I've decided to go ahead and do some species specific pages- my plan is to update pages like this with progress reports and what I did with each species for germination.
Corydalis flavula is a winter annual. It's an annual, but it's lifecycle is not what we are used to with annuals. It germinates in summer, overwinters to bloom in spring and then dies off after flowering and hopefully setting seed. Most of us are accustomed to the warmer season annuals that sprout when soils warm and then their season ends with fall frosts.
Corydalis flavula is also called Yellow Fumewort. The common name just amuses me- it's like someone tried to figure out the least appealing thing they could name something and settled on a name the evoked the idea of something stinking and covered in warts. Maybe it didn't have that connotation originally, but I know to modern me that's what the name conjures up.
I selected this plant for my garden because it appeared on a list of recommended hummingbird plants for Michigan. As a spring bloomer, it's an important plant that blooms right about the time that hummingbirds are migrating north. The list I found is located here:
http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet/
Some of the plants listed are fairly obscure and nearly impossible to find in trade, but I really appreciate that the list is by time of bloom to let someone try to build a garden that provides full coverage for the hummingbird season.
https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Corydalis
Michigan has two native species of Corydalis, aurea and flavula. Unfortunately I could not find aurea seeds available anywhere. I will have to search again for those, though I believe I've seen them in bloom not too far away- so maybe I will have to get the timing right and gather a seed pod during the summer.
https://hayefield.com/product/corydalis-flavula-yellow-fumewort/
I surface sowed these seeds on December 27th in a 3" pot. This was not the correct time of year to sow these. They should have been direct sowed in late June to August, but, I only found this seller in December and decided to try anyways. The soil I used was Master Garden organic premium seed starting soil with coco coir available at Menards. That's such a long name, but, wanted to make sure it was clear. My local Menards only carries that one seed starting soil this time of year, but perhaps other areas have more where it could be confusing. They are approximately 12" below a basic LED strip grow light- room temperature is 62 degrees with no supplementary heat.
On January 11th, I have my first germination. It is just one and not even quite out of the ground fully yet. I will update with how many of the 15 seeds end up emerging. My plan is to keep the pot inside until at least January 27th and then move some outside. Though, if the seedlings look healthy, I may keep them inside a bit longer. They do need to experience winter- but, tempted to move them out in later February and then probably I will move them into the garage for any days below about 15 degrees. I do think it's really interesting that they and the Collinsia verna I planted on the same day have both had their first germination on the same day. Though, it would make sense that winter annuals would share a similar germination time frame- I still didn't expect first emergence on the same day. I don't see any way the seeds could have been contaminated with each other, they are in completely separate pots and trays. Fortunately, their foliage is very different from each other- so I will know shortly if I have some odd swapping of seeds.
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