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Phacelia sericea

Silky Scorpionweed · Purplefringe · Silky Phacelia

Family BoraginaceaeGenus Phacelia

Dense purple bottlebrush spikes bristling with pale stamens, rising from rosettes of finely cut silver-gray leaves on gravel.
FlowerWalter Siegmund (talk)CC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
biennial or perennialPlants of the World Online
Habit
Biennial, Perennial, Forb/herb, SubshrubPLANTS Database
Flower
Dark blue, purpleWikipedia
Native range
Alaska, Canada, lower 48 statesPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributors.

Worth knowing

  • Sericea comes from the Latin for silky, after the fine hairs on its leaves and stems. Handle silky phacelia with care: its long flower hairs have been reported to irritate the skin. Wikipedia: Phacelia sericea

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 27, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: either

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 9 days to germinate.

80% germination in 4–9 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Phacelia p. 191Public domain
Show the original text
Phacelia (Hydrophyllaceae). P. sericea germ. 70(80-90% in 4-9 d) and 40(7%)-70. Light had no effect. This deleterious effect of sowing at 40 was observed on two independent samples.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Phacelia p. 191. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Very high Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 15, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C Light: either

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C Light: either

Steps after step 1 run on after germination.

Germination happens during step 1; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

7% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Phacelia p. 191Public domain
Show the original text
Phacelia (Hydrophyllaceae). P. sericea germ. 70(80-90% in 4-9 d) and 40(7%)-70. Light had no effect. This deleterious effect of sowing at 40 was observed on two independent samples.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Phacelia p. 191. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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