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Re: How do I grow perennials from seed???

I've been trying to get good information on perennial seed starting
too.  I've used the libraries at the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society (across from Symphony Hall in Boston) and the Loeb Library at
Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and browsed the bookstores.  On
the other hand, I have ZERO practical experience -- this will be my
first time.

_Park's Success with Seeds_ (by Ann Reilly) looks pretty good.  Its
reference section contains about half a page for each kind of plant,
with a picture of a seedling (useful for identification).  It covers
ornamentals well, and also vegetables.

_The Seed-starter's handbook_ (by Nancy Bubel) is apparently pretty
popular, but I didn't like it much.  It concentrates on vegetables,
but has some coverage on ornamentals.

Both of the above are apparently out of print, but fortunately the
book below seems far better than either.

By far the best book I've seen on seed starting, but also other forms
of propagation, is _Creative propagation: a grower's guide_ (by Peter
Thompson).  Timber Press sells this for $23 (one bookstore that stocks
it is WordsWorth in Cambridge, Mass. (http://www.wordsworth.com/misc/
other.html).  Thompson is a very experienced propagator, and has lots
of very down-to-earth advice on a variety of situations.  He doesn't
believe in fancy or expensive equipment, just good information and
good technique.  He covers everything from starting a few plants to
setting up a greenhouse to fill a 1/3-acre lot!

He has a "propagation table" which gives information on about 600
plants.

For example, for Stachys (lamb's ears), the propagation table reads:

Name    Seeds         | Cuttings                     | Divisions
        Cld  Htd  Cnd | Tip  S/M  Hdw  Bas  Rt   Bud | Div  Lay  Blb
                      |                              |
Stachys ...  3/4  ... | ...  ...  ...  6-8  ...  ... | 4:8  ...  ...

Which means:

Propagate by:

  Seed in a heated bed in March or April

or

  Basal cuttings in June through August

or

  Division of rooted shoots from parent plant in April or August

The dates are based on experience in England, so may have to be
adjusted for US conditions.

	-s