Ptilotus From Seed – Surface-Sow in Light

Grow ptilotus from seed by sowing one seed on the surface, barely covered, in warmth and light. Joey seed is cleaned for a high germ rate — do not bury it.

Sow one seed on the surface, and keep it warm and in light

Joey ptilotus comes true from cleaned seed. Sow one seed per cell in mix that drains. Cover it so lightly that you can still see the seed after you water. Joey needs light to germinate, and sprouts in about five to seven days at 76 to 80 F. [1] [2]

1. Fill a cell with a well-drained seed mix. Sow one seed on the surface.
2. Cover with a thin dusting of vermiculite. The seed should still be visible.
3. Keep it at about 76 to 80 F, in light, and barely moist. Do not soak the cell.
4. Expect sprouts in five to seven days from cleaned Joey seed. Wild-collected seed can be slower.
5. Once it is up, let the mix dry a little between waterings so the roots search down. [3]

Move the seedling on before it gets root-bound

Do not leave the seedling in a tight cell. A bound plug flowers too soon and never makes a deep root. Move it into a small pot, then into the garden after the soil is warm. [4]

1. Grow the seedling in bright light, and keep the mix on the dry side of moist.
2. When roots reach the edge of the cell, pot it into a four-inch pot, or harden it off for the bed.
3. Set it at the same depth it grew. Do not bury the stem.
4. Wait to plant out until nights stay warm. Cold soil stalls a young plant.
5. For garden siting and watering after that, read How to Grow Ptilotus.

If the seed never comes up, it was probably buried, or the cell stayed soggy. Next time sow it on the surface, barely covered, and keep it warm and in light.