Joy,

Some seeds sink, some don't, it doesn't mean anything. They will grow their first leaf totally immersed in water. When the leaf is about 1 to 2 inches and there is a comparable root then you can plant them. Sometimes I leave them in water longer until the leaf grows to 2 inches.

Once you do plant them, keep them out of the sun and do not let them dry out for even a minute, that new root must be kept moist for quite some time before they can dry out and not die. I lose many a seedling because I haven't paid close enough attention and they dried out.

I hope when your Aphroidite does bloom she makes you smile and a Happy New Year to you!

Donna

Thanks Donna! Ooh I didn’t know they would grow leaves even when immersed in water! Thanks for the tip! I will be sure to let them stay in there!

Hi JL , you can also place the pot in a closed transparent bag, then you open the sachet little by little ...

I just plant the seedlings without a cover but I keep the potting mix quite moist at the beginning. I plant them together too because I have not enough room but I tried a small seedling tray last year for the first time. The seedlings seem to like it very much, they are bigger now than the plants from the same cross that are together in a bigger pot although they have less room for their roots!

Thank you everyone for your very kind suggestions. I have let some of the seeds continue in the water as Donna suggested, and a few of them that had sunk to the bottom but were still growing roots, I planted into soil. I had already done this before I posted to the board because I wasn't sure if these seeds were viable and wanted to experiment. I have them in a kit I had bought for growing seedlings or herbs in the winter (which comes with growlights) and will keep them moist.

Hopefully at least a few of these survive - although with the temperatures we are currently experiencing I don't know if anything will survive! Its cold even in the house and that can't be good for these little things!

I have kept some more seeds aside to try again in the spring....

Joy

Joy, you can keep seeds in the refrigerator for up to 1 and a half years and most of them will still germinate!! I just pulled out a few from June of 2016 and of about 8 that I soaked I got about 5 that germinated well!!

Hi Fred,

do you use vermiculite only for the first planting of your seedlings? To wich substrate will you switch to?

Donna,

dou you use vermiculite also? Until now I have sown in cocofibre but for my next batch of seedlings I want to try something new ...

Thanks!

Carl

Hi Carl,

I only use vermiculite to acclimatize them from being floated in water for a few months. I think this helps them "get used" to growing in a firmer substrate and the roots really start growing quite well. Then I re-pot them in a very free draining and relatively rich medium for a about one to two years but I keep them all together in a com-pot so they can chat and keep up with current events :-)))

Fred

Thanks Fred,

Maybe I'll try vermiculite for the next seedlings. I have mixed a coarse substrate for my "epiphytes" - H. aulicum & papilio but am using just plain cocofibre for everything else. Works so far for me. Of course the seedlings have to be crammed together in a pot! ;)

Carl

I keep meaning to try Fred's method of using vermiculite as in the past it worked very well for me when rooting hydrangeas.

Currently I just use a potting mix with no fertilizer to which I add about 1/3 volume of perlite which keeps the soil loose and free draining. I keep them in this mix until they cram the pot, usually two years and need to be re-potted in my regular mix. Newly sprouted seedlings of course need to be kept moist as drying out is the best way to lose them.

Okay, thank you! I'll think of something that'll fit my conditions ... I have a little heated "indoor-greenhouse" I could be using. Last year I filled it with "propagation-soil" but had trouble with the right amount of watering. This year I will place pots in it and see how it'll fare.