First, greetings, I am very happy to be here.

Okay, on to my question. This coming Sunday will be 8 weeks that I have planted my Mandragora seeds (I ordered them from www.richters.com ) and two of the six that I planted for germination, sprouted about three weeks ago. My question is, why is it taking so darn long for the others to sprout? Each seed is in its own pot with very good soil and plenty of gravel at the bottom of the pot for drainage.

I covered them with about a quarter-inch of soil so they'll have plenty of room to develop a good tap root.

I live in the mountains of Southern Oregon, USA, I believe I'm in zone 8 and the weather is currently very warm. I'm keeping them in my bedroom window sill where they get lots of sunlight, some direct sunlight during part of the day and still get the coolness of the night because we keep our windows open. Anyway, why do you think the rest of them are taking so long to sprout? Was I just lucky with the two that did sprout?

I am a beginner at gardening all together, this is my third growing season and my first attempt at Mandragora. I grow only in pots inside my greenhouse because we have so many cats and other wildlife.

Thank you for having me here!

My curiosity got the better of me, I decided to dig up the seeds that didn't sprout and see what was happening with them. The seeds were still as hard as a rock! I've been giving them plenty of water, so they shouldn't have been so hard. Anyway, I decided to take a closer look, then, I accidentally cracked the shell to the Mandragora seed, so I removed it, then I purposely did it to the others and replanted them, is it okay that I have done this? Or should I have let nature take it own sweet time? Did I just ruin the seeds? Anyone have any help or advice for a first time Mandragora grower?

Bright blessings,
Bastet_HW