s leaf
debris and snow during the fall and winter.
I leave them alone in spring until all the snow has melted. If it is a dry spring, I monitor for water,
but not terribly carefully. If there is
no snow, I put covers on top of the trays to keep the moisture in.

Eventually, in late spring, I take the trays to a well-lit area where I
can get water to them,. Germination
should begin about the end of May to the end of June in my climate. Be patient.
They will germinate. I leave them
in their trays until I get to them for transplanting. Hosta seedlings are surprisingly tolerant of
their grower’s slack cultural methods.

If you have hosta, you have seed, so just
keep experimenting to find out what works best in your climate. I like to sow the seeds as I collect them as
it saves time in cleaning and storing seed.

If you do not have cold frames, just leave
the seed trays or baggies outside in a partly shaded area.

Got few seeds from Don Rawson plus my own now, started about half. Just using south window for now. Couple of gold leaved germinated and 1 green. Waiting for streakers to start.

Seeds planted 10 days ago in my basement. Three varieties are showing. Emerald Roughcut, Empress Wu, and Jade Cascade. These are in my Colorado home!

I am in zone 5, and started my 1000 seeds last week. They are now and will be until May under 24 hrs light. All are in their pots in 4 trays. That is 2 trays on each of 2 shelves in my basement. Temperature under domes is now 78-80 dgrs.. Most of them are from streaked plants. Half of the seeds I bought or got as freebies, the other are seeds from crosses, or seeds from previous seedlings. I do this timing every year and get nice size plants in early May. Out of 1000 seeds I will get 30 interesting plants, of which I usually keep the 15 best.

Good luck!

Hello all. These are seedlings that I sprouted using the coffee filter/baggie method. I have to keep the cups in plastic snack/sandwich bags because I don't have a room that I can keep closed off from my cat. She would eat the leaves otherwise. They're moved up to the 16 oz cups when there are 4 or more leaves on a seedling. I have been using this method for about 5 years and had good luck with most of the seeds. The solid blue and green seedlings tend to be more hardy once I move them outside.

Leaping Lipizzan

Mixed Streaked Seedlings

Fickle Blue Genes

Whoopie Pie

Zany Jane

Mini Greenhouses

Mixed Streaked