I planted Hollyhocks, Candytuft and Chrysanthemum in two beds (about
30-40 seeds each); the beds were dug up-to a depth off 2 inches. The
soil is clay. I didn't bury the seeds too deep since they were quite
small ( just sprinkled them ).

There are only a very few plants sprouting; The hollyhocks have long
spindly stems .


I also dumped a bunch of Antirrhinum, Salvia and Larkspur in a small 1
inch deep tray and put them on the terrace under a plastic sheet in
the hope that they get better light. The soil was clay. I did NOT
provide any drainage because i can't water them when i go to college.

I generally water one a evening or twice depending on how wet the soil
looks. I placed them in reasonably bright sunlight to dull grey cloudy
light.

Not one seed has sprouted!


1. Why have such a small percentage of seeds sprouted?
2. What sort of magic-potion can i add to strengthen plant stems?
3. What are the symptoms of excess water and lack of sunlight? Isn't
there some sort of thumb rule to figure out how much water to dump?
4. Should you expose the seeds to sunlight before planting them?
5. Is there a fail safe recipe for sprouting seeds in controlled
conditions? That way i can figure out what i'm doing wrong!

I remember sprouting green-gram seeds by just sprinkling the seeds on
a cotton wad soaked in water and keeping the bowl near a window!
I used to get a 100% success rate! Why the heck are flower seeds
different? Why aren't they sprouting! Surely they should sprout!! All
it takes is a little light and moisture to sprout!!

Should i try them on a cotton wad (just sprinkle them on a wet wad)?

One chrysanthemum sprout has wrinkled leafs?? It's not getting too
much sunlight.