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Lack of success growing from seed!

#1 · 9th April 2022, 1:56 pm

Hello. I am new to growing plants from seed & as such i have researched the basics & watched Garden Ninja's guide which was very informative. However, my success rate so far isn't what I hoped for! My sweet peas & marigolds have at least germinated - so far so good (although my sweet peas are very leggy!!) but my main concern is that my Lavender and Delphinium seeds have produced absolutely nothing (I sowed them 4 weeks ago). I followed the instructions on the back of the packet & used seedling compost but not one seed has germinated. I have researched both plants and stratification has been mentioned. Could this be the reason why my seeds haven't germinated? Also should I have topped the compost with vermiculite? None of this was referred to on the instructions on the packet? I would like to try again but don't want to waste my time unless I do something different. My other question is whether you need to water seeds regularly to help them germinate. All the guides refer to lightly watering the compost before sowing the seeds but there is never any mention of whether you should keep watering them throughout the germination period?

Can any seasoned sower offer me any guidance? I would be very grateful

Lee Garden Ninja has reacted to this post.

#2 · 11th April 2022, 9:29 pm

Hi Lou,

Thanks for your question about growing plants from seed. Growing from seed is a wonderful way to propagate and grow plants from seed. It opens up hundreds of thousands of plant species you can suddenly and cheaply get your hands on!

Requirements for seed germination:

The first thing to say about growing and germinating from seed is that there are two things to bear in mind

Germination durations (some seeds take days some months)
The temperature of the seed tray or pot (each seed will have an optimal temperature usually between 10-20 degrees c)

So not all seeds will germinate at the same rate or even have the same success. The sweet peas you have will have a far longer germination time than a marigold for example which us why sometimes sweet peas get soaked overnight or sown in autumn for a slower growth rate.

Using vermiculite helps keep humidity and moisture in the soil and also provides a barrier for fungus as it's sterile so can reduce dampening off disease due to lack of airflow and fungus. However, it's not essential and I've grown thousands of plants without it over the year.

Watering seedlings:

In terms of moisture, you never want to let your seedlings dry out. You also don't want to flood them. The best way is to bottom water, ie soak the seed tray or pots in a shallow tray sink with an inch of water. Adding a piece of glass or cling film over the seeds can help keep the humidity in until they germinate. But peel it back each day or two to get fresh air in.

So the answer is yes, keep watering them so they are damp, not swimming and never allowed to dry out.

Other than that have some patience, some seeds can take 4-6 weeks to show so don't give up! If in doubt try some Achillea which germinates in 1-2 weeks and is prolific!!

Happy growing.

Lou Clew has reacted to this post.

#3 · 16th April 2022, 12:59 am

Thank you so much Lee for replying to my post. I have certainly learnt a lot from your response & now feel inspired to keep sowing! Thanks for mentioning Achillea, I actually really like that plant so I will definitely give it a try, that's just the sort of tip that I like. Hope you are enjoying a lovely well earned rest in Scotland