Poppy Time

I beleive African daisies might be something else, but would agree Gerbera is correct. They are so pretty and the nurseries often them quite a bit. They are pretty expensive here.. about $5 a 4" pot

Same price here.Annuals too,they dont over winter well in the house.
Could African Daiseys be Osteospermums?

I think that is them... they are often white with purple eyes, or recurve petals wthi white and purple..pink and much smaller than the Gerberas. I beleive they have a fine lacey leaf

Gerberas come in like orange, yellows, reds, pinks and are a much larger flower
The greenery is much heavyier than the other plant.

Yes you are right.We have Gerbera's and I had Osteos last year. Not enough sun for them so I didnt plant this year,

Awesome! I was trying to find the listing for them in PF, so now I can enter them in my journal, so I won't forget what they are called. Thanks : )

African Daisies can be Gerbras, Osteospermums, or Arctotis. That last one is the only I have grown; VERY drought resistant.

BB, I am so sorry that you aren't feeling your best. I hope that you will feel better. I am so not taking enough care of my veggies, besides the Squash.

Evelyn, Thanks for defining hardiness! Nice gerber!


ge1836, Same to you! Since we live in the same zone, they will probably be annuals here too.

I found white and deep rust colored California poppies today. I so need to upload that xD card, lol.

It's the first of of Summer in Cincy. Bye-bye Poppies soon... Hello Hibs, Zins, Cannas, Lillies, Hydrangea, MGS!



~Daniel

Thanks Dan, thinks get sucky and i have been tired a really lot. Just too much this year.

The weather now has not helped.

We visited the tornadow hit area of my old home town and brought supplies out there and it is very sad. I took photos....still trying to go through them. My Dads house was without a scar. My old barn looked really rough. ANd the area where teh 25 mobile homes were demolsihed by the storm looked like a war zone. I will post some of them in the Pelican Lagoon thread where everthing else has been crappy for the world.

I did spy a lonely Zin in my cutting garden so that made my day yesterday.

Today looks like hot and miserable.

Got a lot of prayers to offer up for people in these terrible weather and crisis torn areas and dont forget the wildlife. That just makes me sick.

Daniel ~ What do you mean by defining hardiness?

I usually buy two or three gerberas every year, and I would like to know how to keep them perennial. All poppies are annual here, thanks to my disturbing of the soil. Maybe one day I will learn, as I am getting too old to do as much as I did before. I was gardening and working full time. Now that I am 68, I can garden full time, but physically it is getting much harder. I have recovered from a knee operation and 3 shoulder operations including a rotator cuff replacement, and I have more weeds than garden flowers. My bulb bed were so full of weeds since we had many late rains and snowfalls, even in May. It is usually dry from April on...

This picture was from May 11th!

Oh, well plants usually have specific tempetures in which they can grow in. And if they can't have it, they are usually short-lived. And I trust fellow gardeners, like you Evelyn, the most when it comes to informing me on length of life, bloom colors, size, scent, hardieness, etc. Companies want to sell, and books are often not researched well enough. I have one book that says you should divide your Iris every year! Can you imagine? DG is my only source for plant info, now, lol.
I think I remember you sending me that pic in a mail... When we did that giveaway? That's kind of strange to have snow in May, especially in Zone 8.
I have never grown gerbers, but I have seen my two favorite GH's, The Olde Mille and Brad's (they owned by the same family) selling HUGE ones, at least 2 years old. Just covered in blooms, so it has to be possible. Oh! I just remembed, in Flower Confidential, the authoress said that Gerbers last at least 4 years, I think... I must get that book again...

I had a yellow California bloom today. Way hot here! 86 I think... AC on...

~Daniel

ok, why cant I grow poppies??

Which kind of poppies?
Annuals? or Orientals aka perennials.

any and all! I have tried direct sow, I have bought plants and I cannot even get them going in pots! HA! They do not like me! Gotta be the water!

I have no idea.They will grow in almost any soil.

Well, when I put them in my garden, I know its way wet in the early spring and summer and then the grass eats them. IN pots.. they will go and look stunted for a season then croak.

I wouldnt plant annual poppies in pots,just sow them in nov-march.
Orientals are another matter.They will go dorment after blooming or a season.In my zone the season is from mid May thru mid June. after bloom they look like they are dying.The leaves turn brown and they should be removed but dont toss them. In late summer the plant puts up new leaves that last all winter.They look dreadful but thats the "crown" Spring brings newer fresher leaves and blossoms.
I would transplant the potted Orientals when they are dorment in late summer or when they look dead.

Oh man, and here I thought they were dead when I had them.. I did not know they did that!

If it had a crown at the time, it must have looked really puny thats probaly why I tossed them.

Now I have tried fall sowing of the OP's. No germ.... We get so wet I am sure that is a lot of it. Water table is very high here. Had I known this was a lake bed, I might not have moved here, but it is what it is.

I have never sowed Orientals just annuals.

Eww! My orientals are mouldy! Yuck! I don't even want to collect the thousands of seeds waiting for me.
BB, I think on the Bachy thread (ooh! I have a few grape juice avail, but will wait 'til I have more...) you said that you have very sandy soil, no? I grow FANTASTIC (magazine quality!) california poppies in 50% gravel, and sandy soil (don't know how it got there). Mine are self-sowing, too. They refuse (mostly) to grow in rich fertile soil, why?

~Daniel

An annual, but my favorite poppy this season.

looks like Venus

Its the ecosystem here. It only has a set number of plants it likes to grow and no more.

Most fickle poor soil around when it gets to growing things off its list!

Then its the water too.

Portulaca?

Hmmm Dan, .. have not tried that, but those are purdy!

In my wetlands I am taken over with grass... you should see my DL's.. timouthy is rearing its head in them.

I have some areas of ammended soils going on but I also think its the mineral content here. Very heavy calcium, iron and so its feast of famine. Some years soem things will grow. Just like my purplecones. last year I had a great stand, this year not a one to be had. Go figure! All I can do is to keep tossing wildflowers out there and see what comes. Usually its just the natives, but every year its different.

I bet the portulaca though would go in the higher sandy ground. I do have some sedums going on and yucca, cactus and dry zoners!

I wish I had more dry soil... I could have such fun!

There are all sorts of poppies now. I found a California with a square on each petel of orange. And a double form of Lauren's Grape. Yum.
Falling in Loves to be collected... They made SOW many pods.
Nothing else happening in the world of poppies over here... over to cosmos...

~Daniel

I know. Wrong thread, but portulaca.

There is a guy in townthat has the portulacas in a small garden bed andit is loaded with color! I think they reseed for him but just stunning

I got a couple cosmos ... dont know what yet.. only 2 or so of them sprouted too.

Portulicas,moss rose,whatever, do reseed.They are a desert plant and the seeds can lay dorment for years until they come to the surface at the right depth for germination. I had a long piece of garden with them.The didnt quit until 5 years after.

Isnt portulaca considered an annual?

Hooray
http://picasaweb.google.com/jgentle4/VenusPoppiesBedroom?authkey=Gv1sRgCPb2o7aB67K42AE

I think portulaca is considered an annual. Nice poppies mixed with your snaps and lilies:))
Poppies are finished here for the season except for the California poppies. Seed collection has begun for next spring.

Portulaca is an annual.It re seeds here.I havnt grown it in years,Thanks for the reminder I'll add it to next years list.

Souonds like a winner! Good in containers too!

They do reseed, but not too well, mostly because it takes FOREVER for the seeds to germ and grow to a visable size.
BEV! Did you sow that? Or you went the smart way and bought them? I have never had one that shade! Gimmie!
You can grow them in containers?


The poppies of all sorts are taking nosedives. Only the Falling in Loves and the Orientals cuz they were wintersown. I need to do that for all the poppies this fall.
Who still has poppies?

~Daniel

I still have poppies! : ) My Falling in LOve Mix are just beginning to show some blooms. I didn't get that many that germinated. I think next year I will buy the larger size of seeds.

I did sow that Daniel:)) I feel like a proud mama! The first ones to open were all shades of pink but now some of the hotter colors are opening. Will I get in trouble being ot?

Edited to say: If I collect seeds, you'll be getting some for sure.

This message was edited Jun 28, 2010 10:08 PM

WOW! Real portulaca seeds at last! I have tried over and over again to germ those, from multiple sources, but DG'ers and companies, and 1 or 2 plants are all I get. Are they able to be wintersown?

Here is that Prince of Orange look-alike Ge!

Very nice Dan.

I think portulacas are a difficult germ

I surface sowed mine in a plastic thingy that something came in from the grocery store last November. The seeds were old, so I didn't think many would come up...Big surprise when they germinated...Never seen that many little seedlings in one container!

Daniel, I tried wintersowing Portulaca this year and it worked well. I tried it because as a youngster I knew a lady who had an iron kettle/cauldron on her porch full of them, and they reseeded themselves yearly.