Starting Seeds 2013, Part 3

I just ordered them from this sketchy place on Amazon, don't even know how many seeds I'm getting. They should arrive by the end of the week. I hope they are what hey say they are!

Thanks for the info on starting the 4 o'clocks. I'll be making up some paper pots tonight. Have already gone through about 60 for other babies. And didn't know they were a perennial. Interesting. I'll be ultimately planting them in pots so it's easier to position for possible effect on JBs.

I ordered the seeds in spite of 3 out of 3 bad reviews. Is that asking for it, or what?! One review was about the seller from an eBay purchase that was advertised as giant pumpkin seeds but were regular size. The other two were ranting on about the description being misleading, not exactly literate or accurate.

RARE*SCHIZANTHUS PINNATUS*' White Angels' ORCHID*15 SEEDS*E~Z GROW*SHOWY. A beautiful exotic looking Orchid flowers on attractively fern foliage!
Beautiful Decorative, so quite Versatile. The Quick Growing and Blooming plants
This Exotic plant always gets the Most Attention in your Garden! This Beautiful Chilean Native!
* We offer combine shipping ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!****
* EASY TO GERMINATE *Plants are Simply Stunning! Profuse orchidlike flowers!

But the reviews weren't exactly literate, either. And I know they are not orchids, so what the heck... I bit. But with a large grain of salt added... Lol...

Well, the review about the pumpkin, I believe, was just the growers experience. In order to grow any "giant" type of summer annual fruit, one has to start it inside or in a greenhouse. It is possible the person who grew that seed, just sowed it in the ground and expected a miracle. There is a whole book dedicated to growing giant veggies....somewhere, I came across it....don't remember... I know they just don't HAPPEN...from seed, no matter what kind of seed that you buy. Just like if you want really large fruits or tomatoes, you actually do have to prune them and start them early as well....

Usually people that do not have a good experience write reviews, but how many of us write reviews of wonderful experiences?? I forget sometimes, to put down all the reviews as the orders come in, but it does help others in their purchases, and sometimes, it will improve the seller as well.

Good luck!

I have a copy of Western Garden Book, by Sunset. It is 2" thick and my plant bible. I looked up SCHIZANTHUS pinnatus and here is what it said:

"Annual, Height 18", 12" wide. Profuse orchid-like blooms in pink, rose, lilac, purple, or white, all with markings in various colors. Ferny foliage. Buy plants or sow seeds 4 weeks before planting time. Germination is slow. Sensitive to frost and heat. Give well drained rich soil in wind-sheltered site. Filtered sunlight. Often grown in greenhouses."

Growing giant veggies involves allowing just one veggie to grow to maturity per plant, then give heavy feedings with plant food low in nitrogen.

I love schizanthus but can never manage to save seed. It's teeny tiny.

Yesterday I potted up some seedlings...Datura Ballerina White and Yellow, Currant tomatoes, Mirabelle Blanche cherry tomatoes, a mystery cherry tomato (cat stole the tag), Tithonia, dwarf pomegranate, lemongrass, variegated cat grass, and Mexican sour gherkins. Many hot peppers: Mayan Love, Goatweed, Aleppo, Nosegay, Seven Pot, Trinidad Scorpion, Filius Blue, Tepin, Ghost, Peter-yellow and green, Bolivian Rainbow, Naga Morich, and some Indian and Korean peppers that don't have any English on the package. Weirdly, none of my anchos or purple jalapenos germinated. All of the hard to germinate varieties pop up and grow like it's their job, but the reliable varieties failed, what the heck?! Almost forgot variegated Nicandra, and ornamental black rice.

New sprouts: So many poppies poppin'--Drama Queen, Breadseed, Persian White, Giant black, Danebrog, Dubiums, ruffly pink, The Giant, Lavender feathers, and I'm sure there are more. Giant agastache, Clitoria, Beaucarnea guatamalensis, campanulas, and pink and magenta evening primrose.

I have a warning for you (Celene) on the Lemon Grass, WATCH OUT, it spreads. I planted a 2 1/2" pot and will be taking it out of the garden this year. It spreads!!!!!!! (No pix button but will post a pix of the plant 3 years later if I can find it, clup now is atleast 4-5ft each direction.......).

Love your poppies, some I've grown years, ago some I've never heard of...make sure you post pix when blooms begin would love to see them!!!

What is Giant Agastachie? and which Campanulas (another of my favorite plant groups).. Oooh and a magenta primrose, sounds interesting.. I'm growing two new (to me) Oenothara this year (primrose), and one of them is acting wierd...leaves are just not happy....was going to transplant but decided to wait til they stabalized.. Am thinking my problem child is the O. hookeri ( the other I'm trying this year is O. pallida 'Innocence') do you have any experience with either?

Pam, the flowers on Schizanthus are Orchid like in form but very small and profuse. I usually buy them from one little nursery in Denver but tried them from seed one year....yes darkness for germ. I placed several sheets of newspaper over the top of the domed flat, till they grminated. Got mine from T&MSeed.com....they should have pix and germinating instructions.

Ok, am off to get caught up on a few other threads will be back in a couple of days... I promise new pix are coming Pam..lol.

Got a doosy of a snow storm expected overnight, look out those that live east!!!!! I'm hoping to get out and put some fertilizer on the flower garden this morning.... 'Spose to get 9-12" of the white stuff with rain coming in today.

Lemongrass is hardy for you? It shouldn't be hardy, I'm zone 6a. I bring mine in every year, and it promptly dies, but I do try to overwinter.

I have regular old O. pallida, nothing can kill it, it's a tough customer.

Celene,
I am in zone 4a and O. pallida 'Innocence' didn't survive the winter. I started them from seeds. They were inter- planted with O. macrocarpa (missouriensis) along my driveway south side. I had 6 growing and loved them.

I also grew O. speciosa (pink blooms) from seeds. It survived the winter but is also weedy as it spread by rhizomes underground. I got rid of it before it became too much of a problem . Too bad since I loved it. I have no photo of it.

My favorite is O. macrocarpa missouriensis aka Ozark Sundrops for it long season of bloom and easy culture.

1] O. pallida
2] O. macrocarpa (missouriensis)
3] O. macrocarpa (missouriensis) along my driveway where O. pallida also grew, and perished over the winter.

This message was edited Apr 8, 2013 10:57 AM

My O. pallida is sited in a warm place, that might make the difference. I love the O. speciosa, I'm just careful not to plant it where it will overrun other things. The magenta that I have planted now is a darker pink O. speciosa. It's going in a pot!

In CT there was still some snow, but it's warming up this week so that should be it. I put the digitalis seedlings outside in 46 degrees for a couple of days, then left them in the mini greenhouse with the zippers open for ventilation, and covered with Reemay to diffuse the sun and keep some warmth in. The plastic cover is now in its 4th season, and has holes and splits everywhere. I actually think that's a good thing, I'm more worried about the plants frying than freezing.

New sprouts in NY: Lobelia Siphilitica, Petunia Axillaris (wild petunia), lots of each, in vermiculite in small cups. Also, all the tomatoes are up except for Sweet Million, I used old seeds, only about half germinated. I thought tomato seeds lasted forever, but I guess not.

Snaps and Nicotianas coming along,,,

...and I have a garden blooming its head off in the apartment!

Pic 4, Platycodon Perlmutter

Pic 5, Platys Astra Blue and Astra Pink, and Petunia Easy Wave, and a Dianthus Loveliness about to do it :-)))))

Pam will you still get Blooms once you put them outside this summer & How tall do these get

Pam...OH MY.....you have that many blooming already, wow!!! LOL...I have one Petunia so far. If yiou get some warmth to that Dianthus it should smell good!!!! And if you want to extend the life of that outdoor stand can use plastic from Home Depot, (package or roll, package fairly cheap and get the thickest mill). I still need to get mine up outside, hoping this weekend as it's only about 10* at the moment...

I'm growing the O. pallida this season and this is the one that is just not happy yet, leaves have been curling and just are not happy....hope they make it.. I'm also trying O. hookerii, it lists as a z7-9, anyone have any experience with this variety? Like anyone in a cooler zone growing it? Gosh, I'm hoping it will grow for me but if it's not going to be hardy then I just may have to ship to someone in a warmer zone...LOL, shucks cuz it's doing great and time for potting on.

On to newly sprouted (mostly annuals):
Nemisia moederskoent Dwrf
Felicia True Blue Daisy
Osteospurmum Pastel mix (purples)
Salvia turkestanika Pink
Salvia farinacea Blue Bedder
Ammi visagna
Heliotrope arborescens Deep Marine
Zaluzianskya capensis
Resedia odorata
Asperula orientalis
Cynoglossum zeylanicum Chinese-Forget-Me-Not Mystery 'Chill Out'
Cynoglossum amabile Chinese-Forget-Me-Not 'Mystery Rose'
Salvia claryssa mix
Campanula ramosissima 'Meteora'
Centaurea scabiosa
Scabiosa 'Beaujolais Bonnets'
Centaurea imperiallis 'Sweet Sultan'
Lavatera trimestris 'Ruby Regis'
Lavatera trimestris 'Pink Blush'
Papaver orientalis 'Brilliant Red'
Osteospurmum ecklonis 'Sky and Ice'
Lavatera trimestris '
Loveliness Mix'
Dietes iridioides 'Fortnightlily'

Potting things today, if I remember will get some new pix. Here's one of the New babies (listed above) and froggie swap from Susie. Later...Kathy

Welcome back, Kathy, hope you had a great birthday! And as always, your list is impressive. Loooooove those froggies...

Susie I posted the answer twice to your question, and the computer genie ate it. The Astras are 8-12," P Perlmutter is 24." And I don't know if they'll keep blooming or not... They may just make roots for a while, but time will tell.

One Astrantia White Giant germinated. It's about 1/2" long. I took it away from the open window, and teased the seed cover off its head- and managed to do it without breaking the seedling, too. Then I agonized, finally decided to mix up seed starting mix with lots and lots of vermiculite (it was in pure vermiculite since 3/24), then put it in a small cup under the warm dome. After all that chilling, freezing, thawing, blah, blah, blah... A reward?! Now to see if it survives infancy!

It was 80 degrees in the city yesterday, and today's another warm one. Then it cools off some but should stay nice over the weekend. I wonder if I fried my digitalis, leaving it outside. It's usually 5-10 degrees cooler in CT, but that's still a big adjustment for the babies. Oh well, it's all part of the joy of not being there all the time to babysit :-(

Yup, had a great birthday, spent the day with my daughter and we both came home winners...love that when it happens, and should happen ALL the time, thanks for asking Pam...

Here's some new pix. Check out those Centranthus, they are growing like crazy and I've clipped them back and now they are branching nicely.
1. Centranthus rubr, Jupiter's Beard
2. Digitalis grandiflorum (yellow) leaves are very different than the D. purpereas., back tray: Polygonum Pink and Red, Baptisia alba, Aqulegias, Snaps
3. Digitalis p. Alba
4. Digitalis p. Primrose Carousel
5. Verbascum chaixii


This message was edited Apr 11, 2013 10:05 AM

I'm trying an experiment... There's another thread about getting faster germination by soaking even tiny seeds, so I decided to try it.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1302492/

I put a bunch of seeds in hand hot water in separate cells in an ice cube tray this morning. Tomorrow morning I'll plant them using Kathy's method of vermiculite on top of seed starting mix (I found one that's peat and perlite). Supposedly even the lobelia should sprout in just a few days, usually they take longer.

I soaked Lobelia Regatta White, Lobelia Fountain Blue, Lobelia Compacta Paper Moon, Dracocephalum, Dianthis Annual White, Sweet Peas Captain of the Blues, Basil Lettuce Leaf, Basil Sweet, Parsley flat leaf. And one more try for Veronica Fairytale, although I'm beginning to think that's a hybrid that doesn't set viable seed.

Latest to bloom: Dianthus Loveliness, just one flower so far, sooooo pretty, more Petunias and Platys.

The old tomato seeds sprouted, just took a little longer.

Tomorrow in CT I'll find out if I cooked the Digitalis by leaving it outside in the mini GH during the warm spell we just had...

I just read about putting a thin layer of vermiculite on the top of seedlings as well - in a mother earth article.
Seems like a good idea. Normally I Just do a little compost.

This message was edited Apr 11, 2013 2:01 PM

Pam won't it be harder to get them out of the ice cube tray ? Next time your by a $1 store they have very small 2oz Med cups or Jigger shot glass. they would work better i would think . if you can't get them there let me know i can get them for you . pretty flowers :)

Good idea... I figured I'd use an eye dropper for the smallest seeds, like the lobelia. Or I could put a layer of paper towel, then screening and flip the whole thing over... As long as I remember to do a chart of what's what first. I'm glad to know about those little cups though. I bought 3oz cups at the supermarket, but would love the smaller ones.

If you need large quantities of them to use later, check kitchen supply stores (or Amazon) for the plastic cups they use for condiments, 2 ounces I think.

Thanks! I ended up getting most of the seeds out with a small spoon without too much trouble. Most of them were floating. The Lobelia seeds, super tiny, I scooped out with a small marker made from a Venetian blind. I scooped a few at a time, they stuck to it, and I used a spritzer to rinse them off into the cells. But individual cups would certainly be easier, then the seeds could just be dumped out with the water.

The strange thing was that some of the seeds, especially the basil and parsley, were coated in a kind of viscous gel. Very odd. They were soaking for about 12 hours, maybe that gel is the first step in germination? Basil doesn't take that long, I just did it because it was on my list to do next.

The sweet peas I did Deno, that worked well a couple of years ago, everything else is in cells or cups under the dome. It's a full house again. Tomorrow I take another batch of plants out to the house to make room.

Would small test tubes work for this?

Maybe, but if seeds get stuck in the bottom it might be hard to get them out.

I planted my Pumpkin,Squash,& Gourds this last Monday & weds &they have sprouted already I used some little plastic 3oz cups put hole in bottom & threaded some yarn up through it keeps them moist but not soggy & I just put water in the pan seems to be working . I just hope that I can keep them from over growth before i can get them outside seed pks said germination 7-14 days Ha ha ha I had germination in 3days.even the tomato seeds are popping up i planted them on weds.

well off to read more forums before my coffee is gone ya all have a great day

I would probably flush them out with a syringe. Normally fluids pour out pretty cleanly, but I'll do a test in the next couple of days and report back.

Soooo cute, DJ :-). I got a few beets and some lettuce started in CT, but that's it so far for veggies. I guess I better get going!

I am doing veggies today. Beans, winter squash, zucchini, peas, cucumbers, melons. Plus I am soaking seeds for a few of the annuals that I sow later...Ipomoeas, Mirabilis, nasturtiums, and Castor.

I love nasturtiums... This year I'm trying out Alaska Mix and Peach Melba cultivars. Which one are you growing Celene?

Pam....Uuuuuuh, I'm wondering in that pix above you are showing your Platy and a white flower in bloom (the white looks like a Petunia, I hope that's not the Dianthus you showed getting ready before or is that a white Platy?) I'm soo confused....lol.

River...those Peach Melba sound wonderful......... I forgot, where are you located again, was it by Golden?

Hey dj....looks like your going to be pretty busy here soon, hope your brother will help!!! LOL. And the kids too....

When soaked, Salvia seeds absorb water and exude a gel layer, kind of like frog / tadpole eggs.

Pre-soaking seems to make them germinate faster, perhaps because they don't have to scrounge that water out of the mosit soil.

I did my soakin g in 0.1% hydrogen peroxide 1.5 teaspoon per cup. Others make it stronger.

It was the basil that had the gel...

Kathy, yes, that's a petunia, lol... This year I tried Easy Wave for the first time, much more promising than P Storm. Couldn't believe how fast it branched without pinching, and blooming already. I wonder if it poops out later?

I didn't post the Dianthus pix because I was waiting for more than one bloom...and here it is today. The other beauty is P Perlmutter, the first double bloom.

Happily, the digitalis I left outside during the mini-heat wave look perfectly fine. Today is wet and raw, so I just peeked, then left them covered up.

I love nasturtiums, too, have grown most colors and types through the years.. This year I'm doing Buttercream, not sure yet what else. Maybe the traditional sprawlers to fill in while perennials grow in the new area, have to wait and see how much room there is- and how much weed suppression I need- once it's all cleaned up and planted. Squash is good for that, too.

Hi all! :) I have been gone for a couple of weeks. Man, a lot happens on this forum in a short time. I had to "catch up" from the last week in March.
Everyone has had such good success with germinating. I just arrived home yesterday so haven't had time to calculate my survivors and losses yet.

Kathy, you mentioned snapdragon: Plum Blossom. Yes, I have seed and yes, you can have some. I don't know if you still want it or not? If it's too late for Sp., it would make a nice plant for fall as well. I may try Pam's method for fast germination on snaps. I don't think mine made it. This would be my third attempt for snaps, but I have been absent so much. If I don't get any, I sure hope the garden centers will have them. Most of the time, they don't have the tall snaps anymore. Black Prince returns for me every year. It gets about 15 to 18 inches tall.

I love the Digitalis grandiflora. I rec'd one from a DG'r {ahem, Pam :)}. It survived in a harsh summer with me carrying water to it occasionally. I was so impressed; I started some from seed last season and planted some here and there in my gardens. I hope they made it through the winter. I wouldn't mind if it would re-seed! And, a big additional plus, is it's perennial vs. biennial. I also notice the Digitalis thapsi is perennial. I will be growing this one in the future. Diane's Seeds have 11 different cultivars of Digitalis. I started from seed her Digitalis purpurea 'Glittering Prizes' and was really impressed how robust the plants were. They will bloom this year.

Blomma, your Iris are beautiful.

Pretty flowers Pam. Good for you!

Would love the seed of Plum Blossom, when ever you can send the seed. Thankyou!!!! And in return what can I send your direction? Lol, thankyou! :) And just curious, what color is your grandiflorum.. I'm excited about mine, it's suppose to be a yellowish, 30", z4-10 and June-Sept. My pink grandiflorum is only 18", and blooms Junish only. Never reseeds either and the leaves on my new one are quite different from any foxglove that I've seen. Gosh, I sure hope they didn't mix up the seed with something else. Take a look at pix 2 above 4/11/13 and see if anyone might be able to ID the leaves of the plants in the first tray. Any ideas? (Seed was obtained in a trade from Netherlands.....do they look like a potentilla or maybe something else?). I have 38 of whatever they are....lol.

Pam, did you smell that Dianthus yet? Remember to pinch off old blooms and it will continue the whole season, getting thicker thru the season (pix 1 is of one 2-3 years old, pix 2, is 2 or 3 plants together, approx same age but both in 2 different locations, 25 miles apart)).. Collect seed toward the end of the season from a few buds as they are short lived,(3-4 years maybe as they bloom so profusely).

Was going to put up the plastic on my metal tube frame greenhouse today but the breezes are just a bit much...phooey! Now we will be having breezes (20+ mph) and a new storm blowing in. They said today was suppose to be the nice day before weather came in. Rain and snow on the way for 3 or 4 days and then I'll be sending east again..lol. So I'll just keep on potting, lol. I'm running out of room..... My tomatoes are against the lights again, just waiting to see how long before I start getting flowers on them, should be any time now. My other batch is ready for potting on, next year I won't be starting any that soon as I did the first batch, lesson learned. Lol!

I'm curious, what's everyones last frost date? Here where I am it should be around May 10 or Mother's Day. Z5-6 here. But I'm also at altitude and was wondering if that made any difference? So what's everyone elses?

Ok, I mailed out a package today for the froggie trade and included a few of my new babies, I'm going to see how well they make the trip. Fingers are crossed. First time mailing newbie plants. Ok, I've got potting to do...will chat later all..Kathy

Here in my neck of the woods, April 3rd is the date the last is anticipated; however, the informational site says the last possible date for a frost, worst-case scenario, I suppose, would be April 20th.
I'm in, as well, for a break, and to find out if/how azaleas might be grown from cuttings. I've two absolutely humongous azaleas in front of my living room window, which, while beautiful, are overtaking the front bed there. I'd rather they be moved, but if they might be started elsewhere, that would make me as happy. I've several flowers planted around my little goldfish pond/dog-water-bowl (1/2 a whiskey barrel), in hopes of starting a garden of sorts in that area of the entry to home.

I have a kind of embarrassing selection of nasturtiums. Indian Cress-a generic term for the plant, but this was a yellow variety with red markings from Select Seeds, Hermine Grashoff, Cobra, Park's Fragrant Giants, JL Hudson's trailing variety, Empress of India, Blue Pepe, Aloha Red-White, Cherry Rose, Variegated Queen, and Milkmaid. I really like Nasturtiums. lol

I have an Orlaya sprout! It was planted 22 days ago, and kept moist and room temp with no bottom heat.

I also have a couple of African basils for tea sprouting, and a lonely spiky little Hesperaloe peeking out today.

The leaves on my yellow D Grandiflora are nothing like other Digitalis... Smooth, smaller, brighter green... I don't know if you can tell from my pic 1, pic 2 is new leaves emerging after the winter at my DD's house. She thought the plant I gave her died. She's new, but learning, lol.

Dreary grey drizzly day... Everything got potted up, full house again, and I bought another light. Next week no matter what, snaps and Alchemilla go out in the mini GH, and the Digitalis that are in there now go out.

What about Campanula? Do they like it cool? I'm ready to kick them out, too. I know the Platys and Salvias like it warm, and they're worth it, but what about Dianthus?

In the city there's lots of room now, but I just picked up a bunch more seeds from Susie's robin.... I could have sworn there would't be that much to tempt me, but I ended up with... Ahem, cough, cough... 19 bits and pieces. Yikes!!! I haven't sent the box out yet, maybe I'll put some back? Lol!

Quick question on snaps. I've pinched them back once and moved them outdoors during the day. I bring them in at night into a 60-degree garage because it's been right at the freezing point here for a few nights and because I have a raccoon meandering around on my patio at night and afraid it will cause some mischief with the plant trays. Anyway, the snaps are doing well in the cooler temp (and toughening up a bit with a light wind) as are Digitalis, Canterbury bells and some thyme. How many times do you pinch the snaps back?

I think I started mine later than yours. I only did it once so far, and they are just leafing out now. Maybe someone else knows?