A very stupid canna question....

[Shamone10]

Ok this is the dumbest question I will ever ask;

Is the first white thing that pops out a canna seed once it germinates the root or the shoot?

A very thick question I know, need to know which way up to plant them lol!



Also I remember someone said about the person who's selling lots of 12 Canna tuerckheimii seeds on ebay;

Well! I bought some in November, they actually sent 20 seeds I decided to try and get them going 3 days ago, left them for these 3 days in a glass of water on a radiator that was only on during the night and 19 germinated! and the one that didn't looks like a shrivelled kiwi seed anyway so I never expected it to do anything. Near on 100% and the seeds were apparently harvested September 2010 too.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Root before a shoot.

[Shamone10]

Thankyou very much, i'm a moron lol

[GoggleboxUK]

Root before a shoot.

....as the Aussie photographer said to the model.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Root before a shoot.

....as the Aussie photographer said to the model.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Thankyou very much, i'm a moron lol

There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers

Cheers, Barrie.

[fieldfest]

i got 12 out of 15 on the tuerckheimii, very pleased

[JoelR]

Do they germinate reliably in water? Does this work for all cannas?

[Yorkshire Kris]

Do they germinate reliably in water? Does this work for all cannas?

100% for three species last year for me germinated in water. At least 90% within 3-4 days.

[Kristen]

I Scarify first (holding them in plies / Mole grips - but not so tight that they burst!) and using a triangular file (the sort used to sharpen a wood-saw) to make a mark through the hard outer coat. You could probably use a hacksaw blade.

I first tried with a very sharp craft-knife, as I have seed recommended, but I nearly took my finger off and now think that is really bad advice as a consequence! I tried with a large pair of nail clippers, which seemed promising, but I never managed to get enough "grip" to actually nip the hard coat.

I soak in water that starts hand-hot - if they swell that is good for somewhere between 24 and 48 hours, changing the water several times in that period

I then put in a ramekin with a piece of very damp (bordering on sopping) kitchen paper at the bottom, and put some cling film over the top to stop it drying out. Thus they have both plenty of water, and some air. I stick it on top of the microwave which gets reasonably warm when it is on, but more importantly they get seen there, whereas in an airing cupboard I would probably forget. If your room gets cold (central heating off during day when you are out, say) then airing cupboard probably better - but do check on them twice a day.

Once they have chitted I plant them individually into 3" / 9cm pots of multi-purpose.

[sanatic1234]

Blimey that is a lot of work you do there kristen with your seeds mate. I just scarify using the nail clippers technique, soak for 24-48 hrs i don't bother changing the water in that time put the glass with seeds in on top of my kitchen cupboard and the water stays at room temperature. then once soaked i pop in to the heated prop and that is it. I never fail to get germination.

[huporhaha]

I dread chitting canna seed - either it is a tedious job with sandpaper or I end up shooting them all over the sitting room floor (usually under the sofa or a chair) trying to chit them with nail clippers or pliers. Yes, if you leave them in a warm place when soaking they will germinate but they need rescuing fairly quickly otherwise they will "drown". I can still hear my biology teacher stating, "Root before shoot, root before shoot........" after 40 years.......she was a good teacher though as she got me interested in all things horticultural. So glad she did even if she appeared to be a dragon at the time!

[JoelR]

I dread chitting canna seed - either it is a tedious job with sandpaper or I end up shooting them all over the sitting room floor (usually under the sofa or a chair) trying to chit them with nail clippers or pliers. Yes, if you leave them in a warm place when soaking they will germinate but they need rescuing fairly quickly otherwise they will "drown". I can still hear my biology teacher stating, "Root before shoot, root before shoot........" after 40 years.......she was a good teacher though as she got me interested in all things horticultural. So glad she did even if she appeared to be a dragon at the time!

Lost a few behind the telly the other night (later found them all). Tried a pen knife first and then got cross and tried the pestle and mortar which didn't break the shell either . They are very tough seeds. I will try germinating them in water. Thanks for the advice

[The Codfather]

Junior hacksaw, holding seed in fingers for me and then soaking them for me. Tried, nail clippers, pliers, knife etc.....but the seeds either went all over the place or I was going to end up in A&E.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Do they germinate reliably in water? Does this work for all cannas?

100% for three species last year for me germinated in water. At least 90% within 3-4 days.

I used nail clippers on many of mine but gave up after doing about half of each. I put them all in water together and they all germinated at roughly the same time, within a day or two.