Martin wrote:
Help needed for a new gardener,
I sowed some Geranium, Clematis and some Chilean Glory Vine (CGV) seeds
about 3 weeks ago.
The Geranium are in the kitchen which is quite warm and started to grow
within 3 days (I now have 9 little babies from 21 seeds).
The Clematis and CGV seeds are in the window, in a bedroom which is a bit
cooler (probably between 15C and 18C. Both are in John Innes seed compost,
the Clematis having a light covering of compost and the CGV being on top as
directed by the packet. Each evening they seem quite dry so I give them some
water from a plant sprayer to keep them moist.
There is no sign of life yet. Am I being too impatient? Am I doing the right
thing? I would love to see these growing up trellis round the patio that I
haven't got yet!

Clematis takes up to 3 years to germinate. They need to be very cold
(fridge) then thawed, then cold again etc. It's called stratification.
Just like in nature, seeds needs the cold winter to germinate in the
spring. Some seeds needs to be rubbed in sand, some like wisteria needs
to be in warm water to soak for ages, sometimes some needs pre chilling
with -20C !

I've never tried clematis precisely because they are very difficult to
start. I've been lucky with a wisteria two years ago, but it's still
very small. I've just taken cappers out of the fridge after 6 weeks and
soak them again before sowing. Have you done this?