Points to Note on Seed Treatment Before Sowing Flowers

Before sowing, flower seeds should generally be treated in some way, otherwise the seeds may easily fail to sprout. However, the seed treatment methods differ for different flowers. Here we explain how to treat flower seeds so they can germinate smoothly.

Tree peony

For seeds of different flowers, different seed treatment methods should be used: for seeds that germinate easily, the soaking method can be used. For example, scarlet sage seeds can be soaked in 40°C warm water for one day and night, rinsed clean, and then sown. For hard seeds such as asparagus fern, tree peony, orange jasmine, crape myrtle, and winter daphne, it is best to first soak them in 40°C warm water for about 48 hours, then sow them in potting soil; after 20 to 30 days, they will sprout and grow. For seeds with a short dormancy period that germinate easily, such as pearl bush and redbud, soaking the seeds in 40°C to 60°C warm water for 24 to 48 hours allows direct sowing.

Some flowers, such as lilac, wintersweet, and some herbaceous flowers sown in autumn, require a certain period of low-temperature treatment (0°C to 10°C) to promote after-ripening, break embryo dormancy, and germinate. The specific method is to mix the seeds with sand at 60% humidity, then put them in a plastic bag, tie the bag tightly, place it in a flowerpot, and bury the pot together in open ground 40 to 60 cm deep; alternatively, place the seeds in a refrigerator at 3°C to 5°C for 60 to 90 days, then take them out in spring and sow. You can also choose to sow in autumn, allowing the seeds to undergo natural freezing outdoors through winter and emerge and sprout in spring the following year.

Some flowers, such as fringetree and Chinese peony, have seeds with the characteristic of double dormancy of the radicle and hypocotyl, meaning their radicles need to pass through a high-temperature stage of 25°C to 32°C for 1 to 2 months or longer before dormancy can be broken. For this type of seed, before sowing it must be mixed with wet sand, undergo a period of high temperature, and then be transferred to low temperature; after high-temperature treatment, sowing in spring will allow rapid germination and seedling emergence.