I have two large cuttings of Night Blooming Cereus available. I have just dipped them in root stimulator and stuck them in pots of soil. They may not have roots by the 20th, but they are looking for good homes.
My avatar is the bloom from mine.
This message was edited Oct 9, 2013 3:21 PM
2013 N Central TX RU Oct. 20th in Arlington TRADE THREAD #2
Flowerchild, the 4 o'clock seeds are jet black and are loosely held in the sepals where the flower fell off. If it is still blooming, it should still have some seeds. They are easy to knock off and fall on the ground as you try to pick them but they are the size of a match head so hard to miss.
my 4 oclocks are fragrant but I haven't taken seed in years. They put down a bulb like a black carrot and return from it each year. I need to dig the bulbs OUT of a couple of places. I will see if the yellow have made any seed. They were so prolific they got booted to a fenceline. The dark pink are quite pretty
Bezziac - I would love a cutting from your cereus. It's my favorite plant/flower. (I'd been meaning to ask you about your avatar.)
Steadycam and Gypsi - earlier today, before reading your posts, I pulled off some 'things' from the four o'clocks, hoping that they might hold seeds. Haven't checked or dissected them since I've been back inside. And of course I forgot to notice if the flowers have a fragrance. Maybe tomorrow.
Newtonsthirdlaw - last year I bought an Apricot Sunrise Agastache. Didn't really take care of it. In the fall I chucked the pot it was in over to a side of my house and forgot about it. This spring I suddenly saw that it was alive and blooming. Got very leggy. Cut it back some, maybe too much, and it didn't improve. This year I couldn't control myself and bought a Rose Agastache. I actually planted it and it was full of flowers. It's the one that has mostly gone to seed. I have no idea if either are hybrids. I was at one of the neighborhood nurseries the other day to ask if I was on the right track as far as collecting seeds, assuming it was not too late. I noticed that they had 3 or 4 different Agastaches in stock, still flowering, but I resisted. And that's all I know.
All - A few experiments since some folks have me curious about seeds. I 'think' I have successfully collected seeds from my Blue Plumbago. I'll bring to the RU in case anyone wants them.
I also 'think' I have seeds from Pampas Grass. If not Pampas, then would be a similar grass. I'll look on DG later tonight. Again, will bring to the RU. (When I asked my neighbor if I could take some of the seeds, she said that I could divide up a whole plant if I wanted. I don't but let me know if you do and I'll attempt it.)
Question: I know it's ok to do an 'off with their heads' with coleus. But what if the coleus has what I guess are 'seed heads'? (They look like Basil after it's thru blooming.) Should I cut or leave those alone and take a cutting from a stem that hasn't gone to seed?
TX_flower_child---I will put your name on one of the cereus.
Thanks, Bezziec. I've added it to my list.
All - re the Pampas Grass seeds. This is invasive in TX. However, the seeds might be from a type of Muhlenbergia. See picture at
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/183925/
Will take a better look tomorrow. If it is Pampas, will not bring the seeds to RU.
Also, have received more clay and plastic pots from neighbors. Got an especially cute little oblong ceramic planter with matching tray. Measures approx. 8" long x 5" wide x 2" deep. Planter is filled with pea gravel so assume would be nice for baby cactus or succulent. Will add to trade list.
flowerchild. Most of us pinch off the blooms of coleus so they dont make seed. We want them to continue growing and if they make seed they think they are finished with t;heir work and just give up the ghost. Most of us pinch back to a node and then when the plant branches there, we'll pinch off those branches back to a node and so on. It does not matter whether it flowers or not for the pinching.
steadycam - if the coleus blooms are already setting seed (dunno if they are), would it be better to pinch a totally different plant?
No, just pinch off the bloom and then pinch to get your cutting.
I would love the ceramic planter Tx flower child. Maybe you want Henry Duelberg to go with his "wife" !
bananna18 - The planter is yours! Not sure about the Duelbergs. Let me go look them up on the DG plant guide and I'll be back.
I'm glad you want the planter. I thought if I sorta described it that someone would jump on it. I'll update my trade list now and then go look up the Duelbergs.
YES! I would like Henry, please and thank you.
This message was edited Oct 9, 2013 11:53 PM
Steady you bet you can have 2
flower child you have gardenias but if you want pink crinums I can dig some
Covenant I would love striped ones mine are just a pink color LOL
If anyone wants anything below the purple tall Mexican petunias let me know as I will dig and separate and or take cuttings
I can also share some dessert willow tree seeds a friend gave me a number of pods so I have seeds ...not sure the seedlings will take a transplant they are still very small.
My formerly yellow 4 oclocks are now pale pink, lol. They were definitely yellow when I moved them. I still have the original seed packet these came from, most of the seed produced yellow. It is available for trade or giveaway, my favorite flowers are the ones the bees love. I will see about the dark pink ones for seed later, bookkeeping still has me, I left the office for 2 days and an avalanche hit.
Mibus - I'm already getting crinums for a neighbor and for me from Rouxcrew. Plus Covenantgarden and I have a covenant that if she has any left over or unclaimed, I'll get 1 or 2 from her. (Ack. Just reread and saw where my spellchecker once again changed crimums to 'craniums', that dumbo!)
I know I could look this up, but how much light do they need? We gave them full sun in Austin (where they stayed when I moved to Big D) but my neighbor has them in almost full shade. She said that they were there when she and her DH bought their house in early '50s. One thing I did see on DG is that they can be good houseplants and that kinda surprised me. What say you?
Anyway, I hate for you to dig up more on my account. But then again . . .
Mibus, I'll have striped crinum lily for you. Could I have an aloe start please?
tx_flower_child, my crinums are growing in both full afternoon sun and high shade. Give them plenty of room as they like to spread their long leaves, and when the blooms are done, the tall stalk will just lay over.
I have a few yellow four o'clock plants if anyone is interested. They are from a bright yellow parent.
Amaryllis does well indoors in a pot- fancy ones or otherwise. in like Amarillo they dont do well outdoors at all. too cold, so they are a houseplant yes.
Just remembered that I have a few aloe vera pups that I potted up while ago. I can bring a couple if anyone wants them. They're still pretty small but seem healthy.
No news on the 4 o'clocks in my alley. I don't think they've set seeds yet, at least not that I can see. Also didn't notice a scent.
Covenant you got it I ..aloe plant :-)
my crinums get morning sun then shade with maybe a dab of very late afternoon sun and they love it
I will be staying in McKinney the night before the RU, and will need some willing soul to take my trade items to the RU for me since I will be working Sunday. I am coming up from Hempstead. Marty will bring my plants home with her but I know her car will be full on the trip up.
I don't have tons, and will do my best to pack them in a couple boxes so they will be easy to deal with.
Joy
This message was edited Oct 11, 2013 7:42 AM
I won't be able to attend. Sorry to those I promised plants to.
Cheryl
Miss you for sure Cheryl.
Looks like our group will be a bit small this year, hopefully we can make the rental, pass the hat or something.
Hey, does anyone want leftover NOID amaryllis from last Christmas? They need some TLC before blooming again but I want my pots back!!
steadycam - you said 'the 4 o'clock seeds are jet black and are loosely held in the sepals' and that 'they are the size of a match head so hard to miss'.
I may have found some but assuming that I have, how do I store them? Just put them in an envelope until the RU? Or?
Have to run but wanted to get that question in. Thanks.
If I could grow 4 o'clocks, I would love to have some seed or bulbs or however they come. I have mostly all sun. Do they climb? I would love something pretty on my split rail fence, but again, I worry that the horses might eat them and get sick. The only shade I have is on the north side of house, actually right up by the house.
flowerchild, just keep them dry. That's all they need.
You don't want Four O'clocks close to the horses Sybil, they are poisonous.
They are but horses dont like 4oclox
Sybil, this made a lot of sense to me. What do you think?
http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/nutrition/feeds/poisonousplants_041105/3/
Good link Marty, I wouldn't have thought those plants were harmful to horses. I guess you have to be careful.
Ok. Saw pictures of the seeds on DG just now. I think I might have 1 seed so far. (I know, ha-ha, but I wouldn't have admitted this if I didn't think it was funny.) Will look again in the next few days. I cleared away a lot of leaves, weeds and misc. trash so that it will be easier to spot more seeds, unless, of course, the wind blows all of that stuff back.
Does anyone actually want the seeds? The flowers are what I would call coral, but somewhere I read that they're called 'salmon'. I didn't really notice a scent but that prob. has more to due with allergies/meds. Dunno if they climb. They definitely can get very bushy.
Lots of pictures at this link. More on the web in general.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/92/
This message was edited Oct 11, 2013 8:57 PM
Stedycam, I liked the article. Didn't see anything about 4 o'clocks, but I was really surprised to see Johnson grass included in the poison group. My goodness, I even see Johnson grass hay advertised sometime. Of course, it says it's not likely to bother mature horses unless it's altered some way (can't remember the wording), but I think I'll stay away from it. Thanks for the link.
Kitt, are you SURE the horses wouldn't eat it? My horses?
Tx flower I would love some seeds.
Ok. I will continue my scavenger hunt for seeds. Wish me luck.
Steadycam, did you want some seeds too?
(Sybram, thanks for saying that you didn't see anything about 4 o'clocks in the article. Thought it was me.)
To be continued . . .
Yes, flowerchild, I would like some coral, salmon colored 4 o'clocks. I have never heard of climbing 4 o'clocks but they do grow about 4.5 feet tall here.
Gypsi - I've been reading various things on the web, always a dangerous thing to do, and a number of articles talked about four o'clocks changing colors. Some individual flowers may even be multi-colored. So having yellow ones eventually become pink is not unusual.
Sybram - Many articles that I read said 4 o'clocks like sun. But they also said they like part shade. Everything I've read says that they are easy to start and will grow profusely. And while the seeds might be poisonous, the flowers have been used medicinally. So now I just have to figure out how to spot the seeds.
Anybody want coffee grounds? Got some for Banana and can easily get more with advance notice.
I would like some flowerchild if it is not too much for you to bring.
well I have 4 oclock bulbs. and the leftover seed package I started with, and one flower's worth of 4:00 seeds. Sybram, I do not know about them being poisonous, but they will come back year after year from the carrot like tuber, if you can find a place for it that the horses can't get to. They will grow in shade but get bigger in sun. I like the dark pink. Never been a yellow fan. I potted one small one today, the rest I just dug up the tubers while I was lifting summer snowflakes.
I need to go all the way through this list to see who wanted what and put it on my little post, but for now I potted 20 individual summer snowflakes since they were sprouting.
I have not started on the narcissus daffodils.
I have a nice big bag of Beverly Sills iris (assuming anyway, since they are peach, dutch and scented).
and I potted up 3 or 4 Confetti lantana.
Time to cook and resume work on bookkeeping, I will try to update my main trade post later.
Gypsi. Can I have one or two of the summer snowflakes? I almost bought some bulbs yesterday on my trip to Antique Rose Emporium.
Certainly Joy. I have a pile of bulbs from when I ran out of small pots, do you want me to pot 2 or 3 together for you? (I have not even lifted the main area I grow them in, I have LOTS)
Also, I have been gathering seed: I have excessive amounts of Texas Star Hibiscus seed - winter hardy, blooms red, I only bog it because it gets too big on land, does well in ponds. Have lots of white zinnia "snowball" I think, the only zinnias I planted this year as my daughter was getting married, used none for the wedding, but they are still blooming. This is a full sized variety that gets 3 ft tall, blooms 2 inches across.
There will be more.