Florence Grovida Gardening

Herbaceous plants

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The growing of herbaceous plants from seed is by no means as widely practised as the growing of bedding plants or even alpines from seed. This is largely because most herbaceous plants are selected forms that require vegetative methods of propagation. However, there are many herbaceous plants, such as delphiniums and lupins, that can be grown successfully from seed.

Most hardy herbaceous plants, and especially those that disperse their seeds in the late summer and autumn, will produce seeds that require a period of exposure to the cold to break their dormancy. Their seed is sown in autumn or winter in containers that are then left outdoors; germination should occur in the spring.

Those plants that disperse their seeds in summer, after an early spring flowering, often do not show any dormancy conditions, especially if they are collected and sown slightly green. This kind of plant will then germinate quickly and establish a seedling before the onset of winter.

Some herbaceous plants, and particularly members of the legume family, such as lupins, produce seed with a hard seedcoat. This prevents the seed germinating until it decomposes sufficiently to allow the seed to take up water. To speed up germination, chip the seedcoat with a safety razor blade so that water can get in; alternatively, rub the seeds with a coarse emery paper or similar abrasive until the seedcoat is sufficiently reduced to allow water uptake.

Some herbaceous plants such as some lilies and peonies exhibit an unusual dormancy condition that delays seedling emergence. If the seeds are sown in the winter/spring period, the seeds germinate as the temperature warms up, but only a root system emerges. Exposure to a further winter's cold is necessary for the stem to develop. Therefore it is not until the second spring that the seedlings appear. For these plants failure should not be accepted until after the second spring; do not be tempted to throw them out if germination does not occur in the first season.