Here's a better picture, from this evening, of Dianthus "Super Parfait Raspberry". These are larger Dianthus about 6" in height and 2-3" blooms.
Dianthus for 2010 - Anyone?
Those are beautiful Jon. Such huge blossoms! Im contemplating an order of seed. 1 lb of sweet willies - $21.....but they are the smaller barbatus.
Now will yours seed well?
Thanks blossom. I've never tried "Sweet Williams" or Dianthus from seed before. I had given up after having limited success with growing "Chabaud Giant" Carnations from seed. The Carnations took soooooo long to grow from seed. I've never attempted to collect seeds from Dianthus either. I usually kill them before even thinking about it. LOL The only reason I bought these dianthus, as plants, was because they are larger and very showy. These ones have been fantastic. Do Dianthus and Sweet Williams grow fast from seed?
Jon
Sweet willies are a biennial.. so 2 years to flower, but worth it as far as I am concerned. I am soo seriously thinking of naturalizing an area... I have a wild pink that grows everywhere in my prairie and so I ama thinking the willies will do well out there too. It would be a great addition to the liatris, yarro,coreopsis, mikweed, gaillardeas and other neat things out there. As far as the dianthus, I do not think that would naturalize...never heard of anyone doing it that way.
I ran across a 2010 seed pack of Burpee's Sweet William "Tall Double Flowered Mix" in my seed box this evening. I must have bought it at Home Depot back in October. All the 2010 seed packs came out in Florida in October. Every October I'll raid Home Depot and Lowes and just start buying all the new seed packs that are dated for the following year. You can never have enough seed packs around the house, I guess. It always gives you something you can do if you get bored.
I was wondering if any of you grow the annual types of tropical vinca? It grows and blooms in around 60 days from seed. I've always wondered why you see it everywhere down here in the summer, but I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere up North. Here's a photo of Vinca "Pacifica Burgundy Halo" that I grew here this summer....just in case someone isn't familiar with tropical type vincas.
Jon
Well, Jon, get those willies in a pot, or patch!! You will love them!
OoooOOh! That vinca is stunning.. first time I have ever seen it. "DROOOOL!~ *gimme*!, It probably would not do well though in my zone.. ??? Oh but I can see it in a basket now! Oh so lovely!
I saw a vine at a resturaunt that I would love to also acquire.. its a large varagaited leaf, looks like a vinca from a distance but not sure as it s leaves look almost the size of a quarter, maybe larger, but very lovely, nice cascade for a pot... I need to go tak a pic of it and look for it. (Im a afraid if I get close to it I am liable to steal a pinch!!!)
Does that vinca of yours do cuttings ok?
I have no idea why people don't grow tropical vinca up North in the summer. I can't see any reason why it wouldn't do well. There's two tropical vinca plants in this picture I took on Nov 5. They are the two large pink/lavender colored plants in the background on the left. They kind of remind me on impatiens except they get taller (up to 6 inches) and have much larger blooms (2-3 inches). They also are used in hanging basket and they sprawl over the edges very quickly. I've never tried them from cuttings, so I'm not sure how they would do. You can buy the plants for about 50 cents down here, so I usually buy them. The "Pacifica Burgundy Halo" was the 2008 All American Selections new plant of the year winner. I grew it from seed to first blooms in about 50 days. It grows VERY fast from seed.
Jon
Oh, they probably do up here Jon, but I for one have not seen any colored varieties.. but then, yano, I really have not looked!
Today I noticed in GEO's that they carried seed for the Pacifica series.. colors are burgandy halo, apricot,, cherry red, cranberry, dark red, lilac, magenta, raspberry, pink, polka dot and a few others...
Lovely garden you have there BTW!
Thanks Blossom. Believe it, or not, those vinca plants are only 3 months old from seed. When I was at my parents in NY State this summer, I made it a point to look for them at nurseries. I did not see one of them anywhere, which baffled me. The "Pacifica Series" is my favorite, by far. I like the Burgundy Halo the best because it is two colored and really stands out compared to the solids/near solids.
Jon
Do you get Geos?
I'd never heard of Geos until you mentioned it. I've run across many professional growers websites, but never ordered catalogs because I assumed they wouldn't send them to me.
Never know unless you ask.. Many pros will help a new business... Its how they grow too!
Well, looks like the dianthus in the houseoffice are starting to get staulks to bloom again. Im gonna have to remember to put some fertilizer pellets in those. (Oscomote...)!
That's true. I was amazed one day when Stokes Seeds called me from New York to see if I was happy with their service. They also inquired on if there was anything new that they should carry. That's pretty personal customer service.
Get those dianthus goin again Blossom. I was admiring some dianthus I saw at a nursery down here this morning. They were kind of midsized dianthus with 4-6 inch stems. Very different looking.
Oops. I confused my companies. Harris Seed was the one that called me from NY State. My mistake.
Follow up in business is a good thing! Personally whether the feedback is good or bad, the good companies want to know. If they find its a major numerous complaint versus just one person complaining, they will do something to change the service or discontinue or continue or get in a newbie.
One person just griping on anything and everything may just be one of those unhappy people that no matter what you do, you will never satisfy them and you could die trying!
Thats not to say that one person though cannot make a difference in voicing any opinion when a complaint is totally legit though, because one person has been known to make a difference in many a company!
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Just watered the dianthus. Tomorrow I have fertilizer for them....
I am finding the conditions in the house are changing as the weather outside becomes colder. As the house now starts to also cool down, some of the the plants are staying too cold and damp for too long. I lost 3 impatien cuttings, 2 coleus cuttings and a wax begonia to rot.
Today I had to run the space heaters. I am not on full service with the central heating yet.
So far, though the dianthus are perky and happy! I need to water more sparingly and let things dry out some on some plants.
I did notice some of the pansys in the laundryroom are really unhappy. I beleive I overwatered them and lost a few to that. Now I wished I put them in seperate pots to put them in the GPS...I think its too late to kick them back outside.. I am afraid either way on them will be a losing battle to get them to survive.
Harris is waaaay to high. I just started using Geo a couple months ago for my pansies,viola and snaps. I just compared their prices w/ Park and Germania...more seeds at a better price on most vareties.
I have a bunch of unhappy african violets...powdery mildew and everytime I think about spraying them,I'm running out the door or falling asleep for the night.
I agree that Harris Seeds prices are too high. I can't remember what it was that I ordered from them. It was something new and they were the only people carrying it, at that time. I told him, on the phone, that I ordered it because they were the only company selling the seeds. I also mentioned that I thought the prices were a bit high and that I wished they carried more individual smaller sized seed packs.
Just don't water them for a bit Blossom and see what happens. Perhaps you could put a fan in that area and maybe some air circulation would help them dry out a bit faster.
Jon
Will do!
I always grow the "annual" ones! I have 6 in a little clump in a pea gravel bed mixed with california poppies, Cosmic Cosmos, and Hens n' Chicks! They(Dianthus) have comeback for 2 years.
I sewed some more dianthus a week or so ago. All are up now. I need sew some "Sooty". That one and d.knappi are the only ones to have been perennial for me,haing lived more than 4-5 years for me now.
I moved my original d.knappi to neighbors yard when I deleted the flowerbed it was in and she killed it.Luckily I have more in the greenhouse and started seeds received last year in trade. Interested to see what they will look like in bloom since the foliage is different from the one I already have.
SOOTY? Is that black? Any available for trade?
Yes,Sooty's "black" and sorry I just traded away my last spare. Only have a few left I'm going to sew today.
Ohhh... I will d-mail next fall, OK?
I have plants in the yard that will bloom in the spring but don't count on my memory to remember and email you,I suffer from "Sum Timers" disease*G* Better make a note to holler back at me some time in early summer.
Looks like my dianthus in the office is gonna bloom....
Did you post a pic of that? And could you post one when it does?
I just cut them back a short while ago.. here is my big pot of one....
I also have a couple snaps in pots under lights in the office too and they are getting heads now also. They are not very big buds yet and enither are the dianthus.. They both have been in the house almost 6 weeks along with some coleus, a petunia, some allysum and a few others I had in pots this summer. The petunia is blooming its third flower now!
This dianthus plant is in about an 8 inch tall pot and the plant is about 8 inches tall.. its up into my light. I need a taller plant stand It is a wee leggy but it is about to get buds.
Sorry the pic is not the greatest I wanted to show you where it was growing without moving it. I need to fertilize it. After it blooms I will cut it back again and pick the dead leaves from the previous shearing. I guess I forgot to do that when I chopped it back the last time! I notice the shearings from the last snip are in the plants base and are brown! Just when you think you got them all! Not!
Here are a couple more.. to the left upper corner is a snap. To the lower right is an impatien ANd the rest are dianthus.. the yellow pots are 6".
Few more days and they should bloom.
I'm confused Blossom. How are you getting blooms while the plants are inside? Are they just by a window or are they under a growing light? You may have mentioned it before, but I forgot.
The plants are under lights now and indoors. They were outside in the summer! I brought them in before the weather outdoors would have done most in. The plants I have under my lights indoors in my office and livingroom are plants that normally would be dead by now in my zone if left outdoors. I am hoping to get them through until spring.
I doubt most will make it because as annuals eventually they will shut down no matter what the weather as their normal growing season length probably will tell them ok, we are through. I genuinely do not think I will be able to "trick" all these plants into extending their natural annual growing season for a whole lot longer. Time will tell. As there are some annuals that will behave like perennials if given the right conditions. Snap dragons, some begonias, coleus and some impatiens can go for a pretty long time.
Oh and right now, we finally did turn the heat on in the house.. so now the conditions have changed again for them.. And no, they are not gettign misted and the humidity in this house is very poor. The only thing going like a real summer is the time the lights are on.
Thanks Blossom. Yeah I was also thinking it would be pretty tough to extend an annual to act like a perennial inside the house. At least you're giving it your best shot and it keeps you gardening during untypical months. The ones that you have had success with all make perfect sense. I've seen that Geraniums are also quite easy to overwinter inside up North. My mama has a few Geraniums that are 5 years old. There truly are some annuals that are perennials here in Florida. It all comes down to whether they can survive through the extended summer heat down here. Most of them don't, so we grow them during the cooler months of Oct-April as annuals. A couple of things, I have, that do survive and act as perennials here are Marigolds, Gazanias and Gerbera Daisies. I had some Osteospermums (African Daisies) make it through this summer for the first time. They were in a "morning sun only" area outside and that's most likely why they made it.
Well, I think its a daylight thing too. They have to have the extended hours of light. I wil have to check what my timers are on for them.. I plugged them in and never really gave the exact hours a thought, but I know they are on a long day! So far so good.. though. But I am betting they will succumb to the dry heat eventually.
Yes, gernaiums are one that do well and act perennial down south. They are natives to Mexico and wiill get huge.
Here we can try to store them or leave them in pots. I did not do any last year so might give them a go this year. You can take cuttings off of them as well. I like doing cuttings..I have done them in the house under lights to extend their season and have had luck in our old house. Have not tried them here though.
My mom puts the geraniums on the windowsill in the kitchen. They just receive light through the window and do fine in that spot. They usually bloom, somewhat, all winter. You'd be surprised to know that most geraniums don't make it through the summer down here. The intense/high sun usually gets them in June. There are also many perennials, in your zone, that are annuals here. A couple that come to mind are most Gaillardia, Salvia. There are many more, but I just can't think right now. I guess that's natures way of evening things out and giving none of us an advantage over other growing zones. LOL
I do gaillardias out on the prairie and they grow great there. Getting quite a colony out there of many many colors! If I get any Gaillardias, Rudbeckias or blackeyed susans, they all go out in the prairie for naturalization.
I was checking my seed and I have some salvia.. hmmm I wonder if I should do some in 2010.
Patty sent me some Dianthus seed.. I received Sooty, Amazon Neon Rose, Deltiodes microchips, Amazon Neon Purple and chineses. Thanks P! Gonna have to mark my calender for their sowing dates.
Oops almost forgot, here is one of my dianthus blooming now in my office! I do not know what variety it is, other thann its very pretty!
Also, I started a poinsetta thread in the Perennial forum if anyone is up to it.
Got my paperwhites started too, they are already an inch tall! Do you do any bulbs in Florida Jon? I would not think you could since you do not have the deep freeze like we get.
Nice dianthus bloom to add some winter color inside your office. Very very nice indeed. I think you should try one or two Salvias, just for some variety. We all tend to stick with our favorite flowers. Nowadays I like to try quite a few different things in the winter to keep it interesting. If you limit it to just a couple containers, you can try many different things without taking up too much space. I think I'm trying about 10 different new flowers right now, but have limited it to no more than 3 or 4 of each. If I really like it, and it does well, I can grow more of them next year.
There are many different bulbs you can try in Florida that would have to dig up, each fall, in colder zones. There are also some Northern type bulbs that have specific varieties that do better in warmer climates. You just have to search around and discover them. I'm trying quite a few bulbs this winter and most of them came from www.easytogrowbulbs.com. I have Narcissus "Grand Soleil D'or" which is hardy in Zones 8-10. The "Watsonia", "Sparaxis" and "Tecolote Ranunculus" bulbs have already popped out of the ground. I still have to plant the "Anemone" and "Dutch Iris" bulbs. Other than the "Dutch Iris", these are all bulbs that are hardy for zones 8-10. I chose "Watsonias" because its related to a Gladiola, and each bulb produces several 4-6 foot tall flower spikes. Someone told me that "Ranunculus" do great for them in South Texas, so decided to try those also. I've have good performance from prior things ordered from easytogrowbulbs, so decided to try things new to me. They have quite a few things I had never heard of before.
I have a rather large bulb border on one of my beds. It is a mixture of mant spring bulbs, mostly daffodils and narcissus, some hyacinth, all kinds doubles, singles. There are prbably thousands of bulbs all planted in nursery cans that are below the ground to help located them when it is time to lift the, The cans keep the critters away.
Yes, I think I will try a container of salvia... I am doing lotsof container plants again in the new year so that could be another. Its been awhile since I have had any. I have the perennial May Night and it is lovely. Just wished I had more of it in a large mass. Wil have to take cuttings and make some!
LOL. You motivated me to go soak my Anemone flower bulbs, for a couple of hours, and plant them in a container. They only need to be spaced 1-2 inches apart in a container, so a small container will do.
That "May Night" Salvia looks nice with its violet/purple blooms. Perhaps you can try the "Hotline Series" of Salvias. They start blooming pretty quickly from seed at approx 8 weeks. I currently have 3 Salvias named "Wild Thing", "Flare" and "Guaranitica Black & Blue".
Jon
just got dianthus "Flashing Lights"! I wonder what that looks like!
And a dwarf mexican sunny!
LOL. Don't make me look it up. You know I did!! Flashing Lights is a 6" tall bright bright red.