Propagation: part XIII based on my own experience

I would be interested in the labels also Dave.

Oh crap Lee, I lost everything I wrote to you.

There is a Winter sowing forum in the list of them. Take a look. Those gals in it have talked me into trying it this year. I have about 30 milk jugs seeded with a lot of things like
Rudbeckias etc. They have not sprouted yet and I hope they don't for a couple of weeks maybe. With the weather we are having this year, due for 60s this week, I still don't trust it 'cause it is still March.

Jeanette

Ok Mindy..I will start a list.
Lee: I often reuse failed flats. Now you need to be aware of the down side to this practice. Used soil has the possability of being diseased so you might loose some or all of your seeds. I would use something you can replace or is lower on the might die if they don't germinate list.....
I ran a 10 acre nursery on the southside of tampa bay in florida.
I found the seeder and its only a meer $800.00 ... anyone want to buy me a present? I will keep digging a bit later to find an easy to get to pic.
here is a link to some of the equipment used in the bigger nurseries.
http://www.packmfg.com/photogallery.html

Have a great day
Dave

Oh yea i think I found the aluminum tags for a good price I just have to dig a bit deeper but it will have to wait as I am actually getting out of the house ...nope beyond the yard... OH NO they let him out....

Hey guys,I am out of business for awhile. The storm took part of my greenhouse down and all I could salvage was the starter gardenias. Part of the big barn roof went too. I will not know what is alive until I see what the weather is tonight. All my new cuttings rare out there and there is no heat and of course part of the roof is gone, as well ads the doors are broken. When it took the side out, the pressure blew the doors open and the latch broke. We worked all afternoon to try and get it fixed but the winds are about 70 mph and it just kept blowing off again. The tringuck is now stuck in the field because we were using it for a wind breaker and when we went to move it it was stuck in the mud. Boy God is really mad at NJ this time. We are waiting for the power to go out. I am using my laptop to type this because I do not want to keep my big PC on and have it blown. Oh well, the bird room floor has flats of gardenias on it and we are all
just riding this sucker out. The rain , wind and flooding....stay dry and safe those of you North of me. It is coming. Later

Oh JB I am so sorry to hear about it. Wish I could do something to help. I will put you in my prayers and hope He will take pity. Lee

JB I am so sorry for your troubles....I hope your plants make it through ok

I am always amazed at how Mother Nature lets us know were not the boss.

JB, that sound horrible. NJ is not suppose to have 70 mph winds. I am sending you a couple of my angels to look over your plants in the garage. I hope they are not getting there to late. We are getting rain again today in Las Vegas. We have had more rain ytd than all of last year. Windy today because storm is coming down from the North but then Thursday we are suppose to be in high 70s, low 80s.

Sharon, The gardenia plants are in my house, on the floor of the bird room. The others are in the greenhouse waiting to die. My heart is broken, so is the greenhouse. I may have to put up a new one or just say to hell with it and give it all up. Right now, that seems to be the best route. I am too old for this crap.

You are busted like your greenhouse but you will rise the same as your greenhouse. Old gardeners are the best gardeners because we have already made most of the mistakes that can be made. The wind you are experiencing appears to be raising havoc all over your side of the country. We are having winds but not 70 mph. That is a hurricane.

Wow JB, what can I say? I am so sorry, just seems so shallow. I had no idea your part of the country got that kind of weather. How terrible. Wind is a killer. Cold is bad enough, but when you add those terrible high winds all you can do is wait it out and try to clean up after it. Is there anyone nearby that can help you?

Do you have insurance? I sure hope so. Be sure to count all of your plants and include them. I know nothing can replace them, but if you have insurance at least you can get the work done rather than having to do it yourselves.

Good luck, just wish we were all close enough we could come help you. Let us know if there is anything at all we can do.

Jeanette

JB:

It crushes me to hear all of your destruction of property and plants.

Sending prayers the the wind be gone and you all don't lose power and you are able to salvage more than you think you can right now.

Keep us posted as to how you are doing.

Janet

When it rained all day and snowed last night...I was concerned about the plants on the porch as it was below freezing this morning. I just logged onto DG, and saw your message. They were fine in their white trash bags on the open shelving.

I am SO sorry! And yes..it does not convey the feelings for you...I, like Jeanette, hope that you had insurance. All that work you put into raising all those rare plants. Every time I think things are going smoothly, something happens...I see it has happened to you as well. If there is anything I can send to you (that I may have...??), I will gladly do so.

You are not the type to give up, but wait a while to calm down. We would all come, if we could...

I don't have any gardenias as I am allergic to them (heavy fragrance - migraine). But wait, you have those in your bird room. What plants were damaged... besides the structure?

My prayers are with you,


Evelyn

JB, I am so sorry to hear what happened. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help once you get things back up ( and I know you will), us old (oops MATURE) folks don't give up easy. If nothing else I'll pick up some cuttings or plugs from NCFarms and have them sent to you. Wish I were closer so I could help with cleaning up the mess.

JB, you guys made the national news. All the airports have 4 to 5 hour delays and then your winds to 790 miles per hour. Even if you do not have insurance, which I think your homeowners would cover the structure but not the plants, you should be able to get a disaster relief loan which is interest free if the area is declared a disaster by your governor. Again, like everyone else, I will help you replace your lost plants. I probably do not have any living in Las Vegas, but I can purchase some to help you get back to normal. That is the DG Village at work. Raise you head high and say, "Yes, Do Not Mess With Me Mother Nature. I Will Be Right Back".....Sharon from Las Vegas.

JB has a business Sharon therefore the plants probably will be covered. If it would help we all would pitch in but I doubt if we would have the type of plants she lost.

I doubt if she has power now to even read these posts. I think the news said a lot of them were without it.

Well jnette, here we are again on another thread. We must be long lost sisters. I just wanted to give her a fresh look at tomorrow. I had a Christmas tree fall and broke the majority of my precious Christmas decorations,. My daughter and her husband and the two granddaughters came over to help, They put the tree back up and ten minutes later it crashed again and whatever Christmas decorations had not busted the first time got smashed the second time. Hannah, the oldest granddaughter, about 8 said oh grandma, all your beautiful decorations are busted between sobs. I gulped, said that is OK because we can just start another tradition and start over. I had decorations from France, England or whatever, but calming down the grandchildren and the next year going to look for the replacement was Priceless. Many more stories to follow. This is when Hannah was 5 and Sarah as 3 helping us in our tomato garden.

I know what you are saying Sharon, but what I am saying is that it was a business she lost. Therefore, if she has insurance, the plants should be covered too.

Another Day in NJ. It is thundering and lightening and of course raining
Before I say anything else, let me say THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL for your wonderful posts of support. The one thing about you all is that you are sincere in your thoughts and prayers. I do appreciate it so much. You are wonderful.

We are now on daylight savings time, so I of course was up before dawn and feeling much different than yesterday. I almost lost it yesterday. I am one strong old, but when my animals, plants or birds are affected, I get wild and extremely anxious. I had it all yesterday. I was not afraid of the wind, I was out in it, but I felt like I just wanted someone to hug and tell me it is o.k. Unfortunately, my daughter and son in law were busy chasing parts of the greenhouse around the farm as the winds took pieces of it off one by one. LOL I can laugh now, but it was not funny then. They made me come inside because I was wet into the skin. I had layers of clothing on and it went into the skin. I thought I had better listen to them because I did not need pnemonia on top of everything else.

It all began early yesterday when the kids took the truck and the garbage to the dump and then to get some supplies. The winds picked up from about 30 or 40 mph to much
stronger. I had lived on an island in NC and have been in hurricanes before, and this was very much like that, but this is March and this was a Nor'easter, which is not to be that strong. Well, I heard a noise and looked out my window and one of the metal pieces of the barn had been loose and was going to be fixed yesterday, but that never happened. The wind picked it up and I immediately called the kids and told them to come home the roof was going, one piece at a time. It had all just been fixed and painted last summer.
The barn is really steep on the roof and we house all the equipment in it plus cars and RV etc. The end of it has a large workshop for the vehicles, etc. so I did not want to see the whole thing go and if they could stop it before that happened we were o.k. By the time they got home, there were four big sheets flapping, one completely off and flying.
Those things are heavy and that wind took it like a feather. They got home, got the ladder out and fixed what they could because the wind and the ladder, well, it was too dangerous and then, next thing I know, I heard another noise and looked out and there was the GH, the wind had popped the one panel on the East side and that blew off the roof panels and the doors, It broke the latch on the door. Parts went flying. After we recovered most of the parts my SIL pulled the big pickup beside the greenhouse to break the wind so we could work. We put plywood against the entire side held up pby 2x4s. The roof panels went back on but one of the clamps was missing and the other broken, but we got them on. (this is all happening with 65 mph winds) so, no sooner was it all closed in again, we put the one heater that was not ruined by the rain back on , came in to change to dry clothing and the wind picked up to about 70mph and the wood holding the back up was not strong enough and another panel went out, poof off went the roof again and well, the rest is history. We brought the gardenias inside except for the stock plant. All my cuttings for this year of everything I started since December, plus all my 'Christmas Cactus , Peace Lilies, Begonias, Jasmine, etc that I was selling is still there. Plus all the stock plants. The temp. went down to 46 last night and hopefully they took it o.k. All winter I had a terrible time getting the humidity to stay high enough. Well let me tell you, I now have rain water and 84% humidity in the greenhouse. LOL..That just about brings you up to date.

Now, if this thunder storm stops soon, it has been doing this for over an hour, lightening and all, we are going to look at the GH damage and order parts, etc. It has been moved completely on the base. I am not sure if we can repair it or do I have to replace it.
YES, OF COURSE I HAVE INSURANCE....FARM AND HOMEOWNERS, but I am not sure what the deductible is. It is insured under the entire farm policy so we will see, by the time we add the barn roof, the greenhouse and the plants we will be o.k.

Oh yes, when my son in law went to move the truck. It had sunk into the ground half way up the tires and it is now in the middle of the field with boards under the tires waiting for the ground to firm up. We have very sandy ground and it should not take long for it to firm up, but we need to truck to clean up the branches, etc. Of course it is pouring rain and we are just waiting for something to happen. LOL

Again, thank you..........wow that was a nasty lightening strike not far from here.....oh well, God is really mad at us for some reason. I will keep in touch later. Thanks again for everything. It is so wonderful to have friends who understand. love and hugs. JB

JB

Thank goodness no one was hurt, I've been through some hurricanes and they aren't fun....

please do let us know what we can send ya to help you get back to normal.

Janet

JB

Thank goodness no one was hurt, I've been through some hurricanes and they aren't fun....

please do let us know what we can send ya to help you get back to normal.

Janet

ps wanted to add, you will be getting some pink pw from me when they come in.

I am back for a second with some good news. The plants look fine. The stock plants are o.k. and the new cuttings were a bit blown around but they are all back together again and in the greenhouse. My SIL rigged everything so we can at least heat it. We did not take the gardenias out yet because we noticed two of my twenty ft. tall arborvitae are almost out of the ground and we had to pull them back with the truck and stake them before they fell over in another storm, which we will have, I am sure.

I had taken all the plants off of Ebay and the Market Place for now so I have no orders that need to be filled just now. I have one person who wants some gardenias and I will send those when I get organized again.

I guess we were lucky compared to some people. At least the few things we need to fix can be done and no one was hurt. I found all five cats finally and they were not as hungry as I thought they would be.

There is still alot to do and I must go help. Thanks again for everything. Love and Hugs.

JB so glad to hear it's not as bad as it sounded like it was going to be. You take care and get plenty of rest don't want you getting sick.

JB

((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))))

I am so glad to hear that eveyone is ok and the cats are safe also, I am sure they are stressed like no tommarrow. I got the jitters reading about your experince.

Let us know if you need some help. I sent a little to the Red Cross for the Haiti fund.
What is it that they say "charity begins at home" I can send you a little to help out and I am sure there others willing to help also. Times are tough and I am sure any little bit would help.

Amy

WOW ...sounds like I missed a lot in the past 24 hours. JB like everyone here You are in my prayers.
It sounds like mother nature want you to have a new GH. Those winds are not to be fooled with. I wish I had some words of inspiration. If you need anything let me know as I will help if at all possible.
It is a good thing that its only things that were damaged as they can be fixed or replace. with winds like that someone could have been hurt real easily.

JB take it slow and don't overdo it.

You and your family are in my prayers
Dave

Hi again, I just got out of the shower, I am going to have some hot soup and rest. It has been a busy day but all the flowers are back in the greenhouse, the heat is on and the list of parts is not too bad. I am sure we will be just fine and believe me I thank God everyday for all the blessings as well as all the wind. He and I were having words yesterday, mostly one sided....my side. I was pretty angry and told him so. LOL Well, thanks again and we are just fine in everyway. I doubt if there is enough damage to even put in an insurance claim, but I will get it all together tomorrow and then decide. Money is no problem just now, but it is so nice to know friends are there if you need them. Talk to you all tomorrow. Love you and am so thankful for friends like you all. Nite.

Rest well tonight JB.

Janet

JB I am so glad all is mostly well. Maybe He just needed to shake you a little. At any rate, I am relieved you and yours are OK and the plants are going to make it. Sometimes words aren't enough, but we are all here for each other. I am a prime receipant (sp). Rest easy now. Lee

Boy JB, after seeing all the pictures on the TV of what you guys were going thru, plus your account of it, it is just amazing that you came thrui it as good as you did.

LOL, your experience reminded me of years ago when I lived in Seattle, we had one of those storms. Not like you guys did, but the wind. My greenhouse came apart like yours did. Well, I figured out the costs etc. and our time in building it etc. so presented my insurance company with an itemized bill of $700. They started picking it apart. Said we were not qualified to build a greenhouse so they didn't like the charges for our time, even tho I had only charged minimum wage. Anyway, I called my agent and asked his advice.

He says "Jeanette, just go buy a greenhouse and send us the bill". So I did. $1400.00. They paid it without blinking. Live and learn. Just thought I'd give you a laugh.

Anyway, JB, wrap up in a blanket, drink some hot soup and get some sleep. It will all look better when you wake up.

BTW, I have a real nice Gardenia plant that isn't quite big enough to take cuttings off of yet but if you would like to have it I will send it to you and when it is big enough you could send me a cutting from it. I think I read in the marketplace that yours are Aimee. Well that is what mine is also. Let me know if you would like to have it to help you get started again.

Lots a hugs, Jeanette

Morning everyone. I am getting ready to go for a walk and then into town for supplies and chiropractor. LOL Anyhow, the list of parts is not too bad and we were able to put the GH back in line and nothing on the side where the wind took it is broken except for one panel we are going to replace. What a sturdy GH that Rion is. I am so pleased. It really took a beating this winter with 60 inches of snow and now this storm. I am sure had this one panel not been weak we would have been o.k. but we did good considering.

The gardenias need to be trimmed. If your Aimee is getting straggly, please trim it so it gets new and fuller growth. They were looking for sunlight and got straggly. I will be trimming them this week. Just want to let them rest since their streeful weekend. LOL

Later, JB

Morning JB,

LOL, I thought the parts were for you to take to the chiropractor. LOL, glad they are for the greenhouse. Sounds like you did alright. Glad you weren't there by yourself too. That would have been bad.

No, my Aimee is doing just fine. Looking good. Didn't you say one time that you make standards out of them? I think that would be real cool. Maybe when mine gets to the point it has a piece it won't miss that I will try to do that.

Well, go into town and survey the damage, but be careful. The TV showed a lot of flooding etc. 400 year old Oak Tree broken!! Isn't that awful?

I said mine is a tree, is that what you mean by standard? If so, it can be done with no problem. These plants are wonderful to play around with. So easy to root and grow. I know you will have a ball with it.

Parts (not mine , greenhouse) are ordered and ready to be shipped. Only cost a$212.
which is a drop in the bucket considering how it looked on Sat. I was sure it was going to be much more if not a complete new one. Which I did not want.

Must go, I am so tired. Can not adjust to Daylight time and that will go on for days. LOL

JB, I hurt my back so I was not on since the storm. The coverage on TV was horrifying. I cannot imagine you were out in that wind. Gardeners are just crazy people. I am so glad you and your family, animals and plants survived. I really do not think God was trying to get your attention. I think those winds were meant for Washington DC. God just got his directions mixed up. Oh yes, I remember, nothing political....

JB, I am glad that the damage was minor...even though at the time it truly seemed to be a disaster...please get some rest, OK?

OK, for those of you flower growers, I will be doing Impatiens and Vinca rosea today (Catharanthus roseus). Anything special tricks for gret success with these? I am quite new to growing flowers from seeds, with the exception of large seeds such as calendulas, nasturtiums and cornflowers, which I usually sow outside anyway, as well as a few others sown outside...new for the indoor part, and new to petunias as well...they are such tiny things! I have books and some germination charts for reference, but it would be nice to get your input on these two...plus petunias.

Thanks from the "newbie"

YAHOO! I AM BACK IN BUSINESS. THE HEATER WORKED ALL DAY AND SO FAR THE ELECTRIC HERE ON THE FARM IS BACK ON AND STAYING ON.

We are so lucky, just a few blocks away there is no electric, they are still removing downed trees, etc. In fact my SIL's Mother's electric went out about 5 due to flooding and she is going to bring her cockatiel over here for me to take care of until it comes back on.
They have one of those underground power plants near her and it is flooded. What a mess.

I was really tired today so I did not do anything in the greenhouse. I went into town and went to the Chiropractor. He said I was tied in knots. I wonder why???
He untied me and now I am so relaxed I can barely walk. I just want to sleep. LOL

Poor Barney, my old Jack Russell had a reaction today from all the stress the past weekend and of course the change in time does not help, but I finally sedated him so he would relax and be able to rest and eat. He has a bad stomach and any stress just gives him nausea and real painful gas. He is good now. but very stinky. The gas is moving. Bless his heart. It was scary. He was in his yard while we were working on trying to get the greenhouse back together during the storm and he actually could not stand up. He stayed out in all that rain and laid on the deck waiting for me to return. That did him in. LOL.

I am going to bed as soon as I have a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate. I had a glass of good red wine tonight with dinner. That is a first in months, but I earned it.

I want to thank you all again for the wonderful words of kindness and prayers. You are all so wonderful. How lucky am I??????? Good friends are hard to find these days, and I have a whole s***load of them. I am so bad......nite.

Sharon--My experience with petunias is pretty mixed. They seem to germinate pretty fast, but then mine just sit and look at me with their sad little leaves and don't do much for what seems like an awfully long time. Eventually, tho, they seem to start and (until all my troubles last year) they bloomed beautifully. I didn't pinch them since I was under the impression that the wave petunias didn't need it. This year I will be pinching. I start all my annuals from seed under lights, and with heat mats. This year most of my seeds came from Dave and Jeanette Bless their "little" souls, and as of now, I would say 80% are peeking at me through the seed starter. Thanks to them, I am trying new (to me) flowers, and I will let all know how that turns out. The other two I haven't tried from seed. Impatiens don't seem to do well for me here, I think it is too hot in the Summer, and I don't have a lot of shade. As Dave always says, try it, you may like the results. And so I do. Lee

Glad your seeds are germinating Lee. I think we will make a convert out of you. LOL, seeds are so much fun. And even tho the waves do grow good I just naturally pinch all of them. I sure don't think it hurts. I would much rather pinch and have a full plant instead of having a bloom quick on the end of a long leg. I don't have the issue you do with their stopping Lee. Wonder why you do.

I might try that when my Aimee gets big enough to take a piece off of to try a tree JB. How tall do you let it get? How high will my Aimee get in the house? Or does it depend on the size of the pot I have it in?

Boy, that is good news JB about your greenhouse. Nothing worse than starting all over with something like that. Especially in the middle of the growing season. And that good red wine is supposed to be good for you. So enjoy!!

Jeanette

JB thank God you are alright. Wind is scary anyway, let alone Hurricane winds. Believe it or not, we have them here in the high Desert sometimes, not Hurricanes but Hurricane Force Winds and one time we had our patio roof blow right over the top of our house in the middle of the night, it is terrifying, the sound of wind and waiting to see if everything will hold up.

I hate when nature affects animals and the elderly too, the helpless. As you said you are a tough old, Bitty, *(I paraphrase). I am jealous of the thunder and Lightning though, since we NEVER GET IT. I miss it since I moved here at age 11, from Cleveland area. I am now in my 40's.

By the way, my roses in the cloner all turned black and none rooted. Just like last year, so I find this cloner a big bust and am so disappointed.

Wake u[p the SUN IS SHINING. FIRST TIME IN 6 DAYS OR MORE. WOW!


Jen, my Aimee "mother plant" is over 5 ft. tall. It loves water and is starting to get new growth.I cut it back really hard becasue I could hardly reach the top without standing on a stool. New growth is all over, but SO IS THE MEALY BUG. Where in hell do they come from? I get so frustrated. My ladybugs blew away. LOL I had nearly 1000 or more in the greenhouse. The plants were looking clean and then came the winds and now I can not find one. I hope they are hiding, but who knows. The ones in the house are doing their job very well on the camellias. They took care of that problem. I am going to take cutting from the camellias as soon as thsy stop blooming and see if I can grow them. They are about 4 ft. tall. The hibiscus is going into bud. I am hoping to work out there today for awhile if all goes well.
I have orders for Cemetery cones for Easter and I need to get them done before the weekend so they can be taken to the cemeteries. That is part of my life too. LOL Anything for a buck. I love floral design but I have not felt very creative this winter so things just stayed the same since Christmas.
Have a good day gang, and thanks again.
I think those winds were directed to NJ becasue there was too much hot air in DC for it to stay and it bounced off and came my way. Can you imagine all this fuss over health care. It scares me to think they will cut Medicare. I am a USMC dependant and live on Medicare and Tricare for Life. We already pay for the medicare and the Tricare has a fee medications, there is nothing free, just discounted. If they change that, since there have been no increases in our income from the Government it will be a real mess and none of us can afford to get sick. Oh well, I better go see if I can round up my ladybugs.
Later. JB