Monday, March 31, 2008

Slow As Snails Seedlings

It's about time... I muttered to myself as I watered my bitsy babies.

The laziest of my perennial seedlings (Bellflowers) poked their heads out of the soil this weekend. I started them a month ago. Gave up hope after 2 weeks. That's when I referred back to the seed packet for instructions that might have prevented me from ever planting them in the first place.

Seed starting is a lost art. It's slow. It's messy. Most houses need a grow light for good results.
But, I've got a big, sunny, bay window. One that inspires me to experiment with most every type of seed. Including bell peppers ~ which I grow with the leftover seeds from peppers I buy at the market. (Saves me a bundle on over-priced produce. :)

Most seeds germinate in about 5-10 days. I'm discovering that Balloon Flowers take forever. Which probably means they'll take forever to bloom, too.

Seed packages will generally tell you the time it takes for seeds to germinate and also how long to first flowers. Some perennials require 2 summers to put forth their first flowers. Such is the case with these slacker Bellflowers. If I'd know that ahead of time I would have saved my $1.79!

PS: Want instant gratification? Plant Cosmos. They'll sprout in 1-2 days if they're in a good mood.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the tips!

Arlene,
Poulsbo florist

Anonymous said...

I like to plant zinnias. They sprout really fast, too. - Chris

Nancy Evans said...

I like to buy plant starts. However the selection of plants you can buy as starts is limited compared to the huge variety of seeds out there. So every year I try to start some by seed.But I still struggle.