What a grand suprise I had tonight when I opened my greenhouse door – the very first bloom on the Zantedeschia aethiopia Green Goddess I grew from seed was waiting for me!
I was so excited I had my daughter Sarah stop decorating the Christmas Tree to come and see the bloom!
Angel, my yellow lab, followed wondering what I was so excited about!
Poor Sarah had no shoes on and had to leap over the wet ground to get into the greenhouse to see the flower.
She was not quite as excited as I was, but hey, she has yet to grow her first seed to the flowering stage!
How To Germinate Zantedeschia Seeds
I prefer starting seeds in damp paper towels because I feel it helps increase my germination rates and prevents wasting soil.
The way I do this is to fold a piece of paper towel in half, then in half again so I have a square.
I slightly dampen the paper towel.
You do not want it dripping wet.
Once the paper towel is damp, I open it and place the seeds inside.
I refold it and place it in a small ziplock bag.
I put the bag in a plastic shoe box with a lid and check the seeds daily.
Here is a video of me explaining how to do this.
For the Zantedeschia seeds, I placed these seeds in damp paper towels on January 23.
Believe it or not, I had four seeds that I started that day and ended up with four plants.
You don’t get any better than 100% germination!
The seeds took approximately 21 days to germinate, with the first seed showing signs of germination on February 6.
Potting Up The Zantedeschia Seedlings
That spring I planted two of the seedlings in the ground and left two in peat pots in the greenhouse pretty much neglected.
The ones I planted in the ground I fertilized and then mulched that winter with pine needles.
I then covered them with plastic hoping they would survive here.
Needless to say, last spring they did not come up at all.
In the corner of my greenhouse in a flat the other two seedlings were still setting, so I decided to pot them up with a Clitoria seedlings.
They grew like weeds this summer.
When fall came the planter went into my greenhouse.
Finally The Zantedeschia Blooms
I had no idea when they would finally bloom, let alone that it would happen during the winter months when my greenhouse was slightly on the cold side.
I simply cannot tell you how excited I was to see my first bloom tonight.
It is a lovely green as you will see from the photo.
The other plant appears to have a bloom getting ready to open on it as well.
The only fertilizer these plants received was a time release fertilizer that I put in the soil this spring when I potted them up.
Other than that the plants have received nothing but water.
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How To Grow Tropical Plants
Growing tropical plants - also known as houseplants - indoors is fun and enjoyable plus many of them clean the indoor of pollutants.
It is easy to grow exotic looking plants that produce tropical fruit and colorful flowers in a pot in your living room or office.
Many of these plants are easy to start from seed and I share with you five plants that I recommend for indoor growing.
I also share with you why growing your own tropical fruit saves money.
In this video you will learn:
How to bring tropical plants indoors at the end of summer
How to grow tropical plants indoors
How to protect and overwinter tropical plants outdoors in cold climates
How to propagate tropical plants
How to water tropcial plants
How to grow topical plants in a greenhouse