i have chinese five color pepper seeds i got from eaby. they are at 84-86 degrees half in damp paper towels in a zip lock the other half in soil . the ad said 95% germination. i have them four weeks . zero germination i live in nyc in an apt i only needed one to germinate so i would have something nice to look at on the fire escape. at what point should i raise the white flag and realize i got beat seeds? thank you
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seeds seed germination time
- Thread starter old man
- Start date
Yeah, 4-6 weeks is the absolute maximum, and surely chinese five color shouldn't take that long. 
millworkman
eXtreme
Check this link out
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/18353-never-give-up-on-seeds/page__p__389113__fromsearch__1#entry389113
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/18353-never-give-up-on-seeds/page__p__389113__fromsearch__1#entry389113
Not to hijack your thread but.................If you kept your seeds at say a higher temp, say over 90 degress, would that quicken the germination time?
The reason I ask is that I have some seeds a fellow member sent me, and I have them germinating outside, here outside is 100 degrees. Just curious if this will speed up the process.
The reason I ask is that I have some seeds a fellow member sent me, and I have them germinating outside, here outside is 100 degrees. Just curious if this will speed up the process.
millworkman
eXtreme
Once you go above 90 the germination rate seems to drop dramatically.
Guess I should bring them in, may bring in one pot and leave the other outside, see if there is a difference.
Thanks for the reply.
Glad you asked this question! I am having the same exact problem with some seeds I also got on eBay. Darn! Looking at the 4 to 6 weeks rule it seems I have some bad seeds.
Some scientist did a study about this a while back.
Germination time for peppers does indeed get faster as you get above 85...
The problem was, germination % also started going down - i.e., the hotter it was, the more seeds that were KILLED-OFF by the extra heat!
It's cooled-off out here a bit from the peak today...it's now ONLY 101!
I would definitely bring those guys indoors!
So, if a pepper plant is used to being propagated by birds, via their droppings, would there be any benefit to treating the seeds to some sort of acid treatment before attempting to sprout them? The acid treatment being a sort of simulation of being passed though a bird. Yeah, I thought of eating a bunch of peppers myself, but the thought of sorting through my own crap afterwards sorta put me off that idea.
I've heard of certain seeds requiring some sort of scratching of their surface before they would sprout. Maybe something like an acid bath on the pepper seeds would help them sprout quicker.
I've heard of certain seeds requiring some sort of scratching of their surface before they would sprout. Maybe something like an acid bath on the pepper seeds would help them sprout quicker.
Maybe I'm answering my own question. Maybe someone here might benefit.
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-spokane/seed-starting-scarification
From the preceding link I found the following information.
By Laurie Brown
Spokane Gardening Examiner
Laurie has been a Bonner County Master Gardener and small nursery owner since 1996 and a gardener for much longer.
An easier method of scarification is hot water scarification. In this technique, which I use on a lot of seeds, you place the seeds in a cup and pour hot (170 to 200 degrees F) water over them, to a depth of about 5 times their diameter. Do NOT use boiling water, as that will kill the seed embryo. Allow the water to cool and let set over night. The seeds should be plump and on the bottom of the container. I use this method even on seeds that don’t absolutely need it these days, because it both speeds germination and raises the germination rate. Seeds that are still floating after 24 hours can be pulled out and retreated.
Seeds that benefit from a hot water soak:
Peas
Beans
Sweet Peas
Nasturtium
Morning Glory
Parsley
Cilantro
Most tree seeds, especially maples
Squash, melons and cucumbers
Some people are even doing this with pepper seeds to speed them up.
Acid scarification is a technique I have yet to try. It’s necessary for some rose seeds, as well as camellias and some tropicals and cacti. Since I’m not that keen on growing those particular plants, I’ve avoided playing with the concentrated sulfuric acid aka battery acid. For a long time I wondered how a plant would evolve that needed strong acids for its seeds to germinate, and then I discovered that they are seeds get eaten by animals or birds, which means they pass through the stomach with its concentrated acid! Once they are pooped out, they are ready to germinate-and even have bonus fertilizer.
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-spokane/seed-starting-scarification
From the preceding link I found the following information.
By Laurie Brown
Spokane Gardening Examiner
Laurie has been a Bonner County Master Gardener and small nursery owner since 1996 and a gardener for much longer.
An easier method of scarification is hot water scarification. In this technique, which I use on a lot of seeds, you place the seeds in a cup and pour hot (170 to 200 degrees F) water over them, to a depth of about 5 times their diameter. Do NOT use boiling water, as that will kill the seed embryo. Allow the water to cool and let set over night. The seeds should be plump and on the bottom of the container. I use this method even on seeds that don’t absolutely need it these days, because it both speeds germination and raises the germination rate. Seeds that are still floating after 24 hours can be pulled out and retreated.
Seeds that benefit from a hot water soak:
Peas
Beans
Sweet Peas
Nasturtium
Morning Glory
Parsley
Cilantro
Most tree seeds, especially maples
Squash, melons and cucumbers
Some people are even doing this with pepper seeds to speed them up.
Acid scarification is a technique I have yet to try. It’s necessary for some rose seeds, as well as camellias and some tropicals and cacti. Since I’m not that keen on growing those particular plants, I’ve avoided playing with the concentrated sulfuric acid aka battery acid. For a long time I wondered how a plant would evolve that needed strong acids for its seeds to germinate, and then I discovered that they are seeds get eaten by animals or birds, which means they pass through the stomach with its concentrated acid! Once they are pooped out, they are ready to germinate-and even have bonus fertilizer.
Pepper seeds can pass safely through a bird's digestive track. Not so with mammals.
This is why peppers developed capsaicin as a defense mechanism - it sets-off the nerve endings in a mammal's mouth (to discourage them from eating it), but NOT birds. A bird can't taste any heat, only the flavor of the pepper!
Simulating passage through a bird, scarification (can be done w/sandpaper), chemicals, or other pre-treatments are only necessary (if at all) for a few of the wild varieties. Under proper germination conditions, most varieties of pepper seeds do not require any special pre-treatments in order to germinate.
Well Lazerguy, I'm glad i didn't try then. Thanks for the info too. The pepper seeds I tried to grow were from wild peppers that are generally propagated by birds. I tried just putting them in soil and nothing happened. Right now, I have a bunch of the seeds in between wet paper towels inside a plastic bag under a light bulb running 24/7. They've been in there over a week. Reading that it could take 2 months to sprout a seed, makes me want to find a faster way.
The seeds are many years old too, so anything I try might be a waste of time.
Old man, if you have any seeds left you might try the hot water deal.
I wonder if lemon juice would work?
The seeds are many years old too, so anything I try might be a waste of time.
Old man, if you have any seeds left you might try the hot water deal.
I wonder if lemon juice would work?
What a find…five months later it's too much!!
Maybe don't give-up quite yet, who knows what could happen.
I would think about getting something else going as a backup plan.
Well, I had one pot outside in 100 plus degree weather, and one pot inside, 79 degree weather. Both pots had 2 Assam Jolokia seeds in them I received from Alphaeon. The seeds were planted 8 days ago, today I have two seedlings from the pots kept outside, and one seedling from the pot kept inside.
So far pretty fast and good germaination rates on these seeds.
Thanks again Alphaeon!
So far pretty fast and good germaination rates on these seeds.
Thanks again Alphaeon!
millworkman
eXtreme
Thats great. I think the thing to remember is that when outside, even in direct 100 degree sun the seeds in the pot out there will not be that hot, probably around 90 or so. But either way, glad it worked out for you.