Re: Sowing outside (for Marie)
- Subject: Re: Sowing outside (for Marie)
- From: Marie h*@gmx.at
- Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 18:10:13 +0200 (MEST)
> At 04:30 PM 08/01/2002, you wrote:
>
> >Hi all you experts out there! I found two seedlings today hiding under my
> >undulata albomarginata (one is obviously a FW offspring - still little
> but
> >already showing the characteristic leaf blemishes)...I was thinking: Why
> not
> >sow
> >the seed outside in a seedtray / bed and leave them outside just like
> nature
> >intended? All advice welcome...BYE
>
> Hi Marie etc...hosta seed sowing, done directly outdoors is easy to do,
> with many benefits to this procedure:
> <<and this is coming from an amateur seedling growing hobbyist --ie..-- I
> ain't no expert or professional>>
>
> -- Like millions of plants can be grown from a given pod-parent, when say
>
> for example, one is looking for a specific characteristic in a given
> parent's gene pool, like for example, striated leaves.
> a)... once upon a time, we grew 50,000 plants from H. sieboldiana
>
> Elegans, open pollinated seed (looking for streaky kids?) <=> nine
> striated
> seedlings were found in this batch.
>
> -- The production cost of growing seedlings directly outdoors: is almost
> nil, except for the cost of making very preferred growing beds to sow
> seeds
> into. Boxed raised beds; fully shaded from direct sun; and preferably
> screened also, to keep critters (squirrels?) out of, is my suggestion to
> begin with.
>
> -- If one uses regular unsterile garden soil, then weeding becomes a
> hastle, so I use Pro Mix BX (a sterile & soiless growing growing medium)
> in
> my boxed beds, where seedlings are grown. This is rather expensive to do,
>
> since this growing medium costs me about four dollars a cubic foot, but it
>
> is well worth the initial cost in the long run. Potting and transplanting
>
> can be done without use of a shovel. Squirrels love to hide their goodies
>
> in Pro Mix hence, I'm saying to screen the whole bed.
>
> -- Hosta seeds can be sown outside in the Autumn (just before freeze up)
> and the seedings will sprout the next summer, after soil temperature moves
>
> above 42* Fahrenheit, or the seeds can be sown in early springtime, as
> soon
> as the frost comes out of the ground. Considering all my seed sowing
> experiments -- I WOULD SAY --
>
> -- hosta seed germination is not hindered by storing this seed frozen; and
>
> in fact, STORED FROZEN SEED will sprout 20 years later, which would not be
>
> possible, if this seed was kept out in the open, say in the regular dry
> and
> warm conditions of an average house environment. Hosta seed, will become
> fully dry and dead within several months, whenever it is not stored via
> refrigeration. I store all of my hosta seed frozen, since this is the
> best
> way to maintain the germination factors, for a long as one wishes (many
> years?).
>
> -- the hosta seedlings sprouted directly outdoors, do survive the next
> winter nicely, even without any mulching. However, quite often: frost
> heave, throws these plants onto the surface of the soil, when snow melts
> completely, but using a mulch of shredded leaves, will prevent this. If
> the plants are lying on the growing surface, their roots can be shoved
> back
> into the growing medium via thumb pushing, and the plants will survive and
>
> grow nicely in their second year.
>
> -- Hosta seedlings, which are sown directly outdoors, do generally bloom
> in
> their second year.
>
> Final thought, direct outdoor sowing can be done successfully with most
> perennial genus.
>
> <just my thoughts, Marie, I hope this helps and good luck>
>
> Bill Nash Guelph Ontario Canada Zone 4
>
>
>
>
> MANY MANY MANY THANKS TO YOU, BILL! I had already lost hope that somebody
would post an answer....This helps a lot, and IŽll just try it like that this
year. Keep posting!
BYE
--
Marie
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http://www.gmx.net
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