Needs help with seeds

[Marios Alexandrou]

Hello people,
I am a completely newly in the matters of gardening. I bought from Aliexpress some seeds and i have been trying to grow them without any success. (Roses, Climbing Roses, peonies, Cactus,bird of paradise, orchids, levanter etc).

I have tried to make few them sprout with the use of cotton and water. Nothing happened, the seeds went bad. I bought a green sponge and put them in and put all the time water ( i kept it moist not wet) only one sprout and the next day it dried.

Then i put some in hot water for 24 h and cold water for 3 days ( with a bit of vinegar) and then planted them. its been 3-4 weeks and nothing happened.

Can anyone help me on how to prepare them and make them grow.

The seeds where very cheap i just want to grow them because (well from the pictures they looked amazing)

Thanks in advance
Marios

 

[marlingardener]

When we start seeds we put them in potting soil and keep the soil moist, not wet, and put a clear plastic cover over them until they sprout. Warmth helps, too. We have two heat mats, but just normal room temperature is okay.
Roses are usually started from cuttings from a mature bush. Roses can be started from seed, but it takes a few years before the plant gets big enough to put outside.
Peonies are started by dividing the root clump of a mature bush.
Can't help with cacti (it's a weed here in Texas and no one wants to propagate it!), orchids, or bird of paradise. Someone with more experience with these will help, I'm sure.
Do you mean lavender by "levanter"? If so, that starts from seed. We start ours using the method a described above.

 

[Greenhorn]

You have an interesting mix of plant seeds there and from my experience many have their own unique cultural requirements. Germinating Lavender from seed if much different than germinating cactus from seed.

The tough answer is you need to education yourself specific to the plants you want to grow, there are specific requirements for germinating. Soil, soil temperature, air temperature, seed depth, moisture, light (or no light), seed preparation (scaring, soaking, chill). The quality of the seed is a factor also. Commercial cultivated seeds have a high germination rate where as wild flowers and natives often have a lover germination rate.

Each time I get a new type of seed I do the needed research and document all the the cultural requires Soil, soil temperature, seed depth, moisture, light (or no light i.e. darkness), seed preparation (scaring, soaking, chill) for the seed to germinate sucessfully. Right now I have about 60 documented. This information also include expected germination time. Be aware that often one source will say one thing and another might suggest something a little different. I try to single source as much as possible, recently I found an old Park Guide to Seeds book that has most of the plants I have seeds for. You can also just use some good web sites. I've found some seed packages don't include all needed cultural details.

Here is information on Lavender which is not always the easiest to germinate by seed. I've had modest success and will be doing some more Lavender seed soon. I have a link to a good web site at home I'll try and remember to post it later.

So for Lavender from
http://www.seedaholic.com/lavendula-angustifolia-lavender-vera-true-english-lavender-collection.html

• Sow seed on the surface of a well drained, seed compost in pots or trays. Cover seed with a light sprinkling of compost or vermiculite.
• Keep at a temperature of between 15 to 20°C (59 to 68°F).
• Germination in 21 to 90 days.
• When large enough to handle, transplant seedlings into 7.5cm (3in) pots. Acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10 to 15 days before planting outside Only plant outside after all risk of frost, 45cm (18in) apart.
• For best results, provide any ordinary, well-drained soil in full sun.

If you think the seeds are suspect you can test germinate them. As described below, which also include some example germination requirements, chill, light...

https://uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/anr/FGV-00249.pdf