Perennials: A question about california poppies, 0 by BeaHive

BeaHive wrote:
Betty.. I figured out that CC = Christmas cactus. My head cleared after the second cut of coffee . Thank goodness for coffee!
Ok..here I am. Long day in the garden and got a lot accomplished. Amazing how sun and warm weather can do that. We have to many rainy days here in OR to get much done outdoors. So glad the nice weather is finally here.
I am sorry to hear all the weather issue around the US and it seems your town and surrounding areas are in the same boat as many others. I pray that all is well soon for all in our beautiful country that are going through these tough times. We all work hard and deserve a peaceful and trouble free summer!
I understand the trouble you are having plant sitting. I am sure the hot weather is not making it any easier. With our 85 deg weather, I have to keep moving a tray of Lithadora starts that I am trying to root to keep them out of direct sunlight. They are doing Ok but looked a but ragged this evening. Going to move them to the shaddy side of the house tonight until the temos get a bit cooler. Really want to have these survive so I can cover a slope on the backside of my pond area. Beautiful plant & ground cover when in bloom.
Re: Organza bags for seed collecting:
I do not hang them up to dry following the stem clipping. I leave them on the plant until I am satisfied that they are dry. I do suppose if you clipped to soon, you could hang them upside down and give them more drying time.
In regards to removing seeds from the coneflower, they are not so bad once dry.(very brittle) You can always wear leather work gloves or heavy garden gloves when breaking up the seedhead. I never heard of soaking them , and I would worry about them getting moldy and unusable. If you have extra seed heads it may be worth a try to test each method and see what works best for you. How long does one soak the seadhead.?
The bag purchases are up to you, but I have found that web site I shared has really good prices. Michaels will have these in their Bridal section and everything “bridal” related is overpriced in the stores. (in the process now planning my youngest daughters wedding. Yikes!)
Re: Slug
Hate them. I have been hit really hard this year. Last year at this time I had just moved to this house and was having a pond installed. I brought over 200 plants with me from my former home who waited patiently in their pots until the project was completed. It was late when they got into the ground as I hurt my arm the day the landscaping/pond was completed. Bad timing for sure. It took a few weeks to heal from the two contusions on my elbow and forearm, but I learned to do one handed repotting quite well. Start with the 3” pot stuff and work your way up to the big stuff. The 5+ gal pots were a great challenge and I am sure any neighbors watching the show had a good laugh… but it all got done and things are growing well, and the slugs are enjoying munching on them. I am in full warfare mode with the nasty critters. . Sluggo.. Diatomaceous Earth, beer traps, yeast traps, copper strips… hand pick when I see the little buggers. Sluggo is a good start if you have only seen the two on the wall today.
Also had a serious problems with deer..but I got that covered for now. Rough one to deal with as I love seeing the deer, but just not in my flower beds, eating everything or stepping on everything.

Re: Poppies from flopping
I have areas in my yard that flop. I find that having multiple plants in one area help each other stay upright. They in the end will flop. It is just their nature when their season comes to a close. This is when you star your pod collecting then yank out the plant or at least cut it back for next season.

Re: Starting cuttings of a Christmas cactus.
I really don’t think rooting in water is the way to go. Growing up my Mom had a cherished CC of her mothers that was always displayed in the formal living room. Well with 8 kids in the house one of us would always be rough housing and break a piece off. We would of course never tell our Mom about it, but would simply place the broken piece back into some of the soil and press it down so it would stick. The plant grew and grew and grew doing this and no one was the wiser. My mom still has this plant today 50 + years and counting.
I would try taking a two to three jointed segment, allow it to air dry for a few hours once the cutting is made, then place it into a 3-4” pot filled with a good potting soil such as an African Violet mix. Keep moist, but not soggy and away from direct light for a few weeks. (indirect OK) . After a 3-4 weeks give the piece a gentle tug. If it shows resistance it is rooting.If you see new growth before that time , you know the cutting was successful Hope this helps. They are such beautiful plants .

Well I hope I answered some of your questions and I will let you know when my Ca poppy seeds are ready to mail to you.
Regards