Wind~ From my experience.....I wintersowed verbena bonariensis on 2/16/07, they sprouted on 3/14 and I planted it out on 4/1. ( Because some of the gardening info states that verbena doesn't like to be transplanted, I chose to plant them out early and they bloomed beautifully in the gardens for me) Verbena bonariensis has a higher germination when sown fresh in the Fall or when wintersown. Because I had great germination and results in my gardens with verbena bonariensis, I will W/S them again. Hope that helps.
Spectacular 2007 Cottage Garden Seed Swap #4
No, that's good! Great news, actually. I don't have dates of when I sowed it and when it germinated, (it was last year) all I know is it was the end of July when I saw flowers. I figured it was a bad candidate for WSing because of that. BUT now that I see it is still gorwing strong in he cold weather, I am inno doubt that you are correct and WSing would be great for V. bonariensis.
Suzy
Thanks and you're very welcome!
Margaran, the "tall pink flowers" you asked about are actually Purple Prince Zinnias. I sent some seed for the swap, but if you didn't get any I'll be sure to see that you do. ;-)
I got my envie today and all I can say is "wow"...is this ever like Christmas or what! I'm going to have so much fun with all the new stuff.
Thank you everyone, and thank you Suzy for making it so special. Now my DH will have to dig me some more gardens for sure.
Peggy
Happy birthday to me!
I got all my seeds!
They are... so lovely,
And I am so pleased!!
I won't quit my day job,
Maggie
Thanks to Suzy for organizing all this wonderful madness and to all those who participated in all this fun!
Happy belated B-Day!! :)
Thank you, it was indeed really cool. And I'm so thrilled with alll the lovely seeds I received. I was sorting them on the bed and ended up dreaming of gardening.
Maggie
Happy Birfday, Maggie! May all your... uh.... seeds, come true, lol!
Good One! Yes, may your seeds come true :)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.. Was going to take the kids to the city Gobble Jog walk/race this morning, but we got some much needed downpours... But we have the shirts, so we can look like we did it!
Hi, I'm still over here with a great big smile sorting through the seeds and rounding up winter sowing containers!
Do hosta seeds come true? I picked a few hosta seeds and they are really neat. The pods were oblong and showed signs of beginning to crack. I picked them and then they opened up like a flower blossom several days later while drying :)
also, I have a quick ? for Suzy off topic of seeds....Did your mina lobata attract hummingbirds?
Jeez, I have not even STARTED going through those seeds, let alone splitting them in half for PC. Sorry, PC! Life has gotten in the way (new job + Thanksgiving), but I will try to get them to you by mid-December -- is that okay? (Otherwise, I'm shipping the whole lot to you to divide... LOL)
Some hosta expert buddies have told me that hosta seeds don't come true... but they're still fun to grow out from seeds just because you have no idea when you'll get! The seeds from a plant with variegated parentage could give you a whole crazy-quilt of offspring. I wintersowed some hosta seeds a couple years ago and did get some cute little seedlings, but I needed a better spot (shadier, with more regular attention from my watering can) for growing them on... they didn't make it.
I started hosta seeds last year and will do so again this Winter. I left my little starts in a pot until they can get more size on them. I hope to plant them out next year. I agree, Critter, it's still fun to start them from seed knowing full well that they will not necessarily come true.
Wind,
I don't know if the Mina attracted hummers or not. Plant Files says it does, but they are all over the garden and by the time the Mina opened, I thought I mostly saw them going for the Hummingbird Sage (Salvia coccinea 'Coral Nymph', the Zinnias and the most surprising to me, the regular Impatiens...the kind from the garden center. I guess they were finally tall enough by the end of the summer.
Suzy
No apologies necessary, Wrightie. December will certainly be soon enough! And you don't even have to be too picky about dividing them. I know there's some stuff in there that you don't want - chives, for instance - start with that stuff and don't worry too much about the others. Ooo - except for Suzy's dahlias - I *gotta* try those puppies.
My hummers love the hosta blossoms. And I don't usually see them listed.
White or lavender? Or does it matter?
They seem to go for mine, too. Most of my hosta flowers are white, but I have some graple also.
thanks for all the feedback...I was wondering about the hosta seeds because I noticed noone really swapped any hostas. I'm going to try planting them and see what happens :)
I regularly walk by this area in a park at Rutgers University up in New Brunswick, NJ and had been watching the hosta seeds for weeks before I picked a few! It had large green leaves with a light edge but I'll never know the real id so it won't matter if it is true or not I guess!
I'm hoping it is similar to one that I saw someone posted here on DG. It was a really pretty hosta photo earlier in the summer to wish someone a happy birthday, I really loved it~ but I forgot who posted it to find out what it was. It looked like large wide green leaves with a lighter green or paler edge around the border. Oh it was beautiful. I had read the hummers like their blooms but never actually saw a visitor.
Suzy, I was just curious about hummers and the mina :) thanks. We don't get loads of hummers like some people do, but I keep adding more of their fav's in hopes of attracting more :))))
Hmmm ... I think that I posted a hosta for someone's birthday ... might have been 'guacamole, if it was indeed my post.
I found the one that I posted, but since it does not have a lighter edge, it's probably not the same one: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3898360
This message was edited Nov 25, 2007 7:19 PM
Their very favorite thing in the world is all the spider webs I have at my windows.
One year I kept seeing them knocking up against the window and I wondered what those silly things were doing. They kept going up in the corners of the windows and klunking against the windows. I thought they were not understanding that they were seeing a window and not the reflection, but as I examined their behavior, I realized they were collecting spider webs to make their nests.
The trouble is, I need to wash my windows, really, really bad! I have the motherlode of spider webs from this fall and I hate to take away their nesting material, but you can see them from inside the house! (And I'm hosting Christmas!)
Suzy
Close the curtains! Lol
I am very new to seed collecting. I think that I have some clematis jackmani seeds. Can I offer them to someone so I can verify what I have and if the seeds are any good?
Thanks
Teri
Wrightie THAT'S IS THE ONE!!!!! I got it backwards....so much for my memory recall. I knew it had two tones. I really like that one--- I'm going to write that down now, thank you! :))))))))
Suzy, that's cool you saw the hummers collecting webs...we have webs outside also...who dosn't. I hate removing webs too but sometimes I do it and I always feel bad afterwards. I usually look for any spiders first and move them off the porch if possible but I rarely find the spider!!! aaahhh your company won't even notice...I would clean out the webs only if they bother you :)
pretty clematis .....I don't know much about clematis seeds though
Moring everyone. I don't know much about clematis either Roses. There is a link I saved somewhere that shows you what different seeds look like and exactly where they are. Let me see if I can find it
Here's a pretty photo of one http://www.pbase.com/jenniemarie/image/72214123
Maggie
Roses, I finally found that seed link. Hopefully this will help you. it sure did me!
http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/db1a.html
Maggie - Nice pic! I'll have to look at my clematis more closely.
Peggy
Cat,
Thanks so much for the great link. Lots of clear pictures!!
I hope that by next year I will know what I am doing so that I can be part of this great seed swap.
I will need to know how to collect seeds from phlox, daisies, hollyhocks, monarda, coneflowers, salvia, all kinds of herbs, all kinds of low growing sedum and thyme, morning glories, very colorful black eyed susan vine, trumpet flower vine, clematis, hardy verbena, coreopsis moonbeam, and cuttings from crape myrtles, sand cherry bushes, coryopteris? , hydrangea, different lilacs, smoke bush, veronica, daylillies, oriental lillies, many hostas, rose of sharon and many more of the plants that I have growing.
Maybe with all the info I collect on DG, I will be able to share these with you guys who are so helpful always.
Regards,
Teri
I don't know alot myself Teri. Still learning! We can learn together!
Teri, here's a great seed saving article - http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Saving_Seeds.html
That website is also a fantastic source of know-how for wintersowing, and many other gardening to dos.
Have you checked out the forums on DG for Beginner Gardeners and Saving Seeds? How about Seed Germination forum? Those can all be clicked on from here - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/ . There's always someone around to answer questions - great way to spend a winter imho.
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Suzy, may I join for the February CG seed swap? I already have quite a few seeds any cottage gardener worth her Havahart cage would love to have that I didn't trade this time around. Loved the tale of hummers harvesting spider webs for their nests.
I know I already put in my 2c in the thank-you Suzy thread, but what an unspeakable treat that envie you sent me was. DH & I armed ourselves with cups of tea and had a long, memorable browze through the wonderful packets everyone put together. I'm afraid we are definitely up for another "hillbilly winter" - let's hope for lots of transforming snow!
Karen
http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/
This is a series of photos of a hummer hatching her babies in the nest. It's very interesting - you can really see the nest well.
Peggy
Oh, I'm so glad, Karen!
Sure, Karen, you (and everybody else) who has asked is in the Feb swap. LOL! It might be a case of sending the same o same o around again, but I know I have a lot of extra things I didn't have ready in October, and you and Weezingreens, and also Margaran told me she had stuff from a d-mail, so I figure it's enough different to be worth the postage.
I haven't set a date because I want to go to Florida sometime this winter. Either in Jan, or after Feb 10. The swap will be dependent on my travel dates.
Suzy
hey everyone, just FYI in case you don't spot it...our very own Jan as in Grampapa wrote a wonderful article about cardamom :)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/312/
Thanks for the tip, wind - I always forget to look at the articles.
Great job, Jan - I am jonesin' for a Chai tea, now...
I had a feeling someone was talking about me LOL
Cool! Good Job!!! :) Great article! :)
Susan