Looking for Southernwood Scented Geranium

I love this one but it up and died on me. Anyone have any to spare?

Barb

Sorry, Barb. If I ever make it down to DeBaggio's this spring, I will look for it -- sounds like a winner!

I checked Sandy Mush, and it's on their list this year (unlike DeBaggio's, they ship), so if nobody has it to share, check out http://www.sandymushherbs.com

I'm currently trying to start some cuttings of 'Attar of Roses' and 'Chocolate Peppermint' scented geraniums -- 2 of my favorites, and currently my only surviving ones! I'd love to find Cinnamon, Lime, or 'Cody's Wild Nutmeg' again....

Hi! I think I have lime. If so, I could start a cutting for you if you are interested. I have rose but not name as "attar" and no nutmeg. I would like them, too. Maybe I should just start rooting all the ones I have and we could do a RR or something?

Barb

ooooh! A scented geranium swap -- what a lovely idea! I'm especially a big fan of the fruit and spice scented ones.

I'd love a 'Lime' geranium cutting! Still trying to find time to drive down to DeBaggio's (we used to live closer!).

The 'Attar of Roses' has the most fabulous old-rose scent -- not musky, not lemony, just ROSE! It need to be pinched back a good bit, but it's not as leggy as the 'Chocolate Peppermint' likes to get. Both of them will grow to 2 feet across or so in a 10 inch pot, probably much larger if I didn't prune them back regularly!

:-)

Jill

I have two nutmeg scented geraniums that I got from Mulberry creek.http://mulberrycreek.com/cgi-bin/herbman/page.cgi?p=a_z&letter=S
They're small, I don't know how big it would need to get before I can try to do a start off it. I would love to do some sort of swap. Mine is a nutmeg geranium it didn't say "Cody's Wild Nutmeg" so I don't know if it's the one that you are looking for.
-Juli

Juli, put it in a big pot, and it'll get huge in no time! :-)

Any nutmeg geranium sounds lovely to me. 'Cody's Wild Nutmeg' was a cultivar with silky-soft, rounded, grey-misted leaves....

I think if we all try to propagate whatever we have, we should be able to get a nice swap going!

I just started some cuttings of my strawberry one. I'll start some of the others tomorrow...ginger, rosemint, apricot, etc. but I'm still looking for some southernwood! I'd also like some nutmeg and the chocolate ones. Checked and I don't have lime... Exactly how would be do a group swap?

Barb

If there's just a couple of us interested, we could just arrange individual trades. Otherwise, one of us can volunteer to host the swap, and everyone would send their *well-rooted* cuttings plus loose postage to cover the return. If you sent 4 cuttings, you'd get 4 in return, and the host would do her best to divy up the available selections so everyone got something they wanted. Obviously a swap is subject to a little more variability in outcome than individual trades, but it might let you choose varieties from, say, 6 different people while paying only as much postage as for 2 trades. A swap would probably work better than a round robin, both because there would be a greater selection available and because I'm not sure how much traveling cuttings could survive.

I'll keep an eye out for that southernwood one, Barb. Oh, and FYI, my 'chocolate peppermint' one really just smells like peppermint; I think the "chocolate" part of the name is because of the dark central marking on the leaf.

I like ANYTHING minty! I'd love to do a group swap adn will get busy rooting lots of cuttings!

Barb

Cool! Maybe it's time to start a thread to drum up interest for a swap, so people have time to start rooting cuttings.

Did you want to host this? I could try it, but I've never done it before.

Barb

Me neither!

You're welcome to host if you want (your idea, after all!). It's probably better if I don't host plant swaps until we get a regular mail carrier again -- our mail arrives at random times, and I just can't get it across that plants shouldn't be stuffed into the hot mail box, even if the package can be made to fit!

I think co-ops and maybe also swaps now have to get green-lighted by Dave. Why don't you email him and see if he'd approve a new subscriber as host? I'm new too (subscribed in Jan), so I'm probably not a better choice as far as he's concerned, although I've done a bit of seed trading and a few recent plant trades.

If he won't go for a newbie host, then we can try to recruit a host in the new thread as well.

Hi fellow scented geranium afficionados. Barb invited me over, and I told her I didn't think I could host.

However, I'm willing to give it a try. I'll need to be walked through the proper steps.

My space to keep plants is small - ants out back in the sun, and shade with no ants on the small front porch.

At the point we decide to do this, how about starting a new thread with a title that reflects what we're doing?

Another idea might be that if any of us buy any more scented geraniums at this point, that we choose ones not owned by others in this group.

Currently, I have one 4" pot of Pelargoneum graveolens (rose geranium). Will pounce on Gray Lady Plymouth and Dr. Livingston this weekend at Stillridge - a local herb business.

With regard to timing, I guess we'll need to grow our plants a while before some of them are big enough to take cuttings.

Another idea that comes to mind is to approach other DGers with extensive scented geranium collections with a collective list of all plant material we could trade for their scented geraniums. Kathy Ann comes to mind.

I have never met a scented geranium I didn't adore, so whatever the rest of this group wants to propagate is fine with me. Let me know if any of my ideas need correction and what you think. If you want me to host, where do I start?

DH says we can make the trip to DeBaggio's this weekend -- YEA!!

Barb, I will try to find a Southernwood for you.

Blue, how far are you from Frederick? I have plenty of room to keep plants, just wasn't sure about 1) being able to watch closely enough for our irregular mail delivery and 2) whether Dave would approve a newbie like me hosting. Maybe we could make it a collective effort.

Blue, maybe between the 2 of us we could come up with some things to interest Kathy Ann.... I have a few things I've started from seed, but not much in the way of mature plants that can be divided (other than black eyed susans & mints that she already has). We'll have been here 4 years in July, and my garden beds are progressing, but slowly! If I/we can arrange trades for additional material, I'm willing to grow on some cuttings at my place until they're big enough to take more cuttings from, and I have light shelves in the basement that should provide good conditions for propagation.

And, yes, let's start a new thread! Barb, would you do the honors?

I'm almost sure that Dave has no problem with us doing a plant swap. A co-op is when a group of Davers want to buy a large amount of something and share the price using the name Daves as a group. Since they are presenting themselves to a third party business as a Dave's group, it puts him as site administrator at risk if something goes wrong. That is why he would like to have approval with co-ops.
There is nothing wrong with being a newbie. Critter you've been here longer than me and you've been involved in some round robins so you have as much experience as anybody else. I've been in round robins and one swap and I've hosted one rr. You learn as you go. I'm game for you to try it if you want to host it. You have the room. I have confidence in you. I learn new things from your posts all the time. I think Kathy-Ann sells hers on ebay, so I don't know if she would want to swap but it's worth asking. I know she also does mints. This ones gonna need some time to grow and root so maybe we should figure on a time frame a few months from now but still keep the thread going as to how they are coming along????
sorry about that link I was trying to hurry. Mulberry farms scented geraniums
http://mulberrycreek.com/cgi-bin/herbman/page.cgi?p=a_z&letter=S
-Juli

I just emailed Dave, so we'll see what he thinks about having me or another newbie host. Juli, thanks for your vote of confidence! I agree that it's going to take several months before we may have lots of good rooted cuttings for everyone. I'll see if I can "step up" my propagation methods here.... I've been just putting cuttings in water since I only needed a couple here or there, but I bet my success rate will go up if I start sticking them in potting mix.... after all, everything else I've tried to do following Tom DeBaggio's directions has gone quite well!

Sheesh, DH just called to say he might have to fly to Taiwan this weekend for a quick meeting. There goes my trip to DeBaggio's with him. Well, I'll get there one way or another!

Critterologist - thank you for taking on the hosting. I'm about 45 minutes from you. Let me know how I can help.

Blue, I'm still waiting for a green light from DG administration. I'll let you know what Ithey say (so far, just got an auto-reply from Dave saying my query was better directed at the "contact us" link).

I'm willing to receive, pot up, and propagate (if feasible) rooted cuttings until our chosen send out time, but my one hesitation is not having a regular USPS delivery person..... The mail is delivered at a different time every day, and I don't have just one person so I can explain that plant packages really do need to be taken to the door, not crammed into the hot mail box. But if everyone is very good about letting me know when they send stuff so I can watch for it, and maybe we can also request using delivery confirmation so I can track the packages, then I think I could make it work. If it turns out to be a big problem, maybe Blue and I could work something out so she does the initial receiving....

On the plus side, when it's time to box everything up again, I'm willing to send out from the USPS substation in Rockville (half an hour from here), which will cut a day or two off transit time.

I'm also happy to step aside if BassetMom (who started this!) or some more experienced DGer wants to host.

I'll stick some cuttings in potting mix this weekend.... I've propagated other things that way, just not geraniums. DeBaggio's book says they strike roots faster in soil if you put them in a plastic bag overnight to "heal" -- that makes me wonder if un-rooted cuttings could be successfully shipped & stuck on arrival. Maybe I'll let a couple of cuttings "heal" in their baggies for several days to test that theory! If I blow up the baggie a little, I think the moisture from my breath should be enough for them for a few days, as with African violet leaves.

I would love some Scented Geraniums, but the only thing growing outside right now are the Yellow big Daffodils - (that didn't bloom do to over crowding) - and American Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majuscula) (they are blooming right now) except for the smaller ones; they are rhizomes... not bulbs.

I don't own any Scented Geraniums, but would love to have some.

Barb, there are some rhizomes going out to you already.

~* Robin

Robin, I can send you some cuttings. I have more than a dozen scents.

Critter, we doubled our efforts. I too am waiting to hear from DG about hosting. I'd be happy to do it. I'm new but have already done quite a few trades already. Either way is fine with me.

Barb

Barb, I wasn't intending to take over, and I'd be just as happy for you to host.... my email to the DG admin folks just asked if it was OK for a newbie like me *or* BassetMom to host, so we'd know if we needed to recruit somebody else.

I'll see what happens with my experiment of leaving cuttings in the baggie for several days before sticking them. That may be a way for us to add more varieties to this swap, if people want to just send cuttings rather than rooting the cuttings themselves, but I really need to test the idea first. I'm willing to do some extra propagating regardless of who hosts, if I can get a good method going for getting plants from unrooted cuttings sent in the mail.

Hey check this link out! I know it's about roses but I'm wondering if it would do the same for our purposes?
http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/hulse.html
-Juli

That would probably work, but putting a pot of cuttings inside a plastic bag or using a humidity dome over a tray of cuttings seems easier to me. Either way, DeBaggio says that letting scented geranium cuttings sit overnight (8 hours) in a sealed baggie will speed/increase rooting in potting medium, but he notes that it doesn't help at all if you're just rooting in water. I've had limited but sufficient success rooting in water in the past.... often, I'll get a new plant almost accidentally when I get roots on a cutting I've been using as "filler" in a flower vase! But I'll try sticking them in moist potting medium now that I'm trying to "step up" production! :-)

I'm enjoying our first rain in WEEKS so I'll zip out and start a few more when it stops. Can you hear the ground sighing in relief for the rain???

Wanna flip a coin for hosting?

Barb

Jill - did I hear my name mentioned about receiving plants? If that will help, I'll be glad to - DH and I could motor over on a weekend day with the booty.

If anyone mentioned my name more than the above, give me another hoot.

So glad we're doing this.

I'm excited about this too! I had mentioned something about receiving plants to you, but now that Barb is handling the swap, I think we've got that covered. I figure there won't be more than a couple of people (if any) wanting to send me unrooted cuttings, and I can just watch out for those. I appreciate the offer though! Maybe you & DH should motor over anyway sometime.... :-)

You could both MOTOR up here and help me sort the swap when the time comes...

Barb

DH and I will be there - let us know when, where, directions, your phone if we get lost, anything we can bring. My kingdom for a few scented geraniums!

Really????????