Are they really as difficult to grow from seed as some seed producers imply? Or have I just been lucky? Are they difficult at all?
Just wondering because from 28 seeds sown, 25 have germinated but in the past I've had very few germinate. The seeds are F2 dwarf mixed.
Sometimes ours have reseeded themselves in a warm, mulched, shady spot that tends to get watered by nearby pots. Of course they bloom much much later, (Aug?) but it is always a pleasant surprise.
I've grown them too! I planted 25 seeds and only 8 germinated. I transplanted them into little pot's, and they are struggling to grow. 0ut of the 8 only two looked promising.
I think there is a lot of seed company hype about the germination of impatiens seeds.
This year I have bought a lot of plug plants, and I have also grown from seed. The seed I have sown is quite a way behind the plug plants, but I should get a good display from them.
The bit that really irritates me about impatiens and lobelia is, that they are supposed to be very difficult to germinate, but come July/August, they are growing in the asphalt drive.
As I say, seed company hype - if they say it's going to be difficult to germinate - they make you believe its you doing something wrong, rather than poor seed quality.
valmarg
Could it be that they need to be grown from very fresh seed? there are planty of plants like Primulas which come easily from fresh seed, but by the time the big seed companies have finished messing about with them, and they've sat a while in garden centre, are inevitably as dead as the dodo.
Don't know if fresh seed makes a difference Rob but I used a different method from that that is usually found on seed packets. What I've seen on seed packets and on seed producers websites is:
"Sow in a propagator on a windowsill or greenhouse at approx 18-20 C onto firmed good quality , finely sieved, moist compost. Do not exclude light of allow to dry out but shade from direct sunlight" or words to that effect. I've tried this 3 years running with very poor results, only 4 of 24 seeds germinating.
This year I found a Busy Lizzie seed starter kit, complete with seed, compost and mini propagator, in a 99p store so thought I would give it another go. The growing instructions in this were different. Basically what the instructions say on this pack is to sow the seed onto moistened compost and cover lightly with compost. Place propagator lid on and store in a warm place at approx 21C (70F), an AIRING CUPBOARD is ideal. I followed this method (using a warm dark cupboard, I don't have an airing cupboard) and as I said got 25 germinate out of 28 seeds sown (another has germinated since I posted this).
I'm going to try some more but from an older batch of F1 seed, I've a feeling that it is the amount of light (or lack of) that is important.