How to Grow Belladonna From Seed

Add cold water to a small bottle, and place your belladonna seeds in it four to five weeks before the last spring frost. Replace the lid of the bottle firmly. Replace the water in the bottle with fresh, cold water every day for two weeks to mimic the winter or cycle of freeze and thaw associated with snow melt that helps seed stratification, and eventually germination.

Drain the seeds and place them on a dry paper towel while you add moist potting soil to a seedling tray. Plant the seeds 1-inch deep in the soil, and place the tray in a warm area with indirect sunlight. Alternatively, you can plant three or four seeds in a 6-inch pot filled with moist soil.

Inspect the soil every day to ensure it remains evenly moist at all times, and water lightly as needed. Ideally, the seeds germinate in two to four weeks, forming tiny sprouts in the tray.

Locate well-draining soil in your garden exposed to four hours of direct sunlight every day. In spring, when the soil is workable, loosen the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches to break up compacted mounds. Incorporate 2 inches of organic matter, such as compost, humus, or peat moss, to the soil to improve its nutrient content.

Transplant belladonna seedlings to the prepared planting site. Carefully lift each seedling from the tray. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball, but two times as wide. Hold the plant with one hand as you cover its roots with soil until it is level with the surrounding surface. Space multiple seedlings 1 1/2 feet apart.

Irrigate the soil immediately after transplanting belladonna seedlings. Afterward, water when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil feels dry, since the plant prefers slightly dry soil to overly wet conditions. The plant usually grows 3 feet tall during the first year, and up to 6 feet tall during the second year.