Growing seeds indoors
- Thread starter SSILVERN
- Start date
First, what are your intentions for growing Coneflowers (Echinacea or Rudbeckia spp.) indoors? Do you just want to start the seeds early for Spring planting, or are you planning to grow the plants to maturity indoors under artificial lights?
I would strongly recommend the former course over the latter, for a variety of reasons. I would also recommend using a sunny window for seed germination or even overwintering the seeds outdoors in a sheltered spot, as Coneflowers are quite hardy.
As for planting, if you have no in-ground space available, growing the plants outdoors in a large container is quite feasible.
Growing full sun plants under artificial lights requires a significant amount of equipment, effort, expertise, and energy, but it may be possible.
In any case, there are many models and brands of artificial light available. You will want to do your own extensive research for this, but be sure to also get a quality light meter, so you can accurately judge how much light the plants are actually receiving.
I would strongly recommend the former course over the latter, for a variety of reasons. I would also recommend using a sunny window for seed germination or even overwintering the seeds outdoors in a sheltered spot, as Coneflowers are quite hardy.
As for planting, if you have no in-ground space available, growing the plants outdoors in a large container is quite feasible.
Growing full sun plants under artificial lights requires a significant amount of equipment, effort, expertise, and energy, but it may be possible.
In any case, there are many models and brands of artificial light available. You will want to do your own extensive research for this, but be sure to also get a quality light meter, so you can accurately judge how much light the plants are actually receiving.
Wow.. My intent was to grow indoors with a growlight garden and then move outside springtime. Sounds like that isnt the right move. I was hoping a gardening guru could suggest what I could use. So what would you recommend as the simplist approach? If i grow them outside in a pot wont South Carolina cold winter weather affect them? Do they get enough light outside during Fall and Winter? Can you do me a favor and list exactly what I need to do to grow in an outside pot? Type of soil? What kind and size of pot? I have 300 seeds so how many are planted per pot?
No, on the contrary, starting seeds indoors for later outdoor planting is often a recommended course. However many Coneflowers (Echinacea or Rudbeckia spp.) do benefit from cold stratification to improve germination, though you may get some germination without it. In any case, both genera are quite cold-hardy and outdoor germination is also a valid method.
Before we proceed further I need to know exactly which plant you are trying to grow and your USDA Climate Zone, Please give the scientific name which should be included on most seed packages.
Before we proceed further I need to know exactly which plant you are trying to grow and your USDA Climate Zone, Please give the scientific name which should be included on most seed packages.