Peony Seeds from Hirt's Gardens
Friday, February 8, 2013
2013 Peony Seeds From Hirt's Gardens
Talk about instant gratification - I ordered these seeds on Sunday, and they arrived in my mailbox on Wednesday! I must say I am impressed with Hirt's Gardens and the seeds I ordered from them on Ebay. All of the seeds were the correct number as promised except for P. banatica, which had one extra seed in it. This is what I received: P. ludlowii (2 seeds), P. mascula (5 seeds), P. officinalis banatica (5 seeds), P. tenuifolia (5 seeds), and P. wittmanniana (5 seeds). The peony seeds came with some interesting instructions. "PLACE SEED IN MOIST VERMICULITE IN PLASTIC BAG. PLACE IN WARM AREA OF THE HOUSE OUT OF THE SUN. WHEN THE ROOTS APPEAR, MOVE TO REFRIGERATOR FOR 10-12 WEEKS. TRANSPLANT WHEN SHOOT ARISE." I must admit I've never gone to that much trouble to germinate any seeds before. The most effort I've put forth is starting my vegetable seeds indoors for my vegetable garden, but no refrigeration was required. I might actually follow these instructions out of curiosity just to see what happens. I'll let you know how they do...
Peony Seeds from Hirt's Gardens
Peony Seeds from Hirt's Gardens
I checked their website, and they charge quite a bit for these peony seeds.
ReplyDeleteThe cheapest place I found is ali express where they charge 0.04 per seed.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-100pcs-pack-colour-mixture-Chinese-Peony-seed-The-four-seasons-of-sowing/743837868.html
So far I have simply germinated all my seeds out in my garden beds. The good part is that it is pretty easy and some seeds will end up sprouting. The downside is that they are prone to attack from pests such as slugs and pill bugs so it seems like many of them end up getting eaten before they get a chance.
Steve, that is good information. However it does look like you have to buy 100 of those 4 cent seeds, making them $4.00 a pack. I might try some anyway just out of curiosity. I don't think they'll be here in 3 days, though! I'm sure the shipping time from China will take much longer. Also the seeds I bought from Hirt's Gardens were different peony species seeds. These look like they are all tree peony seeds.
ReplyDeleteLooking at all the posts on peony seeds, it does look like all their pictures show only Chinese tree peony species. I guess they probably produce seeds the most often in China.
DeleteI'm afraid to buy the ones with less seeds listed because I have had some sub-par sprouting rates from some eBay vendors, while others have over 50% viability. Sprouting rates also seems to vary greatly from species to species.
I will be interested in seeing how your seedlings look for whatever you have set to come up this coming spring.
Steve, I am curious to find out what the germination rates will be as well. I'll keep you posted. Also I'll have to keep a watchful eye on my peony seedlings this year to see if I can get a few pics when they are first coming up!
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