A while back Lynn asked me to consolidate the pictures I've been taking of the progress of my Semp seedlings. This will be my attempt to do so, and give a spot to continue as they grow.
I purchased the seed from Chilthern in the UK. Two different packages arrived, one labeled "Mixed hybrids and species" and the other "S. arachnoideum". As this is my first attempt at raising
Sempervivums from seed, I decided that rather than try and reinvent the wheel, I followed the basic advice presented by Jacki Cammidge in her
article on this topic. I used one of the standard trays saved from some prior purchase of bedding plants and filled it with some fine textured seed starting mix. I purchased some poultry grit to sprinkle on top of the soil. After soaking the grit covered medium, I sowed the seed on the 4th of April, 2011, one half of the tray for each type. Many places you will read about mixing the fine seed with sand to assist in getting even distribution. I thought I could do it without this, so proceeded to demonstrate to myself that it was a lot harder than I thought......and my results will show this! I purchased a piece of plexiglass to set over the top for moisture/humidity control. I put a label at each end of the flat, cut down in length so that it protruded about 1/4" above the top edge of the tray. The plexiglass is large enough that it rested on these labels and thus maintained a space for air circulation. Once the seed was sown, I did not water again. The flat was then place on my back patio in the shade. - Arlan
On the 7th of April, 3 days later, I discovered major germination, especially with the Mixed seed. Here is what they looked like:
This is the photo from April 10th... just about a week from sowing:
April 15th....
On April 19th I shared this photo on the Chat thread. At that time I thought the small darker green seedlings were a significantly different kind. In retrospect, I believe the newly germinated seedlings are just temporarily darker....
April 22nd....
April 26th....showing a newly germinated seed. I would imagine I could see newly germinate seed frequently through-out the next year, as some varieties may have different germination requirements, such as a cold period.
April 29th....one of the arachnoideum seedlings on the left and Mixed on the right. I removed the plexiglass at this time:
May 6th.....showing how crowded some of the seedling are...tribute to my "I know what I'm doing here" sowing technique!
May 8th, basically one month from germination.....one of the "Mixed" starting to really look like a Semp!
