Question Growing Chamomile from seed

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KimChick
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Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by KimChick » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:54 pm

Is there anyone who knows how and has been successful in growing German chamomile from seed?
When I lived in Southern Ontario, I could get plants from a garden centre; not so living out this way.
My local garden centre owner had met someone who has grown it but cannot remember who it was.
The last two times I tried, a couple seedlings showed, then died. And that was with good sun and spritzing with water.
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WLLady
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by WLLady » Tue Mar 06, 2018 7:45 am

Hey! i heard this stuff was horrible to grow from seed.....so i had to try it.
i used a mushroom tray from the store (well a few of them) and filled with dirt....i punched some drainage holes in the bottom. no reason why a flat of any type wouldn't work. then just regular "miracle grow" potting soil from good old TSC (it was on sale LOL). i then filled the trays, water them down, topped them up, then put the seed on the top of the damp dirt and sprinkled a handful of soil over the top and tapped it down lightly. i put the trays on a heat mat (which i think is what made the difference). they sprouted SLOWLY - like almost 2.5-3 weeks to come up, then i just abused them, watered them when i felt like it (but i didn't let them dry out), and they did amazingly well.....i started them in a greenhouse that was nice and warm in the sun, also, i didn't start them in march, but waited until april when the night temps could be kept above 0 in my greenhouse with a simple heater and the heat mats going. i think the bottom heat was the most important thing-OH and i also covered them with plastic to keep the humidity in for the first 2 weeks until i saw the seedlings, then uncovered them because i didn't want to deal with damping off.
hope this helps!!!!!
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KimChick
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by KimChick » Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:00 pm

April, huh? I will try that.
Have not heard of using a heat mat. I will have to think on that one. But, perhaps, I will start them in a warmer room.
And cover them until they sprout.
And all this... just for some nice, sweet, chamomile tea!
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WLLady
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by WLLady » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:41 pm

The fresh is so much better than bagged dry stuff.
The flowers are a bit short lived and it seems to flower all at once....so iactually missed a lot of flowers because "i will pick them on the weekend" lol. By then theyd dropped a lot....ah well. I still got a bit.
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windwalkingwolf
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by windwalkingwolf » Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:07 am

I had a volunteer bunch sprout on my lawn last year, no idea where it came from...the seeds must have traveled in wild bird doo-doo. If it pops up again this year, you're welcome to come and take it :)
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KimChick
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by KimChick » Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:17 pm

windwalkingwolf wrote:
Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:07 am
I had a volunteer bunch sprout on my lawn last year, no idea where it came from...the seeds must have traveled in wild bird doo-doo. If it pops up again this year, you're welcome to come and take it :)
Not meaning to rain on your chamomile offer, but that was probably Roman Chamomile, the ground cover variety. However, it is a very nice plant and smells great when walked on. German Chamomile is what I'm wanting to grow; it can grow to 18 - 24 inches high.
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labradors
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by labradors » Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:38 pm

I have some seeds somewhere. They are so tiny that it seems a daunting prospect to actually plant them.

When I was checking out what I thought was wild chamomile in my veggie garden, I found a plant with feathery leaves and blooms that look like little pineapples with no petals. Amazingly, it is called Pineapple Weed and it turns out that the pineapples make a decent cup of herb tea that tastes slightly of pineapple :)

Linda
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WLLady
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by WLLady » Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:56 pm

My 18-24 inch tall german chamomile was anything but, the stuff was easily 30 inches.....i think it liked the horse manure.....
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KimChick
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by KimChick » Wed May 09, 2018 2:57 pm

The seeds that I planted have sprouted after 4 days!! Yay! I hope I don't kill them by accident.
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Re: Growing Chamomile from seed

Post by labradors » Wed May 09, 2018 3:23 pm

Thanks for the reminder. I will try planting mine.

Linda
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