The
Mediterranean Garden Society

Chantal Guiraud from Montpellier, France is running a seed exchange for MGS members. Chantal has a good selection of seeds, a list of which appears below, mostly provided by herself but also now from our members. The list is now open for orders. Please read the instructions carefully before you order and remember that although you are not obliged to send seeds in exchange, only by receiving seeds from members can Chantal add to the list of seeds on offer. Watch this page for additions to and deletions from the list. F P

• The list is now open for orders.
• This seed service is open at no cost to all paid-up MGS members, who may order up to 10 packets of seed per year.
• Those who donate seed may order up to 15 packets.
• The seeds being ordered should be written in alphabetical order and it would be a good idea to provide a second list of possible substitutes in case we have run out of the seed requested.
• Do not forget to include your name and address when you request seeds.
• Orders should be sent to: mgsseedlist@gmail.com
  

• Seed donations should be sent to:
  
  
  Chantal Guiraud
  75 rue de la Vieille Poste
  34 000 Montpellier
  France

• The seeds should be removed from their pods or protective covering, then placed in paper envelopes. Do NOT use plastic envelopes. The scientific name of the plant and the year in which the seed was harvested should be written on the envelope. A list of all seed sent should also be included, together with the donor’s name and address.
• We accept all seeds, though with a preference for those of plants from mediterranean-climate areas.
• Members are expected to know and abide by the laws of their country regarding the importation of seeds.
• The seeds in this list are exchanged between garden lovers, entirely on their own responsibility: in particular, the MGS bears no responsibility for accuracy of naming or for germination. This seed exchange is in no way a commercial transaction to which any specific regulations apply. Seed from hybrid plants (cultivars) may produce plants which do not have all the characteristics of the parent plant.

Seed List
November 2008

Sowing in summer

Even if the ideal periods for sowing perennials are spring or early autumn, late August is a good season for beginning to sow. The trick is to learn how the plant would germinate and grow in nature. So try to sow the seed at the same time that it would be sown naturally.

For seeds needing cold stratification, like acanthus, the easiest way is to sow them and put the pots outside for the winter, letting Mother Nature do the work. You just have to make sure the pots don’t dry out. Seed only starts the germination process in the presence of moisture; once this process has started, drying out is fatal to the seed embryo.

Most perennials will need at least two growing seasons to reach flowering size, while some require more time. So, if germination occurs in autumn, over-winter the seedlings in a greenhouse or a cold frame. Don’t throw out a seed pot just because nothing seems to have happened, sonce some plants take two or three years to germinate.

Here is a list of some perennials to sow in late summer: Alyssum saxatile (syn. Aurinia saxatilis), aster, campanula, catananche, centaurea, gaillardia, gaura, geranium, gerbera, perennial grasses, nepeta, dianthus, papaver, salvia and scabiosa.

Biennals are best started in late spring or summer for transplanting to their permanent homes in late summer or autumn: violas, Cheiranthus cheiri (syn. Erysimum cheiri), Bellis perennis, Hesperis matronalis, etc.

Fast-growing hardy annuals are usually sown in spring but they can be sown in July and will flower later in the season, as for example: Eschscholzia californica, Centaurea cyanus, Delphinium ajacis (syn. Consolida ambigua), Dimorphotheca aurantiaca, Iberis amara, Linaria maroccana, Reseda odorata, Calendula officinalis, Chrysanthemum carinatum, Alyssum maritimum (syn. Lobularia maritima) or Tropaeolum majus.

Chantal Guiraud