In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes
On the other hand, cyclamen should be sown as you can. If you
delay, their germination may be delayed a full year, as most
species tend to germinate at the same season as mature plants
leaf out.
Primroses, cowslips and other primulas ditto, as you might expect.
On the whole, I prefer the approach of letting the seed germinate
when it will rather than *making* it germinate when I want it to.
This helps avoid the difficulty of trying to over-winter young
seedlings.
It's also less bother and leaves your fridge empty for olives, feta
cheese and other things.
For the record I have a germination success rate somewhere around
60-75% pot-wise; and often if *anything* comes up in a pot, I
o,ften get about 80% germination, seedwise. Of course, there are
wide variations from year to year and pot to pot.
Same here - either everything in the pot comes up or nothing does.
And this also applies in the second year - stick the failed pot under
the staging, with just a plastic bag over it so you don't have to water
it, forget it completely, and next spring, after a good cold spell, the
seedlings may have come up like mustard and cress. Or they may not.
--
Kay Easton
Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/