PegMc thank you for sharing your experience! I too started hundreds of saved seeds... a few actually sprouted in the first week, but an entire cookie sheet tray of seeds ended up being discarded into the garden, just in case any of them still had life. Some individual seed lots seemed to get the fuzzy grey mold, while others looked like they had rotted. It was hard to tell if excess heat was an issue, or the seeds just weren't viable. At that same time one paper plate full of Alloway Candy seeds(100seeds) still looked hopeful and had a few seeds germinating. Well, I started all the seeds on 1/18, and have had about 60 Alloway Candy germinate to date(2/8). I see in the paper plate there is still one more seed starting to sprout! I've been very surprised at the variable germination. FYI, I collected what appeared to be viable seed from these varieties: Hollyhill Pandora, Ferncliff Cameo(2/6 seeds sprouted),Karma Lagoon, Bride To Be, Bahama Mama, Sea Nugget, Parakeet, Hollyhill Black Magic, Karma Prospera, Precious, Alloway Candy( white, with very little pink, went open center in heat), Sweet Nathalie, Hollyhill Serenity, Hilltop Lost Treasure, Lynn Slight, Hollyhill Black Beauty, Gingersnap, Hollyhill Donnatella, Dikara Superb, Great Silence, Hollyhill unnamed cream colored(12/100 seeds germinated). Most of these varieties only had a small number of seeds, but others like Dikara Superb had scores of seed. Needless to say i was disappointed when they didn't germinate, but I've got about 70 seedlings at this point. I'm hoping the Alloway Candy seedlings are not all open center like the seed parent was.
