Forum home› Plants

Echinacea not germinating

GrajeanGrajean Posts: 413
in Plants
Echinacea seed not germinating, I have tried soaking seeds then sown into seed compost and into heated propagator -not a sign of growth. Next tried sowing straight from packet seed tray on sunny windowsill. Its now 2 weeks and I am about to give up! Any more ideas anyone?
«1

Posts

  • BiljeBilje Posts: 740
    Can only suggest patience. I've no experience of Echinacea from seed but I do grow a fair number of others. I planted dahlia seed and they germinated in 4-5 days. At the same time I sowed some F1 pelargonium seed, I just about abandoned them after three weeks waiting and up they popped. Good luck.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,006
    I looked into growing them from seed once, but didn’t, seemed tricky. As I recall they need cold and damp stratification first, not heat - the advice I read was to keep them in damp compost in the fridge for a month before sowing. Then germinate outside in a cool, sheltered place. As soon as they sprout (a month or more) bring them indoors and give them some heat on a sunny windowsill. Of course someone will come along and say they just toss them straight in a seed tray and voila 😆 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • GrajeanGrajean Posts: 413
    Thank you both. I will  wait a little longer.
  • CrazybeeladyCrazybeelady Posts: 649
    @Grajean I have planted some this year and most germinated. As @Nollie said, I'm afraid I didn't do anything special, just put them in an unheated propagator on a windowsill. They did take a while though, probably more than 2 weeks, and they seem to be very slow growers in general. 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,218
    I got some going (White Swan) last July, in a seed tray on my windowsill. It was too late for them to get going before autumn and I think I lost them in the end but they did germinate! I would buy some plants tbh. You'll get plenty of seeds from their seedheads and you can sow them in Autumn to come up the following spring, saving you a lot of mucking about.
  • CrazybeeladyCrazybeelady Posts: 649
    I agree with Loxley - it's recently dawned on me that they're very unlikely to be big and flowering this year, so I've bought some bare root ones too!
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,218
    6 for £5 at The Range!

    They do self seed, I had a mass of E. pallida come up last year from one partly buried seedhead. I was able to pick off and grow on about 15 plants.
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
    I sowed Eccanachea seeds just over 3 weeks ago. It said on the packet 21-42 days for germination. Every seed I put in has germinated already, they have germinated over this past week but the seed leaves are growing very slowly. I did nothing special with them. I sowed them in a seed tray and popped them on a heat mat.

    Now my problem seeds are Marigolds. I cannot get them to germinate. They are supposed to be easy too.
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    I showed some in autumn and the have still not germinated in the cold frame. I'll just leave them and see what happens
  • LatimerLatimer Posts: 989
    I showed E. Pallida end of last summer (can't remember when exactly) and got a decent return on germination. They were left in a sheltered spot over winter and they've either died back ready to shoot up soon or they've been eaten!! 

    I sowed more a week ago but no sign of any movement yet!!
    I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
Sign In or Register to comment.