Hi all
I have some of these started from seeds. I don't find them in a search here. Have any of you grown these? Any experience or direction would be helpful.
thank you
cynthia
drummond phlox
Mine are blooming now, I just planted more seeds for later blooms.
Try this address, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/77702
I grew it one year, and it is a very pretty annual, but now I prefer to grow perennials.
Josephine.
I love the perennial phlox, but it doesn't do well here. I may try it again when I get the soil in that bed fixed.
Cala, do you remember the phlox we saw in San Antonio last June - I think it was at Milberger's. David phlox? Or something like that, it was gorgeous, and had a strong stem so that it didn't fall over nearly as easily.
Calalily
What did you do to get them to grow? I have mine in peat pellets, that I just moved to 4 inch pots of potting soil.
What did you do? What type of soil do you have?
cynthia
Maggie, I remember those! I like white flowers, so I may have to make a trip to SA and get some.
Cynthia, my soil is delta soil, kind of sandy, a little salty, slightly alkaline. If the moisture is just right, it's a dream to dig in. I add lots of peatmoss, rabbit manure, composted pine bark and gypsum. I just sprinkle the seeds in areas that don't get hot all day sun and they grow and flower till summer. Sometimes I sprinkle the seeds in pots, they do good there too as long as they aren't in all day hot sun.
Cala
The sandy soil may be the answer. I have them in potting soil that has a lot of peat and bark in it. Hopefully they'll get big enough to transplant and grow before it gets too hot. I have 50 babies. Any idea how long they take to go from 4 leaves to a bush?
cynthia
Cynthia, not long. They are pretty fast bloomers. Last year I planted some, they made seed and I planted those. The second seedlings bloomed a long time before it got too hot on them. They're a good fast crop like alyssum.
Thanks again Calalily
Do you think it's OK that they are in a greenhouse? It gets into the 80s some days and cool at night.
I'm so excited. This weekend I'm starting white Alyssums and transplanting bluebonnets into 6 inch pots from the pellets.
Can't help getting excited about all this work!
cynthia
I think they will be fine, it's been in the 90's here the last two days and it didn't hurt them.
I need to find the bunny rabbit that is eating my bluebonnets! That little stinker eats them as fast as they grow.
talk about stinkers and bluebonnets...I soaked and planted in peat pellets. This has worked for me before. I left them in the cool dark garage to germinate in one of those plastic trays with a clear lid.
I go in there and notice the lid has been moved and 4 pellets are gone, well they were moved out and destroyed. In a blonde moment I think that whoever is doing this is just being destructive. Move the tray and go away. Things seem OK for a while and they start to emerge. Next day or so I take them outside and notice seeds....or what I thought were seeds....scattered around the edges of the pellets.
seems my visitor, mouse I guess, ate the innerds of my seeds. Had to start over and now I duct tape the edges of my lids and when they go out in the greenhouse I cover with a couple of layers of bird netting.
bluebonnets are a legume and a smorgasboard to lots of visitors!
cynthia
I forgot they were a legume! I could plant the little stinker a row of peas or carrots and maybe he would leave my bluebonnets alone. I can't be mean to him, lol. He is one brave bunny coming inside the fence with Bleu(big dog). Maybe he smells where I spread the bunny poo and thinks it's a big bunny farm!
Calalily and maggiemoo,
I may have some Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata) 'David' babies in the spring. It is one of my favorite plants. I'll let ya'll know if I do.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/51621/index.html
BTW, bluebonnet transplants should be planted in the ground now (it may even be a little late to do so) if they are going to have a great crop of blooms. They do not transplant as well nor bloom as well if transplanted later on. They take the cold very well and do not freeze. They are prostrate, growing low to the ground, until the end of Februaary or so and then start growing upward. If ground sowing, the seeds should be dispersed in the fall (September , October) and should be the scarified type.
htop
I need these bluebonnets to be in pots for a wedding. Have you ever tried to grow them in pots? I may be overreaching my skills but wanted to try for this occasion.
Here's the plan, an outdoor wedding at the end of April. Location, between Georgetown and Belton. They want bluebonnets and wildflowers. I'm hoping that by starting them late that we'll be able to have them in 6 inch pots to put on the tables outside. They spread about 20 lbs of seeds in the fall too.
Any suggestions?
thank you
cynthia
Cynhjia, I see. That sounds lovely. I thought you were going to transplant the bluebonnets outside in the ground. I had a couple come up in a pot many years ago. They did fine. I think that they need a little bit of a "chill" time to bloom well. You might want to move them into the 6 inch containers and set them outside in a sunny area.
Now I know why my bluebonnets(the ones the rabbit didn't eat) are growing flat! I thought something was wrong with them. My neighbor's have already started budding and hers are way taller than mine but are on the southwest side of her house.
thank you again htop
They are in a a greenhouse that isn't heated. We are going down to the mid 30's tonight and hoovering above freezing at night for the next week. Do you think that will be cold enough? She asks hoping she won't have to haul them back out
I was told that they need the cold to grow strong and wide, but don't know how cold cold is!
smiles of appreciation
cynthia
You are quite welcome. I think that they will probably have enough chill to do well.
Oooh, Hazel, I would love some of the David phlox if you have any to spare! Are you going to come up for the RU in College Station? I've been meaning to ask you.
Yes, are you?
I am sad to say that I will not be able to go not be able to go to the RU for many reasons. I hve beeen staying with my Mothe a lot to take care of her as her health deteriorates. I also have assisting one of my brothers, who is her main caretaker, as he recuperates from major surgery. He will need more surgerey around the RU time. Fortunately, because my Mother is staying in one of his apartments and he lives in the apartment above her, it is easy to assist both of them. Wish I could be there to visit with everyone.
Hazel, we will miss you!
I'll miss you too. :o(
Shoot, I was looking forward to finally meeting you, Hazel.
I would love to meet you too ... maybe one day.
HI All
Well, the gardener's lament here. Those lovely little plants were doing great 2 flats of 4 inch pots and each one brushy....until last night. Some vermin dug into the GH and ate every one. He also ate the Laura Bush petunias and the Tidy tips. Then he found 60 poppies which were the bushiest of all the plants, I think he must have gotten full, because there are a few of those left. He missed the young bluebonnet sprouts, they are now covered with mird netting and a branch from hot ornamental peppers ontop of each. Sure would like to see the vermin with a hot pepper in his face right now!
I don't think there is time to replant the Drummond phlox or the poppies.
Is there still time to plant the Laura Bush petunias for this year? Surely they of all can still grow.
thanks for listening
errrrrrrr
cynthia
I am so sorry that your babies were devoured. I can imagine your shock when you found the devastation after all of the plants were doing so well. I had some beautiful cyclamen around my patio last year. I went outside to admire them and was dumbfounded when All of them had been eaten down. Then, my dwarf Mexican petunia were stripped of all their leaves and some of their stalks were eaten down to within a few inches of the ground.Various other plants farther away from the house started disappearing too. I couldn't imagine what animal was doing this. It turned out to be field rats. When it is dry and they can't find water, the eat plants to hydrate themselves. This January, they ate all of the dwarf the Mexican petunia leaves of the stems. New leaves are coming out. I had to put rat poison out which I really hated to do. Of course, I don't know if this is the animal that ate your babies.
The drummond plox can be replanted. I don't know about the poppies. What kind are they? Thank goodness the bluebonnets are okay. You can replant the 'Laura Bush' petunias. Normally, petunias planted any later than April do not have have a chance to bloom before the extreme summer temperatures kill them. However, the 'Laura Bush' petunias can handle the heat. Some of mine that reseeded themseleves are about an inch high, but some are just coming up from seed