Old mixed seeds with sentimental value- WWYD?

[PlumpkinPete]

I have some seeds from my DM's garden. She died seven years ago so they're pretty old. She gathered them herself and they've been kept in envelopes.

I gave some to relatives at the time but kept some as I wanted to plant them myself but it was too overwhelming at first, then we were in a flat with no garden etc

We're about to move into a house with a garden and I'm going to plant them. I know some won't germinate or maybe none of them will and I'm ok with that now but I'd like to try.

It's there anything I can do to give them their best chance? I'm a real novice gardener so no idea what would work best.

Some are labelled, some aren't. Labelled ones are marigolds, sweet Williams, foxgloves, 'whites' (don't know if that's the name of the flower or she just meant they're white!)

Should I just wack them in the ground? Put them in a pot? With fertiliser? At any time of year?

Any advice very welcome!

I would plant them in the ground and give them a chance. Give the soil a bit of a hoe first, add a bit of fertiliser and/or compost, mix it in and plant the seeds. Foxgloves are beautiful and we just leave ours to seed and do their own thing. If nothing grows you can easily buy some replacements of your Mum's favourite flowers. My Granny used to grow Honesty and I had never seen any since she died but we planted some wildflower seeds 2 years ago and now we have a garden full of the stuff as my DH kept the seeds from them. I always think of my Granny when they flower and it doesn't matter that they didn't actually come from her garden.

Lovely idea to grow them - where you have named varieties you can google for general planting advice but spring is generally a good time for most seeds. The difficulty of putting unknown seed into the ground is that you're never going to be entirely sure if what germinates comes from that seed or random weeds, so compost might be easier!

As a safeguard in case they don't germinate, could you have some of them preserved in resin or similar to make a memento? Some seeds are quite pretty.

Whites are possibly pinks, ie white carnations.

I'd sow them in seed trays personally, and see what comes up.

If it helps I am still sowing seeds from a company that went bust about 15 years ago. So there is always a chance.

Marigolds sow now in a tray of compost. Keep moist and prick out into individual pots when they are big enough to handle.

Foxgloves and sweet William are biennials so you might be better to wait till around June. Then follow the method above. This year you will get small green plants, no flowers. In early October time, plant those plants into the garden and you will have flowers next year.

If you manage to raise flowering plants, you can save the seeds so you can plant again next year (they will also self sow, especially the foxgloves). Foxglove seed is tiny and goes everywhere. When it's dry shake some from the flower head into an envelope.

If you keep deadheading the marigolds you can keep the flowers going well into autumn. At that point start leaving the flower head on to form seeds. When the seeds are dry and about to fall off the plant, put them in an envelope for next year.

PS don't use fertiliser with seeds - no need and could do more harm than good.

You can sow indoors or outdoors but I'd definitely use a pot of clean compost so you know anything that grows is from the seeds

As these are of sentimental importance I'd go all out, heated propagate from eBay £25 or less plus John Innes seed compost.

Good luck!
Keep the hand written envelopes and remember to collect this years seed harvest yourself.

Forgot

I wouldn’t put them into the ground as you won’t recognise which are yours and which are self seeded wild flowers.

Propagator if possible, most seeds germinate better with gentle heat all day. Otherwise on a light window sill, not south facing. Don’t sow too deeply, not more than twice the depth of the seed. Some seeds, often small ones, need light to germinate, so scatter some on the surface. Make sure soil is moist. Cover with a transparent lid - plastic trays from food shopping, plastic bags.

Check daily and water if necessary. Come back for more advice when they’ve germinated (anything from 1 to 4 weeks)

Agree with @MereDintofPandiculation & prev posters: as these are precious to you, don’t put direct in ground but grow in trays

I don’t think 7 years is especially old, and hope you will have success with it. A lovely way to remember your mum x

Second the advice above. But before you splash out on a propagator, have a look round your house for a warm corner. I germinate all my seeds in a tray on the floor of the ensuite where the heating pipes run to the towel rail. Works just like a heated propagator. Just remember to check them every day and remove to a well lit place as soon as the first ones germinate.

Also label carefully, I would recommend using a label in the pot as well as a piece of tape stuck on the pot itself. 'Helpful' children, animals knocking things over etc can play havoc with standard labels.

If you have loads of each type I'd start off by sowing half and keeping the rest back. It will give you another chance in case of problems.

Good luck, it's a lovely idea.

I germinate all my seeds in a tray on the floor of the ensuite where the heating pipes run to the towel rail. I think the cats would take a dim view if I tried that!

Thank you everyone, I knew lovely MNers would see me through When I say we're moving, today is literally moving day! (I came across the seeds again on Tuesday going through drawers, which prompted me to post)

We have a few days off next week so it's on my list to get a propegator when we go to the garden centre and try half of them in that, keep the others back for a second go. Then I'll transplant out into a nice trough.

I have happy memories of mum sitting in the garden enjoying the flowers when she wasn't really well enough to do a great deal else and some of them are from the last mother's Day gift I got her, so it will be lovely to have a bit of that with us

@PlumpkinPete, what a lovely thread, and sentiment.
I am great at buying seeds and rubbish at getting round to sowing them. This means I am often using those several years old, and have good germination rate still. Would agree on a heated propagator with small sections in.
Good luck with your move, and please do come back to post (hopefully) pick of your mum’s flowers