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Deemtee

need assistance with seed germination

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hi all

so wondering if none of the seeds germinate do you take them out and try and soak then in water or nick them again and try again or is it a case of if they don't germinate they are finished.

also how long do you think would leave them for like give them a month if you havne't seen any sign of life it's a no go or 6months what?

 

if one begins to grow but looks like it has died can you still keep on looking after it and it'll come back and keep alive and growing ?

 

thanks just building ones knowledge base 

kind regards

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How long do you soak your seed for? I soak mine for around 20 hours or until they have swollen before moving into a seedling mix contained in a humidity dome, depending on the time of year and if I am trying to grow out of it's normal season.

 

If you are growing seed with hard coating like Gastrolobium, Chorizema, Daviesia or Gompholobium, you can always put a nick in the seed coating instead of hot water treatment (scarification treatment). This helps the imbibing of water into the germ? endosperm?

 

Time all depends on the seed. Some seeds sprout within 14 days if conditions are right, some might take up to 6 weeks. After this time period I usually have a dig through the seedling mix and see if anythings happened. If too moist the seed will just rot instead. If I don't have germinations of hard coat species within that 6 weeks, I'll ditch the lot and start over. Others will have differing opinions.

If it looks like its dead then it probably is, being a seedling, they are very delicate.

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ok thanks so much for the quick reply great help and much appreciated

 

  soak the seeds for normally 24+ houjrs or until they are swollen sometimes they take a couple of days to get swollen but yeah then  put into seed mix . 

 

so  should just pull the plug on some of these seeds that have been in there for about 3months now and still nothing just throw it all out or should i go through and try find the seeds ?

 

thanks again

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What kind of seeds are they?

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http://worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/cultivation/

 

".. cover with near boiling water and soak overnight. Seeds which swell are ready for sowing, the remainder may be re-treated "

 

http://anpsa.org.au/acacia2.html

 

".. any seeds which have swollen are ready for sowing and can be removed; the remainder of the seeds can be treated with boiling water again and the process repeated for as long as necessary "

 

Interesting.
 

Perhaps try nicking the coat or sanding with 2 sheets of sandpaper to thin the hard coat.

What sort of moisture content is your seed mix? Where did you get the seed?

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Soil may have not warmed enough, certainly wouldn't have been for me 3 months back.

 

Make coffee,after a few sips pour water over seeds leave overnight, plant next morning. Floaters are discarded. Only considering acacias now, cool climate.

 

Edit- I use a gritty mix, not premium type outta that bag mix.

Edited by waterboy 2.0

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12 minutes ago, Gimli said:

http://worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/cultivation/

 

".. cover with near boiling water and soak overnight. Seeds which swell are ready for sowing, the remainder may be re-treated "

 

http://anpsa.org.au/acacia2.html

 

".. any seeds which have swollen are ready for sowing and can be removed; the remainder of the seeds can be treated with boiling water again and the process repeated for as long as necessary "

 

Interesting.

 

Perhaps try nicking the coat or sanding with 2 sheets of sandpaper to thin the hard coat.

 

What sort of moisture content is your seed mix? Where did you get the seed?

yeah did that boiling water and some that didn't end up swelling up where put between two bits of sandpaper. 

 

hmmmm moisture content sorry don't understand 

the mix was river sand and pet moss 

 

"Seed and cutting mix. Seed mix may be purchased or mixed using 3 parts river sand (not beach) and 1 part well composted pine bark, peat moss or vermiculite" from worldwidewattle 

 

and all seeds are from shaman

Edited by Deemtee

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I don't advocate peat moss for acacia,

but others may. High moisture retention, not ideal.... Amongst other reasons.

 

If the mix is holding a high moisture content and cool/cold there's a increased chance of disease taking hold.

 

A lot of acacias build a seed bank in the soil naturally and germinate when conditions are "right" , so as bare Earth or soil temp cues.

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44 minutes ago, waterboy 2.0 said:

I don't advocate peat moss for acacia,

but others may. High moisture retention, not ideal.... Amongst other reasons.

 

If the mix is holding a high moisture content and cool/cold there's a increased chance of disease taking hold.

 

A lot of acacias build a seed bank in the soil naturally and germinate when conditions are "right" , so as bare Earth or soil temp cues.

ok thanks for the information .

the seeds are now gone in the bin and will try again attempt #2 :) 

thanks all for the replies greatly appreciated

 

 

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13 hours ago, Deemtee said:

hi all

so wondering if none of the seeds germinate do you take them out and try and soak then in water or nick them again and try again or is it a case of if they don't germinate they are finished.

also how long do you think would leave them for like give them a month if you haven't seen any sign of life it's a no go or 6months what?

 

if one begins to grow but looks like it has died can you still keep on looking after it and it'll come back and keep alive and growing ?

 

thanks just building ones knowledge base 

kind regards

 

Tried to put all the knowledge and experience I could find into this Acacia thread below if it's any good to you mate.

Good luck and wishing you some beautiful trees ahead.

 

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oh yeah , been soaking mine now for more than 2 months in a tiny puddle of distilled water in baby food tubs..

 

..and will continue to until they sprout and grow ready for planting or die.

-mostly neglected on the coldest windowsill I could find in warmer seasons

.. might put them somewhere warmer now it's heading toward winter here but it's still 18C night temps on the 'sill.

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Probably too late now, but would have been better to sit em aside and see what's up with the heat increase, and sow some more

:wink:

 

Keep at it, the majority of acacias are easy peasey to germinate.

 

Reading back you mention one that's grown and died....somethings wrong there and may hold a key, a pic would have been good to improve on the limited info. The "can you still look after it" thing gets me, what's looking after it?

 

Tubestock or deep pot to be sowed into,not a shallow container.

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