Snapdragons - henny colour ya want.. 2010 starts!

What are you growing for snaps in 2010? Sow us your past and tell us your future plan!

I am marking my calender to sow seed for January 19th and February 19th indoors...but cannot make up my mind on the variety yet!

In 2009 I got a bargain of $2 mixed color low growers of NOIDS flats at the local hardware... had pretty nice luck reserecting them from the near dead and now got a snapdragon itch!

Well anyway, you are also all invited back to my GPS6 series and beyond as we are planning new plantings for 2010 and putting things up for the fall!

Heres that link!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1046430/#new

Since my greenhouse isn't climate controlled I can't sew things like snaps,pansies and violas until late in the fall for spring.

I sewed the following snaps on10/07 and 10/10...all sprouted in a week:

Bronze Dragon
Brighton Rock Mix
Frosted Flame Mix.

Snaps are generaly winter annuals for us and I experimented a couple years ago,direct sewing snaps under polytunnels with success so I've got my fingers crossed.they'll be ready for early spring market sells.They had us start market this year on March 7th. and siad they may start early again in 2010 so I need color at the jump

I'll go hunt some pix of the above snaps

P

Bronze Dragon

http://www.tandmworldwide.com/seeds1/product/4348/2/

Brighton Rock
http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=55&account=none

Frosted Flamehttp://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/annuals/snapdragon/frostedflames/image?veseys=a0turfrn508jobldgqff8kpb02


This message was edited Oct 22, 2009 6:22 AM

This message was edited Oct 22, 2009 6:27 AM

This message was edited Oct 22, 2009 6:27 AM

Ooohh...I love Brighton Rock! I've never seen the stripy ones before.

I think I'll just grow Black Prince and some of the Rocket series for next year. I prefer the taller ones for my current garden- big beds, big yard- seems I don't have many spots to properly show off smaller plants, which really bugs me. I'm mostly drawn to those with the classic shape, with the little mouths you can open and close, but I have seen some really nice pics of those will the open, more bell shaped blooms.

Hoping to do a better selection next year myself. Have not decided what variety.

I do have seed for a tall delux which I will sow, but other than that, no decision.

The mix I got for 09 was a fluke and a short variety that made great pot crops I sheared them about every couple weeks and they did pretty nicely for a bargain basement flat.

These are sposed to be orange...cameras off color I think!

I did Madame Butterfly and Butterflies(azalea/dbl bloom type)a couple years ago. Usually do tall type like Rocket but I don't do cuts any more so I opted out for short varieties this year w/ interesting colors and foilage. My customers have become dependant on me to bring them something new that they can't get at the big superstore/parking lot nurseries.

I'll be offering some unique petunias,coleus and other annuals next spring.Haven't made all my seed purchases yet so only time will tell what else I'll offer in 2010.

Green packs of digitalis Candy Mountain,brilliant orange emilia/tasselflower,variegated and lime green flowering tobacco were popular. I sold some green pack toothache/eyeball plants.They're late bloomer so by the time they were in color it was too late in the year and had become root bound.

I had many request for hollyhocks in the spring but I didn't have my green packs ready until the end of season and business had fallen off at the market so bad,I only sold a few 6 pks. SO,I get to bump up the rest to 1 gallons for spring and I absolutely HATE selling biennails in one gallons.

I trialed the pink lambs tail Joey in my yard and containers but wasn't impressed enough to plunk down the cost of the seed for next year. Kinda looking at gomphrena "Fireworks" for next year but once again..new variety...high cost for low seed count so I'm not so sure I want to try them.

Only a few 2010 catalogs have arrived so I haven't sat down and seriously looked at them.

Peggy

Doing any curly leaved coleus? Im searching for strawberry fields gomphrena...got pink, white and the magenta...wanna try some striped petunias, waves and curlies....but like ya said, the local nurseries dont have the unusuals.

Ima gonna have to prune my snaps in the pots in the house. Derned things are going bonkers! Since they are sposed to be a tender perennial, I am wondering if I will be able to nurse them to spring! They are under lights now in my office! LOL!

Heres my red, Red...!

No just the big leaf coleus

Big leafed like what the KONG series? I gotta Kong....it did great.
I just sent cuttings on the coleus out. But there will be more if those things keep at it the way they have been. I have the flat of cuttings that rooted to bump up yet.

yes,Kong but also the new Chocolate Mint and Dark Chocolate plus I'm looking for a few others.

I never have been able to keep coleus going inside for the winter.

Well, so far so good. but it aint winter yet... I just cut them back real severe here this week. Have you tried doing that and keeping the younger cuttings?

We could winter them at the big greenhouse I used to work at, but then thats not like doing them in the livingroom.

So far the snaps are hanging in there in their pots, but I expect them and all the annuals to go dormant if not die too.

LOL! Well, they were cheap, but they are mixed colors of some tall thing or another! 10c! Was at the local hardware and could not beat that fro a postage stamp!

I've had really good luck with those cheap seeds. Haven't tried their Snaps, but lots of other annuals packed under that brand did great for me. How tall does it say they get?

3.5 feet on that pak. I will probably have to stake them if they do get that tall. I doubt they willhere, the soil is poor....but depends if I ammend it. Chicken poo or horse do.

I have great luck with the $store,WM and hardware store seeds.

Here's Frosted Flame seedling(top right) already showing variegattion

Well,inculding the picture might be nice

YOu are starting them now?

Yes,they'll winter over in un-heated greenhouse and be ready to sell...hopefully in early March....that's the plan anyway. Hope they go along with it...LOL

Well, I will see how my snaps winter in the GH before I start any, besides that got no room now for flats or plugs or anything. My petunias are in thar blooming their fool heads off along with my pansys, alysumms, marigolds and some others which I best go water before they croak too soon!

Heres my yeller in the office.....it got kind of spindly and weak in the stems, but the flowers are pretty, Be time to shear then again. Been shearing them after they bloom and they send more. Hope they will do that all winter to spring! Got some orange, pank and ray-eds going too.

Yo P! Heres what them $2 flats looked like back in the spring! LOL!

Yo back atcha Toots. Being on-line last two days have been hit and miss. Something wrong with phone lines and I'm hanging on by a thread until I can get repairman out sometime Monday.We have a plague of squirrels...hope they have been in the attic chewing up the phone lines.

Awww the lil darlings! Must be missing sumthin in thar diets.... lil copper or zinc maybe?! Nuts!

2 legger or four? Awww the lil darlings! Must be missing sumthin in thar diets.... lil copper or zinc maybe?! Either way Im sure you can handle it!

Here was my magenta snaps in that bargain mess!

They did really well and looked pretty sharp with the alyssums

This new tall snapdragon became my very favorite last year because of its uniqueness. This is Snapdragon "Animation Cognac"

Jon

Oh, now I reallllly like that Jon! Thats a beaut!

Ooo,that is a pretty one Jon.

The Frosted Flame seedlings are growing slowly but surely and showing more variegation.

Bronze Dragon's not showing dark foliage yet.

Found a snail munching the tops out of the Brighton Rocks. Isn't of leaving a "snail trial"..it's now a "snail splat"...I squished him with my little #9

edited 'cause I can't spell "kat"

This message was edited Nov 12, 2009 7:03 AM

I was just up on the yahoo search thingee looking for bulk seed. Is it me or are those people crazy... to me, bulk seed is like sold in POUNDS (and I dont mean the english version of money) I mean the weight.... bulk seed to me does not come in a less than an ounce package......grrrr. Anyone know of any links for BIG bulk? I swear people got no conception on planting an acre yet alone 50 squares.

So ya got him with the #9 eh! LOL! Glad ta here it. Last time you used the deer canon you had to plug in more plugs! Your refining your mardering ways there eh!

I'll email my newest seed source to send you a cataolg. Prices are pretty darn good and you can pick pkt size of 100-500 seeds or by the M. I just ordered about 30-36 varities of perennials and annuals ranging from pkt of 100-500 to m or 2 m sizes for just under $125.00

D-mail me your home addy. Is it still K&L Nursery?

P

Thanks Blossom & Patty. Like the snapdragons you've selected Patty. They are ALL very unique in their own way. The dark foliage and purple & white blooms on "Bronze Dragon" looks awesome. I'm so annoyed at myself for misreading my notes. I started my seeds late Sept and should have started them in late August......so I'm a month behind. I'm growing only tall varieties this winter. They're among my favorites when it comes to cut flowers. This winter I'm growing:
Rocket Red
Rocket Cherry
Rocket Pink
Rocket Orchid
Rocket Bronze
Animation Cognac

Jon

Blossombuddy, keep in mind Snapdragon seeds are very small, so there's a lot in an ounce.

Oh, I realize that...snaps are not the only bulk though that I am looking for. Im just put out because of some of the larger seeds I have seen and there are so very few that sell them by the pound...like sweet williams, sunflowers too, I been hard pressed looking for sunflowers and willies and zinnias especially by the pound.

And no Red its not K&L LOL!

See yer D-mail there red! Ya got any good sourcerors for plug starters too? Been a while since we did plugs, but that might be my way to go for next season. Beats the HEQQ out of starting seed.
D-Send them on ok...! And thanks.

Jon, well one month later probaly will not be all that bad as long as the weather holds well when the time comes. Heck, you might be a jump on extending the season next year and thats not all that bad!

I'm just going to miss out on a month of blooms, that's all. All snapdragons croak here once we get to mid May. They can no longer hold up when the sun gets that high in the sky and is supper intense. I did find one nice container of medium sized snaps today, so I grabbed them. They were the only snaps I saw, and I went to 2 Lowes, 3 Home Depots, and two other privately owned nurseries today.

BB,
I just emailed Geo to send you a catalog. I'll email Germania tomorrow. I've already received their 2010 seed catalog but they haven't sent me a plug catalog yet and there's some new petunias out there I want to try at market next year.

Have another source for rooted and un-rooted millonbells,coleus,sweet potato vine and the like but I can't find the new catalog.I'll look for it tomorrow.

I've been up since 2:30am so I need to go crash for a while.

Later

Thanks Red, I will look into that other one for the plugs... I have a few sweet potato vines that I am nursing and hoping I get them through winter... as for million bells, have not even thought of them and while I do have coleus, would be interested in varieties I dont have. I am sure I willbe able to get the wizards and the kong through the winter...They are growing like weeds.. I shear them every two weeks and will need to do mine again in a couple days. I wish I had a place to make cuttings, but I am now out of room.

I will get a post going for 2010 if I get time... yano I still need to chop those trumpets!! LO!L Catch ya tomorrow!

Colues is up already, but not under a 2010 title....heres the link where I have been playing....

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1029872/#new
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Heres where Im hanging around on sweet potatoes...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/544615/#new
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and million bells, hmmmm well lets go to a Millionbells 2010... I will post it shortly. I wanna see yours! No link yet...

Meanwhile back at the snapdragon patch.. gonna be a few months before I can do anything with those other than sit back, enjoy my plants in the house and hope I dont kill them while I drool over Jons patch and anyone else visiting here!

So far my recently sheared snaps got new little tiny leaves sporting on the stems.. Gee, will they bloom again? In the house? Time will tell! Fingers crossed!

This message was edited Nov 12, 2009 2:34 PM

I think you mean Calibrachoa, right Blossom? "Million Bells" is just one of the many series of Calibrachoas. All of the Calibrachoas have just started coming out here in the past week.

Jon

Yup! what you said there Jon.. ca-whats its! I cant never pronounce that one...
but heres the link....

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1055710/

This message was edited Nov 12, 2009 5:37 PM

Snaps are great candidates for wintersowing and I have done several types for several years. For me they're pretty in spring, poop out in the worst of summer heat, then look nice and fresh again in fall. I allow them to reseed, I no longer collect the seeds. I get tons of volunteers, and the original plants usually overwinter and last two or three years. They stay semi-evergreen in winter.

This is just one patch of volunteers last year.

Karen

Black Prince last year

Karen

I use to have Black Prince. It acted like a short-lived perennial for me.

I think I mulch to heavily for small self-sewn seeds to have a chance so I like to start them in the GH then spot them out or plant big drifts.

Nice photos Karen. Thanks for sharing. Now you've got me wondering if I should just leave my few snaps, that survive the Florida summer, in the ground. Some of them stop growing and blooming, but retain their foliage. I just assumed they wouldn't bounce back in the fall when the weather cools.

I'm a heavy mulcher also Patty. It's a necessity down here to retain water and keeping the roots from burning in the summer.

Jon