Trinidad perfume poor germination

[ecudc]

For the second year I'm giving these a go. Last year of my six seeds one germinated and then sadly kicked the bucket a month later. This year after nearly a month in a heated propegator, even though all my others are up and away, I again have one Lone Ranger Trinidad perfume who hopefully I'll manage to nurse through. However I'm wondering:

Should I give up hope on the remaining seeds in the propegator?

I have another pack of Trinidad perfume which I'm going to crack open but does anyone have any recommendations for getting tricky chilles to germinate?

[MarkPelican]

I've never tried these but is your propogator the right temperature. I've read somewhere that some chillis need it hot to germinate whilst others are more tolerant.

[the big lebowski]

whats your set up ? do you have lights ? what temp roughly is the room your growing them in ? is your prop an off/on type or adjustable ? do you keep the lid on or take it off and just heat the bottom ? and where are you based ?

[ecudc]

It's is a non adjustable propegator on south west facing kitchen window in the midlands. Bottom heat with lid on. I have an LED light over it. Ambient temp in the room is minimum 15 degrees.

[Mitzi]

I wouldn't give up hope just yet - I've just had my first Purple Peach chilli seed germinate - sown in December, it has taken 8 weeks, despite being in a heated propagator.

When you say all your others are up and away, does that include other chinenses? As the annuums and baccatums seem to germinate quicker than some chinenses for me. The latter need higher temperatures.

Freshness of seeds has a huge effect on their germination in my (admittedly limited) experience. Also source/supplier of seeds, although to be honest I've had very variable results with difference seeds from the same company.

Have you tried the damp tissue method of germination? It works better for me than sowing in seed compost.

Good luck!

[ecudc]

Hi Mitzi, my habanero have germinated. The seed has been new each year from two different suppliers. I have thought about the tissue method but not tried it.

[the big lebowski]

sounds like you have everything that would help you to germinate the seeds like mitzi says they can take forever to germinate ,stick with it and just see sorry i cant really offer any other advice

[Chris11]

Some varieties or batches of seeds just seem to take longer or have poorer germination rates.

As others have said, heat makes a big difference. I only have a basic heated propagator, and in the cold of January/February, I'm not convinced it really raises the temperature high enough. For those with the luxury of a thermostatically controlled propagator, I'd expect better results.

I'd also agree with fresh seed. Whatever it says on the packet, germination rates drop off each year. Even more dramatically with self-saved seeds.

One of the things that works for me is just sowing more seeds. That's a lot easier with self-saved seeds, or those of varieties that come in more generous seed packets. The Trinidad Perfumes are expensive and usually come in small packets, so I'd share your frustration with lack of germination.

If anyone would like to try an alternative, I'm offering Pink Habanero seeds as part of my giveaway. Habanero flavour but almost no heat.
Fresh seeds saved 2016 from the plant pictured

[Scarlet]

All of the above, but I'd also take the prop off the windowsill. It can get really cold and draughty at night. They don't need light to germinate so just keep the prop somewhere warm. It really does help.

[MarkPelican]

All of the above, but I'd also take the prop off the windowsill. It can get really cold and draughty at night. They don't need light to germinate so just keep the prop somewhere warm. It really does help.

I put mine above the gas boiler. High up in the kitchen warm and dark (need to watch for them germinating because they grow really quickly).

[Scarlet]

I have mine sat next to my Aga

[ecudc]

No aga I'm afraid and a combo boiler in the garage which is very cold one more is now up so that's a 100% increase in germination rate lol.