What MG seeds are you planning to plant this Spring?

Today was a perfect day to work outside in the garden. Our weather seems to be warming up, Spring appears to be here, so I planted seeds today. I tried to plant seeds from many of you. It's always such a nice surprise to see what I get in the way of vines and blooms from other's seeds.

Today I planted 1 or more seeds for:
Light Saznami from Ronnie, Hein No Hikari from Ronnie, Blue Star (mine from last Fall), Moonflower (also mine from Fall), George Strait from Ronnie, Pink Porcelain (mine), Shibori Asagao from Colin, Matsukaze from Nichole (Syrumani), Hanafubuki from Arlene, Rose Silk from Pam Sue, Plum Tie-Dye x Chocolate Silk from Antoinette (Gourd), White Picotee from Syrumani, JMG Blue with red tube with narrow white margin from Joseph (Gerris), Darker Saznami from Shawna, and China Doll from Helena.

I've got seeds from Dany, Martin, Emma, Karen (Blue), Elsa, and a few others that I am going to either grow against my fence or in pots in my bedroom window as well. I can't wait for these seeds to germinate, grow, and bloom. Hopefully, I'll get some nice vines and blooms before the Rust fungus gets them! (sigh)

WOW WOW Becky your are in the starting block for the new season !

I hope you'll post a lot of beautiful pics like last year !

Becky, how exciting! I just love the rush I get when planting my seeds - actually I think growing MGs is one big rush from beginning to end! Getting the beds ready, sowing the seeds, seeing the first leaves appearing, then the first bud, and after weeks and weeks of lovely early morning surprises, harvesting the seeds for the next season. Not to mention receiving seeds from all the lovely MG lovers here at DG.... LOL!

I wish I was more organized to answer your question, Becky! The answer for the moment is quite a few! LOL

Becky what are the things you have them planted in some kind of pots or just rings ?

Thanks for all the replies! Hope to get some idea what all of you are planning to grow this Spring! Are many of you growing wild, rare MGs?

imzadi - In the center of each ring I plant an MG seed. One seed in most except the Moonflower (3 seeds in two rings) and Blue Star rings (2 seeds in 2 rings). I use the rings to protect the vines from rodents such as squirrels and mice/rats that come into my yard because of the bird feeder. And it makes it easier to know where new MG starts are going to sprout. I use the mulch on top of weed barrier cloth to keep the plant roots cool. It seems to work well for me. I biggest problem every year is Rust Fungus which is horrible in Florida! :-(

This year, I'm just tossing in a mix of colors, not going with a "theme" like in years past. Seems like when I plan a theme, it never works out quite like I had hoped. I'm digging out the Purple Liatris (anyone want them?) and taking out the pink dianthus and am going to start the Siberian Blues (Dianthus) from seed to replace them. (tired of the pinks). Started Appleblossom Hollyhock from seed and three are up, and those will replace the black and red ones that have been there for 3 years. A mixture of glads will replace the Liatris. Love my Glories!

cool was thinking those would work for my diggers in the yard. besides the squirells i have cats that think my potting soil is the greatest. hehe now to find some. thanks Becky and you are early bug aint ya. its still cold here so have to wait a few more weeks,

gardenbugde - You can grow certain plants in your zone that I can't. I love Hollyhocks but have had next to zilch luck growing them from seed or even as plants. I don't know if the zone here is too hot or the soil too sandy.Be sure to take photos when they all start blooming! I wanna see what it all looks like!

imzadi - The green concrete donuts are sprinkler donuts. I stack them 3 tall after the vines sprout and get about a half a foot tall. I usually start with one donut and then add the second until finally the 3rd. The donuts also work well to keep the roots shaded and cooler. Those concrete sprinkler donuts have worked very well for me! You should definitely try them! :-)

I've got ornamental peppers started, along with the Hollyhocks. Our last frost date, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac is April 15th. I won't start to harden off until around the first of May. I don't have my tomato seeds yet (Still waiting for them to arrive), but everything I've mentioned needs 6-8 weeks before last frost date. I don't start my other veggies (squash/cukes) until it is warmer and they can be started outside in peat pots and then transplanted into the garden around Mother's Day. Becky, I would love to help you out with Hollyhocks.... maybe if you ammend the soil? They should grow for you in your zone. You could also grow them in a container with some good potting soil. Why not try that? I will take pics, for sure! Happy Gardening!

-Kathy in Delaware

Hi Kathy, greetings from another Delawarean MG fanatic!

Joseph

I am growing alot of native Kansas wild flowers, as well as trade seeds, and have my own collection from last year, if you just start at ageratum and work the alphabet to zinnia that should pretty much sum up what I am growing..the big planters I seeded and watered and left in the garage have all sprouted I amso kacited, waiting for i.obscura to sprout as well as alot of other ones from around, the seeds from dalethegardner ( native glory seeds he called them) are finally up, Joesphs and Beckys and Ronnies' mg seedlings are about to bloom inside, *sigh* not soon enough for me..

This message was edited Mar 15, 2009 8:51 PM

Hi Joseph! How are you? What have you got on your list for this year?

-kathy

Hi Kathy, I am not completely certain, but I know it will be less than last year. Mutants are on many of our luke warm noggins I suspect.

I planted 5 Carnevale di Venezia MG seeds from Sylvia in a large pot today. These are I. purpurea vines and really pretty! Can't wait to see blooms on those pretty ladies! :-)

Joseph - I have a question for you ...

I received seeds from you last year. One packet says "Shiro Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori" and the other packet says "Shiro Murasaki Shibori Kongo". I was looking at photos of the blooms on these two I. purpurea and they look the same. Is there a difference? Or maybe I was looking at the wrong bloom photos. They are both Purple Flaked I. purpureas?

Wow, Becky - I definitely won't be able to keep up with you this year! We moved into an apartment, so will have to cut back on what I grow for sure! As for MG's, I did dig up my I. albivenia (hopefully that will survive!), will grow some I.amnicola, and I've got some Kniola's Black seedlings coming up.

This message was edited Mar 15, 2009 9:06 PM

Nichole - I hope you have a patio area or balcony at your apartment to grow some vines! :-) And I hope your I. albivenia does well as a transplant! :-)

Becky they were probably the same...blue/purple flaked. Maybe I had 2 sources for the same critter? I'm afraid I don't remember exactly.

My patio is about 6' x 9'. Everything is in pots this season! If it weren't for the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, I'd have room for a few different MG vines (I'll take pix once things don't look so sad!). BUT, on the good side, my mother is signing a lease for a house about 3 miles from here, to start in April. So, once she gets settled, I will be able to get a few more vines going!

As for my I. albivenia (that thing has . . . had . . . a HUGE tap root!), it's looking ok. The tab root snapped about 4" down while I was trying to loosen it from the ground. I had it sitting in water w/superthrive for almost 2 weeks after. Finally got it into a soil-less mix this weekend. The "bulb" part (this is for lack of a better word, but that is what it looks like!) looked a bit shriveled, but the 2-3' stem is still green under the skin, so I'll take that as a good sign!

Thanks, Joseph. I was really wondering about that. I figured I'd try the Pink Flaked I. purpurea from Sylvia this Spring, so planted seeds for hers instead of from one of your seed packs (which are so pretty, too!). I want to grow some MGs that are new to me this year as well as some of my favorites.

Nichole - I would literally freak if I had tried removing the I. albivenia and the root broke. I am glad you knew what to do! I would be clueless! Are you taking care of your mom's plants now in the pots you have at your apartment or are you going to grow more vines at her rental place?

Once I see the layout of her backyard, I will decide which vines to grow there. There are a few I hope to grow - seeds from you and Joseph, plus a few others . . . her new place also has a "plant room" where she says I can set up shelves for my way too many african violets!

Oh cool! A sunroom sounds so divine! I see photos of sunrooms in magazines and wished I had such a room. Though in Florida, it would get too hot, but up North, that would be so awesome!

Becky, I looked at my seed packets and flower photos and these two are different. Here is 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori'.

Here is 'Shiro Murasaki Shibori Kongo'. Sorry for confusing yew.

Joseph - Oh THANKS! That's very helpful to me! The 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori' is quite a pretty little bloom. Much different that the Shiro Murasaki Shibori Kongo with the brightly colored purple/blue stripes! Not anything alike afterall.

The following 2 are both the same type of flaked I.purpurea
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/Gerris2_1237257529_922.jpg

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/211678/

So the mystery deepens. Here is why I thought that both cultivars were the same just different names ...

On Onalee's website, she has a photo of 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori': http://www.onalee.com/catalog.php?ref=onaleeisrael&dt=66287&pd=1741800&or=2400694

Which in my observation is the same as 'Shiro Murasaki Shibori Kongo'. Per Elsa's photo here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=5654470

Does one cultivar have blue stripes and the other purple stripes?

Or ...

Joseph - Is the packet I received from you that was marked 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori' really mislabeled and is it really 'Jamie Lynn' ?

Perhaps I should just grow a seed or two to find out for sure, huh? ;-) Gee ... just give me reason to grow another cultivar of MG! LOL!

"Does one cultivar have blue stripes and the other purple stripes?"

"Is...'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori' really mislabeled and is it really 'Jamie Lynn' ?"


Go for it Joseph (!)...It's all yours...(!!)

LOL ... well becky, the purple blizzard bloomed while I was at work whaaaaaa.. *sniff* I did get to see SOH in full bloom at 6 am this morning what the heck! She was open full blast in the dark?? anyway.. I am not postng pics until I get a killer photo like the ones you all are posting. Debra

I got both of them from Yuriko Hida, who I trust knew what she was doing in writing out the Romaji and giving the English translation underneath on the seed packet label.

The plant I grew turned out to have much blue in it, but the label identified purple. It is a biological expectation to see variability in living things.

I don't know about Onalee's listing and won't comment but I sent Elsa the seeds for the vine she photographed and labeled with Yuriko's ID.

Emma's granddaughter Jamie Lynn is so cute, she should be used on as many MGs as possible!

Ron, you crack me up, don't change for anything LOL!

Joseph

PS if you want a Romaji name to analyze, Yuriko gave me 'Ao (Ki) Fuiri Uzuba Aka Beni Fukkake Shibori Kikyo' for what I called Blue Streaks (I used BS (LOL) because 'Ao (Ki) Fuiri Uzuba Aka Beni Fukkake Shibori Kikyo' would not fit on a small ziplock baggie).

Thanks, Ron and especially you, Joseph! So interesting how the different Japanese JMG Companies market their seeds/vines.

Ooooh ... I love a challenge. I will be growing out 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori' ! I wanna see what those seeds produce! :-) Ya know ... I just needed an excuse to add one more to the grow-out line-up this season! I have a feeling that you might be right about what those seeds are, Joseph ... the reason ... I was thinking back to when I first planted the seeds last year and I absolutely had some vines that looked similiar to the Jamie Lynn blooms. I now think (though I don't remember for sure), that I might have added seeds from BOTH packets you sent me together in the large outdoor pot I had them growing in. See my photo. I was originally thinking that one of the vines was throwing something that might have been a cross, but now I am thinking it was really 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori'. We shall see ... the saga continues ...

Or does this photo really depict a diluted bloom form from 'Shiro Murasaki Shibori Kongo'? LOL! Who knows! Either way, I want to grow out some of the 'Ao Murasaki Jo Hanten Shibori'. Girls just gotta have fun, ya know! :-)

BTW - Your BS blooms are quite lovely, too! You sure had some VERY nice I. purpurea vines from Japan. You never see such pretty I. purpureas vines sold in seed packs here from the American commercial seed companies. I had no idea there was such an amazing variety of I. purpurea vines out there, too! Though, the I. nils are still my favorite, those Japanes I. purpurea sure do WOW me as well!

I got to see a bloom! It isn't flaked or striped but it is a pretty shade of purple. Is Purple Blizzard supposed to have spots, flakes, stripes, or specks? It was worth the wait just to see it no matter what it is supposed to be called.

I think you had flowers of the same strain, Becky, in that photo.

I planted quite a few Lady Yaguruma's Kaleidoscope seeds in the same old pot I grew them in last year. This is the pot where they are sharing space with the Trumpet Creeper plant that is dormant right now. I planted the seeds on Sunday. They sprouted today!!! Six of them sprouted! WOW! Now that is quick! LOL!

This message was edited Mar 17, 2009 10:50 PM

Also the Kawaii and Sun Smiles mix is kicking up the dirt as well. I can't believe that they sprouted in 48 hours! Sheesh! Some kind of record ...

And 1 of the 2 Blue Stars is peeking through as well ... :-) :-) :-)

You've got them planted in super mix! Did you "spike" it with anything?

I went to visit Tropicman today and I had given him and his wife that Blue Silk JMG planter I made out of the shower caddy.. anyayz, the vines are almost two feet long and going crazy.. he needs to take pics!

Well ... actually I am trying something different. I am making my own soil topper potting mix. Actually I am using this mix for my garden beds too. It is peat, MiracleGro Moisture Control, and Compost with a little Neem Cake crumbled up and sprinkled in. I used this mix for my 3-tiered bed and got great results as well this season. I am always seeking the perfect growing conditions. I am hoping the Neem helps keep the Rust fungus at bay and help the vines be more resistant to disease. Not sure if it will work ... but figured I'd give it a go. Time will tell ...

wow what a mix..! I use MG soil, compost, vermiculite and coffee grounds, with the Bayers added in and the Mix solution soaked thru..seems to work..