SNAPDRAGONS for 2010 - WHOSE IN?

Seems their potting mix would always damp off... nope, not gonna use them. And I swear, I get so fed up with that, its in the soil.. some dang chemical causing it. Prove me worng.. show me the ticket of ananlisis. but even then I would wonder. Been doing this too long to be told Im doing it wrong. I know how some of these compost operations work and its discusting. I dont have time to waste with damping off issues. Some are nothing but swill filled garbage dumps.

I did have horrible experiences using Miracle Gro "Moisture Control" potting mix. It retains too much water and was killing my hibiscus plants because they remained too damp. I still use regular various varieties of potting mix combined with compost, pink bark and perlite and things have been fine.

I mix my own so if there's problems,I know who to blame....LOL

Mix my own also. Used to experiment mixing different variations and was driving myself nuts. The problem was they were all drying out at different speeds. It made it more difficult to water as some were dry, some were still damp. Much easier when ya stick to just one mix.

OH, I have caused some of my own damping off too, but I was heavy on the horse manure. Just cant do that with the seedlings. Burns the snot right out of them for some dum reason!! >LOL!!

Nice snap there Jon.

Thanks Blossom. The first blooms are always the biggest with tree trunk stems. Takes awhile for the side branches to get going.

I quit using vermucilite in my mix.It seem to be the factor in too wet mix. Now I only use it on top of mix for seeds that need light or over seeds that need dark. Does crust and the tiny seedlings have a better chance of pushing thur.

We've had several days of below freezing temps and the snaps,violas and pansies I started in Oct. are still looking good....not growing but still healthy looking.

I use to buy ProMax(ProMix?) seed starting mix but that stuff was like $35.00 a bale the last time I used....a loooonnnnggg time ago. Way cheaper to mix my own.

I think I tried that one years ago too. Have not priced it lately. Been so long I cant remember whar I got it!

where ever it's pricy even from wholesale greenhouse supply....I'm cheap and have my eye on the bottom line for max profit margin.

Well you and I ride the same boat, I know I got mine wholesale back then, but be danged to remember what the supplier.. jeez, I hate that. Im gonna have to go through paper files to pork my mam-ry. I do member I liked it though.

First snapdragons, of the winter season, picked and put in a vase. They're "Rocket Cherry", "Rocket Pink", "Animation Cognac" and "Chantilly" snaps.

That pic is so beautiful it should be a Bloom Of The Day!

Oooo...prudy! I specially like the far left one possibly the AC? And showing off your pool while we freeze our tail feathers off...Shame-Shame!...LOL

OK, I found a snap for a hanging basket of all the dang things,, same catalog as the BS's red.

STOPIT!

You betcha. The one on the left is "Animation Cognac" red. That's my favorite tall snapdragon. Ya gotta luv Florida during the winter. I recall stumbling across a snapdragon for hanging baskets in some catalog recently.

Red, those hangy ones ugh $11 mol for a puny pack o seed.. no way. Cant justify those.

Me thinks I figured it out. The hanging one must be Snapdragon "Fontainebleau" Blossom?

$11 per m? That's not to terribley bad since snaps are small seeds and there'd should be 100's to the package

na-ah... NOT THESE.. dang things must be gold pelleted....Ooops and I was wroong on the dang price.. $11.50 for 50 seeds...NO NO NO NOPE not going there.

Not ta mention the S & H

Remember the hydrangeas! UGH!

Whoah Nelly. Oh poo, speaking of Nelly, I gotta go. Shes gotta be done eating now.

I do not remember the Hydrangeas, clue me in!

the hydrangeas is between me and red.

BB means I was complaining to her in d-mail,that I wanted some more seeds but I've been doing a wee bit too much of seed shopping to go in with her on another seed order because I have a hydrangea order coming in March and I need to let the cc's cool off between now and then.

The only hydrangea I have is the endless summer blue and a snowball bush that I think might be a viburnum.. not sure. I need to do cuttings on the blue. I need 10 bushes for a landscape project. So far got 3 if the y make it through winter inthe pots.

BB,
Remind me in the(your)spring to send you some cuttings. I've lost count how many varieties I have now.All are named but most have lost their tags and I'm not as good as I use to be at remembering all the names.
I coming in the spring:Lemon Daddy,Painter's Palette and Masja.

Note to self.. remind P on cuttings.. After April 15 is good for me! Are you doing any coleus?

BB, could the fertizer that you are searching (your mind) for be Superthrive? I use that a lot. Only a drop goes a long way...

Evelyn

BB...a few coleus. They're not real big sellers for me so I don't do more than 3-4/15 count trays. In fact the last two years I have over grown/propagated so I'm being fairly conservative this year. Only doing a couple 10 count trays or 10-12 gallons per new varieties for this coming year.

Normaly herb sales are good but the last two years have been bad even on those so I won't be doing as much for 2010 market.But I will say,customers didn't balk at prices on bay or lemon grass this year. So,I quit trying to predict what will be the norm from year to year.

eve, yes it is SUperthrive. Got a small lil pint of it cost $10.. but its worth it. Later I go to chicken poo tea when I run out and plants are outside.

Red, I would be interested in your cuttings, coleus, mums, whatever... I have Kong. Liked it its huge. I will put a few assorted in your box too later when I send the baby sunroses.

Have you tried combo pots??

Yes,I'v e done combo's but they didn't sell well....only 2 out of 6

Probably cuz there to heavy for the average "ma" shopper to move...They are glorious, but I think the moving them are a turn off. Yano how it is to bust yer own hump at the market...

The deer ate all of my "snaps". Well, they are still in the ground, so I will have to check and see if they survived the recent low temps (18 degrees or lower) we had after the almost two feet of snow that we had a couple of weeks ago. We also were without power for two days as well. Those PG&E guys that climb up on the poles in all sorts of weather really deserve a medal of honor. Even all hours of day or night as they worked around the clock checking out all the downed lines. We had 20,000 people without power for 2 days and some going on the third day.

OK, enough about my bad weather. I am in zone 8, and I have had several last from one year to the next, and sometimes for more than two years. If it isn't deer or the weather, well, if I leave them in the ground, they come back nicely. I should probably move them to my small fenced area and grow them on, spray them with repellant and then put them back in the "Peach of a Garden" for next year. It is raining right now. Maybe it will wash out the remainder of the dirty snow left on the road by the snowplow. Can anyone recommend any nice snap in a peach color? Oh, I DO love my snaps! They smell so good as well. I have 'Black Prince' in the "Dark Side Garden". Also what would be a really nice white for my "White Flower Border"?


Evelyn

Well, theres a mix called Jamacian Mist that has all sorts of lovely pastel shades, theres Twinny Peach or how about Montego Sunset. Theres a terra cotta mix by Crown. YOu almost have to get a mix to single out the peachy ones.. BUt I think Twinny Peach is about the only one that comes in a single color. Well, least as so far that I have found.

I am sure there are others.

Have you tried just googling peach snapdragons?

So sorry about your weather. So far we have only about an inch... 'fraid that is not gonna last though. They are talking rainy sleet....not good weather for travel.

Just got two new cats today... P, I found that one I was telling you about for baskets!

OK, Burpees has one called Lemon Lollipops. Its a sweet looking dwarf with kind of a peachy mouth...

I like their Titti Fruiti mix and the Plumblossom. Plumblossom is tall.

Grew the Snapdragon "Plum Blossom" last winter. Took this picture of 'em on April 22, 2009

WOW.. thaaat tall!? Hmmm, pretty, but I would be having to stake them in my pithpoor dirt. Those look plumbs 4' tall like the brochure!

Yeah, they get to be about 3-4 feet tall and they have unusually thick and sturdy stems. I have to stake all my tall snaps Blossom. They get one stake when they're about 12-18 inches tall and that does the trick for the entire winter. When they get a bit bushy I tend to cut off most of the lower outward branching stems. Those blooms are very small and pruning them back seems to promote more upward branching. This winter I'm growing "Rocket Bronze" Snapdragons in that same location.

Jon

Bronze Dragon looks cool, just saw that one in T&M ..

and then theres Double Madame Butterfly... boy that one looks fluffy!

Im really liking that Twinny Peach though.. they claim the flower is so tight on it the bees have trouble crawling in which they say prolongs the blooming period....? huh? go figure?! I was having issues on going with this one or Lantern for baskets...

Jeez, theres just too many nice ones on the menu and not enough budget!

Then I have to go and find a sweet pea for hanging baskets.. jeez, "sugar and spice" how nice....LOL!

I really need to quite looking in the catalogs.. they are making me sad!

Nah, keep looking at the catalogs and just prioritize Blossom. Personally I'll just circle things I like and write the page numbers on the front of each catalog. That way when you do feel like ordering a few things, you can quickly jump right to your favorites and decide what to order.

Lots of people have been mentioning "Twinny Peach". Maybe you better write that page number on the front of the catalog!!! LOL