Marigolds for 2010 - Anyone?!

Those dates sound about right for your area Blossom. I'm thinking they're just a winter annual down here. The blooms do look similar to marigolds. The plants are bushier and the blooms are more delicate with "silky like" petals. The blooms last about a week, in a vase, if they're picked just as they are beginning to open. I can't recall if I sent you a package of Burpee's "Apricot Daisy" Calendulas Blossom. I had an extra package and either gave it to you, or my brother. They're currently growing here and looks like they're just setting their first flower buds.

Took this picture today of "Candyman Yellow" Calendulas blooming near the front door. These seeds came from Thompson & Morgan. They are beautiful 3-4 inch blooms. They are, by far, my favorite of anything new and different that I planted this winter. I didn't even pinch these plants once when they were growing. They branched out beautifully all on their own.

Jon

And here's a closeup of the blooms.

Those are grand Jon. And yes, you did send me a pak of Scarlet Starlet if I recall correctly!

I hope I can get all of my annuals in. I am so looking forward to cut flowers this year.

Today I am sorting through sweet pea seed. Got that one I wanted for the hanging baskets. I should be starting that one today also. Tropicman has a forum going on those!

Then I am watering houseplants again. Just did my spiders. Some look like they will be needing dividing this spring. Got lots of babies!

Speaking of spiders jon, I have the red spider lily (lycoris S.) and it is in my livingroom. Its in the "grass" stage right now. I am wondering when it will be blooming. I take it the grass withers. Then later it sports the staulk that brings the flowers. I am wondering when mine will bloom. Any clue? They are not typical in my zone, hence why they are in pots in the house!

They we are having a rousing discussion on Goliath!

Go here for that!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1068151/#new

Gotta run.. so much to do today, so little...yeah... actually I got no thyme! LOL!

Yeah, I remember sending you the "Scarlet Starlet" marigold seeds. Perhaps I gave the extra "Apricot Daisy" Calendula seeds to my bro.

Funny you mentioned Sweet Peas. I was at Lowes yesterday using a gift certificate my brother had given me for Christmas. They had restocked their seeds and there were some new flower bulb kits there. Decided I would give Sweet Peas one more try down here and the seeds are soaking right now. I tried them back in the spring of 2008 and perhaps planted them too late. All I got were vines and no flowers and then the summer FL heat and humidity got em.

I don't know anything about Red Spider Lilies, so I just did a quick looky looky online. I guess they bloom in late summer and are only ground hardy for zones 7-10. Have some Daylilies, Asiatic Lilies and Crinum Lilies...but that's about it for lilies.

Sweet peas.....

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/994435/

Thanks for that link Blossom. You're the best! Looks like I might have started mine too late. Maybe I should have started them in late November. Hard to tell. The packet said quick blooming sweet peas in 60-80 days, from seed. If that's the case things should be alright. LOL Too late now. Those babies are planted!!!

Jon

LOL! Im just hoping im not startng mine too early! LOL! 60-80 days? Wow~! Well, go join the chatter there.. maybe we will both larn sumthin!

Hope you're not starting them too early. I don't think you are based on what everyone's saying on the topic in that link. We'll just see about the 60-80 days to bloom listed on my Ferry Morse seed pack. I'm finally starting to smarten up a bit and writing the sewing dates on the plant labels. LOL..... Blossom, If they don't bloom in 60-80, I'm a findin me a good "sweet pea attorney"!!! That's false advertising!!!

Jon

Good luck on that Jon! LOL! Maybe you could get Patty to represent you.. although she is a cereal killer yano. Nah on second though shed be better for forensics. CSI stuff. SHes pretty experienced with the dead yano!

Soz anyway whats the link to ferry morse?

I just got Bluestones catalog. Dang that place is enough to make ya wanna rob a bank, a jewelry store and a flea market!. Sooooo many purdies! Im warning ya, do not go there! Its pure evil!

www.bluestoneperennials.com

OMG!!!

LOL Blossom. I'm a cereal killer also. Just give me a half gallon of milk, and a spoon, and I'll finish it off in no time. Patty's been laying low lately. She must be working on a case in between pilates classes.

Ferry-Morse link is www.ferry-morse.com, but they don't sell their seeds online. Their seeds are sold at Lowes, Tractor Supply Company, Pike Nurseries and Grass Pad Inc.

Oh Blossom, I'm sooooo far behind at looking at seed catalogs. I just counted 14 of them I haven't even looked at yet. I've been putting it off because its almost too late to start any winter flower seeds and no rush to start anything for the summer. I do like Bluestones though. Do recall ordering some small rudbeckia plants from them last spring and they were nice plants. Yes, they do have a large selection to choose from. LOL Also must give a "shout out" to Lazy S's Farm Nursery (www.lazyssfarm.com). I don't believe that they put out a catalog, but they do ship some very nice healthy plants. I think I ordered from them twice last year.

Jon

Hmmm TSC you say!? Maybe I will have to pay them a visit.

Patty is busy. I think she got herself behinders taking care of the old phart.

Im still logging in seed tonite. Marking my planting dates. What a job. I cannot beleive I had to pull out a 2011 calender to make plans for that already!

Oh Blossom. Sounds like you got so much seed you could/should be an online retailer. 2011 calendar already. LOL You gotta be kidding. What ya planting.....biennials???? LOL

Ferry Morse does state their seeds are available at Tractor Supply Company. Maybe it would be worth a visit or y'all could call them first to see if they have their seeds in for 2010. Could be fun seed huntin!

Jon

2011 calender.. anything that has been sowed in January that needs to be carried over..nows the time to mark it so you dont forget next year. Stuff that needs to be ordered, supplies etc too. Calender gets marked and so does the journal.

Maybe that's because you do this stuff on a much bigger scale, when compared to my little ole garden. I just keep one list for those things on a couple of pieces of paper.

Think outside the box! Yup Thats the ticket!

Some days I wish the garden was not so big! I have been soooo tempted to just put in hay.

Ok, now jon, I have looked at Bluestone. If money was no object I would order at the minimuim 3 to 6 of everything! LOL! OMG the beauties there. Ah whom I kidding.. ida be more than that!

So much for hay.

I know what you mean Blossom. I would order a ton of plants also, but have learned to show some restraint the last two years. Spent far too much money on mail order plants back in 2007 and early 2008 and had more than I really needed. Have been much better at toning things down and trying to grow more things on my own the last two years.

So you occasionally think about using less space and I occasionally think about adding more gardening space. For both of us, we should always remind ourselves of what we can handle without it becoming a burden. I think its all about keeping things manageable???

LOL! I would be using the same space, just less of certain plants and more of others.

Well, I have to move on to tomatoes.. got a buttload to catalog and need to catch up on some others.

For those wanting in on the 2010 Tomato Tourney... heres that thread!

For more tomato fun:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1033317/#new

I hear ya. Always thinking about cramming things in even though I generally go for spaces in between plants. Have from Amberboa, Cineria, Dahlia, Gaillardia, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Cosmo, Petunia, and small Ranunculus plants, grown from seed, and have no idea exactly where to plant them. Still quite a bit of empty space in the backyard, but its an area that stays on the wet side.

Tomatoes are a sad subject down here right now. Everyone is starting all over on those. I believe practically all of them were killed by the frost/freeze 7-10 days ago. When you touched the foliage it would fall apart like broken glass. I would assume the price for fresh tomatoes is/will be rising very rapidly.

Jon

Well, Im not gonna worry about buying tomatoes...

YOu ought to put some of your stuff in baskets and decorate the pool!

I dont do dahlias. Did one year, but the fall lift was a pain in the kazoo. Ihad 100 pots of them three colors in a pot. They did not store good so I gave up on them.

Well, someother things to mark your calender is for Christmas cards. I have about finished mine for 2010. Just will have to add the newbs to the oldies and mail them.

LOL. All those plants are out by the pool. I keep most of the hibiscus there in large pots. All the stuff grown from seed is also out there to the right of the pool.

I'm slowly getting interested in dahlias, but don't have too many at this time. I lack knowledge on how to grow the tall decorative ones and to get them to branch out and bloom well. Probably not doing enough pinching of the plants when they are small. I can understand why you don't do them anymore Blossom. That's a lot of work to go through every autumn. They can be left in the ground here, so they are lower maintenance.

Marigolds I'm trying this year:

Tashkent-believe I picked those up from Fedco.
Striped Marvel-trade w/ DGer
Tangerine Gem-trade w/ DGer

and I'm fighting buying a few from Seed Savers Exchange. I tend to like unique singles and the big bushy ones rather than the bedding types.

I've never much cared for the big snowball headed ones:)

I am adding disco flame and a noid burgundy with yellow picotee edge to my yellow French marigolds this year. I'll start them inside later this winter. Previously, I sowed them in place by storing the seeds in a washed parmesan cheese shaker and shaking them where wanted. Assuming they all germinate, I am taking more care this year to evenly space the colors this year. I am adding some red and yellow flowers near last years Shasta daisy and strawberry plants.

I will also add some seeds/plants to my tomato containers. My tomatoes didn't do well this year, but it was very cold and wet. I had lost many seedlings to damp off and cold (oops, forgot a tray outside). I'll try again this year.

That "Striped Marvel" looks like one I grew in 2008...but I can't think of the name of it. All of the marigolds in the "Disco Series" look pretty neat.

I like the separate color choices in the Janie series too. Primrose (light yellow), tangerine and flame are my favorites.

There is another striped variety (Mr. Majestic maybe?) that for all I can tell by the photos may as well be the same one:lol:

I checked out the "Janie Series". Think I like "Janie Flame" and "Janie Harmony" the best. Bingo....yes it was "Mr Majestic" that I grew back in 2008 and looks similar to "Striped Marvel". Perhaps it was thew growing conditions down here, but I was disappointed with "Mr Majestic". The blooms did not have the vivid stripes that are reflected in many of the online retailer sites. It was a great bloomer though.

I read that those striped Marigolds, in heat and sun, lose their stripes;)

Here is a show of what Marigolds looked like this year>

Nice marigold. LOL....oh is that what happened to my stripes. I was wondering where they went!!!

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Ok, show off!! very nice! Your #3 has my blue ribbon!

Shopped at Lowes today. They are putting out all the seeds packs for spring. I saw some really pretty things.
Thunder and lightening here right now. Big, loud bangs of thunder. You can hear them rolling in for 10 seconds before it breaks over us. Have flash lights at hand just in case.

BB, that one is the BEST Marigold ever, Flagstaff. U want seeds?




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yes, want seeds! Need seeds! Pretty! Pretty!

BB, that one is the BEST Marigold ever, Flagstaff. U want seeds?

marti, sounds like it's already Spring there! Storms, seeds being sold...Now all you need is some flower beds bursting with seed leaves!


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Need mails, and addies!

I agree with Blossom. Flagstaff takes the cake. That's a tall one from what I've read!

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Yes, it is on the tall side. And the flowers are so perfect and round... and orange... The best marigold!!!

~Daniel

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