Re: Iris Douglasiana seed germination
- To: ,
- Subject: Re: Iris Douglasiana seed germination
- From: D* M*
- Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 23:14:58 -0700
on 10/9/00 7:50 PM, Barry Garcia at Barry_Garcia@monterey.edu wrote:
> Tonight I gathered some seeds from the Douglas Irises at my school. I
> would like to try and grow plants from the seeds, but I have no clue as to
> what they need. Can anyone help?
>
>
> Thanks
>
Easy! Orchard Supply and Hardware potting soil (which for those not
familiar is standard garden center mix). A Seed tray. A cool place with
light, out of the sun, say shaded by trees or even a building. One seed per
cell. You'll see leaves in two weeks or often earlier.
Don't even have to water that much--you could just leave them out in the
rain... so if you plant them tomorrow, you can get the bonus early season
rain!
Once they're 6 inches tall, I've found that more sun will make them grow
faster. With twice a week water, they'll even tolerate the full sun and
heat here in central San Jose. In shade, they'll get by with no dry season
water at all and slow down in the summer, losing some leaves, then come back
in the fall with the return of the rains.
It'll take a couple of years to flower from seed. If these are hybrids,
like Pacific Coast, you'll get a mixed bag of flowers, some looking like
bland Dietes without the yellow, other plants with more interesting purple
and gold and blue and white.
Dan McKean
San Jose, CA
