Want to have a go at propagating seed!

Wiseoldowl. I've only come across Christopher Lloyd's books relatively recently, but I have a great respect for anyone who knew as much as he did. I suspect all his books are worth reading. In particular I like 'Garden Flowers'. I did not know anything of him then and only bought the book because it was reduced to �£5! Its a sort of reference book on perennials, grasses and bulbs (ie all the sorts of plants he used to grow). Most reference books just give you cold facts and don't express opinions, but in this book he gives his opinions. For instance under Salvias he says 'this genus is vast and includes a high proportion of rubbish ...' and of Salvia Guaranitica he says 'Blue Enigma ... be sure to get this clone, there are other less good clones'. And he is right - I got that and another clone this year.

The more general book I was refering to was 'Gardening Year', in which he goes through his year talking about what he does and why. His standards are very high. He says as his garden is open to the public, there must be a permanently good display, it is not enough just to peak in one month. Consequently he replants some areas up to 3 or 4 times a year! Having borrowed this book twice from the RHS library, I finally bought it (a new paperback) from the Amazon site for about �£12 or �£14.

 

Hello r2oo!
Early in the New Year is the best time for sowing Geranium (Pelargonium seeds). I usually sow these on the kitchen window-sill . They germinate quite readily and, being rather tough little fellows (but be careful not to over-water), don't need a lot of messing! In fact I have let them grow in their tray (which I turn every day so that they don't constantly grow in one direction towards the light) until they have started to become quite crowded before I have separated them in to individual pots to grow on and they have still turned into quite handsome plants by the summer...many of this year's sowings are still flowering very nicely!

 

Hi Jack, which sub-species do you tend to go for?

 

ooh r200 you're getting too technical for me!
I can tell you that F1 varieties (and this is true of many varieties of plants grown from seed)tend to produce a better plant than the ordinary,cheaper seeds.
This year I sowed from a Thompson & Morgan mixed variety pack (I think it was called something like "Six of the Best") which I craftily opted for as my "free choice with any seed purchase." I still have a couple of packs to sow in late January but the ones I tried produced very good plants and are still in flower now.

 

If you like a particular geranium it's best to take cuttings off the plant.

When I worked for Cambridge Corporation in the 50's, I asked one of the gardeners about taking cuttings of geraniums. He said you should take them in August after they've flowered. Our traffic islands were planted up with them and in August I was working near an island and went to take a few cuttings. The rotten lot had got there first and there weren't any shoots left.

 

Larkshall, I remember taking geranium cuttings in the autumn in the 60's through to the 80's, by then seed had appeared and gave up with cuttings, particularly as they could transmit diseases such as rust and keeping them heated for eight months or so. After that plugs appeared and I have used them ever since . If you are growing anything between 25-50,000 geraniums every year as I do for Weymouth parks you couldn't possibly take the time to do that amount from cuttings (mind you we did sun bathe while taking them outdoors) :D
How things have changed.

 

Wohooo. I got a heated propagator for Christmas! Can't wait to have a go now?

Can anyone recommend any annuals/Perennial seeds that i can propagate in Jan?

 

Why not try a few first year flowering perennials like lupins, worth a go.
Someone has given me some Echium seed on Boxing Day and I sowed it straight away as it was loose and probably wouldn't keep. It has germinated so I will see how it does. It's a biennial I think so will probably flower next year.

 

Ok, here's an update. So far, the following that I have sown have now started to germinate.
Globe Thistle
Dianthus Fenbow
Digitalis Lutea
Asclepias Tuberosa

wohooooo :dance:these are the first things I have ever grown from seed.....

 

congrats, r200 - have a few more

 

r2oo

 

Tap water is generally advisable in the early stages of growth, due to collected rainwater containing all kinds of harmful bacteria, fungi etc.
You should perhaps allow the tap water to stand for a while ,if only to reach room temperature so to speak, or you could boil some rain water.
Me, I dont bother, I just use whatever water comes to hand.