Willing your seeds to sprout faster won’t make them grow any quicker—but here’s some good news! There are a few tried-and-true methods that can speed up germination by as much as three times, especially if you’re starting seeds indoors.
Think about it—what’s the point of sowing your flowering annuals, perennials, or crops early in February, March, or April if the seeds take forever to sprout? It’s frustrating. You plan everything, prep the trays, find the perfect spot, carefully sow the seeds… and then? You wait. And wait. And wait. Sure, some varieties are quick, but others? They’re like watching paint dry.
Luckily, you don’t have to just sit around waiting!
Yes, you can help your seed germinate faster and even better, with a higher rate, or even “trick” them into starting early, and there are quite a few ways to do this, depending on the plant variety you want to grow in your garden.
Get ready to leave that frustration of waiting for weeks behind, and get your seeds to start when you want them to, not when they decide to start!
Is Speeding Up Seed Germination Safe?
Yes, speeding up seed germination is fully safe, whichever method you use. It is safe for you and for them, so, it’s a win-win situation. Actually, it may take you a tiny bit of extra effort (sometimes literally a few minutes), but it will improve the germination rate of your favorite plant flower or veggie.
There is one method which is not fully safe (for you), which only professionals use, which is using acid. I am not going to include it, nor do I advise it at all. You don’t need it, and why spoil your natural experience with chemistry?
Next…
Why Do Some Seeds Take So Long to Germinate?
Leaving aside bad quality seeds, some varieties take long to germinate, and thus delay starting your garden, for a few reasons:
Some seeds have a hard coating, so, it takes the radicle (tiny embryonic root) a lot of work and time to break through.
Other seeds have chemical inhibitors in their coats that actually stop them from germinating. And why? Usually because they are waiting for the right conditions. For example, they need to overwinter underground, and not germinate before the cold season comes. So, they have chemicals that break down only when temperatures drop to below freezing, only then do they know that spring is coming…
Some seeds need sunlight to germinate, so you will need to give them ideal conditions of light and darkness. If you sow them in your back yard’s beds, this is hard to achieve, but you can indoors.
Next, of course, seeds need the right temperature and humidity; these are easy conditions to achieve indoors, but hard to alter outdoors. But don’t worry; you can start them with a trick you are about to discover very soon!
Now, without further ado, let’s start with the first, easy, cheap and quite popular way of getting seeds to germinate fast.
1: Speed Up Your Seeds’ Germination Simply with Water and Soap!
Soaking some seeds in water for 12 to 24 hours is absolutely necessary, otherwise you will wait for weeks on end before they germinate. It is also a very common and old traditional method to soften the coats, so the radicles can pierce through easily. And, if you want to make it even more effective you can add a dash of natural liquid soap, which will help soften that hard “barrier”.
Do use natural soap, like Castile, especially if you are an organic gardener; don’t start packing your young plants with chemicals even before they start their lives.
What’s more, this method tells the embryos inside your seeds that there’s plenty of humidity outside, so it is time to wake up and germinate.
You will read online that it has a drawback: seeds also need oxygen when they germinate. Exactly, when they germinate! Before this time, they can easily withstand a day in water, just imagine when there are heavy rains and they have to spend even days in a paddle, or when they are carried away by rivers. So, that’s a myth to debunk.
As long as you don’t forget your seeds there for days or weeks, your veggies and flowers will be fully safe, in fact, you will get a much higher germination rate with many of them. If you plant them with hard coats, they will depend on rain or your constant watering to begin their life as plants, and many will simply fail to grow.
This way, what would take them weeks will only take a few days now!
This method is especially useful for largish and large seeds with heavy coats, like:
Vegetables such as:
- Fava bean (absolutely or they may not even germinate at all), 24 hours.
- Lupine, 24 hours.
- Peas and sweet peas, 12 to 24 hours.
- Beans, 12 to 24 hours.
- Okra, 12 to 24 hours.
- Beet, 12 to 24 hours.
- Parsley, 12 to 24 hours.
- Corn, 8 to 12 hours.
- Sunflower, 8 to 12 hours.
- Carrots, 6 to 12 hours.
- Cucumber, 6 to 12 hours.
- Melon, 6 to 12 hours.
- Squash and pumpkin, 2 to 6 hours.
However, do NOT soak:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
Decorative annuals such as:
- Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus)
- Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)
- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
- Marigold (Tagetes spp.)
- Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
- Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
- Four O’Clock (Mirabilis jalapa)
- Lupine (Lupinus spp.)
- Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus)
- Moonflower (Ipomoea alba)
- California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
- Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Stock (Matthiola incana)
- Balsam (Impatiens balsamina)
Decorative perennials such as:
- Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
- Blue Flax (Linum perenne)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Clematis (Clematis spp.)
- Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
- Coneflower (Echinacea spp.)
- Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.)
- Delphinium (Delphinium spp.)
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- Gaillardia (Gaillardia spp.)
- Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
- Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
- Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus)
- Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
- Penstemon (Penstemon spp.)
And, if you like growing shrubs and trees from seed (maybe you want to hybridize them):
- Apple (Malus domestica)
- Ash (Fraxinus spp.)
- Azalea (Rhododendron spp.)
- Birch (Betula spp.)
- Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
- Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii)
- Cherry (Prunus spp.)
- Chestnut (Castanea spp.)
- Elderberry (Sambucus spp.)
- Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)
- Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
- Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
- Magnolia (Magnolia spp.)
- Maple (Acer spp.)
- Oak (Quercus spp.)
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
- Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.)
- Rose (Rosa spp.)
- Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.)
- Sumac (Rhus spp.)
This method is also useful for some decorative varieties, like nasturtium and morning glory. Next…
2: Use Seaweed to Speed Up and Boost the Germination of Your Seeds
Here’s a simple, natural way to give your seeds a serious germination boost—seaweed! Packed with natural growth hormones like auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins, along with essential micronutrients, seaweed doesn’t just speed up germination—it makes your seeds practically eager to sprout! Faster, stronger seedlings mean quicker crops, and who wouldn’t want that?
“But I don’t have seaweed nearby,” you may protest. Don’t worry, you would need to make it into an extract first, which can be a longish process. But the good news is that you can buy cheap and ready-made seaweed extract online or from any good store, and these are all fully natural, organic products.
You should follow the instructions here, but you will have to mix it with water and soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours usually.
Which plant varieties is this suitable for? Almost all vegetables and decorative varieties!
It is actually one of my all-time-favorite methods for boosting and speeding up germination, because it also feeds the seeds in the meantime, so your little green friends have a really energetic and healthy start in life. Try it – and you will certainly notice the results!
3: Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Speed Up Seed Germination
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is like water with an extra atom of oxygen, nothing strange despite its chemical name, and it has many uses, including in gardening, where it can speed up the germination of your plants’ seeds, in February or any other months. In fact, it helps to break down the coat.
For this reason, you can use this very cheap and easily available product to speed up the germination of seeds with hard coats.
You should mix 1 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide with 10 parts of water, to start with, and then soak the seeds in the solution for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
For seeds with very hard coats, like fava beans, beans and peas, you can extend the soaking to up to 12 hours.
After you have soaked the seeds, you should rinse them in cold water, to get rid of the hydrogen peroxide; it is not dangerous for them, but you want your “baby plants” to find a fully natural environment when they start their life.
You can use the hydrogen peroxide solution for vegetables like:
- Beans (e.g., lima beans, kidney beans)
- Peas
- Lentils
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Squash
- Sunflowers
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Wheat
- Barley
- Oats
Or if these are your favorite decorative annuals and perennials:
- Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus)
- Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
- Balsam (Impatiens balsamina)
- Clematis (Clematis spp.)
- Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
- Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.)
- Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
- Delphinium (Delphinium spp.)
- Echinacea (Echinacea spp.)
- Four O’Clock (Mirabilis jalapa)
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
- Lupine (Lupinus spp.)
- Marigold (Tagetes spp.)
- Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
- Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)
- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
- Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus)
- Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
4: Use Cotton to Speed Up Seed Germination
I was at elementary school when my teacher decided to show us how to grow lentils; she simply put them on a tray filled with wet cotton, placed them on the window sill and, in a very short time, the tiny plants started growing. Ok, it was also to show us how the process works, but the speed was amazing…
Instead of using sowing trays, you can plant your seeds in humid cotton to speed up their germination. And why does this work? One of the problems we face when sowing in soil is that it keeps losing water, and then you have to irrigate regularly, or top it up. On the other hand, cotton has a much steadier and longer retention.
It shouldn’t be soaking wet, but quite humid, and don’t worry about the lack of nutrients; seeds have enough nutrients to feed the radicle and the cotyledons (the first one or two leaves, depending on the plant variety – scientifically, a clade, one of the main classification “ranks”).
You can use this method for most crops, apart from root vegetables, and virtually all decorative plant varieties. However, it does have a drawback: you will have to transplant each individual micro-seedling to a sowing tray or pot as soon as it has germinated and you see the first one or two leaves, or, alternatively, start fertilizing them in the cotton, with hydroponic products.
That energy packed in the seeds will soon end, and, while there are some nutrients in water, they won’t be enough to give your seedlings enough energy to have a strong start in life.
5: Scarification, a “Scary” Way to Speed up Your Seeds’ Germination
We’ll decide if you need to be scared of scarification as we go along. First of all, what does it mean? It means to scratch the coat of the seeds lightly, so that the embryo inside finds it easier to pierce through, because it’s thinner. But the question is, how can you do it?
Use some fine sandpaper.
Gently rub the seed on the sandpaper, till it slightly changes color.
Be very careful not to damage the embryo inside, under the coat. Less is more with scarification!
You can use scarification with large seeds and with a tough coat, like beans, peas, lupines, but it is impossible with small ones. The seeds must be fully dry, or you will damage them, so, do not soak them beforehand!
I’ll be honest with you; some gardeners use scarification, but I don’t like it. Ok, you don’t need to do one seed at a time, you can gently roll a few together on the sandpaper, but it is still fiddly, laborious and long.
But this is not the main reason. To start with, you risk damaging the seeds. Next, have you ever noticed that sometimes you buy “pink peas”? Many seeds now are coated with an antifungal substance to protect them when you plant them, and you would rub it off…
So, make up your own mind, but you know what I think about it now.
6: A Hot Bath Can Speed up the Germination of Your Seeds
We all feel rejuvenated after a hot bath, and so do the seeds of the plants you grow in your front and back garden. The “hot water treatment” can speed up germination, and it is a variant of other methods we have seen so far…
Heat up the water to 170° / 190°F (80° to 90°C).
Place the seeds into a heat-resistant container and cover them in the water.
Wait till the water cools down at least and…
Then soak the seeds for the same times as you find in method 1, water and soap.
This method is also useful for the same plant varieties as our first one, water and soap, and feel free to combine the two, adding some natural liquid soap; it won’t harm them!
Talking about which…
7: There Is a “Chemical” You Can Use to Speed Up the Germination of the Seeds of Your Plants: Apple Cider Vinegar!
As I said, you shouldn’t be using chemical acids to soften the coat of the seeds of your garden’s plants; they can also be dangerous for you. But there is a natural one that you can safely take advantage of: apple cider vinegar!
Using acids to break the coat of seeds is a “subsection” of scarification, but practically, this method is a variant of the water and soap one, and you can use it for the same plant varieties, and with the same timings as you find in our first point.
I quite like this method though, for two reasons: it is simple, natural and cheap, and, above all, apple cider vinegar is both a natural rooting agent and protection against fungi and bacteria! To get the best of both worlds then…
- Mix 1 part apple cider vinegar with 10 parts water.
- Soak the seeds as you would with water and soap.
I must say, if I had to pick my favorite germination speeding up method for these varieties, this would be it!
8: Use Cold Stratification to “Wake Up” the Seeds of Your Favorite Plants and Speed up Their Germination
As we said, the seeds of many varieties of plants native to cold, continental and temperate regions need a period of dormancy in the frosty weather to get the signal that it’s time to germinate, and this is called cold stratification.
They contain chemicals that inhibit their germination, which break down in chilly temperatures, and this is to prevent them from growing in winter, when the plant would die, but the seed survives.
However, we often store seeds in fresh, but not cold places, so, your seeds may simply not get the message, especially in warm regions. The solution? You will have to give them cold stratification, and here is how to do it!
- Use a medium, like paper towels, vermiculite, coco coir, peat moss or sand.
- Moisten it very lightly; it shouldn’t be wet, at all, it should only have some humidity (to hold the cold).
- Place the seeds in the medium.
- Place all in a plastic bag and seal.
- Refrigerate the seeds, at 35° to 40°F (1.0° to 5.0°C), which is the normal range of the average fridge for the right period for each variety (1 to 6 weeks).
- Check regularly.
Plant as soon as you finish the cold stratification.
Here are crop seeds that need cold stratification, with the timings:
- Carrots, 1 to 2 weeks.
- Spinach, 1 to 2 weeks.
- Onions, 2 to 4 weeks.
- Parsley, 2 to 4 weeks.
- Lovage, 2 to 3 weeks
- Chicory, 2 to 4 weeks.
- Lupines, 4 to 6 weeks.
- Leeks, 2 to 4 weeks.
Annuals that will benefit from cold stratification are:
- Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), 4 to 6 weeks
- Blue Flax (Linum perenne), 3 to 4 weeks
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), 4 to 6 weeks
- Calendula (Calendula officinalis), 1 to 2 weeks
- Columbine (Aquilegia spp.), 3 to 4 weeks
- Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), 2 to 4 weeks
- Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), 1 to 2 weeks
- Delphinium (Delphinium spp.), 3 to 6 weeks
- Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), 4 to 6 weeks
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), 4 to 6 weeks
- Larkspur (Consolida ajacis), 2 to 4 weeks
- Lavender (Lavandula spp.), 4 to 6 weeks
- Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena), 1 to 2 weeks
- Lupine (Lupinus spp.), 3 to 4 weeks
- Milkweed (Asclepias spp.), 4 to 6 weeks
- Pansy (Viola tricolor var. hortensis), 2 to 4 weeks
- Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris), 6 to 8 weeks
- Shirley Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), 2 to 4 weeks
- Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), 1 to 2 weeks
- Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus), 1 to 2 weeks
Not many crops require it, and cold stratification is not an alternative to methods that soften the coats: it is the only way to speed up the germination of seeds with these crops.
9: The “Heat Mat” Treatment That Will Speed up the Germination of Your Plants
On the other hand… Some seeds need to be reminded that it’s time to “wake up” in a warmer way – with heat! This is called the “hot mat” treatment, and it is quite fun.
- Sow your seeds in trays, as you would do normally to grow seedlings.
- Place the tray on a stable mat, it mustn’t be in direct contact with the heat source.
- Place the mat and the tray on a gentle heat source (like a radiator).
- Keep the soil humid at all times! Use a (makeshift) growing dome, and check regularly. The main issue with this method is that the soil dries up fast!
- Wait till the seeds germinate, it won’t be long!
That’s it! Now, the temperatures here matter, so, I have grouped the plant varieties according to it:
Crops to place at 77° to 86°F (25° to 30°C)
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Eggplant
- Cucumbers
- Melons
- Squash
- Okra
Crops to place to 68° to 77°F (20° to 25°C):
- Basil
- Beans
- Corn
- Lettuce (hot season varieties only)
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Crops are divided into hot and cold season.
With annuals and perennials, here they are with the relative temperatures, “cold” meaning70° to 75°F (21° to 24°C) and “hot” meaning 75° to 80°F (24° to 27°C):
- Marigold (Tagetes spp.), cold
- Zinnia (Zinnia elegans), hot
- Petunia (Petunia spp.), cold
- Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), hot
- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), hot
- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), cold
- Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana), hot
- Celosia (Celosia spp.), hot
- Salvia (Salvia splendens), hot
- Four O’Clock (Mirabilis jalapa), cold
- Lavender (Lavandula spp.), hot
- Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), cold
- Delphinium (Delphinium spp.), cold
- Lupine (Lupinus spp.), cold
- Penstemon (Penstemon spp.), cold
- Dianthus (Dianthus spp.), cold
- Milkweed (Asclepias spp.), hot
- Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.), cold
- Blanket Flower (Gaillardia spp.), cold
- Verbena (Verbena spp.), hot
So, from cold to hot, and now?
10: Treat Your Plants’ Seeds Like Hormonal Teenagers!
Hot, then cold, then… It feels like a hormonal change is coming on, like with teenagers… And in fact, little seeds have something in common with adolescents; hormones help them grow! In fact, they help them germinate as well.
There are three main types of hormones you can use to help the germination of your seeds, each with different characteristics:
Gibberellic Acid (GA3)
This is the most effective hormone to speed up germination.
It works in 3 ways:
It breaks the seed’s dormancy, so it “wakes it up”.
It promotes the production of enzymes that break the seed’s coat.
It promotes the elongation of cells (it makes them grow).
It is usually administered in very small quantities, 50 to 500 parts per million (ppm) mixed in water. So, half a gram for a liter of water maximum, to soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours.
Use the instructions on the packet, anyway, they are usually already diluted in the powder you buy, to make it easier for you to measure it.
Alternatively, you can sprinkle a tiny bit on a substrate under the seeds, but just a small dusting.
Cytokinins
These promote cell division, so the embryo develops faster.
They are used with soaking water, but at even lower quantities, 1 to 10 parts per million! Again, the powders you buy are already low concentrations of the hormone, and follow the instructions.
Auxins
These hormones stimulate root growth and they are actually better after germination, for young seedlings, but they are also used to speed up their birth.
You will need to use even less, 0.1 to 1 part per million, and as usual, the products you buy are already at low concentration levels and you’ll have to follow the instructions.
Using hormones is very popular with professional gardeners, farmers and growers, and they all know one thing: never exceed the dose! Use less rather than more, because if you get it wrong, they will actually inhibit your seeds’ germination!
With the most professional and “high-tech” method of all, we have finished our list.
A Few Final Tips…
No matter which method you use, if you don’t give the seeds of your plants the right conditions, they won’t germinate or they won’t grow well. Remember that some varieties need light, and you need to surface sow them, but never put them in strong, direct sunlight. They will need fertile soil and constant humidity (but don’t “drown” them)…
All the general rules still apply. However, now you know why you waited long for your baby plants to germinate, and how to speed up the process, you can start your veggie garden earlier, with better timing and with more success – yes, even in February!
Written By
Amber NoyesAmber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.
