amilano
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Location: san diego

germinating seeds and not sure what to think

I am germinating some sunflower seeds in a damp napkin. I put them in the napkin/plastic bag last night and put them in a dark pantry overnight. I just opened the napkin to look at how they were doing and there are a couple of round dark purple spots on the napkin. some of the seeds are white and some are black, I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

the spots almost look like ink, I'm working on getting the picture to my laptop now. I'm just wondering if I should get rid of the seeds or what should I do? I'm totally new to gardening so I'm distressed!

Bobberman
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2437
Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:31 pm
Location: Latrobe Pa.

Some of my seeds are purple since that is the type they are. The old big sunflowers are a blak grey. Lots of the new and bird sunflower seeds are dark black and purple while some are a real light grey! You will see the roots or a white root extending from the seed when it sprouts!

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Not to worry, it's just a form of natural paper chromatography. The natural plant pigments are dissolved in the water and are deposited on the paper. If you were a scientist you could identify what the compounds are, by the colors, the distance they travel, etc.



Return to “Flower Gardening & Garden Design”