Content
- Worth knowing about the sowing of the mullein
- The simplest method of propagating mullein is self-seeding
- The targeted harvesting and sowing of the seeds
- Alternatives to sowing in the propagation of mullein
- Tips & Tricks
In hybrid plants, the seeds can be collected after flowering
Worth knowing about the sowing of the mullein
Since the wool flower or Mullein (Verbascum) is a plant family with one-, two- and multi-annual subspecies, the sowing of the seeds is a common method for their breeding and propagation. The inflorescences, which are populated with many single flowers, can sometimes ripen up to several thousand seeds.
The simplest method of propagating mullein is self-seeding
Since mullein works well even on poor soils, it also proliferates relatively well in sites such as gravel pits and railway embankments, unless it is overburdened by the competition of other plant species. If the mullein you have planted in your garden is not specially bred hybrid varieties, you can leave their propagation to nature. But you can not cut off the inflorescences directly after the flowering period and must accept the fact that the plants, which often only flourish in the second year, sometimes choose very idiosyncratic growth habitats.
The targeted harvesting and sowing of the seeds
If you leave the inflorescences of the flower after withering long enough and are not hybrids, then you can harvest the seeds of the mullein as soon as the seed pods burst. For best results, sow the seeds that are as fresh as possible in the fall in suitable full-sun locations and keep the seeds evenly moist. Since mullein is one of the light germs, the seeds should be only slightly eingarkt. Although a more controlled germination of the seeds is possible on the windowsill, the temperature should not exceed 18 degrees Celsius. Young plants with at least four pairs of leaves can be planted out in the open with at least 50 centimeters from April.
Alternatives to sowing in the propagation of mullein
There may be several reasons why alternative propagation methods are preferred to planting mullein seeds in the flower of wool:
In the mullein, it is possible to win so-called root cuttings for propagation. For this purpose, cut off pieces of the roots of a vigorous plant in the autumn about 10 to 15 centimeters long pieces. The above straight and down obliquely cut root pieces are overwintered in slightly humid substrate in an unheated cold frame or in a bright basement room and planted in the following summer, as soon as the first pair of leaves have formed.
Tips & Tricks
You have the least effort with the offspring of mullein, if you distribute the large quantities of seeds evenly in different sunny locations in the field and in the following spring simply cut out surplus specimens.