JL Hudson Wedding Bells

Don't worry GH, just return it if and when they show up. I think everyone elses did show up so it's puzzling.

I personally did not mail the letters, but DH did since I had to be at work. He said he mailed them all and nothing unusual happened...

This message was edited Jun 13, 2009 9:01 PM

Gordon, I appreciate your asking if I'm growing any horsetails, but I'm better off enjoying them from afar - thank you anyway. Why don't YOU make a dinosaur garden on your rooftop? heehee I wonder if whoever supplies those huge balloons of fantasy characters that float above parades makes any of dinosaurs? I can just imagine one floating above the fronds and tendrils of your rooftop paradise, among New York skyscrapers.
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I just got a dmail saying these seeds don't keep well. Just want to say that they'll keep at least 5 years and possibly more if kept dry at approximately room temperature. There is some debate over whether storing them refrigerated with a dessicant is better; but both ways, if done properly, make viability at least up to 5 years likely.

Maybe I confused the issue when I said I had murdered some in the past? Those seeds had mold on them, but these are in very good shape.

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Since these seeds of Wedding Bells are healthy, y'all don't have to read any further in this post. However, for future reference, the following might be useful regarding controlling mold within context of germination:

Within the MG sticky index -

FOES / Microorganisms/Disease

-- Damp-Off Fungus (pre-emergent type) and other seed and seedling diseases; contributing factors; remedies, including a bleach soak recipe for mildewed & other dubious seeds; lists, sources & comparative commentary - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3058590 (Post# 3058590)

Here's an excerpted quote from the above link that gives a recipe for mold involving bleach:

"Seed can generally be effectively disinfected with a 2 - 5 minute soak in a bleach(sodium hypochlorite) solution diluted 1:10 with water and containing a drop of wetting agent such as dish detergent and I personally would not recommend soaking in dilute clorox for longer than 5 minutes due to increased potential harm to the embryo..." There's a lot of relevant information in this link well worth reading.

Starlight1153 posted about soaking "questionable" seed for 10 seconds in a 9:1 solution of water to clorox, and then rinsing very well here - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=5960679 . This 9:1 water/clorox soak can be followed by a 1 gallon of water to 1 Tbsp of hydrogen peroxide (H202) to facilitate germination. There is more information on soaking with a H202 solution in the MG sticky index and elsewhere on DG.

SEED / Storage
This section doesn't expand upon what I've just said in itself, but there are many factors about storage that affect whether a seed will germinate, and they can mostly be found under the SEED section, as well as under FOES.

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Wishing a great day in the garden for everyone -

karen

Karen... well I took a trip outto the NJ nursery.. where I often find the peacock fern.. and I did find one there.. a bit brown in parts.. but overall healthy.. but mostly the blueish green.. with little of the bright blue showing.. and none of the festive overtones of the other colors.. but it's about the way they arearound here.. grown inside.. I got to see a bit of it I'd placed inside also.. in the Bronx.. before going to NJ.. itwas also theweakly colored plant I found there.. it really displays best.. outside.. if you have an outside space.. shady.. cool and moist.. that would be the best spot for it.. for it's namesake color to develop..
So.. let me keep it outside.. under the J. Maple.. and I'll see if I can get it healthy.. and I'll see about dividing it in two and send you 1/2 in a little bit.. it's rainning a few times a day lately here.. and real cool... for summer.. and this pattern is to continue for the next week or two.. they say..so it's fine here for a bit..
I'll go up for a picture of it soon.. before the next shower comes through

Thank you Gordon - if all goes well, I'll eventually be able to divide some for Becky, too, at a later date.

And thanks to Rose and Fairy for reimbursing me for postage - looks like we're all spirits under the same feather - "er, sompin like that" (saying from Horseshoe)

I germinated a couple of these seeds, and using the baggy method, they germinated in less than 24 hours - wonderful :) Thanks again Beth. (At least one of them will be grown in a pot, because, otherwise, I would not be able to harvest any seed. Not sure how well this will work, because I don't know of anyone who has ripened seeds of I. tricolor cultivars...maybe ones way further south?)

Someone mentioned that they thought these seeds were grown in a greenhouse of Hudson's - http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/. He might have a greenhouse by now - it's possible. But, one thing I do know is that Hudson's seed business has a seed exchange feature. If you send in proper documentation etc., you can submit seed to his business, for which you can choose some other seed in his catalog.

I love the way Hudson puts his seed business where his heart/ethics are: "Preservation through Dissemination" - fits right in with DG, doesn't he? I think many vendors (click on DG members' home pages) with a similar philosophy can be found all over DG - not to mention the MG forum.

will try to catch up on dmail tonight,,,pain from scoliosis makes sitting for long intervals painful, so I'm slow...not to mention windy...thanks for hanging in there with me

Hi Karen:

I was looking at that link you supplied for the J. L. Hudson web site and came across what is called a suplement page for 2009. It mentions that they do have a greenhouse in their description on the wedding bells that are for sale. http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/supplementH-L.



This message was edited Jun 25, 2009 12:50 PM

Hi Fairy, I'll take your word for it - link didn't work for me. Considering how JL Hudson began, the development of his business has been fascinating.