On 15 May 05 at 8:35, Mary Sue Ittner wrote: > ...Has anyone in our group figured out a successful way > to grow Tropaeolums from seed? I have successfully grown T. polyphyllum from seed. For the life of me, though, I can't tell what if anything the magic touch was. IIRC they were subjected to my usual regimen for hardy things: sown and the pot parked in a coldframe over the winter. It may be significant that the seed was fresh, off an established plant in my garden; they were probably sown not too long after they were ripe, but sowing may have been delayed until winter. These seedlings have been grown on in very large pots and I will get flowers this year for the first time, so maybe there will be yet more seed. > Does the time you start them matter? Clifton suggested > day length may have some effect on T. azureum. Does the > seed need to be soaked first? Obviously a bigger pot > would be helpful. I have had reasonable success with *germination* of seed from the exchanges in the past, but I didn't know how to grow them on. I always soak my seed for up to two weeks before sowing. So: it can be done. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island