Seed Raising.

Seed Raising.

About a year ago I was showing how I sow my Ramonda and seed that likes to be kept moist.

Sown on finely chopped sphagnum moss, the Ramonda have not germinated but Pinguicula grandiflora has germinated from AGS seed. Our seed is arriving from overseas at the moment and when sowing it out we need to think of a few things. We don't live in the UK, Europe, NZ, or North America our temperature can stay at 40 deg for weeks at a time, so how do we approach seed sowing. Firstly I like to add leaf mulch to my seed raising mix as it helps with germination at is has bacteria working away at it to help break it down, and that bacteria aids in germination of seed, it has been proven. When sowing woodland plants e.g. Erythronium, Eranthis or Primula they need the extra leaf mulch in your potting mix to help retain moisture for the seed to germinate. For bulb seed, I add extra course sand, if you don't know where the plant comes from look it up and try and create those conditions for the seed to germinate. Seed is very precious you have gone to the trouble of ordering, someone has saved it, cleaned it and it has been sorted, packed and sent to you, it it is probably a plant that you would love to grow so a little thought on how to sow it will help in germination. Most of my seed goes out into a shaded area in the rain, up and away from slugs, with a layer of 1/4 minus gravel on top. A shade house is just as good. Lewisia seed I keep in the glass house as they don't like to be too wet. I hope this helps with seed sowing. Good Luck and happy seed sowing.