This evening when I went to WM, I noticed they had their seeds in already. As I was checking them out, I noticed Passiflora seeds. I already have one and would love to have a second, so I had to grab them. I mean look at the flower, who can resist that.
Now that I had the seeds, I figured I better read up a little. Some seeds need a cold period (stratification), some need bottom heat and some need to be roughed up a bit (scarification). These seeds need to soak over night before they are planted. I read that after soaking the seeds in water, the viable ones will sink to the bottom, leaving the dead ones floating.
There is a catch though, Passiflora seeds can take up to a year to germinate, so one must wait at least a year before the seed can be considered a dud. Well of course I have to see this for myself because I have never heard of this before. I have no problem planting both sets of seeds in separate containers and leaving it for a year. I think it would be really interesting too see what happens.
Now on the back of the seed packet it states that germination can take anywhere from 20-45 days. Every site I visited tonight said it can take up to a year. Are these "special" seeds that are guaranteed to grow? Probably not. Either way, someone is misleading someone .
So from seed to flower it can take upwards of 2 years (the seeds can take a year, and I have read that it can take a year to produce it's first flowers). Again I am getting conflicting information. Some say a few months: the seed pack says to plant them 10-12 weeks before the last frost and that it should bloom from July until the first frost. Others say a few years. Shouldn't they have to mention this on the package? I was expecting flowers this year. Most people expect that after planting seeds in the spring, they will see a plant in a few weeks and flowers by the end of the season. If I saw nothing for the entire season, I would assume the seeds were crap. Just a tad misleading I think.
I am still excited to grow them, a little disappointed, but still eager to do it. I didn't realize it could take so long until I read up on them. AND, I wonder if my flower is going to look like the one pictured on the package, the white flower, with the white and pink corolla's. I can't even find another pic that looks somewhat the same. I can find pics that resemble the purplish ones on the package, but I bought them for the pink and white flower. I guess I will see.......in a few months, years, who knows??
**EDIT** 24 hours later, all the seeds have sunk to the bottom, so there is no need to do anything other than plant them.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Passion Flower Seeds
Posted by Tracy at 2:41 AM
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2 comments:
Good luck with these seeds ... I have tried twice (with this same package) - maybe I didn't leave them long enough to sprout.
I hope you have better luck than I did... I bought two passion flower plants at the garden centre last year and have - so far - managed to keep them alive.
Well thats not encouraging.....lol. Everything I have read is quite discouraging about these seeds. I bought my other passion vine as a plant as well, so if this fails, I will just buy another. They really should put a "disclaimer" on the package......lol. I planted them all last night, and put them close to a heating vent for warmth......only time will tell.
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