Subject: Starting Columbine from seed

From: [email-masked] (Keith Kowalski)
Date: 2 Mar 1995 15:11:24 GMT

Has anyone out there started species Columbine from seed? Hate to let 
all that came through winter hanging in the seed pods go to waste. 
By the way, I saw them planted with blue balloon flowers in the Atlanta 
Botanical Garden and the comb. was really nice. Any help would be 
appreciated. 
Keith Kowalski at <[email-masked]>

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From: [email-masked] (Don Bonner)
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 1995 06:52:31 GMT

>Keith Kowalski at <[email-masked]>

Columbine is a favourite plant of mine.  The best way to plant the seeds is to 
plant them in July in your veggy garden.  Plant them like you would 
plant any other vegetable in nice, neat rows.  You would then thin them out 
and transplant the thinned out plants in another row.  Now you can do one of 
two things. 
1) Leave them in the garden for the winter and then transplant them in the 
spring in your perenial garden.
2) transplant them in late september in your flower garden so they will bloom 
next year.
You don't have to keep the seeds over winter, they can be planted the year 
they are produced.
Since Columbine is a plant the flowers in it's second year by planting in July 
they will bloom the next year. 
If you wait till after winter to plant them you will have to wait for another 
year before you will have flowers.
This actually is the best way to plant most perenials.

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From: [email-masked] (Meredith Morris-Babb)
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 95 19:33:14 GMT

In Article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Keith
>Keith Kowalski at <[email-masked]>

Keith - I always open up the pods and scatter the seeds in the fall.  Given
decent soil (and if you are in the South, that's not always a given ;-)  ),
they will be blooming the next year.  I had great success with this and now
have sixteen plants of my white Showy from a single plant two years ago.

I vote for stickin' 'em in the ground and go!

Meredith

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From: [email-masked] (SunGardens)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 21:12:06 -0500

Columbine seeds generally need at least 4 weeks of a cold moist
stratification period (cold and moist as in winter outdoors or in a baggie
of moist peat moss in your refrigerator).  They also need light to
germinate so if and when you sow them, just broadcast the big black seeds
on the surface of wherever you're doing it and do not cover the seeds with
soil.  Around here (east Tennessee) all Columbines become almost weedy and
seed in readily even on less than perfect soil.  They also seem to do
great in full sun as long as the drainage is good.  Remember that
Columbines hybridize like crazy so the seedlings resulting from pure white
ones when grown near McKanas Giants, for instance, may come out almost any
color.  Good luck.

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From: [email-masked] (Denise Henry)
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 22:37:16 +0000

Don Bonner ([email-masked]) wrote:
: >Has anyone out there started species Columbine from seed? Hate to let 
: >all that came through winter hanging in the seed pods go to waste. 
: >By the way, I saw them planted with blue balloon flowers in the Atlanta 
: >Botanical Garden and the comb. was really nice. Any help would be 
: >appreciated. 
: >Keith Kowalski at <[email-masked]>
By now if you are lucky (and not too tidy) the seed that did not make it 
through the winter in the seed pods will already have sown themselves around
and may already be small plants that you can move . I have found that either
self sown or planted in a pot nature does know best and as soon as the pods
are ripe in autumn is the best time to sow. They seem to like my moist soil
and self seed freely so long as I am carefull not to do too much hoeing 
round the parent plants in autumn. 

Denise

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From: [email-masked] (SunGardens)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 21:12:06 -0500

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From: [email-masked] (Denise Henry)
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 22:37:16 +0000

Denise