PLANT PROPAGATION.....THE BASICS III

It destroyed mine last year, NW Connecticut. I first saw it the year before, but didn't know what was wrong. I'm going to try I Balfourii this year. A couple of volunteers did well last summer and I collected seeds. Not the same look, but pretty.

Sorry, pic didn't post.

First pic is from 2 years ago. The rest are last year, but all looked awful by the end of the summer.

Here is more information. This is not just a NJ problem. This thread has all the info you will need to know, in fact I think maybe your seeds may not be good either. Read it and judge for yourself. Good Luck. JB

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1298071/

I get downy mildew on my roses early summer. Likewise hardy perennial geraniums. I use a fungucide spary which takes care of it. Last year I had none. I wonder if there are two types of mildew. If not, then spraying would help. I don't grow impatiens in WY due to dry climate. They did great in Massachusetts when I grew them there.

I thought soda was normally used for that type of problem. Don't know where I got it from. Think my mom used it on her roses many years ago.

Hey Jen How does your catgrass grow?

LOL, Ju, I don't have any catgrass. I bought some at a pet shop one time. And planted it and forgot about it. It got foot tall in an 8inch pot. I put it down for the cats to see if they wanted it and they turned their noses up at it. The dog came along and grabbed the grass out of the pot in a ball and ran off with it. So much for the catgrass. However, if I did have some and did it right and not put it where the dog could get at it, then the cats might like it.

My sister plants some for her cat and the crazy cat rolls in it and everything. Hey Ju, you know, I have some horse radish growing out there, wonder if I got a horse if it would roll in the horseradish.

LOL!!!! That's a hot one!!!!

Jen, the cat grass seed I sent you came with instructions on how you need to trim it before it is ready to eat. Please read it and keep the dog away from it until you see if the trimming will entice the cats. My cats actually ignored the expensive "all cats love" plant I purchased for them before I knew about the cat grass. Could be some cats just do not give a crap about greens. Oh well.

Blomma, roses are such high maintenance I have never grown them and I would love to. But, my SIL is a nurseryman and he brought home a rose plant the nursery was going to throw out and planted it beside the barn in full sun. He has that thing growing and blooming almost all year round , up until a hard frost this year and some buds froze. Then my one son gave me a tea rose for Mother's Day one year and I stuck it in beside the one Rob planted. It took off and is growing. There is no spraying, nothing but soil and sun and plenty of water. I do not go near them or they will die. LOL Here is a pic of them.

Well, my cats want greens, they ate all the creeping Charlie I had growing in the bottom of my Dragon Wing begonia. I am continually yelling at them to quit eating on my plants. They try them all.

This is the kitty that ate the spider plant , and the pot is just right for a bed,PURR I love catnip also..

Sounds like Ju is smoking again :) I don't have cats, but the neighbor cats love some areas of my yard, so I must have some "grass" that they like. Huggs, Lee

Ju, how come you have pot in your house? And the cats eat it? That is animal abuse!!

Well then the cats in denial , about the pot , only that was just for you cat haters , I always heard the cats like to eat moths, not spiders , But others tell me cats really like them spiders ,especially when they are spider plants!!!!



Here's the plant in recovery

Cats will eat spiders or anything else that moves fast. They have to eat it to make it quit moving. Yes, even plants.

The Black Pussy Willow are showing catkins. I am so excited, a true sign of Spring. I will be cutting these soon as the weather warms up a bit. Time to root them, in fact I am late since the catkins are already starting. Hmmmm. How did I get so far behind?

I will try a couple of pics of the clematis cuttings in a few days .The attempt to root them is gong a little better than previous attempts
My cutting attempts are win a few lose a few , but I don't like losing plants ,it aggravates me ..lol (a little)

Do you start your clematis in soil, coco core or water or what?

So far this time the Dimeticous earth seems to be working better than any has before , Going with that to start this time , I have difficulty with the coir, tend to get rot from to much water , it works, I just need to use something that drains or aeriates better.

Can't seem to spell today either...

I'm disappointed with coir, too, for starting seeds. They seem to rot, and the surface looks moldy. Have you ever tried vermiculite? I'm experimenting with that now or seeds that are slower to germinate. Apparently, at least according to what I've read, there is o. Mold or rot with it, and the sprouts can stay in it longer once started.

Last year I bought a really big bag of vermiculite to save money. I put it in my feed barn just in the bag and never thought anything of it. A rat got into the barn and chewed a hole in the bottom of the bag and it was a big hole. I had vermiculite all over the darn barn and lost most of it because he also dug way up into the bag looking for a nesting place. What a mess. So, NO, I use core for some things. No more vermiculite.

I have not used vermiculite since the 1970's I use a heavy gravel sand or the DE , Everyone has their habits, those seem to fit mine , I either under water or over water Either that I use are more forgiving of mistakes or lack of attention (it happens, not often)
I think the vermiculite works well for many gardeners just not myself .
I am a little off the string or straight line though , two most common reasons , Even after years of growing plants I get many that I have never grown before .
The other I just want some things done quick TRANSLATES : EITHER I don't know what I am doing .or with the other I don't want to have to work so hard at something that it is no longer enjoyable ,, Plants and gardens are suppose to be fun ,relaxing, and healing, and just plain pretty ...

"Plants and gardens are suppose to be fun ,relaxing, and healing, and just plain pretty ..."

I couldn't agree with you more!!!

Deno has worked very well for me, but this year I have a couple of recalcitrants and have been experimenting with other methods for them. A couple of people on DG whose posts I've read recently swear by vermiculite, so I thought I'd try it. No results yet...

I will remember not to leave it in the barn!!! LOL...

Pam

PS. The seedlings are in the city window, the garden and barn are in CT.

Very pretty !!!! reminds me of the original Crockett's Victory garden Circa 1975? New England gardens have a certain charm all there own , Being a Prarrie weed though myself , lol well what can I say?
How about seedlings? took these last evening I am becoming a bit of a pic nut myself , can;t help myself ..lol
Some of these are about to be potted up again , if I can find the room ... goodness ...

That's always the problem, isn't it? Space... I'm so squeezed in right now, but that hasn't stopped me!

Pfg, Love your yard in CT

As far as seed sowing mix, I have used Jiffy-Mix since last year. I do Deno, then place the sprouted seeds in the Jiffy-Mix. The fine texture is perfect for seeds, even fine seeds, when dampened before use. It doesn't get hard when drying out. According to the bag it is 100% organic and contains:

"45% to 55% Sphagnum peat moss, 45% to 55%vermiculite, and lime for balance pH, and organic wetting agent."

The vermiculite is so fine that you can't recognize it in the bag with peat moss. It is also great for starting cuttings.

Walmart has it . The bag contains 12 quarts. Easily recognize as the bag is gold color.

Here are this year's daylily seedlings growing in Jiffy-Mix. Photo taken today

Pam, what do you have your shelving sitting on? Looks like it is very high. It is just like my setup, only I put 2 lights on each shelve and run my trays the other way. I get more on them that way. They only hang over an inch on each side, and by using a light on each side of the center bar on the shelf, they all get enough light. And if it looks like they might be getting leggy, I just rotate the plants.

Blomma, I have never seen that seed mix at Walmart.

Let me ask you guys, if you are so hard up for room, what do you do with those plants before you can plant them outside. Blomma, you are zone 4 and Pam you are the same as me 5. Our last frost date is the end of May. Do you have greenhouses or something? If so, how do you heat them?

My shelves are on brackets on either side of the window. I plan to get 12" shelves, mine ar 8" now. I still won't be able to put the trays sideways, but it will be easier in oth ways.

At the end of March we open the house, and all the perennials will move there. I'll still start the annuals in the city where it's warmer, the heat in the house is lowered when we're not there during the week. I also have a mini greenhouse where I harden the plants off as soon as possible, first the perennials, then as it warms up outside the more tender plants go out there.

Jnette, You may not have seen the mix if out of season. They are selling it in my store now.

My seedlings will grow under light until beginning to mid May. I have the same mini greenhouse that Pfg has. They will harden off there. Mine is located on the East side of my shed. Last year I had 156, 3" pots in there (see photo)

I begin to plant my seedling in a garden nursery around the 3rd week in May.

Before I had the mini greenhouse, I harden plants off in large plastic tubs. Covered if frost threatened. Also easy to place in the garage if I had to. That was before I sowed so many seeds.

I have the same greenhouses (2) but mine are only 3 shelves. Right now I have some of my tropical tender plants in them in the garage. I am going to start some turnip and sweet peppers next week.

I ordered my coleus from Rosey Dawn for 15th of April delivery. They come in a a cutting starter that is totally full of roots. I take a sharp knife and cut through the material to loosen it and then report in a 3" pot. They stay in the greenhouses for another 2 weeks and then they go into the beds.

About 4 weeks ago I went through the front garden area and just threw seeds helter skelter. It will be interesting to see what will germinate and where.

You all amaze me with all of your seedlings. But I guess in zone 4 & 5 you have to find something to do besides stare at the walls.

Talk at you all tomorrow. Sharon

Ok, no, I have one of those too. A 4 shelf one. The one I was talking about of Pam's was chrome shelving but she is right, it is on brackets where mine is a unit with 4 corner posts with the chrome shelving. That was the one I was talking about. (the ones she posted at 3:24). As I said, I too have the one with the zip front etc. But, I have tried putting them out on the deck in May, but it doesn't seem to get warm enough that they do anything. Just sit there. If it doesn't get any warmer than 50, they don't grow at all. I suppose they harden off, but I have always been afraid they would rot since the ground isn't warm enough to plant them and have them grow.

I mean I have never seen that kind of potting soil at Walmart Blomma. That package. Do you leave them in those pots until the middle of May Blomma? I guess that is what I am talking about. Don't they have to be in bigger pots and then where do you put them? Ok, I went back and read that you put them in 3" pots. Actually, they probably look bigger in your picture than they are.

I also have a larger greenhouse than that, it is 4x8 feet and I had up-potted my tomato plants into 6" or gallon pots and put them in there in May and it was still so cold the poor things just sat there until I honestly thought they would die. It was just too cold for too long. The last 2 or 3 years our month of June has been so darned cold it didn't get any warmer than May. And then we have had summer into almost November.

If we could count on June being half way warm then I would feel comfortable using it. Therefore, I do not even plant my seeds until late March or into April. Depending on how long they are going to take to germinate.

Interesting how different climates can be even though zones seem similar. I get my tomatoes out into the stand pretty early. It is up against the house on the south side, but gets filtered sun for much of the day because of tall trees and shrubs on the property line opposite it. I keep two 1/2 gallon jugs full of water on the bottom shelf, supposedly they heat up during the day and keep it warmer at night. I plant the tomatoes out under frost blanket by mid-May-ish and they do quite well. My frost date is around June 1. I'm thinking this year to try Xmas lights for an even earlier start.

Pam, how are your months of June the last couple of years? Are they as cold as mine? I have found that with others in the same zone as I have. Even tho we are the same zone, we have different weather and temps. That is why I don't rely to heavily on their zone tags when I buy plants. Normally only buy plants that say hardy to zone 4.

Years ago when I had veggie gardens, I always started tomatoes and peppers on March 15. The zones were 4 and 5---Massachussetts (MA), Nebraska (NE), and Wyominng (WY). In MA it was safe May 20. In the other 2 states May 30.

Having said that, I always planted a few plants at least 2 week earlier then recommended and covered if needed. I always had tomatoes by July.

1st Photo is tomato plant protected by a gallon milk container held in place by a dowel. Opening faces East. Will harden off plants and protect against frost. The opening can be made into a door by cutting just 3 sides. I have always used milk containers.

The 2nd photo is a turkey baster that I use to gently water seeds and seedlings.

That's really cleaver Blomma. I have found too that the tomatoes love warm water. I have some 5 gallon jugs that I fill with water and let warm for a few days (rotating them) and water the plants. They do so much better with that. But, I noticed when I had to finally quit 'cause I couldn't handle them any more, the plants really showed that they didn't like that cold water on their feet from the hose. Even tho they were pretty big plants by that time.

I'm on well water so I don't use water from the hot water tank. I have 5 or 6 jugs that I keep filled. Works great until the plants get so big they need a lot more water than I can handle.

My start date for tomatoes is St Patricks Day. I usually get my first tomatoes early to mid July.

Boy, I don't know how you all get ripe tomatoes in July. Don't you have those cold Junes like I do?

I guess not. Last year we had a heat wave for a couple of weeks in early June, in the 90's, then it went to the 70's. It was so hot I could barely move outside, even in the shade. It's different every year, though. Who knows what will happen this year...

True for me...there is no way to predict the weather. Most of the time we have late snow, but last year it was a warm spring. I will try a few early, and keep some in reserve if they get too cold.