Want to grow unusual houseplant varieties that you can’t find in stores or even online? Try growing houseplants from seed. A surprising number of houseplants can be easily grown from seed.
Houseplants that Grow From Seed
- African violet
- Asparagus fern
- Cactus
- Coleus
- English ivy
- Palms, including ponytail palm
- Peace lily (Spathiphyllum)
- Rubber tree
- Succulents, including aloe vera, living stones and Sansevieria
(Healthy Houseplants.com)
How to Grow Houseplants from Seed
The secret to growing houseplants from seed is keeping the seed moist when it’s germinating and providing the seedlings with good lighting once they come up and begin to grow.
Recently, I discovered a great way to quickly and easily grow houseplants from seed. The AeroGarden Seed Starting System works like a dream when it comes to planting houseplant seed. Using the system, I grew beautiful coleus plants from seed in just 37 days.
The AeroGarden system also works well for edibles, like strawberry plants, which also did well in my first combined batch of plants. Just two months after planting little, bitty alpine seeds I have plants that are fruiting!
Using the AeroGarden Seed Starting System is super easy. I have to admit that I was shocked at just how easy. You simply fill the AeroGarden with water; insert grow sponges into the seed starting tray; place the tray in the machine, and sprinkle seeds inside of the sponges.
Once that’s done, you add provided liquid fertilizer into the water and program the system. The system will cycle water at certain intervals to keep the seeds moist. Lighting turns on and off automatically. All you have to do is watch to see when it’s time to add water and/or fertilizer. And of course enjoy the show!
(Healthy Houseplants.com)
Transplanting the baby houseplants when they’re ready is also a breeze. You just lift each grow sponge with the plant out of the tray and plant. One word of caution—don’t wait too long to transplant your houseplant seedlings. I did that with a few coleus and the roots were intertwined quite a bit. I did manage to untangle them, but it was work that could have been avoided had I transplanted a week earlier.
Growing Houseplant Seed in Soil
If you wish to plant seedlings in soil instead of an AeroGarden, keep the following tips in mind.
1. Use a seed starting tray that contains drainage holes.
2. Fill the tray with damp, lightweight seed starting mix.
3. Sprinkle houseplant seed on the top of the seed starting mix. Cover with a fine layer of more seed starting mix.
4. Spray the top of the soil with a fine mist of water to completely dampen the soil.
5. Cover the seed starting tray to keep in moisture and hasten germination.
6. Keep the soil moist but not soggy while the seeds germinate. If allowed to dry out, the little seedlings may expire!
Once the seedlings emerge, place the seed starting tray in a location with bright light. An unobstructed eastern or southern window will work well during the spring and summer months, but it may not provide enough light in the fall and winter months. In that case, you’ll want to provide them with supplemental LED or full-spectrum lighting. Keep young houseplants moist at all times.
In the next blog post, we’ll discuss how to get baby houseplants to grow big and healthy!