greenhouse day

the seed geraniums planted the first day i was there thirteen days ago (now moved to cooler zone)

94 hundred packs of proven winners rooted cuttings (plugs) unpacked, checked and organized by yours truly
these babies are only 3 weeks old - can you believe it (takes me 2 or three times that long to get decent size plugs)

This message was edited Jan 20, 2005 10:32 PM

pansies seeded watered and in the dark

the flats to the left are a gazillion petunias (of the non proven winners varieties) planted from seed last week (pretty decent germination rob says)

my bruggies still in the cold zone they are due to be moved to warmth and more attention next week

here are some lovelies that were just hanging around asking for their pictures to be taken

here is another that i am going to try outside this summer with an intended winter home indoors (its one of my favourite vines)

and last but definitely not least - these lovelies

You have been a busy bee! Looking good, Joelle

Very impressive Lynn! You've got some real beauties lined up for the warm months. Ü

Great pictures! I love seeing the rows and rows of lush green flats. I am dreaming of spring shopping.

The tropical lovelies are indeed lovely. Can you tell a rookie what they are (the 3 pics after your brugs)?

Thanks - Susan

Me too, Lynn, I'd love to know the name of the first one there that is a rosy pink color. Gorgeous! Your Bruggies look really good. How nice that you can keep them at Salisbury, but you know if I worked at a greenhouse like that, I'd want everything and end up taking half the greenhouse home myself.

Question: Why do they cover the Pansy seeds for germination. Don't all seeds need light to germinate?

Very nice photo. I enjoyed very much.
Is red one passion flower? Very pretty.
I would love to have one.
Do you work at nursery?

no there are a lot of seeds that must be kept in the dark to germinate, besides panisies i know that calendula require dark to germinate

the pics are of a passion vine flower, a bougainvillea and an orchid (don;t know which variety)

Great pictures Lynn. I love the look of all the seedlings in the trays. Your brugs look like they are in great shape. The passionflower is gorgeous. I'm trying to get some cuttings rooted at the moment. Not having too much luck unfortunately. I've wanted one for ever. I'd love to have a bougainvillea one day too. The last photo of the orchid is a cymbidium of some kind.

I took my mom shopping this morning and I'm so excited because I found a Musa "Dwarf Cavendish Banana". I've wanted a banana plant for years. Both Thrifty Foods and Save-on-Foods had them for only $7.99. I'm going to have to quit looking at the tropical plants though. The solarium is starting to look pretty full. LOL

Lynn, I can't thank you enough for posting those photos. I was having a rotten day, and irritable and cranky as well. Those photos really made a difference. I so need to have my fingers in the dirt and smell the garden. I used to go to either the Crystal gardens or butterfly gardens for my fix of humid dank earth during the winter, but the Crystal gardens were sold by the Gov't and BF gardens don't open for another month. And your brugs look good!

Thanks again.

You need a banana plant Linda. Mine has brightened my day no end.

i was informed by the nursery guy on wednesday that a banana is actually an herb not a tree or a bush - interesting. and i'm going to get a couple as well

Hmmm, Save-on-Foods you say....

Thank you from me too for the pictures - they brightened up my day. That is my dream to work in a greenhouse or nursery. I don't know why I'm in an office! Maybe when I retire some one will hire me for a couple of days a week but I might have to pay THEM ! I think I'm getting the Spring "heeby-jeebys".
Linda, I have an "inflo" on my plumeria!
Heather

Hi Lynn--

Love all the g.h. pics, thanks so much for doing it. I have some questions, though!

The pansies, under newspaper. Is that because black plastic would make them too damp? At what percentage of germination is the cover removed? And what about germination temperature--I always thought pansies needed to germinate around 65-70, while petunias do best at 75-80...but they're practically side by side. ?? (Or is there a heat cable under the petunias?)

I'm sure impressed at the difference between starting seeds in the home and starting them under those controlled conditions. Keep the pictures coming, if you can--I'm fascinated to see inside the scenes.

Rosemary

Lynn, thanks so much for this thread & these photos - just the perfect tonic for our cold temps. I'm so envious!! I second Yumiko's question...do you work there part-time? It's sure great to have access to a space like that. Thanks again for the shots.

Shannon

Lynn there must be two of you to go around. Wish I had the energy to do half of what you do. Thanks for sharing all the pics you have been showing us lately. A real lift.

about the newspaper first the pansies are first covered by the plastic dome covers to provide the humidity so anything that would exclude light would work on top of those (newspapers and the cardboard happen to be plentiful and basically free)
there are heat pipes that run under the propagation benches there which keep the petunias pretty warm the side the pansies are on is a little cooler as it is next to the cool greenhouse and they may have turned the pipes off under that section i didn't check but will this week
and no i don't work there i just volunteer one day a week. normally i do child care for my niece one day a week but she is on her one year mat leave this year with her second so i decided to use that day to learn more about commercial operations
it seems that for all of the flats they tend to remove the plastic dome covers once the germination is greater than 50% i will check on the pansies next week to see if the same rule applies to those germinated in the dark i know from experience that pansies are one of the most photosensitive plants i have grown

Sandy, you mentioned above that I need a banana. I do have one, as sad as it is. Here's how it started, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/446749/ and here's what it's like now.

This message was edited Jan 24, 2005 9:14 PM

I wonder what's wrong with it Linda? Maybe you should post it in the tropical forum and see what the experts there suggest.

edited to say you could post it in your old thread......it's probably still *on watch* by the same people that helped you before.

This message was edited Jan 25, 2005 12:06 AM

Oh dear Linda. I just read through the potting up pointers in between watching 24 hrs. That thread was pretty funny. I'm going to have to repot mine very soon, although now I'm a bit afraid to. Where did you have your nana? It sure doesn't look very happy. Did the frost get it?

I think I'll post it on the original thread and see what happens. i've had it under the deck roof, since long before the first frost. My brugs around it are doing OK. I'm thinking it just got too wet. I've only giving a small drink once a month for the last 2 months...

I dunno, obivously it's very unhappy the way it is. I thought of cutting it down to the soil and maybe replanting.

Interesting story, Linda. I am curious about how it managed afte rootdoctors's repotting lesson. Did it grow new leaves as promised? Did it just get that way in the past few weeks or didn't it just never recover after repotting? Maybe, I really don't want a Banana Plant...

Linda, I just read through that thread as well - what a hoot! I marked it for watching, so if you do end up getting more advice from root or anyone else on there, I won't miss it....

PS - just found a banana troubleshooting page

http://www.paton.com.au/horticulture/banana-troubleindex.shtml

Shannon

This message was edited Jan 25, 2005 2:49 PM

Shannon, thanks for the link, it's full of good information.

After it was originally repotted, it put out 3, maybe 4 lovely ,leaves, but then stopped growing. It seemed damp, so I didn't water it for a long time. It hasn't been frosted, I dunno what happened. It looks like it's rotting from the middle. I'll put it on that old post on the tropical forum.

Good idea Linda. Get some pointers from those experienced growers before it's too late. There might still be a chance as it looks like it has a green leaf.

Looking forward to seeing how much your babies have grown Lynn!

Did you discover any other new plants that you will be purchasing?

no time for pictures yesterday - it was one of those heads down bums up just work kind of day
20,00 plus unrooted zonals to stick as well as 3 to 5 thousand unrooted impatiens cuttings 5 or 6 of us working like mad fiends
will post pics next week
back is sore

I've said it before.....you are nuts! You already have 2 full time jobs and you are volunteering to kill yourself on a third. The knowledge that you'll have gained will be priceless tho! ;)

update from this week when i was the orchid lady Large tropical shipment arrived and had to be unpacked

as you can see oleander, hibiscus and here mandevilla (i hadn't seen the white one before, also ginger, passiflora, and bouganvillea (definitely having one of those)

check this one out pam - it's a member of the bromliad family but isn't it a beauty

as orchid girl i unpacked all the new babies watered and fluffed the bark chip base and did the orchid displays

i have never been an orchid person before but i had to adopt several that day cause they were just so beautiful - here is one that didn't go up for sale