FAQ – Hot water treatment

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We discussed last year about the hot water treatment, a very easy to apply germination method which can successfully replace the use of scarification for the Fabaceae species. However, it is hard to say if it would be effective for all species and if all species will germinate at room temperature afterwards.

In addition, I will provide answers to few common questions and plates with seeds images for all species/genera I personally tried/try with this method.

How much the seeds should/will swell after a hot water treatment?
It depends on the species, the size and shapes of the seeds varies greatly, but usually the seeds can increase in size 2-3 times than the original size. Sometimes you may notice a ‘dramatic’ change in the seeds aspect/size (ex. Lupinus breweri).

Is it possible that no seeds will swell after 1 treatment?
Yes, it can happen, repeat again (for ex. Senna hebecarpa, Oxytropis, Trifolium seeds are slow to react).

How much time should the seeds remain in water?
Usually the next day you will see if the seeds have swollen (and how many), but to be sure you can keep them in the water for 2-3 more days (change the water daily).
In extreme case, seeds may even start to germinate in water after a while! (Hedysarum, Thermopsis).

Will all the seeds swell at once?
No, in the majority of cases after the first treatment only a few seeds will swell. Sow the swollen seeds after each treatment and repeat for the others (2-3+ times).

How soon will the seeds germinate?
It varies greatly with the species, some will start to germinate in few days, others will take a longer time (for ex. various Baptisia were slow to germinate).

Fabaceae – Hot water treatment 2019; notice the increase in size and the differences between species; all were germinated at room temp. afterwards

Current trials:

Fabaceae – Hot water treatment 2020; seeds aspect after 2 treatments. For each species notice seeds still of normal size and also swollen seeds.

 

 

Pricking-transplanting seedlings

I recently got a question about pricking seedlings. It referred particularly to Aquilegia flabellata and Capnoides sempervirens started in early February, which are now starting to look a bit unhappy. Liz (not real name) did a very good job! and notice the coir fiber pot used for Capnoides (it can be planted as a whole in the ground).

This is a good occasion to talk about if, when and how to prick out seedlings in general.

So, you got your seedlings growing. What next?
Most will need to be pricked out. Common saying is that this should be done after the true leaves are formed. Usually we are doing it much later.

It all depends on what species were sown, the size of the seedlings, the pot used and germination percentage.
For species with very good germination rate, the sowing pot will soon get insufficient to sustain a good growing for all seedlings.
From my warm sowings of this year: Thymus zygioides, Paronychia cephalotes, Acinos alpinus…..they are all pricked out as of last week.

How to proceed? I will exemplify with pictures of Anthemis carpatica seedlings of last year.
First, let the mix to dry out; if the mix is too wet most fine roots will break when you try to separate them. The more roots you preserve, the better.
Gently squeeze the pot on all sides; the content should easily slide out (if too wet, wait a few more days).
Place the pot content on a tray, plastic sheet…then separate the seedlings. Ideally, the roots should easily come loose when trying to separate the seedlings.

It is quite amazing how many seedlings will come out from a 6 x 8 cm pot! Lower right corner – Silene suecica before pricking out last week.

Since we are not talking nursery production :) it is best to not prick out individual seedlings no matter how cute they are!
Especially for species with fine seedlings, discard the very week or the ones with broken roots and transplant only the best looking ones. I usually make bunches of 2-3+ seedlings and transplant them together in a pot with fresh potting mix. By transplanting in bunches you obtain a nice clump-like looking plant faster. Large seedlings are best potted only 1-2/pot (Centaurea, Eryngium, Helleborus species….).

Various pricked out seedlings; choose the size of the pot accordingly with your needs: Oxyria dygina, Centaurea orientalis and Acinos alpinus

Water thoroughly.
Wait 1-2 days before placing the pots again under the lights (if outdoors – keep them out of direct sun for few days).

*Various Fabaceae do not react kindly at transplanting and it is best to do it fast before the roots grow too long, or sow only a few seeds/pot.  A good option is to plant the whole pot in the garden as soon as the weather allows; or sow these species in the ground in the fall.
The same applies for the true alpine species, some of which will form very long rootlets although the aerial growth remains small.

It is good to learn from mistakes, so I will show a Lupinus breweri seedling of last year: I waited too long for transplanting, that’s for sure! The plant survived but later slowly disappeared. Most Lupinus species are prone to do this and are best sown directly in the garden or pricked out very, very young.
The same goes for Astragalus, Oxytropis and other ‘legumes’.

 

What happens if you don’t transplant the seedlings?
In some cases, the young plants will stop growing because of lack of nutrients and space. Especially in small pots all potting mix is ‘consumed’ by the roots which will became entangled at the bottom. In most extreme case the seedlings may perish or get sick.

We can learn again from my mistake. Last year I failed to prick out all seedlings (again). In the plate below, I show 3 species I transplanted only in October. Notice the root system of Anemone caroliniana after growing in a small pot from May to October!. Being too late for the roots to have time to re-establish, I transplanted the Anemone and Clematis in larger pots without separating the seedlings.

!Various species seedlings do not need to be pricked out and react badly if you try to do so.
I already mentioned this for Arisaema species, Roscoea, most Liliums, Fritillaria spp., Podophyllum, most Iris; in general any rhizomatous/bulbous/tuberous species (Allium, Calochortus, Crocus, Gladiolus,….). They are all best grown in the same pot for 2+ years.

If you realize the sowing pot is too small to ensure good growth, the best option is to transplant the whole content in a larger pot. This can be done at any time during the growing season (Lilium philadelphicum 2 years old seedlings transplanted as a whole in a larger pot shown above).

Another option is to wait until the seedlings go dormant and repot the little bulbs/tubers in new pots, keeping the same depth where you found them. Problem is that in many cases they are tiny, and most likely some will be lost in the process (I’ve been there).

Good luck and keep growing!

 

 

Sowing advice for springtime

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With the first snowdrops in bloom spring is undeniably in the air. It is an exciting time with renewed hope and we all think about new plants to add in the garden.
Some people plan well ahead about what to grow from seeds, but others maybe purchase seeds and plants on the impulse of the moment. Then, there are always seeds arriving late from seeds exchanges.

Because all the latest orders had in common a combination of species, warm and cold germinators, I feel obliged to repeat how to proceed at this time in order to obtain the best results with minimum effort. Good timing for sowing is important!
If you don’t need advice, jump to the end of the post to see a few ‘green things’ from the garden :) (2020) All grown from seeds, except the snowdrops.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere
Species that are indicated to germinate at warm (15-20C) can be sown right away if you use indoor lighting for growing seedlings or later (April/early May) if you intend to keep the pots outdoor.

*Species indicated to have double dormancy that require first a slightly warm cycle, followed by a cold one in order to germinate (Hydrophyllum, Euonymus, Actaea…) – can be sowed later, in the summer. Most Peonies are also in this category; sowing in late June to August gives them more than enough time to develop the roots until late fall. Same goes for two stage warm germinating Lilium species (L. michiganense, L. monadelphum…).

Most Fabaceae can be treated with the ‘hot water treatment’ and considered warm germinators. Last year tests gave excellent results (Hedysarum, Oxytropis, Astragalus, Baptisia, Thermopsis, Lupinus*).

Species that can be sowed ‘in situ’ & indicated warm germinators (Papaver, Erinus, various Campanula, Capnoides, Arisaema tryphyllum, some Viola spp.…) – wait until April/early May and cast the seeds in place, incorporating lightly (most such seeds are fine and need light to germinate), keep the area moist and if there are too many critters around consider placing a mesh on top of the sowing location.

Species indicated as: sow in the fall or with cold/moist stratification – I advise you to keep the seeds packets in the fridge until fall, and then proceed with sowing at the right time (in pots or ‘in situ’).

You can of course try to provide cold/moist stratification in the fridge, but don’t expect the same good results; it doesn’t work very well for all species. Also, you may end up with seeds germinating in June/July and with young seedlings by late fall – too young to withstanding the winter cold.

 Moist packed seeds: are only sold spring – summer to late fall. The exception are the two years germinators  like Caulophyllum and Medeola; when stock supply and temperatures allow sometimes seeds are offered in late spring. Sow them outdoors.

Cypripedium and other orchids and mycorrhizals: if not using ‘in vitro’ equipment, as discussed already, there is a slight chance that by incorporating the seeds in the garden, usually in late fall, close to where other orchids thrive, to be successful. Note the ‘slight chance’.

Those in the Southern Hemisphere: reverse the timings, sow the cold germinators, keep the warm ones in the fridge.

snowdrops

Draba lasiocarpa (warm germinator)

Erinus alpinus (warm)

Papaver atlanticum ‘Flore-Pleno’ (direct sowing)

Polygala vulgaris (cold)

Potentilla porphyrantha (warm)

Helleborus foetidus (moist, warm/cold)

Mitella diphylla (cold)

Aquilegia ecalcarata: use it or lose it syndrome

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Many articles have been published regarding the relationship between the intra/interspecific variation of floral organs and the primary pollinators, and not only for Aquilegia.
So, it seems a bit superfluous to repeat that the length of the nectary spurs in Aquilegia species is an adaptation that has evolved to match the feeding structures of their pollinators (bees, hummingbirds,…and not only). The spurs development is achieved purely through cell-shape anisotropy.

In the case of Aquilegia ecalcarata, the spurless columbine, according to various sources the main pollinators are syrphid flies (with short feeding structures). Not having spurs, doesn’t make it a ‘false’ aquilegia; it is just a classic example of “use it or lose it” evolutionary syndrome :+)

A few studies using ancestral character reconstruction of pollination  syndromes have shown  that  the  ancestor  of  the  genus was pollinated  by  bees/bumblebees (see notes).* Aquilegia ecalcarata it is the only species that has lost its spurs.


Aquilegia ecalcarata Maximowicz, was reconsidered for a while under the name/genus of Semiaquilegia ecalcarata (Maximowicz) Sprague & Hutchinson; S. ecalcarata f. semicalcarata Schipczinski; S. simulatrix J. R. Drummond & Hutchinson.

Things have changed and, the genus Semiaquilegia Makino, is now recognized as a sister genus to Aquilegia (based on petal evolution and geographical affinities). It includes tuberous , herbaceous plants which differ from the genus Aquilegia L.

To set the record straight, we should use only the name Aquilegia ecalcarata. In keeping with my good sowing tradition for Aquilegia, I just treated a few seeds with GA3 500 ppm solution.** Sowing will follow tomorrow (cold/moist stratification for 1-2 months works very well, I just want to start them early).

* Extended phylogeny of Aquilegia: the bio-geographical and ecological patterns of two simultaneous but contrasting radiations:
http://www.plant-animal.es/pdfs/Bastida.et.al.2010.Pl.Syst.Evol.pdf

**For those in need, a reminder that they can read about GA3 preparation and utilisation on the Germination page: here

Friday’s more new seedlings

Today, few species from the sunny, wind swept rocky hills of Dobrogea region (Romania). There are no plans to collect there again soon, so I suggest to take advantage while possible.

From the ‘to try again’ list: Paronychia cephalotes. Interesting, showy and not often cultivated, the seedlings are not difficult to grow; I even enjoy it in the rockery for a while. Sadly it never went any further. I suspect the limestone based substrate had something to do with it.

Paronychia cephalotes germinated seeds

From the ‘sow while still available’ list, from the same habitat with Paronychia: Minuartia glomerata and Thymus zygioides (and few others not yet germinating).

Minuartia glomerata germinated seeds

Thymus zygioides germinated seeds

I also recommend Hedysarum grandiflorum.  My young plants were looking good when last I saw them in late November. The seeds were germinated using the ‘hot water method’  – again, a very useful method for germinating any species within the Fabaceae family.

Paronychia cephalotes

Thymus zygioides

Hedysarum grandiflorum

 

 

New & again

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Some of the newly sown seeds are starting to germinate!
Warm germinators sown in February and grown under lights indoors, can be acclimatized outdoors in April/early May and in many cases planted in the ground by June. At least that’s my method, and I recommend it to those from a cold climate. The young seedlings are establishing fast in the ground and by late fall have developed a good root system to withstand the winter. An examples of last year with: Cerastium alpinum var. lanatum and Minuartia verna. By late summer Minuartia was also flowering.

Also from the screes and rock ledges of Carpathian Mts., the newly sowed Acinos alpinus is starting to germinate. I suspect it will be an easy to grow species at the edge of the rockery.

Acinos alpinus germinated seeds

Besides sowing new species, I also re-sow species with which I wasn’t successful, yet (from various reasons). Anthemis carpatica ssp. pyrethriformis, it is one of these species and I will persevere. It may be that I still have to found a proper location for it in the garden/rockery. In the featured picture, seen last year in July.

Anthemis carpatica ssp. pyrethriformis newly germinated seeds

More to follow….

There are many other warm germinating species in the Shop that can keep you company :) or maybe you got seeds from seeds exchanges or other sources. This is the right time to sow, if using indoor lights.

*For those who don’t use indoor lights and can only sow outdoors: keep the seeds in the fridge and start in late April/ early May (depending on the weather).

Acinos alpinus

Cerastium alpinum ssp. lanatum1

Acinos alpinus and various

 

Fridays Frits

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Do you wonder about your Fritillaria seeds/seedlings/young bulbs? Wonder no more.

With many thanks to a very impatient grower, we can have a look at Fritillaria recurva little bulbs. Also, at my germinating seeds of Fritillaria atropurpurea.

The one-year old bulbs were found at the bottom of the pot. Fritillaria seeds are adapted to wind dispersal (like many Liliaceae actually) and should be sown superficial; then, the growing seedlings will adjust the bulbs to their desired, proper depth.

Fritillaria recurva: seeds to one-year old bulbs

My stratified seeds of Fritillaria atropupurea on Jan. 1st are starting to germinate (1,5 months of cold/moist stratification). And, by the look of the embryos, Fritillaria affinis will follow shortly.

As I already mentioned,  I’m not much of a Frits grower. I’ve grown a couple of species (non-flowering yet) and only this season I have sown more. By the way it goes, it is best to grow the bulbs in the same pot for two years; if necessary transplant the whole content of the sowing pot in a bigger one, keeping the bulbs at the same depth.

Fritillaria atropurpurea germinating seeds after 1,5 months cold/moist stratification (fridge)

If you have pictures related with the Frits species seeds purchased, please don’t hesitate to share!

 

Ephedra distachya revisited

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By tradition in February I start the so called ‘warm sowings’: species that will germinate at room temperature. The seedlings are grown under lights indoors and by April/early May can already be acclimatize outdoors; in most cases, they are planted in the ground shortly after.

It is also a time when warm germinating species are re-tested for germination. Most species keep good germination rates for +/- 5 years (kept dry/cold) but there is no data available for all.

So, I considered necessary to re-test Ephedra distachya. It seems that the seeds are in good standing, starting to germinate in water in a few days. For those interested – the seeds are back in stock! If you want to grow something beautifully ‘different’, this species is for you.

Watch its journey from seeds to young plants in the plate below. This Ephedra likes hot summers, and it was no surprise that after a slow start in May/June (rainy & cold in 2019), has put up a nice growth from August till late fall.

Ephedra distachya 2019 journey from seeds to young plants in the ground; a reminder that it is a dioecious species – keep and grow a few seedlings for assurance of female/male plants ratio

The ‘warm games’ are declared open at BotanyCa; stay tuned for more seeds/seedlings happenings!

Spetlem: Lewisia rediviva

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The bitteroot seeds I sown a month ago have sprouted. I looked at the little seedlings and thought about their story; the story of spetlem, from a time when the species wasn’t even yet described!

Lewisia rediviva seedlings; seeds sown January 4th, kept at room temp. for +/- 10 days, then in the garage (+/- 5C). I was planning to put the sowings outdoors but there was no snow for a while…The germination pattern can vary depending on the collection site (origin for these seeds: Butte Co., California)

An excerpt from an article recounting the discovery of the species during the Lewis and Clark expedition, available here: http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/311.
“An old Flathead Indian woman sat weeping on the bank of the In-schu-te-schu, or Red Willow River, in the shadow of the Chi-quil-quil-kane, or Red Mountains, singing a death song for her starving children. The rising sun heard her plaint, and sent a red spirit-bird to comfort her. The bird promised that from each of her falling tears a new flower would grow, tinted with the rose of his feathers and the white of her hair, and springing from a root as bitter as her sorrow but as nourishing as her love. The prophecy came true, and her people called the plant spetlem -“bitter”.”

Lewisia rediviva in flower; with many thanks to the provider of the picture.

How the bitteroot came to be collected during the Lewis and Clark expedition(1804/06), how it was named and by whom, and more importantly how profound this little species was intertwined with Indigenous Peoples  lives – I hope you will read about it all in the article provided. It is a great story, especially for a cold, snowy day!

Advice for growing it, and more beautiful pictures, in this thread from SRGC forum: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=15817.0

 

Tuesday exotica

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Let’s indulge in few ‘exotic’ late June flowers today. Roscoea species, regardless if they come with small or larger flowers, always bring a ‘tropical’ look to our cold climate gardens.

They are not difficult to grow from seeds, only require patience and I’m happy that more local customers have taken advantage of the seeds offered. Mature plants can be quite expensive when available and I consider that younger tubers will adapt better when planted in the ground.
I gave advice about planting them in this post: Contractile roots – a journey to the center of the earth?.

The tiny R. tibetica fo. atropurpurea fits better in a rockery nook or a container planting. The plant shown below close to Hepatica acutiloba is the result of a ‘location’ experiment; the Hepatica leaf is good for size scale!.

Clockwise: Roscoea scillifolia fo. atropurpurea (small but striking dark purple flowers), striped Roscoea cautleyoides form, Roscoea cautleyoides ‘Kew Beauty’ (flowers of a delicious creamy color) and the tiny Roscoea tibetica fo. atropurpurea ex. B-15 (seeds offered some years)

Here’s a better look at R. tibetica fo. atropurpurea:

Results on Rubus chamaemorus germination – update 2 and 3

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For those who didn’t follow the story from the beginning, please see these links:
Homework for today: Rubus chamaemorus germination – December, 2019
Preliminary results on Rubus chamaemorus germination – update 1 (Jan. 10, 2020)

Lot#2 has been eliminated (the seeds were damaged during the endocarp removal).

Lot#1 – the first signs of germination appeared pretty fast, with the radicle emerging first, in most cases.
A few seeds were also discarded, but almost all the remaining ones showed signs of germination (radicle growth and greening of cotyledons).
The container/and the pot with transplanted germinated seeds have been kept under light at +/- 20C.

Rubus chamaemorus seeds starting to germinate, Jan 19

Rubus chamaemorus germinated seed

The main aim of the experiment was to see if the seeds indeed germinate at warm/room temperature, and they do.
But excising the seeds from the pyrenes is not an easy job and many will get damaged during the process. Especially for large lots of fruits, it is a completely unpractical method.

Rubus chamaemorus pyrenes: hwt x 3 times, placed at warm/light

Another attempt is being made by using a hot water treatment (hwt) on the pyrenes. The hot water treatment gave excellent results last year for replacing the mechanical scarification usually employed for Fabaceae seeds.

Lot#3 was treated with boiling water 3 times, one day after another starting on Jan. 16, and then placed in the same conditions like lot#2. We’ll see if the treatment was enough to produce fissures in the endocarps and allow germination without extracting the seeds.
Update will follow.

 

Recap:
If Rubus chamaemorus fruits are sowed, they require 270 days of cold/moist stratification in order for the endocarp to broke down and allow the seeds to germinate. Translation: for fruits sowing in late fall, expect some germination in the third spring after sowing.

If you manage to remove the endocarps without damaging the seeds, they will germinate quite fast at warm (room temp.)/light.

 

Update 3 – regarding germination trials out (2021):

First, because I had a question about it: what went wrong with excising the seeds from within the pyrenes?
The problem was that using a very sharp scalpel, the seeds were damaged while cutting through the pericarp. Microscopic cuts or punctures led to the damage of the seeds and embryos.

Unless one is a surgeon, I don’t see it as a feasible method, even if the few unharmed seeds did try to germinate.

So, in early spring of 2021 I went back to a classical method of scarification used by plant nurseries for this type of ‘seeds’ by using  sulphuric acid. This is not something that can be applied at home and I don’t know if it is much in use in the nurseries nowadays; out of curiosity I had to give it a try.

One lot of seeds was treated with sulphuric acid for 45 min and another one for 1 h.

Rubus chamaemorus pyrenes – H2SO4 treatment in April 2021, kept in Petri dish on moist towel; picture taken Sept. 12/2021

Afterwards, the ‘seeds’ were kept under lights at room temperature, and… nothing happened. Some seeds seem a bit enlarged but obviously the time wasn’t enough for the endocarp to be eroded enough in order to allow water imbibition.
Later on I found one study suggesting a 3h treatment with sulphuric acid; maybe I will try it this coming winter.

 

Also, another more friendly method, like nicking, was also tried with no success.
Then I left a sample of pyrenes sitting in water since March! I thought that some may give in and imbibe but it didn’t happen.

 

Rubus chamaemorus pyrenes – after receiving hot water treatment x 3 times in spring 2021, then kept in water (regularly changed); picture taken Sept.12/2021

Conclusion: for home gardeners sowing as usual and patience may provide the best outcome in regards to germination of this species. Repeated cycles of warm/cold/warm/cold are necessary for the endocarp to broke down and allow water imbibition of the seeds and start the germination process.

Friday’s Seeds: Rosaceae on the wind

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“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” – with this being said (I don’t remember by whom), the Friday’s seeds series starts again. Rosa family is extremely large and diverse, with many ornamental species. Equally diverse are the fruits and seeds.

Apart from the well-known species with fleshy fruits many are familiar with, many others have dry fruits, of which some are adapted for wind dispersal. For this purpose, the styles remain attached to the fruit and begin to elongate after pollination; they also develop hairs in various amounts and many times the fluffy ‘seed-heads’ are nice additional ornamental features. The featured image shows the alpine Geum reptans with developing fruit-heads.

What we usually ‘seed’ is actually the fruit, which is an achene; inside it holds one seed. Few examples:
This year good fortune made it that we can compare two mountain avens species: Dryas octopetala and Dryas oxyodonta seeds.

Dryas octopetala seeds

Dryas oxyodonta seeds

Also, we can have a look at the Aleutian avens, Sierversia pentapetala seeds (syn. Dryas pentapetala).

Sieversia pentapetala seeds (syn. Dryas pentapetala)

The genus Geum contains a lot of species cultivated in the gardens. It would be hard to distinguish them after the ‘seeds’ but we can at least define the genus.
Geum triflorum (Prairie smoke) and Geum rivale (Nodding avens) shown.

Geum triflorum seeds

Geum rivale seeds

And, finally, something like a Geum on steroids if someone cares to google for plant pictures: Woronovia speciosa.

Woronovia speciosa

Drya octopetala

Sieversia pentapetala

Geum triflorum in June

Geum rivale