Starting seeds, Part 4

The red is a quince. It's the first plant I bought for the garden, in '07.

My petunia cuttings are doing well, not the tomatoes. I think the pieces were too small. I started them late this year, and had them under very bright lights, 2 4' T-5's, and they didn't stretch. The stems are quite sturdy as well. Usually I'm fighting long gangly things, it's quite a change.

The few zinnias and cosmos are coming along, petunias blooming like mad, basil, parsley, lobelia all fine. Impatiens Balsamina looks good, but no I Balfourii. I took those seeds from a couple of volunteers last fall, didn't have many to start with. Oh well, there's always next year.

Most everything is out at the house, only 2 trays left here, and only 2 weeks to go until planting time. Maybe I'll start a few cukes and some squash...

Our last frost is usually around May 24th ,but our forecast shows a dip to 0ºC on the 28th.
Holding off planting out unless I can cover it with a sheet or something.
I have most of my large containers in the driveway so can throw a tarp over if frost threatens.
I also have one of those plastic tent type "greenhouses" which will hold off a slight frost.
I water well if frost threatens and place pails of water in the tent greenhouse.
I keep cardboard boxes etc. so plants can be covered quickly.

Your tent sound like my covered stand. Mine has not gone under 34 F for weeks, even though we've had drops to 29. I use self-watering trays, which must help stabilize temps. I leave the door zippers undone most of the time and there are many splits in the plastic cover for ventilation. I have the whole thing covered in Reemay to soften direct sun (not all day, mostly filtered by tall trees) and also give frost protection. It's working so far...

warriorswisdomKathy just sent me a dmail asking me to let people know something's wrong on her computer and she can't get the forums to load. She'll be back once the problem is fixed, but meanwhile she can't post, but she can dmail. I hope it's soon...

Yup, Melanie here at Dave's fixed it..... So have busy, still on cleanup and weeding duty..a couple more days and I'll be finished with the main border. then I need to do most of the ground out back...some of the grasses I rototilled last fall are coming up and scads of weed seed (mostly annual tho). Rounup is ready!!!! I figure it will take me up to a week to clean up the mess.

My Zinnias were started inside so I can figure out where I want them planted. I should start some of my vines too, atleast then I know they will germinate... So many times I put seed out and forget about them. Am thinking the only veggies I'll have are the tomatoes this year...just too many other things to keep me busy this year. Ok, you all have a great evening..Later!!!

I feel the same way about starting another bunch of stuff. Tomatoes have already been potted up. I did a few Zinns and Cosmos, and just today I decided to get the cukes going. They should be germinated by next week when we head back to the house. Greens and Squash I'll sow in the garden, thats easy enough. But I'm definitely buying Marigolds and whatever extra annuals and herbs I find I need to fill in. Right now I think I have sooooo much... Then every year it's the same thing: I wish I had less to plant of some things and more of others.

Kathy I'm no good with cuttings so I was quite surprised that the petunias cuttings worked in just damp soil watered only once in a while. I kept them over winter and was amazed.

Pam didn't you say you took petunias cuttings in addition to your tomatoes?

I took my seed shelves out to the back porch today. I wasn't getting anything done inside, just waiting for the temps to stabilize. I don't think we'll dip into the 40s again(fingers crossed)!

Yes, the petunias cuttings, really small bits, stayed green after a week so I have hopes. The tomato cuttings don't look so good. They were also very small, and the watering tray they were on went dry. So far there are 2 or 3 left that might make it. I'll try again though with bigger pieces when I put the plants in the ground. I always strip them and plant deep so there will be more to work with.

Did I understand that you kept petunia cuttings right through the winter?
That would be excellent for some which seeds are so expensive.

No, these were snipped from seedlings to make them bushier. But it seems reasonable that fall cuttings might work. Maybe someone else knows?

Pfg,
I have found that cutting don't root as well fall and winter, as they do in the spring and summer. Possible light intensity, etc may have something to do with it. At least this holds true for houseplants. My daughter also found it that way with Russian Olive cuttings.

I walked around and checked my iris seedlings from 2010 today. Lord behold, there is a definite lump inside the fans, which will proves to be a bud. Had some bloom last year from 2010 but I think it all depends on the genetic makeup of the seedling. Anyway, I am tickled pink. Now the waiting game begins.

>> I have found that cutting don't root as well fall and winter, as they do in the spring and summer.

I've read that most cuttings have a better chance if taken while a shoot is young and growing rapidly.

I wouldn't know from my own exoperie4nce. I haven't tried in ages, since anything I tried to root, rotted instead.

Maybe that's why it's advised for Pelargoniums to bring one inside and take cuttings from new growth in January/ February.

Congratulations on the iris buds!

Oh how exciting, new babies coming into bloom!!! I was thrilled to see my dwarf iris pop open the other day so you must be just sooo excited.... lol. We want pix!!!!! Above you had mentioned Russian Olive, do you have any that are rooted I could trade for? I would love to get a few........ They are soooo fragrant and no longer on the market for sale... Kathy

Just a few of my DWARF IRIS BLOOMS
Forgive the Weeds for Mother Nature has Hehe Just haven't gotten to that Bed yet .
Getting hot out & I have to come in before I Fry :)

Beautiful! And you managed to keep the mess out of the pics, so we would never have known if you hadn't told us, lol.

Good tips about rooting. I've done very little, and only the very easiest things. Hmmmm...

Nice photos! Even prettier in person. Things are popping up all over the yard - things that were grown from seed and eaten or knocked down and I didn't think I'd see again -Poof!- There it is. :)

About the petunias - I'm shrugging my shoulders as nothing I do with regard to cuttings has any basis in fact or fiction. I just did it because a white petunia showed up where the year before there had been a purple and white striped petunia. A plant had been frosted over or something and I cut just a few pieces and inserted them in damp soil in pots. Kept them barely watered but in nice south facing window over winter. I was so pleased when they started to bloom over winter. I'm the only person who probably has a hard time rooting Pelargoniums. So anyway. Dumb luck is all, but when those plants are on their way out at the end of the season it can't hurt to try anything.

I will keep trying and getting braver but my success rate is not very high with cuttings. Although I did manage to root a cutting from a tiny rose last summer as well. ;)

Dwarf Iris are just (so far only 2), beginning here, your's are sooo pretty Susie!!!

Seeded in the Border: (insitu), more to do yet, filling in where there are gaps
Cosmos b. Rubenza
Papaver s. Frilly (a red and white one)
Papaver Red (not sure if peony or somniferums)
Papaver p. Berries and Cream
Papaver s. Purple
Nicotiana s. Heaven Scent Mix
Cleome Rose Queen
Lavatera Loveliness Mixed
Zinnia Green Envy
Centaurea americana
Tithonia Torch
Polygonum orientale Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate, the others I seeded this winter will go out back in the new garden.

Whew, anyone else been seeding annuals? I'm hoping do dig some plants soon (Susie and Pam), got the back yard to work on, hoping to start tomorrow, weeding and then spraying the grasses that are popping up. Then will do some digging while the wild grasses are dying off.

Second morning with the lows in the 30*s yet, so things are still slow here, sometimes is a disadvantage living so high up!!! Trees are just beginning to leaf out here. Ok, got to get the gkids again today so later all, (have some more to do in my daughter's garden this afternoon). Have a wonderful day all!!! Kathy

Two days to go before getting to the garden.... Feels like it's been a month. But then we're there for 10 days straight, I hope to get a lot done.

The NY kitchen garden will be shut down, all plants going to CT. Most of the perennials are there already, only herbs and annuals left. Basil, Parsley, Cukes Little Fingers and Bush Pickle, Petunias Storm & Easy Wave, Cosmos Versailles Blush & Klondike, Zinnias Envy & Oklahoma White, Impatiens Balsamina, annual Lobelia, Sweet Alyssum. Also 4 Clematis from a co-op, Lavandula Phenomenal, and Alocasia Mojito. The last 2 are from a nursery on LI. I used to live there, and just love this place, Lynch's in Southampton. The lavender is supposed to be huge and extra cold-hardy, no winter die-back. My Munsted looked kind of ragged last time I saw it two weeks ago. I hope it's filled in by now. I just had to try this new one- well, 3 actually. I'll put 1 where I want it, 1 where it might like it, and 1 where I'm sure it will be happy, then see what happens. Wasn't it Jekyll who said that? Or maybe Margery Fish?

And the Alocasia is just fab, had to have it!

Soooo... I have lots and lots of seeds to direct sow, as well, but none of the areas been ready yet... Grrrrr....
No point in seeding when I still have to move plants, around, right?! I did stick a few things in 4" pots in the Spring Sown boxes, but when we left I had to put them all in the covered stand on watering trays so they wouldn't dry out in case it didn't rain enough. WWK's Ammi majus Rubra already germinated- thanks, Kathy! Also Verbena Bonariensis, even though it comes upon its own I always seed more for a head start. I forget what else had come up, but there was still no sign of Larkspur, I remember that. So far I have not been successful with that, usually because I can't sow it at the right time in the right place. I think I was too late again this year, its spot wasn't ready when we first got up there this spring.

But I have lots of annual poppies, nigella, Nasturtiums...

Sunflowers and more C Klondike in the new area by the tall grasses (lower lawn, to the right of the big Rhodie), Tromboncino Squash as groundcover while I wait for perennials to fill in...

Can't wait!

Can seed in the larkspur when you get home, mine are just now sprouting. Gosh have to remember the verbena, got find my pack..lol. More seeding today:

Zinnias, Oklahoma mix
Nictiana again (other side of the border)
Alyssum in both white and purple

Headed back out now to see what more I can get in this evening. Also Pam, do you give your Lavender a haircut in the spring, it helps to take off the ragged edges and also makes the plants bushier.. Ok enough gotta get back outside...Later all. Kathy

I usually wait until I see growth on Lavender, then skim off the dead ends. If they get cut too far back too early, they might not make it.

When did you seed your larkspur? Was it still chilly? I've been reading the earlier the better...

First year I seeded them in was about now (May), now they come up in various places.

I've also had Lavender reseed in the garden, just a few so far..

More seed in:
Poppy "Fruit Punch"
Cosmos b. "Double Click Cranberries"
Scabiosa "Beaujolais Bonnets", anyone grown these, packet says they are hardy Z7-9, will they bloom first year and reseed or come back in my Z5 or 6...

Still burry here, this morning only 39* at 10am. Where's my Hot Chocholate? LOL. Kathy

It's pouring here in the city. There was just a huge burst of rolling thunder that would wake the dead...

One more day... I've been dismantling the kitchen garden set-up, washing stuff and getting it ready to put away. Only 2 flats left to go...

We got here Friday, and it rained almost continuously until last night. Temps were in the 40's during the day and mid 30's at night, so no hardening off until today. It just got to 55, the tomatoes are out, Platys and salvias next, in dappled sun. Basil, cukes and petunias staying in for one more cold night, then temps should go way up.

Everything that was outside during the deluge is fine- Campanula White Clips, Alchemilla, all the Dianthus, Aquilegia, Digitalis and a few other odds and ends. The snaps in the miniGH are also fine. Peas, beets, lettuce doing well in one veggie bed covered with frost blanket. So are the weeds, lol

All the Platycodons that have been blooming the last couple of months have stopped now. I'm hoping they get going again once they get planted with lots of good stuff. I will try clipping a few long stems to see if they will root. Any advice?

I now have 3 babies that are rooting from cuttings on the Platys. I just made sure there was atleast one node in the soil and atleast one pair of leaves above....keep 'em damp. ( Only one keeled over and didn't make it so far, but it's been several weeks so I'm guessing the other 3 are rooting).

Great! My P Perlmutter double has 3 good stems, stopped blooming 2 weeks ago. The tallest stem is just beginning to bud out, so I left it and cut the other two back, hoping for a bushier plant. The two cuttings are about 4" long. I stripped the leaves of 3 or 4 nodes, dipped in rooting powder--very old packet, never opened, better than nothing. The remaining leaves (3) I cut in half. Watered in well with the usual SuperThrive/ peroxide mix, then set the pot on a self watering tray.

Many sites say to cover with plastic, but I'm thinking it will stay wet enough on the tray. I lost geraniums cuttings by covering them, they rotted, so I'm afraid to do it now. I really hope this works, it's very scary to have the one and only plant, especially since it stopped blooming. My double white (which I think must be one of its parents because of the similar growth habit) only bloomed once the year I got it. The next year it went all summer. I hate to wait two years before I can get seed from this one!

I transplanted the plant into a self-watering 9" pot with a good potting mix and compost. The root system had just shown through the bottom of the 5" pot it was in, so it was good timing. Now it's just wait and see if the cuttings take, if the plant blooms again. Fingers crossed...

The rooted petunia cuttings from a few weeks ago are growing. The tomato cuttings aren't dead, but so far nothing's happening with them. So I have hope!

Lol....I hate to say it but I only clipped them and stuck them in soil....funny, hope thy root for you..they should with as much care as you gave them.. Mine are sitting on the porch now, moved out of the house a few weeks ago, but in constant shadeand stilll hanging in there... Ok, back outside, got digging to do for a box going out this week!!!!! lol, suprises, ok , I'll see if I can find one, I bought it special!!!!!! Later, Kathy (PS, I just have to remember to get it into the box!!!!!)

I took all that care because it's the only plant like it, feels like a huuuuge responsibility! How long before yours looked like they were rooting? Or I should say, how long since you clipped them and they haven't croaked?

Gorgeous day here finally. All my babies want to get in the ground!

Am thinking the first one is about 3 weeks or more old and other two were done a week later...still looking good and no wilting at all.

Although I didn't read all the many previous posts, and this might be someone else's method, here is how I start most of my hard shelled seeds. I nick them & soak them in warm water overnight, but here is where I do my own thing & put the seeds, after they have swollen, into a moist napkin or paper towel & inside a plastic ziplock bag until they have formed roots and then plant them. They do not rot or mildew because they are in a more or less clean environment. Enclosed is a picture of Maribel Haricot vert French beans which will be planted in the veggie garden within the next couple days.

This message was edited Jun 4, 2013 11:40 PM

I'm curious...how do you nick them without cutting yourself...I gave up trying for fear of cutting myself..lol. Great idea...I should try it as I've not started my veggies yet...I know I'm late,,,but spring has just arrived here. Last week we had temps in the low 30*s but just barely above freezing....

Hey Pam, don't know what happened but one of my cutting just disappeared, poof, gone. Critter on the porch....lol. Not sure, but did take more cuttings of some of the other plants that I was potting on the other day.

I use a very fine fingernal clipper or an emery board. On very large thick coated, I have had to use a dremel or grinder.

I can't remember for what seed I'd read with a particularly tough seedcoat to pour boiling water over them and let them sit overnight.

I did this with the impossible to germinate corkscrew vine, V. caracalla and had 100% germination for twelve seeds. The whole "nicking" the seedcoat is so unscientific as to be a dangerous proposition for both me and the success of the seed. I was very happy with this method and will use it in the future for any other hard coated seed.

Buttonneer- I think it's a good method if it works for you. I had some haricort verts I started last week simply by putting them in the ground. Of course, our soil may be a bit warmer, but I wasn't aware they were supposed to need scarfication.

lol, thanks! Was wondering....

The last time I nicked seeds they completely fell apart... Oops! I've read you can rub them on sandpaper to thin down the seed coat, haven't tried it yet. Boiling water sounds interesting...

As of Sunday when we left, my petunia cuttings were growing new leaves, the little tomato trimmings hadn't decided whether to live or die, and the 2 Platy cuttings looked great. They're all inside on self-watering trays under lights. I'll see them again Friday.

Is it too late to broadcast Larkspur seeds? They didn't come up in my spring-sown box, and the garden wasn't ready for direct sowing. Neither was the gardener, lol.

Try them Pam, i they don't make it let me know I have a ton of mix seed I could share....(white, pink and blue).

Wanted to tell you of my three cuttings that are rooting, one totally disappeared... I figured it out today, neighbors cat was on the porch so I'm guessing it got pawed at or something similar....thought I saw footprints on a few things...

That seems so unfair, when you think of all the other things that could go wrong!

The scarification on the Haricot verts was to see how much I could speed up the germination.