Plant Propagation ,The Basics Continued July 2015

Gosh, a lot of seeds in that sunflower JU. Looks like a lot of squirrel and birds will love you this winter. The morning glories are very pretty. I planted some seeds I got from Burpee or one of them that were suppose to be the original first morning glories. Sure don't look anything like what is out there now.

Just like the Nasturtiums I planted. Suppose to be the first ones. Split petals. Also, they don'[t have an aphid on them. Wonder what they did to the later ones to attract aphids.

Hi Jen , A little fun with plants and seeds and a few surprises ,, Aphids are not a big problem here this year , lots of lady bugs eating around here ,
Thank you for enjoying the Flowers!!!

Here are a few today
Cosmos 1
Helianthus Tuberosa 2
3 Baptisia seeds germinating
4 Tithonia
5 Turks Cap Lily Germinating
More Butterfly Plants !!! YAY !!!

LOVE LOVE THE COLOR OF YOUR CRIMSON RAMBLER I PURPUREA. OOPS STOOPID CAPS LOCK. Wish I could see your nasturtiums, Jen..

oh wow.. you are really going great , there Ju. I love the tithonia, mine did not come up or bloom either one.. :P

Debra Only one seed of a dozen of that Morning Glory came up , About Half the Tithonia ,
I will get some to you if any do a good job of making seeds or if I don't make any mistakes with them ,Birds like those also , Goldfinch food , Cardinals , etc .

oh no Ju I have seeds of both of those, tons of them, I just think it is weird that mine didn't come up.. but u know, I saw a blue jay peck the ground and dig out a sunflower I just planted last week, it was germinated, but the dang bird DUG it up and gulped it. SHEESH!

Last season birds got mine too !!! lol ?? sort of. I have some plants to check on and I am finishing another outdoor pot ,, Going to try a couple made of foam , back in a bit ,

LOL Debra, years ago I was planting corn and I honestly did see a crow sitting on a tree branch watching me and never thought anything of it. After I got done and was drinking a coke on the deck, I looked out there and that damned crow was eating all that corn I had just planted. At least the jay waited until it was germinated. You know, birds, including chickens, geese, etc. all like and eat tender grasses. Those are your newly germinated plants of any kind.

I will see if I can get a picture of one of those nasturtiums Debra. I said somewhere on one of the threads that I made the mistake of planting them with petunias which need fertilizer. The nasturtiums don't take it so they grew a lot of foliage.

So JU, you don't think the lack of aphids was due to the original nasturtiums huh? Wonder why there are no aphids this year when our winters were all so much milder. Normally we count on the freezes to kill the eggs of the slugs, and bugs, etc.

OK, here's one for you. I was watching something on the computer or TV where this guy was going to germinate seeds using the Deno method. He took a double (either folded over or two) paper towels, and starting folding them over and over and then stuck his seed {s} in the middle and kept folding it until it was maybe an inch and a half, or two, square. Put it in a zip lock, and then using 1/4" tube he had connected to something I couldn't see, he put water in the paper towel until it was soaked. Then squeezed the air out of it and zipped it up.

I always just folded a wet paper towel with the water squeezed out of it, over once or twice and then put the seeds in the middle, and into the bag and closed. Mine don't germinate very good.

Maybe that is why. Which way do you do it? jen

Jen I use the sprouters but mold or rot does if the seeds do not germinate in a couple weeks ,,

Milder winters mean more of these , they are everywhere here ,, Lady bug , aphid eaters !!!

Gosh, I haven't seen one of those all summer. No, I don't use pesticides either. Only on my houseplants I use neem oil when I see something. NOrmally spider mites.

Don;t you use any paper towels or anything in the sprouters JU? You don't just put the seeds in there with water do you?

Jen 2 inch x 2inch paper towels folded over once is usual . I don't usually do that many seeds except in spring , in which case half a towel folded once ,

With only one fold over. That is the way I do too, but like I said, not very good averages of luck.

Don't know what kind of percentages the guy I was watching had. But he had quite a wad of paper. Don't know what the seed was he was working with either.

I should say tho that this year the seed I was working with was pretty old. Mainly trying to get rid of some of the seeds I have had a long time. I hate to throw them away. Should tho. Time is worth something too.

I got these from a trade in 2012 , I was very ill at the time though ,,They got spaced off ,
However , the info said they are not likely any good , But I don't buy info , with light , temperature , moisture, ph , air quality , soil or earth quality .. Some seeds over 100 still being germinated ,, Info as absolute about "old seeds"" , "" What does that mean ???""


These earlier today , Supposedly they were fresh germination only ,
Baptisia , or false indigo
Michigan lily , or Turk's Cap ,These are almost four years old , besides they came from the previous seasons storage ,,

those look really good Ju. I only germinate morning glorys, could not tell you about other things, mostly I just put hard coated seeds in a small glass container about a eighth of an inch to cover and sit in the sill or on the fridge for a day or so .. I do the little bubuils from tiger lillys in the 4 fold paper moist towel zip lock in fridge all winter to sprout.. then I plant them in ground early spring..

Debra I only want them large enough to root down far enough to the winter when I start them this time of year ,
You have a talent with the seeds , I enjoy what I get to grow . I am sure you enjoy what you grow also .
some wonderful nature !!!

The False indigo is trying to get it's first leaves out , I will pic in a few days , The lily are still roots

Debra I should of also said thank you , about the seeds Soo Thank You !!!
I was wondering if the Senna bloom the first year from seed , The one plant is getting a pretty good size and is looking like it might

I really need to take a pic of the one I grew from seed. it is a monster this year. Mine bloomed first year. it makes me happy to know you grew it.
I am also happy, I got a seed pod from Kopper King Hardy Hibiscus. I have enough to share.. and also, this one I grew from a seed, has several pods..2nd pic the white..and the dark red.. 3rd pic, and now Texas red star is budding, I hope it gives me more seeds, but still have some from last year.. got some seed pods from a g/f's place of a dark dark maroon dinner plate.. will test it out.. all test seeds are either in the now empty bean patch,, or the very crowded front triangle. I can't believe how much from the test seeds I put out there with that banana are growing.
I also took cuttings from the Kopper king to see if I can root one, we will see. I have this community pot of cuttings, well I have about 5 cutting tubs.. holding chinese white lilac, old fashioned lilac, goji berry, mock orange, nanking cherry, Rose of sharons, cestrum, oleander, and now a milkweed, kopper king hibiscus and some over grown coleus in bright lime green. *sigh*

Debra Hibiscus is a beautiful bloom yours are definitely showy !!! Does The Senna close it's leaves at night , or do I have a Sensitive plant , ? lol


Took these a while ago
Michigan lily
senna
False Indigo
a couple of the Baby Sycamore tree seedling ?

Ju, yes the senna closes it's leaves. I was going to take a picture, but woke up late, went to the dr today at 2 thirty, I have pleurisy again, my whole left lung and left bronchial tube is inflamed. I went back to work, since we are so crazy busy.
I hope your false indigo comes back strong.
Out front I had to cut back some very tall plants, they were almost to the roof, well today I came home and inspected briefly, and guess what , buds, blooms of Gaura from the country seed gatherings.
I hope I feel well enough to go to work tommorrow.
What is a Michigan lily?
does anyone want any Royal Catchfly? I have seed pods of it.

Are you ok Debra? That really sounds painful. How can you work like that? Yours and Ju's pictures are all so cool. Do you have any seeds to spare on the Kopper King Hardy Hibiscus? Is it really hardy, or just says that? I would love to try it if you have enough seeds. oh, and if they are really hardy.

The one I got seeds from Sharon and started in a pot not long ago, maybe 5 or 6 weeks ago is almost 3 feet tall now. Don't know what to do with it in the winter.

I saw the Kopper King Hardy Hibiscus picture and really like it.l There are a lot of plants i grow strictly for the foliage rather than the flowers. Mostly tropical tho. I love the tropical plants. But then they are mostly houseplants.

Now are you filling up your basement again Debra? Bet Gemma loves that.

You guys might remember a month or so ago I had the Volkswagen in for repairs when the repairman made a mistake and caused a wire to short out the computer etc. in it? Well we discovered today that one of the keys doesn't work. I called the repair place and the guy told me they had programmed the computer to the key. Well, they didn't have both keys. I didn't know they were going to do that so never gave them the second key. Those keys cost about $400. Well, I have to make an appt. to have the second key programmed to work. Takes over an hour and costs $115.

Remind me to buy another foreign car Too bad because I love driving that car. It is heavy like an American made, big car. Oh well, will bite the bullet and pay for it.

only reason I am telling you this is because Debra works in a car "joint'. LOL jen

Morning, I have not been this sick for a long time. I have been up and down all night. It hurts to lay down and to breathe.
A 2001 to 2003 honda costs 85 to cut and program keys. All keys must be present. To do a 2004 to 2006 is 125. same thing, to do a 2007 to 2010 is 155. 2011 to 2015 is 210. each key. all keys must be present. the 2016 key will be a replacement of a keyless fob. that will cost 400. on a Honda. I love Honda's and have owned many buicks and chevys, a couple of olds and a rambler.

I AM SUPPOSED to be asleep. I have emailed a "call=in" I won't be at work today. No way with three hours of interrupted sleep will I even try to answer the phone, wait on a customer or drive someone elses' car. :P
Kopper King is very Hardy. you can grow it outdoors, it dies back and comes back in late spring.
All the hibiscus I showed up there are winter hardy. My tropicals are still outside except the passions, and the huge snow queen tropical hibiscus. too big to take up the stairs now.

Debra you just get yourself well again , and we talk about seeds and plants then ,
I am working on a red leaf Hibiscus ,
if it lives through the winter , I will continue of course , I still have several small Hibiscus I will set in the ground this winter , This is not the best place for them .
Michigan lily , is a wild Turk's cap , their are several types of them , .
A few cuttings to look over , little things t do ,

Debra... so sorry you're down for the count... that sounds very painful... do take adequate time to feel better. I often try to push through when I'm not feeling well and sometimes just prolong the illness.... don't do that to yourself... -:) We're thinking about you and hoping you're back to 100% soon. Glad you have hubby there to take care of you. You asked in an earlier post about the royal catchfly seed pods.. I would love some - but ONLY when you're feeling better. Did you see the pics I posted of the obedient plants you sent me? I LOVE these sweet plants...mine are all starting to bloom for the first time. They are potted as I know they can be vigorous, and I have limited space... but they are doing excellent in the pots and seem really happy. The color is really nice and I'm enjoying them. I've got a small chameleon plant like the one you posted... I have to keep it really well watered here and am thinking about moving it into a spot with a bit less sun... they are really pretty also.

Speaking of cars... we have two Honda's... my husband loves them and has had 5 of them over the years... they are very dependable. My son just purchased his grandmothers 2000 accord and it's in pristine condition...I am jealous because my old jalopy is falling apart! -:) Sorry to hear about your key issue Jeanette... that's a bummer. It's one of those things that happens in life and all you can do is say... I'll know better next time. We've had a similar experience.

Ju.... the turks cap gets pretty large doesn't it? Do you have a large garden?
Gotta get back to work... have a great day all! Nancy

You know Debra if you had stayed home when you first got this it probably would not have gotten so bad or for so long. This time, stay home until you are over it. Did the dr. give you something for it? What do they do for it?

You probably don't feel like doing anything at all. I have heard how painful pleurisy is. that you can't move in any position it hurts so bad. Must be something they can give you for it. Even pain pills would help a lot. Did the dr. give you a script for those? Motrins are pretty good. for one you don't need a script for.

Try to get some sleep today. jen

Nancy , this place is owned by three other family members It is my place to play , tolerated is all I am ,
anyway , here is an idea of the space it is ,Flower space I am working on , I/15 th of the flower area ,approx.The yellow ruler in the back , on the planter gives an idea of the size ,
Vegetable garden is larger ,

I know you are writing to Nancy JU, but I don't believe a word of it. jen

LOL, Mipi you are great. LOL Gotcha JU. jen

Mipii Yes they fold up at night that is probably a senna , pic 3 are false indigo seedling , I used the last of my gift card to buy some smooth blue aster seeds ,
Hopefully II will stay well enough to get them going and it is already cooling down at .night

Shown on another thread but here is last container , I have a bunch of Agastache seedlings that will go in there , likely anyway Couple of pots being rehab cases


Okay Jen , Then i am not tolerated , have no family , and none of this exists , LOL

Hi everyone, I had promised a pic of the banana that stayed outside during winter..up against the house, compared to one that we bring in and out.. and the gaura seeds that grew 7 ft tall , and the senna second year from country found seeds.
Ju , it looks great, I am glad yo get to play, I have been sick and going back to bed now..

Thanks Jen, I get a kick out of your and Ju's banter too.

Debra, hope you're feeling better. Your gardens are great, your Banana overwintering outside is a pretty good feat. You've got quite a good collection of Hibiscus, very pretty.

Thanks for the Senna info Ju.
Your hollowed out building block trough got my creative juices flowing. Imagine if you will...a staggered stack of building blocks, Higher in the back and progressively getting lower in front. The first course of brick would be filled with gravel (depending how high you'd want your final piece), all other courses filled with potting soil. Have each building block placed last as the last course topped by one of your blocks without a bottom. You'd have yourself a funky display garden utilizing vertical space.

The configurations could be almost endless depending on the space you can use. It could be used as a divider; a solid wall on one side and planting tiers on the other. It could be configured into a low wall, or a centerpiece that is tall in the center and tiered on all sides. Of course the base would have to be on solid, level footing for it to look good and last for any length of time.

It would be perfect for plants that need the extra warmth of a micro-climate.

Mipii Near as I ever got to anything like that , was bag steps , next to a deck . Bags of cement with Planter boxes made to to look the same(like Cement , That looked like planted steps .
My garden for flowers looked terrible this season , lot of no returns ,pacing through it all for next season already ,It will look like a clump dump of pots for a while ,
I don't know how creative I am being , not as much as when younger , I am unimaginative , but I keep trying ,lol


Debra , Take care of yourself , Things of that sort , can tear you down wearing on you ,

Annual Tithonia , pretty happy visitor

Bag steps are pretty imaginative Ju, don't sell yourself short. Beautiful picture to share, thanks.

This is Hibiscus Cannabis 'Amethyst'

Mipii ) Very Pretty !!!

I was going to come back and compliment Debra and Banana Tree That is always really COOL !!!

I am re-habing pots outside Hot , Hot , Hot , Monarch, Red Spotted Purple , Butterflies Hovering around me ,, They love the Sunshine , Me to until headaches and fizzle sets in , lol ???

I forgot the other thing I was going to say to you Robin , It will return eventually .???

Mipii Now i remember , the concrete blocks as pots ,, I have a couple of those also .. lol Big Red Hibiscus

Must of been an educational marketing propaganda motivation thing,,, Indiana ,,U

Debra--

My Kopper King Hibiscus is now done blooming. I want to cut the tops off
and let it re-grow a bit. Sometimes I get a few 2nd blooms.

Do you ever do this?

I cut my Phlox back a bit and they put out fresh blooms.

I want to show you this amazing Giant Purple Amaranth.
It self-sowed from a seed from last year. Amazing! The seed is half the size of
a Poppy Seed.....

1--Still growing--in July

2--The blooms now fully open at the top

3--Took this last week-..It measured 8 1/2 feet tall. I am 5'7" with long arms....

Gita

Robin, I love that hibiscus, have never heard of it, it is beautiful!
Ju, you are always so creative. Love your red hardy hibiscus also.

Gita, that is incredible! My sister in law in Buffalo, NY said one of the seeds I sent her produced a plant much like yours, I was surprised, since mine never go more than a couple ft tall.
I have cut back my monardas, cones, and dames rockets already and now we are all in bloom again. I also cut back Kopper King and stuck an end in the rooting pot, but haven't been out to inspect for new growth on the main plant. Your gardens look great.

Gita Was watching that on the Mid Atlantic Forum ,, I first saw that , I thought WOW !!! The is one big Red Dye Amaranth ,

Debra I can tell looking your garden your creative also , lot a work fun , goes along with planting and deciding after the pots are set and what type of earth ,Where to set them . How to decorate around them ,, Hmmmmm I feel a system note to myself coming on ,,

Debra--
I have tried every which way to propagate the KK Hibiscus
without any success.
Seems it is a hybrid......last year it made a couple seed pods for the first time.
But--everyone said--"Don't bother" as it is a hybrid. So--I did not...
I have had it for many, many years now. 12? 14? not sure....

LMK if your cutting makes roots. I'll drink a glass of Champagne in your honor
if it does. Gita

Just took this today--as if you have not seen it before....;o) Gita

Gita I know they are suppose to be a self sowing annual ? only goodness , With that trunk , A Red Amaranth Tree LOL