Seed Snatchin' XVII...Making More Seeds

Yes, Susan, it takes a while to establish a bed of foxglove. Otherwise you always have a year with no flowers... sort of like forget-me-nots. Also, it helps to re-introduce new colors once in a while, or they seem to revert back to all pink shades... that must be the species color.

Sidney... uughhh!! Where's my FUJI!!? It's going on 5 weeks they said 2-3.. I called and they said it's in the quality control dept of FUJI... How about getting it into my hands!! Yes, cannon looks better and better all the time... I may need to keep two for times like this!!

Thanks for all the info Weezin!! I will let it seed and figure out a way to get them for next year! :)

Susan

Well I did campaign hard for you to get a Canon back then, but they used AA batteries.
My Canon Powershot has been improved once On Line by plugging into my Lap Top. I have a 4 AA battery charger and a 1 G card. The worst problem I have is the operator, ME, LOL.
I'll pray for a quick recovery.
Sidney

Yes you did Sidney and now you can say you told me so!! :)

I feel like such a goofball and here's a warning for all of us to be safe in the garden...or anyone elses for that matter. I walked across the street to check up on my yard labor guys that I occasional use who my neighbor had hired to do some major cleaning up and pulling all the wild honeysuckle. She was gone and had asked me to make sure all went well. I was wearing sandals and I inadvertently stepped on the looped line that holds pine straw together with one foot and went to trip over it with my other foot. I caught myself before I went down and didn't think much of it. That was Saturday. By Sunday night my neck was very sore and by last night I thought I might need a neck replacement...Oh wait... They don't do those yet, do they?? Well, I do have a prior injury from a teenage car accident, and I guess I just really need to be careful. Well, I'm out of commission in the garden and home and thank goodness my husband is so helpful and came home early to get the kids from school and let me rest. Thank goodness for his help and for ThermaCare.. If your ever in need of relief, they are wonderful.

I noticed my disco bell hibiscus being eaten alive the other day and I'll have to ask him to spray it with soap for me and I saw a show where they used hot pepper blended with water then strained and more water added to make a varmit killer... I know this isn't the varmit thread, but just wanted to share.. :)

Susan

So sorry to hear you hurt yourself in the fall. I think we do more damage trying to catch ourselves than from the actual fall. If you are still looking for first year D. purpurea later this spring or summer, I should have some. I don't usually sell them all, anyway, so I'd be glad to trade something or send some for postage. Just let me know.

Hope you get better fast Soulgardenlove. Neck injuries hurt the whole body.

Oh Susan, Taking enough "relaxers" to let your body realigne itself is the best advice I have and a wonderful Chiropractor. Kelly sounds like an Angel to me.
Will pray for quick recovery.
I am the spazzz of all time, so don't feel alone. At least you didn't lose body parts.
Sidney

Thanks you all :) I'm getting better slowly....

Sidney, I lost my mind a long time ago!! :) I find it in the garden and I return to sanity.

Susan

I hope you will be in "diving" shape soon..!! hehe..I tell that story to all my friends who appreciate plants.
Rj

Thanks RJ... Those ThermaCare heated pads are great. I'm getting some looks, but so what, I need to wear it on my neck!!

As soon as I get my camera back... you can show them pictures too. I have nursed two huge poodle junipers back to health for over one year. I pulled them both out of the dumpster and it was very hard work!! I was sweating like a....hmmm..... well, just very sweaty! Anyway, they looked really bad and had lots of dead spots on them, but I potted them up and cut out all the dead needles. I kept them under irrigation and sprayed with messenger and I finally potted them up into very nice terra cotta pots a few weeks ago. I lined them with plastic trash bags to retain the water better and used the waterpolymers (Thanks Sidney!). I kept saying to my neighbor, "Can you believe I pulled those out of the trash!!??" They look awesome and I am so proud of myself. Even though dead needles never return, they have grown out and are fuller and georgeous.. They aren't perfectly symetrical, but hey, I'm not a formal gardener anyway. They each had price tags of $180 on them! WOW! I'm so frugal I had to really come to terms with paying for the terra cotta pots that they are in... and even those were a deal at a North East GA discount wholesaler. I got them since I figured it would be a long time before I ever found a matching pair in the trash or next to it that I could have!! The are flanking the nice bench I got at an estate sale.

Also, Last week I planted (with help!!) a very large Oklahoma Redbud that I had pulled out of the trash last year as well. I have done research on it and the Oklahoma is supposed to be the prettiest of them all. :) Now this one had such a large rootball that I had to ask a nice young (strong) guy to help me lift it into the back of the truck. I really tried and just couldn't get it in there. He helped me, but I know he was thinking that I was a crazy woman for taking a "dead tree" home. I took care of it and while it did releaf out some last summer, I knew that many branches were not going to make it since they were brittle. Still, I nursed it though the winter and was somewhat disappointed with how little it bloomed and thought it was going to become firewood. I almost didn't wait for it to leaf out, but I did.... and it was certainly salvageable. It's got a place of honor in my front yard right now and I'm sure it will reward me for saving it's life. The form isn't the best right now, as I have remved the dead branches, but for free, and considering it was a 'dead tree" last year, it is lovely. Kelly and I both feel confident that it will thrive and develop beautifully where it is and I will always feel proud to say, "Hey...see that tree right there... I pulled it out of the trash!"

Forgive me for being so talkative... I just can't go outside and work much and typing is much easier on my neck! :)

Susan

Like that puppy at the Ga RU last April, your plants are FORDs. Found on roadside dead.
Sidney

Yes I remember you talking about the red bud.
well you would be proud of me - I did my first dumpster haul last week. The building here was throwing out HUNDREDS of caladiums...Thankfully, the dumpster was fully stocked with plant boxes from the new plants they brought in. My driveway is lined alot of them..then I told some of my co-workers who also hauled out some boxes of their own!
Rj

That's a great haul Randy!!!! We are so envious. I will be watching caladium plantings.
Sidney

ooooohhhh RJ, I AM PROUD OF YOU!! Hundreds?? WOW~~~~~!!!! how awesome is that?? Oh my gosh, you have certainly hit pay dirt!! And if you wanted to... you could trade for other plants you want on the trading forum!! Oh how I love dumpster/trash finds.... I'm so happy for you :)

I had wanted to take caladiums from the front of landscaped subdivisions when they got pulled and traded out for winter hardy annuals, but I guess I need to find out when the landscapers are going to be there instead of just being lucky to drive by as they are working out there... I just could not pull them without them being there! What if they save them for the following year?? I doubt it, but one never knows.

Once I discovered that Dahlias didn't need to be dug up and could overwinter in the ground here, as opposed to caladiums in my zone, I've started acquiring as many as possible and this will be my first year with them. :) I'm looking forward to it and hear that they are easy to start from cuttings as well. I got some huge caladiums last year in a co-op and when I went to plant them, we discovered that my husband had thought the box they were in was trash and they were gone. He felt real bad and I felt bad for him feeling bad! :( oh well... he is a great husband and father and has certainly let me get plenty of plants to make up for it!! :)

Susan

LOL..haha.. how is your jasmine? need anymore..?
Dahlias Huh..wonder if they would do good here. I tried Zinnias this year, and am having some great success. I had about 9 seed packets I had bought along with wild flower seeds about 3 years ago. I planted all of them in the new front garden...wow...some of them are as high as my chest..and I'm not short. Seems like Zinnias and Dahlias might be a fun combination.

I love caladiums..there was no way I could take all of them.. I can't believe they just get tossed..it's beyond by garden mind!!? haha..
Are you feeling better?

Rj

ps ..I am working on a start to finish, before and after picture sequence of the front garden- but am slow getting there. Here are some more picts of some zinnias.. and other stuff.... http://davesgarden.com/journal/ed/

This message was edited May 19, 2006 1:45 AM

Hey RJ, your diary link isn't working for me.. I am going to start blogging my garden over at Blogspot. :) My jasmine is potted and doing well and thay are both waiting for a new home... Two more ladies in waiting!

Take the caladiums to the trading forum!

I'm better day by day and I've learned that if you have hydrocodone, you really should only take the prescribed amount...I learned that last night and it wasn't pretty! :(

I am going to go strong on Dahlias so I'm pretty sure I'll have some to share before too long.
:)
Susan

I will try again http://davesgarden.com/journal/ed/index.php?tabid=2941
You know...my back driveway looks like your plants waiting in line for a place to go...
Hahah..the calladiums may end up as bonus plants in peoples packages... I need to clean up the whole driveway...the shaded parts need landscaping..oh yes..there is actually a narrow strip of land to plant.
I know about Hydrocodone..haha..Susan..your making me laugh..
My Jasmine is blooming now...I have been giving it away left and right and still have lots... I read an article on night jasmine stating they dont grow true from seed very well- but they sure are growing all over the place. Probably if I tried to grow them, they would do nothing...sort of like my tomatoes... My tomato planting method now consists of 1 or 2 over ripe tomoatoes...aim at area you wish them to grow- launch tomato with enough velocity to splat... ..

had to send that fast..our computers are going down in a second...to reboot...(work)
rj

RJ, your tomato method is the one my husband suggested I use, as last year the ones that come up on their own were much better than the ones I planted.... Well, fast forward a year and NOW I know something about PH, and I have a meter and the PH is perfect, I have Messenger and they are getting water and are being supported... Nice tomatoes, nice tomatoes.

I'll check out your link.

Well, I know that I am supposed to be resting, but since Kelly took the kids to the lake to fish, I just couldn't help myself and I had to go see my favorite trash can in all the world..and yes, it held riches for me! :) I also got some incredible deals on "almost trash" plants... YEA!!



Susan

ROTFLOL!!!....Bad Mom!
I know how you feel though..I had to have both of my hips replaced (at different times) last one was 2 years ago...I was out there in the garden on crutches, hopping around and re-arranging things., watering. I tell ya, those crutches sure came in handy ! LOL... Can/t let the little things get us down!

Rj

Oh my gosh! your are much too young to be getting your hips replaced!! yikes!! I guess you DO know about hydrocodone!!

I know this is off topic.. but hey, it's stream of consciousness for me.... RJ, I stopped by a real full priced nursery on my way home and even though I didn't buy anything, I saw these georgeous plumerias that were hanging down from a basket and the end blooms were red and purple. I asked a woman about them and she said that they would soon finish their bloom since they didn't like the heat of summer? (Is that true? How can that be if they are a tropical plant?) I asked her if they could be rooted and overwintered and she said no to both..?? So I passed on an $15 annual basket that was supposedly going to finish it's bloom and not be able to overwinter inside or make more!! Your take?? Thanks!! I know nothing about plumerias except they are real pretty!

Susan

Just in case the link fails again...here is a picture..do you have pictures of the Dahlias? I would like to see them. I can/t believe I grew these from seeds. The composting and soil threads sure did educate me on the importance of soil. Now I am enhancing my soil in the back garden. It really is fun learning so much, and being richly rewarded...thinking...so that/s what they were talking about!

You know...if I didn/t know better...it sounds as if you guys are talking about impatiens...especially if they are in a basket. Plumerias don/t hang down...although I did read about a plumeria vine this very day. Plumerias love the heat...
Did the flowers resemble this http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/101651/index.html
or this http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/33221/

Rj

Nice! Is that this year?? Wow if it is! My stuff is still all green.. No flowers on the marigolds, zinnias either.. The sweet peas are starting to flower and the tomatoes are setting fruit.

Nope...didn't look like that at all. And I am very experienced with impatients and that's not it.. I will try to find it online.. I will call them if need be! I need to know about that plant!!

Susan

Please excuse me... the meds are still effecting my brain. They were not plumerias and I can't for the life of me think of what they are right now..

I'll be back!

Susan

Okay Dicentras and Plumerias seem the same in a medicated womans mind, but I see that they are not!! They were Dicentras!! Whoops! Nevermind then if you don't know!! I'll look them up!! :)

Susan

weezengreen, this thread is getting too long for us dial up users. How about starting a Part 2? Thanks.

That would be Part XVIII I think.
:)

OK, here's a new thread. Get on the bus: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/604651/