Columbine seeds (Aquilegia canadensis) are notoriously slow germinators, at least whenever I start them indoors. Multiple times I've been fooled by seeds that took three weeks to sprout, when only laziness kept me from discarding the soilless mix that seemed devoid of seedlings. Then when they do sprout I'm proud of myself for being so
But this year is a new record! I have four new seedlings that have sprouted within the last 48 hours, including one I just saw this morning, a full 37 days after planting!!
So the lesson here is, with columbine seeds,
6 comments:
Congratulations! For years my mother urged me to be patient, but it took the garden to teach me. You've learned the lesson well.
Columbine is one of those plants that everyone seems to grow so easily! Even if I purchase a healthy wonderful plant, it soon fades away. Never mind growing with seed! They are so lovely.
Yay! Most natives seem to be slow, sporadic germinators. I've got a few different things in the basement. A New Jersey tea seed sprouted in the garage during stratification. I wasn't checking and it was all yellow and spindly when it came in. (sure hope that's what it is and not some trespasser that somehow got into the soil.) All of the stratified seeds have been in the basement for a couple of weeks, and so far that one measly NJ tea is the only seed that's sprouted. Some of the stuff may take months, if they sprout at all.
Veggies and annuals provide almost instant gratification - starting natives from seed is definitely an exercise in patience, not to mention lessons in dealing with risk and failure. :)
Laziness can be a virtue in this case. Glad you waited. What fun they'll be in the garden later this spring.~~Dee
Columbines are some of my absolute favorites, but I don't have the patience to grow them from seed. I do, however, have several colors that grow in my yard. Now that they are well established they are popping out all over the place, scattering on their own. Most of my back yard is very shaded so I'm always grateful for anything that will give me color with such little sun available.
Congratulations, Rose! Last year I tried some winter sowing of columbines, and they did germinate, but they never bloomed. I see they've come up in the shade garden this year, so I have my fingers crossed I might see some blooms eventually.
I had a teacher my freshman year in high school who always said "Patience is a virtue"...I'm still working on that:)
Post a Comment