Agapanthus seeds

Hi everyone,
OK, 1st time posting a questions so be kind to me.
Can anyone give me advice on planting Agapanthus seeds, i.e. when, type of soil, how deep etc. My French neighbour very kindly gave me some last autumn and as we are going over at the end of the month I know he will ask me about them.
regards
Lisa

 

Agapanthus seeds are less likely to grow the older they are,fertile seeds will germinate in 3 to 8 weeks start them off in pots of multipurpose just cover the seeds, try to maintain a min temp of 20c the seedlings will need to stay in the pots for the first year before planting outside,it will be 2-3 years before they flower.

 

Bonjour M. digger, and welcome.

I would agree with what Walnut has said. I have just had a look in my RHS seed germination guide, which says germinate at 16C - 18C, and they could take more than 90 days to germinate. Otherwise I think they are straightforward. I sowed a few a couple of years ago, and didn't have any particular problem. However they will take some time to reach flowering size, so you need to be patient.

I would regard them as normal seeds - except for the times involved, and would treat them the same way as any other normal seed. I sow all my normal seeds in a mixture of 2/3 multipurpose compost and 1/3 sharp sand (must be sharp, and not the soft builder's sand). The added sand is to help drainage. I would scatter the seeds on top of the compost, then scatter a tiny amount of compost on top. Usually the same thickness of compost as the thickness of the seeds. However seeds are pretty tolerant and will germinate under a range of conditions. I would wet the compost before sowing - but not too much. Then sow, then I spray with Cheshunt compount (it's an antifungal copper compound), place a transparent top on the seed tray, sit back and wait. Whilst waiting for them to germinate, the top should keep the moisture in - but some moisture is always lost. Rather than soak the whole tray by watering, I spray everyday with plain water, or better still dilute copper compound.

 

Hi frenchdigger and a welcome from me.
I sowed some Aggies in Autumn 2007 from seed collected in Madeira. I have a feeling they should be sown fresh, so Autumn would have been better.

I would get them in as soon as possible. Just sprinckle them onto a pot or tray filled with compost with a little horticutural sand mixed in. Cover with a thin layer of vermiculite and keep warm, about 20 - 24 degrees, preferably in a propagator - the airing cupboard would do if you dont have one - and see what happens.
Good luck

 

Walnut, I was writing mine as you posted. Are you recommending individual seeds to be sown directly into individual pots. I have been querying Palustis on this point under this post http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/narcissus-cyclamineus-19926.html

I am becoming increasingly aware that whilst you can transplant young perennials when they are in growth without any problems, young bulbs don't like it. In my RHS seed guide for almost all bulbs it recommends sowing directly into individual pots as they resent root disturbance. Interestingly it doesn't say this for Agapanthus. I had my seeds from Roders and I sowed them in a seed tray then transferred them to pots, which didn't seem to do any harm. But these days I might be inclined to sow directly into small pots.

I didn't know about the need for freshness - interesting. Just found this http://www.agapanthusfreunde.de/uk/public/index.php?id=12 and this http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ukgard/msg0509171432360.html

 

Pete, the Agapanthus I grew pricked out very easily, they have very strong fleshy roots even when young that dont seem to mind being transplanted. However, like you I do tend to sow into individual cells these days for most things.

 

I recently sowed some Agapanthus seed fresh from a flower head and germinted in 2 weeks, admittedly only about 12 have come up but there's a limit to how many you can keep. I haven't sown them individually and don't mind being transplanted.

 

Whilst I respect the RHS advice, which says that they may take more than three months, I have found on many occasions different seed germinate in a fraction of the time that the RHS says.

If there is one thing that I have learnt from this thread, it is the importance of fresh seed.

 

I use the tray cells Peter for most stuff I grow in quantity,usually I get the thin flexible ones from Wilkinsons when you get one or two seeds (which you invariably do) that come up before the others you can cut the cell out with a pair of scissors and move it to the light so it doesn't get drawn.

 

I think that is very sensible Walnut. I would like to do the same but its a question of space. I still grow most seeds in trays and hope that by the time it comes to pot them up, some space has magically appeared. :D

However I am about to sow some bulb type seeds, Agapanthus, Gladiolus italiccus, Eremurus robustus etc, and will certaily put them in individual pots.

 

I agree about the trays making it easier when they germinate at different times (I've got some Alstromeria that I did last spring, they came up in November. I had just ignored the seed pan, in a sealed plastic bag on the spare bedroom windowsill!), but I think I get better germination / plantlets when the seeds have a bit more in and around them to grow into. My method, where germination is likely to be long / erratic, is to sow the seeds a long way apart in the pan so that I have room to get each one out when it is big enough to transplant - some things, like Primulas, I find need to be left for quite a while after germinating before they are big enough to move.

But I've got some heated seedling trays now, so all my seeds may germinate overnight this year, and I'll have to develop a new method. Where's the PigsFlying emoticon?!

 

So am I right in saying Agapanthus seed germinate better in multi compost than in seed growing compost? 02

 

Thanks everyone for the help, I've plant some individually and some in trays, so I will cross my fingers and hope that some of them come up.
Thanks Lisa

 

02 it really doesn't matter what medium you use any seed is self contained and is a little storehouse, to germinate it needs moisture the right temperature(sometimes light) the medium can be anything as long as it is sterile some of these seed sowing composts are just graded ordinary compost with added nutrients (which they don't initially need) I have germinated seed on kitchen towel,rockwool,vermiculite successfully so use what you have to hand.

 

Thanks for that Walnut,:thku: I just thought some seeds germinate better in sandy soils and others with a more water retentive compost. I was just wondering as some seeds, for the life of me I cannot grow, like delphiniums and lobelia, maybe I'm doing something else wrong.:o 02