What have you wintersowed so far #4

Shirb, everything on your list should do beautifully, all reliable wintersowers. I worked for over 20 years as a floral designer too! If you're ever looking for a good wholesale source for cut flowers, dmail me. I have a great source in California that overnights boxes of cut flowers to me. The quality and prices are excellent. And I have another good source for orchids and Holland flowers. Both will sell to you without a tax id number (as long as you're not in the same state).

Oh . . . Neal . . . I may swoon. I am so tired of DH getting me tired dead cut flowers!

Put a whole bunch of annuals out a few days ago! No list, no spread sheet! I'm winging it.

Indynanny, you have Dmail!!!

Karen (nutsfor...). Glad you made it home safely! I had one lone tidy tips baby germinate in my container. Have planted it in the bed and it seems to be happy so far! I also gently scattered the rest of the container dirt around it, just in case any of it's sister seeds decide to germinate later... Glad you have had such a great germination rate!

Tonya

Thanks, Tonya! I had such a wonderful time in TX. Can't wait to go back. We really would like to move there, but we will see. There are many things I like about here, too, though the taxes and high cost of living aren't one of those things. I kind of hate to leave all my gardens here and all the work I've put into them. I will be taking a lot of my DL's, but I can't take everything with me, as many things would not work well there, and the place we want to buy has no gardens. Will take a long time to get some going.

Karen

Oh, Karen . . . you don't like NE winters? Think again in May.

What do you mean, Carrie?

Karen

I don't like winter either .... but May is so nice (and looooong, too). Will they have lilacs and peonies in Texas?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/486/

I don't know if they will have lilacs and peonies in Texas, but they do have many other lovely things that we don't have. When I left there the Texas Mountain Laurel was in bloom. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55062/ Check out the great pics on this wonderful shrub, too: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/15246/ It really did smell like grape Kool-Aide. What a great plant. And the Texas redbud was blooming as well: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/63406/ Even with the drought they have had they were doing well. Right after I left they got lots of rain. They really needed it.

Karen

Oh, and the area in Texas where my sister lives is a zone 8a, and she can grow bulbs there. They get just enough cold there in the winter for them, but it's too cold for most tropicals. I wouldn't be able to grow rhodies or azaleas, though, as their soil there is too alkaline and they wouldn't get the moisture. They would need too much additional irrigation. Anything that's not drought tolerant would have to be irrigated. There is a native dogwood in that area, in the Texas Hill Country.

Karen

BTW, Carrie, that article was good. Makes me glad I won't be moving anywhere warmer than a zone 8a. I'm not into most tropical plants, anyhow. Gatesville, TX can get ice storms, hail, rarely snow that doesn't stick around. Small freezes, but for the most part winters are mild. Now, tornadoes are another problem altogether........ Then there are the rattlers, cotton mouths, copper heads, scorpions, black widow spiders, giant centipedes, wild hogs, etc. Coyotes we have here, too, but we don't have mountain lions. Hmmmm......

Well, I still want to move there. I lived in Mesa, AZ for 4 years, and loved it there. Gatesville, TX isn't quite that hot. I think Mesa must be zone 10.

Karen

You left out fire ants LOL

Oops! How could I forget them? Oh, and chiggers!!!!

Karen

Everybody has chiggers so they do not count LOL

Did another 10 containers today.... up to 111

Veronica noveboracensis
Yarrow, Yellow & Summer Pastel
Berlandiera lyrata, Chocolate Daisy
Silphium perfoliatum, Cup Plant
Catnip
papaver rhoeas, 8th Wonder
Veronica Spica
Black Pearl Peppers
* 1 NoID ... i forgot to write it down.

Shirb
I wouldn't worry about the creosote. For one, it isn't fresh when you get used ties. It is weathered pretty much. Even if they were new, they aren't in contact with plants. I never had any problems. I doubt it would bother plants any way, since they get food through their roots.

If your DH can get them free, tell him to grab them.

We don't have chiggers here in MA. Never had them in Nevada or Arizona, either. Lived in Sacramento, CA a year and a half and never encountered them there, either. Texas is the only place I've been where I've encountered chiggers. Boy, do they make you itch!

Planning to do some more WSing this weekend.

Karen

I would love to get free RR ties here. Maybe I will check Craig's list.

Karen

Darn, I hit the wrong button after I uploaded the photo. Anyway here is the closeup of the perennials I sowed in Aug, then wintered over in the railroad ties coldframe. Photo taken in April. Creosote didn't hurt these plants any.

What is my problem? Age? The photo is above. This is the caption.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2009 10:48 PM

Anyone living in a town where there is a train going through, may find ties discarded along the side of the tracks. That is how I got mine. They were free for the taking. So I took!

My daughter use hers to outline a garden. They can also be used to raise a planting area, or hold back a bank. Uses are just limited by your imagination.

Yep, when the railroad replaces ties they just leave the old ones lay there. I think they are supposedly coming back for them but if you walk down any line of track you will find ties that have been laying for decades. I have recycled many ties. I am not saying it is legal to cultivate your civic pride by picking up those unsightly ties laying there but............

Those ties do disintegrate eventually, as we found out when we lived in Charlotte, and it doesn't really take that long for it to happen. We used new ones on a retaining wall alongside the driveway and 18 years later when we moved, they were almost gone.

Just a warning about picking up the ties. I know someone who got put in jail overnight for picking some up. Apparently they have contracts on those for people to come by later, sort 'em and sell 'em. Just something to think about.

A great free (and legal) way to get railroad ties is to check your local freecycle. You can find your local area organization by going to www.freecycle.org.

You can watch the posts for people to offer them, or you can ask for what you want. We got some railroad ties for our last house that way. You do have to go pick them up yourself though, and those things are heavy! LOL. :)

Yeah let someone else steal 'em for ya.

Yeah, by the time they're posted on freecycle the jail experience part is all over and done with, LOL!

The ties that I picked up along the railroad were advertised as free in our local paper and on out local tv station. There were quite a few people there picking them up when I was there. Needless to say, all were pretty much picked up.

They were free game in the old days. Back then the ties did lay there for decades if someone did not pick them up and use them. The best ones always got picked up but the really bad ones just lay there and rot eventually. That was before they started keeping the right of ways mowed.

Karen (nutsfor..), I'm so glad you enjoyed your visit to TX. I've only lived here a couple of years, and it's my first year gardening, so I haven't had to leave any plants behind. But I grew up in KY watching my grandparents garden and helping my mom fill the flower beds. Every now and then I think "Wouldn't it be fun to try a ...." but then find out they won't work here. But there are so many things that I can grow here that we couldn't do in KY, I think it kind of evens out in the end. If you do end up moving, I bet it's no time before you find some new favorites. And with WSing, it's no giant loss if you throw some seeds in a jug and they don't pan out. Until then, happy visiting!

And yes, we are VERY grateful for that rain!!!

GB

I did a few more containers today. I'm up to 66 now and here's my list to date.

Botanical Name
Agastache aurantiaca Apricot Sprite
Agastache foeniculum 'Golden Jubilee'
Alcea ficifolia [Double Apricot]
Alcea ficifolia Nigra
Antirrhinum majus Black Prince
Antirrhinum majus 'Choice O.P. Mix'
Antirrhinum majus 'Magic Carpet'
Antirrhinum majus nanum Rembrandt
Antirrhinum majus Tetra Ruffled
Aquilegia caerulea
Aquilegia chrysantha 'Denver Gold'
Aquilegia formosa
Aquilegia McKanna's Giant
Aquilegia Red and Yellow
Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow'
Bellis perennis 'Habanera Mix'
Bellis perennis Tasso Strawberries and Cream
Borago Officinalis
Calendula officinalis
Consolida ambigua mix
Consolida regalis 'Blue Cloud'
Convolvulus tricolor Dwarf Rainbow Flash
Dahlia variabilis Bishops Children
Dahlia variabilis Collarette Dandy
Dahlia-Unwin'S Dwarf Mixed Colors
Delphimium chinensis 'Blue Butterfly'
Digitalis grandiflora
Digitalis grandiflora Pink Champagne
Digitalis parviflora Milk Chocolate
Digitalis purpurea 'Alba'
Digitalis purpurea Candy Mountain
Digitalis purpurea 'Glittering Prizes'
Echinacea 'White Swan'
Eggplant Beauty Hybrid
Eschscholzia californica Appleblossom
Eschscholzia californica Carmine King
Eschscholzia californica Mission Bells
Helianthus annuus Italian White
Helianthus annuus 'Moonwalker'
Helianthus annuus Pastiche
Lycopersicon lycopersicum Cristal F1 Hybrid
Lycopersicon lycopersicum Harlequin F1 Hybrid
Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Mortgage Lifter'
Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium
Lycopersicum Ladybug Hybrid
Lycopersicum Super Roma VF
Lycopersicum 'Wayahead'
Malva sylvestris subsp. Mauritiana
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'
Nicotiana x sanderae
Nicotiana x sanderae Domino Mix
Nicotiana x sanderae Fragrant Cloud
Nicotiana x sanderae Sensation Mix
Papaver orientale
Papaver orientale Brilliant
Papaver somniferum
Penstemon Barbatus 'Iron Maiden'
Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'
Penstemon eatonii
Phacelia dubia Lavender Lass
Phacelia viscida Tropical Surf
Salvia farinacea Fairy Queen
Salvia farinacea 'Silver White'
Tithonia, Torch
Trollius europaeus

Very nice list!

Impressive list Anita. Especially interested how the Nicotiana's, the Convulvus and the Salvia farinacea will do. I did sow these ones indoors.

Wow, Anita! How I wish I could tour everyone's gardens this summer to see how all their WSing flowers look in place! I'm already wondering where I am going to put all of mine, and I don't have nearly the list you do!

Angie

Quite a list Anita. Do you still have room to plant all that stuff? I think you and I started WSing around the same time. My beds are pretty full now, not a whole lot of room left to stuff more plants. I did get rid of a lot last fall, giving them to friends and neighbors, and some I even composted. Of course maybe I'm being optimistic in assuming that all my perennials will come back after winter. Some are emerging now, some still have a while to wait. I've only sown 20 jugs so far but have tenders to go still. One of those is dig Candy Mountain and it's sprouting like crazy as dig usually does.

Karen

I've been following everyone's lists and comparing them to my own. Some similarities exist, but it's so much fun to see what others are planting. Let's make it a requirement for those who listed WS plants that photos MUST be posted so we can all enjoy each other's efforts!

Anita, I see many things in your list that I'd love to see.

Karen, yours too. Oh, everybody has such diverse tastes, please, please post photos!

Other Angie

Angie, if I post a list, you have a long wait for pictures, too. If you want to know what something looks like, you're gonna have to google it. I alread KNOW!

Karen

Hey there,
For all those who were talking about Texas------YeeHaw! That's my home state and I sure miss it. Although I am getting to know my area better. Up here we dont have any poisonous spiders, snakes or chiggers! BUT we do have feroucious mosquitos that carry steak knives here! Last year while I was in the garden, they were trying to get to my eyeballs! I must say, there are a lot of beautiful plants all over this country, as I have lived in California too. It's all in what you prefer. I live near a bird and wildlife sanctuary and I get to see alot of various species.
About the RR ties, thanks for the advice about asking. We were told that we could contact a local office and they will tell us where we can go to pick them up. We can even dig up spruce trees and take them if we want.
Anita! boy you sure have a impressive list! Keep it up!
Helene

I never get a mosquito bite, or any other bug bites, if I remember to use my bug spray. It's called Expedition, made by Avon. I swear by it.

No, I have to affilitation with Avon nor does anyone in my family.

Karen

lol Karen about Avon!

Anita always has beautiful pictures of her winter sowed flowers.

Thanks everyone. Karen, I sow more annuals than perennials so I tend to still have room every year. I'm hoping to sow my zinnia this weekend. I still have gaillardia, cosmos and few others to sow as well.