Plant propagation... the basics II

Jen - I'm beginning to think you have amnesia or something. We've been talking about the corkscrew vine seeds for over a week now. That's what opened the discussion on how expensive the seeds were ($5+ for only 3-5 seeds!) plus shipping puts only 5 seeds over $10 to purchase.

O well.

The natives are spurred butterfly pea and pink fuzzy bean. Both are vines. Both native to the east not the west. Those are the 2 jugs I brought in to see if heat will help.

I also brought in the lion's ear seed jug a few days ago because I was concerned at only seeing 1 seedling. Now there are over a dozen sprouts. It just needed a little more heat.

The jugs get full sun, but we've had clouds and rain this week despite the high temps. Not warm enough for the seeds consistently to sprout. It's okay. I'm just getting anxious. The high temps have me all mixed up.

I hope you keep Bob from getting too sick. I've been fortunate this season. I'll go and knock on some wood now. And go to sleep, too.

xox
A.

Well Amanda, I wondered if we were still on those seeds, or had finally started on something else. LOL

Those spurred Butterfly seeds sound like some I have and have never planted, the gotta think of the name. Yup, you got it. Losing my mind.
Well, went in and got Bob 3 prescriptions today. The one, I just hate to give anyone, Prednisone. probably spelled it wrong. But, it is just 12 days so not too bad I guess.

It sounds like your winter sowed seeds got as much stratification as they needed.

Going to read for an hour or so, and go to bed. ttyl,

You two lost me around the last curve. I have no clue what you are talking about now so I think I will move on to the other sites and see it anyone there is talking about something I understand. JB

Well I understood you two perfectly. Must be JB got up to early.

Amanda, I found Candlestick Cassia in my box. Says it is a host plant for the sulfur butterfly caterpillars. I also have the pea vine seeds. Do you want me to send your a few with your other seeds? Go look at Fireside chat. I put a list of seeds I found.

Jen, I have been on very few antibiotics in my life time. But I have been on predisone. I have actually moved the house from one side to another on that. Suppose to be great for coughs.

I found two large heads of bib lettuce in one of the planters in the front landscape. When I removed them, I up-rooted a beautiful blooming oxalis. Probably set it back a few months. But I cleaned the lettuce and it is good. Have no idea where the seed came from.

I did dig some dichondra and replant it somewhere else. I also found three irrigation bubblers that the heads were off. I have not been in the garden for over a month so it is a mess. But I am finding things coming up that I forgot where I planted them.

Talk to you all tomorrow. I have to hit the bed. Later Friends, Sharon

Sharon, you have been on Predisone and your cough has been with you for a month. Bob's goes directly to his lungs. Probably because he is a smoker.

Amanda, I keep forgetting that you are in NC. I expect you to be out here on the West Coast.

I don't want to move the house from one side to the other Sharon. It would be good if I had some energy though. I am really tired of these doctors. Think I will stay away from them.

Candy tomorrow to the vet for her surgery. And I have a hair appt. at 9 o'clock. Bob insists we are going to Spokane while Candy is in there, he wants to get his glasses adjusted. He just got them, first time he has had any, and they keep falling down his nose. I think the frames are too big for him. I think he should make them change the frames. But, they are going to screw around and keep going back.

I told him he is going to end up in the hospital. You know how antibiotics make you feel real good the next day you start. Well, that is how he felt today. We'll see.

Will let you all go, time to read for a bit and go to bed earlier than usual since we have to get up at 6 o'clock. nite. Jen

No Mother Jen. I have been on Predisone before but that was about 4 years ago. Not recently. I did not go to the doctor because I could not get in. I finally went when Vern started gurgling.

My glasses did not fit and I had them adjusted and then thy killed my ears. Maybe Bob is like me and has a small bridge on his nose.

You are wasting your breath on Bob. He is a man and they all think they have Doctor in front of their name and know everything. I often tell Vern, "If my lips are moving, I am talking".

I will be back later today. I am heading out to garden.

Well, we got up to 6 inches of new snow this morning and it still, keeps going off and on. So, Bob called he vet and changed Candy's appt. to tomorrow and I called and moved my hair appt. to then also.

Hope we can get in and out of here then. We'll see.

I hate being snowed in. I don't like appts anyway and then to plan on them and have to move them is a b****. Wonder if stars count. LOL

Oh well, didn't have anything else to do. write later.

Jen, just think how happy the skier are. Sorry about your weather Jen.

I have no appointments until next Thursday. I love it when I can just do whatever.....

I need to do some research so I can label the seeds. I need the names on two I am sending Linda.

Later, Sharon

This is not a basic question.

If I have started seeds and have exposed them to light and heat without being aware that they needed prior cold stratification - can I just put them in the fridge or will that upset them somehow?

I know it's a loaded question with many variables, but there are a couple of wildflowers I sowed unable to find any information on germination.

Thanks for your thoughts.

A.

Wow, that's a good one. I haven't a clue. Wonder what happens for your next winter if you get them going? If they need stratification, do you have long enough cold spells for them?
We never have to worry about that. What are the seeds?

I laughed at that too Amanda. Sometimes I wonder who writes Sharon's lines for her. Lol, living in Las Vegas, could be anybody huh?

Jen

Remember, I have been in Las Vegas since 1960. For several years i worked for an advertising company. Don Rickels, the comedian, was a lounge comedian. Very rough but funny. But I sold the most magazines when I was in the first grade. Always been a salesman. Just to charming......LOL. Sharon

;0)

Evelyn, what you said about what others have found work for them is very true. I bought a lot of verbena seeds a few years ago and they the vendor said they needed dark to germinate. And even suggested putting black plastic over them etc. So I did. I had the scrawniest etc. seedlings and not very many started. So, I took some others and started them on heat mats under lights and they did much better. So, you see that is from the seed vendor themselves. I wrote and asked them what to do with those scrawny plants and she told me to pick them out with a toothpick and move them etc. etc. Never again will I start seeds that way. So much work for so few plants and money.

Edited to take the vendor's name out before Terry or Melody did it for me. Yes they would.

Jen

Some of the seeds I am sending Lee, Jen and Evelyn require soil temperature at least 72 degrees. Does your soil ever get to 72 degrees? Sharon

Hey, I must have missed something, are you suggesting that we are not permitted to share venders names if we can help each other save money or whatever? This can not be the case, if it is, I am done for sure this time. Not with this thread but with classified and plant scout when the time is up and I will not do what I have been doing and that is telling people Plant Scout is worth the $100 a year. It reminds me in WWII how they used to censor our mail when the guys wrote home. Give me a break, Dave's Garden is now not the only place we can communicate with each other. What is happening with this place???? Talk later. JB

JB, don't know if they would or not, just didn't want to take a chance. AND, maybe their way worked for them. Not for me.

I planted my day lilies that I bought from HSN yesterday. Yippie. I bought some more Vermiculite for my clay today, but I need a lot of it. Did not till this year in my beds because I had so many seeds that I wanted to grow that I planted in the beds. I have to add that or some dish soap. After things pop up, I can add more stuff to the beds. I hoped that the winter rains, that I did not get anyway, would have watered a lot of the compost in the soil and broke it down, but no. Some spots are much healthier and lighter though. I have some areas to work on though. Are you guys happy with your soil constitution?

Just spot compost. Dig a hole and put scraps in it and cover. The worms will come to breakdown the scraps and make your soil wonderful. Contact a grocery store. They should have tons of scraps but a pig farm probably has dibs on them. Starbucks will give you their coffee grounds. Just spread them on top of the ground. The worms will come to find them.

I think Vermiculite caused my enlarged heart. Google it. The reports will scare you to death. Sharon

Vermiculite has always been very irritating to my lungs. I haven't used it in years. It is also hard to find around here, so I don't go out of my way to look for it.
Does anyone know how to root chocolate vine?, they are supposed to be invasive, but I can't get them to spread or root. Any ideas?

Thanks, Linda

I have never tried Linda. What is it? I have heard of it, but never have seen a picture of it. Do you have a picture?

I sent your information on vermiculite to my sister Sharon. She wrote back that she had ordered to large bales of it but canceled the order 'cause the shipping was $58. Yes, you can't hardly find it anymore. She didn't' say where she had ordered it from.

Well it made me very ill and i cannot prove that was what damaged my heart but it came at the same time. If you Google it, you will shocked what they say about it. It is actually outlawed by many states.

I worked my fanny off today. I took all the plants out of the winter garden garage area. Cleaned them, soaked them and added potting mix and moved them to the front of the garage. Now I can raise the third car garage door and let in the sun without having to move the plants. I cannot trust the weather enough to put the tropical hibiscus and bougainvilleas out until the weather is more stable.

Anyone here grown Japanese Morning Glories? Sharon

I meant to tell you that I would love to have some of your JMG seeds Sharon. Jen

Got it...We need to find out to grow them. All the directions are in Japanese. Sharon

You know who grows them is Ma Vie Rose. Jen Did you look in plant files? Does it tell you anything? How about google Jen

Late last summer I asked my Saturday worker to cut back my Black & Blue Saliva. Well later in the day, I found the two large plants in the garbage. Language barrier. So I grabbed the pieces out of the garbage and dug a quick three holes, only had two plants that were now in several pieces and placed them in the holding area.

Well yesterday I noticed they are putting out leaves. That is a win for Sharon.

Wow. Do you still have that Saturday worker? LOL

No, he stopped coming 4 weeks ago. Just out of the blue. And, after just about having him completely trained. Happens all the time. They asked me if I wanted a different worker and I said No. I always made him lunch, gave him extra money and unfortunately loaned him some money. The loaning him the money was the kiss of death. Actually I did not expect it back but I forgot to tell him.
I just was not as generous with the money each Saturday but I usually paid him $100. I guess I need to be mean, let them starve and pay them $8 an hour. He has my phone number and has called me before, so he either got picked up or he has gone on to another fairy godmother.

I am off to see the Wizard...Sharon

Thanks for telling me about the Vermiculite. Crap. I will cover myself up well. Yes you are right about spot composting. I get all my penny savers and paper and even magazines in the flower and shrub beds and bury them, I put pine needs in some holes to and my compost that I keep in bins of all my coffe filters and coffee, old rotten veggies and fruits, egg shells and put them in there too but I still find spots that are not draining here and there. More than I'd like. I put leaved in too. I should buy worms to help speed up the process.

Dawn if you are going to use it wear a dust mask. Jen

Sharon :)

Thank you for the care package. I will send you a separate email with results. :)

Glad you caught your salvia in time to save them for the season. A friend gave me a couple of plants she dug somewhere to overwinter and looks like only one of them will make it. Mine are going crazy in their bed sending up leaves everywhere. I planted (3) 8" plants a few years ago.

About the warm/cold stratification question - while looking for seeds of a particular plant I found instructions on how to "plant" certain seeds on the swallowtailgardens.com website. It suggests that if the seeds don't bloom then put them in the refrigerator for 30 days and try again:

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/joe_pye_weed.html

I read this for a number of perennials on that page, so I will be optimistic about the seeds I've moved in from outside for lack of germination.

Night, all.
A.

I have a bad habit of doing that and leaving them in the frig and never bringing them back out. So I don't know if it works. lol

We need to start a new thread Dave.

Shipping was 58$!!! that is unreal! the stuff weighs nothing. I guess they were charging for the bulk.

I do have a picture of the chocolate vine somewhere. I just don't know where. It is akebia quinata. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/232/. It blooms very early in the spring and it smells heavenly. It is supposedly invasive, but mine has been planted for years and I can't get it to root for anything. I would love to have it growing all over some lattice work on my back porch. I have a neighbor who loves to watch and listen to what we say and do when we are outside and then ask me about our conversations later. All I can say is she must be unbelievably bored!

Talk to ya later.
Linda

Linda, what cost $58 shipping? I am sorry I missed it and I looked back to see the post but can not put it together. I would question that really. If you tell me where it came from and your zip code I can get the accurate postage for you. Unless the package was a very unusual size or the weight was over 10 pounds, nothing sent by the USPS costs that unless they sent it EXpress. Do not mean to butt in your business but that is an outrageous amount to pay for shipping of anything unless it is a large piece of equipment.

No JB, it wasn't me. Jnette was talking about her sister ordering the vermiculite and then cancelling the order because the shipping was 58$. I would have cancelled that one too. Thanks for looking out for me tho.

JB, I said my sister ordered 2 large bales of vermiculite. I don't know how it was being shipped. I am sorry if I said USPS. Certainly didn't mean to infer that if I did 'cause she didn't say.

LOL, that is how rumors get started. Oh well, they had it coming.