My Garden

Aquilegia seeds - too late to plant??

Last post 05-07-2009 7:54 PM by bogweevil. 15 replies.

• 10/06/2009 12:56 PM
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact I've just discovered an envelope of Aquilegia seeds in a drawer! Given that the Aquilegias in my garden flowered weeks ago, is it now too late to try to sow these newly-discovered seeds? A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 10/06/2009 03:07 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,145	Reply | Contact  The Aquilegias is my garden are now setting seed pods after flowering and if I don't deadhead them soon, they will be seeding themselves all around so now would be a good time to sow them to get some flowers from them for next year. You could leave them until autumn to sow, the plants would be ready to plant out next spring but won't actually flower until the next year. sue1002

• 11/06/2009 09:36 PM	In reply to
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact Do you mean sow them in the ground (my preference) now or in seed trays (nowhere really to put seed trays)?? A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 11/06/2009 10:09 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,031	Reply | Contact Some aquilegias germinate easily but some work best if sown fresh and if they don't germinate by winter leave under a sheet of glass so they get chilled and up they should come in spring. Three months in the fridge is a rather poor alternative. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 11/06/2009 10:34 PM	In reply to
  sky fencer Location: Hounslow Joined on: 11 Jun 2009 Posts: 2	Reply | Contact I wonder how old your seeds are?  If too old they may not germinate.  I sowed aquilegia seed around this time of year once before in a seed tray, but from a bought seed packet.  Why not just plant them and see?  You won't have lost anything!  If they grow, they should be ready to plant out in the garden by September or so this year, and then they'll flower next May.

• 12/06/2009 01:39 AM	In reply to
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact So the advice is sow them in a seed tray (not the open ground) and see?? Is it? A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 12/06/2009 12:45 PM	In reply to
  chriss Location: iwuk Joined on: 06 May 2009 Posts: 25	Reply | Contact Get sowing. If you sow them now and then pot them on before winter, they will be ready to plant out and flower next year. Good luck.

• 12/06/2009 01:56 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,145	Reply | Contact If you haven't got room for a seed tray phillip99a, have you got space on a windowsill for a pot?  you could sow the seeds in a pot.  Or you could sprinkle them on the ground where you want them to come up and hope for the best. sue1002

• 12/06/2009 07:22 PM	In reply to
  Celtic Heart Location: Wales Joined on: 03 Jun 2009 Posts: 63	Reply | Contact I've always found scattering the seeds where you want the plants to grow at the same time the plants would be seeding works best.  I've never had much success growing flowers from seed in trays, maybe I'm doing something wrong, but scattering the seeds in the ground works best for me. One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.

• 15/06/2009 12:26 AM	In reply to
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact They're scattered on some well dug-over sheltered ground, raked in and watered. Thanks for all yr help. I'll let you know if/when I get any green shoots! A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 05/07/2009 02:57 PM	In reply to
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact Planted the seed exactly 3 weeks ago now. I've kept the soil well watered. The weather's been very warm. Not a single shoot!! Not looking good. The seeds could easily have been 4 or 5 years old :-( A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 05/07/2009 03:20 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,333	Reply | Contact  It's too early to lose hope. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 05/07/2009 03:28 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,923	Reply | Contact Aquilegia seeds can take ages to germinate, Philip. Just keep them somewhere they won't dry out and let them get on with it for a few weeks. 4-5 years can seem old for seeds, but some of them can last a surprisingly long time so, as Phot's says, don't give up hope yet.

• 05/07/2009 03:29 PM	In reply to
  philip99a Location: Leicester (city centre) Joined on: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 36	Reply | Contact Gr8 advice. I'll not give up hope yet! A garden is the Islamic vision of Paradise.

• 05/07/2009 04:11 PM

  In reply to

  Celtic Heart Location: Wales Joined on: 03 Jun 2009 Posts: 63

  Reply | Contact If you think of the old saying "one year's seeds is seven years weeds" then it stands that even if your seeds are five years old they should be in with a chance.  Don't give up, I often find things just starting to show as a new plantlet in the spring.  I think I am correct in saying some seeds often lie dormant overwinter only germinating after the cold or even a frost.  Of course, I am only a beginner myself, and trying desperately to remember things that were taught to me as a child by my grandmother! One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.