Propagation: 2015 Seed Starting, Part 5, 0 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
It's the coolest plant. It handles successive frosts, so I was still going out and cutting it to dine upon in December. The trickiest part is transplanting it. I found the best way to handle it is to germinate it on the surface of small peat pots and then transfer the entire pot. It is quite tap rooted, so it needs to be transplanted intact. It took me a few tries to figure that out. But the tap root is why it survives year after year. And if it does flower it then sets seed and does all the work for you.

It does take a while to germinate. Do I remember about 8 weeks?

I remember I was dreading starting it again but it turned out to be a piece of cake. I have it in two locations and it is beginning to spread.

This is not the world's greatest pic, since it is at the beginning of last season, but I am working on a combo of feverfew, heuchera (this one was newly divided), nepeta snowflake and parsley. All great groundcover plants. Geraniums were also nearby. (picture 1)

Then I popped in a rose. David Austins The Dark Lady. I will often put in plants that attract beneficial insects when I know a rose is arriving. It is important to get roses that are not subject to disease and insect damage. This way - no chemicals.(picture 2)

And then it all comes together when the rose blooms. If it's a low grower, I like to try to get the effect of a bright flower appearing from no where.(picture 3)