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Eryngium (Sea Holly) Seeds

PurpleRosePurpleRose North YorkshirePosts: 538
in Problem solving
Good Morning all

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas.

I have some Sea Holly Seeds which I am wanting to plant. I have been looking online at the best ways to do this and found a general idea. However, there is some conflicting information.  I get that they need cold to germinate but some say cycles of cold heat, cold and heat others saying cold then heat. Is it that these are a faff to grow?

Have any of you grown Sea Holly from seed? If so have you got any ideas, methods or tips that have worked for you?

Thank you 😁

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ DoncasterPosts: 7,683
    In nature the seeds would fall in autumn and germinate in spring after a period of cold, and I've had some success with autumn sowing in pots and leaving them outside.
    It's possible that some seeds would remain dormant for another cycle of the seasons but I've not tried to reproduce that artificially.
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,738
    There's still enough time to bung some in the ground, or in pots outside, as long as we get a reasonably cold Jan/Feb.  Once you get an established plant, you will find they self-seed a lot, so you will always have plenty of them.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 9,861
    I think you'll be ok sowing now.
    I sowed some 2 yrs ago around october - covered the seed with grit and left them in a sheltered spot outside.
    Around March/April I saw the first seedlings, they started slowly, but grew well as it warmed up and flowered this year.
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose North YorkshirePosts: 538
    Thank you for your answers. After reading your comments, I have sown some of the seeds and they are currently in my conservatory, which is absolutely freezing cold at the moment. I will find a spot to put them out in the garden later on. Hopefully there will be some seedlings in a few months
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,044
    What species are they @PurpleRose? (Just out of curiosity--have never had a go at Eryngiums myself).
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose North YorkshirePosts: 538
    I am at work currently @Cambridgerose12 They are blue ones. I will look tonight and let you know 😁
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose North YorkshirePosts: 538
    It is Blue Erygno @Cambridgerose12
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Derbyshire but with a Nottinghamshire postcode. Posts: 16,463
    I sowed some Eryngium giganteum  from a packet one March. They didn't come up. I threw the tray out into the chuck out zone. They germinated the following  spring, and then I planted them out. Ever since then they self seed and germinate when they like.
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose North YorkshirePosts: 538
    Useful to know @fidgetbones if nothing comes of the seeds I will empty their container in an area of the garden where I want them. They might then germinate at leisure 
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