Plant Propagation - the Basics, March 2017

Asclepias is finicky to grow. You could go threw a thousand seeds with nothing, or a thousand starts. Tuberosa has places it wont grow in Ga, but right across the state line into Tn it grows everywhere. I havent seen anywhere in Tx that I have seen it, so you have a problem with location also lurking.
I think my def is freezing its feed, am in shop waiting diagnosis tho. It did tag a code on the dash that lets a mechanic find a solution, but I got my load delivered first, so now I wait. Snowy outsideq

I have 3 or 4 growing here that I started a couple of years ago when we had a wet cold winter. Going to try the fridge out.

After the stratification the prescription I found on the internet called for a heat mat, I think Texas can do that without the mat by May

I usually start Morning Glories indoors and they do well.I harden them off before I plant them on the garden .I put them in containers and add Treliss to them.

I am going to put out morning glory and Hawaiian moonflower vine seeds today if I remember. (not datura, it is an invasive here)

I couldn't even imagine being over-run by Datura...

Me either Robin. It's amazing how geography has an effect on things!!

20 feet wide returned 3 or 4 years from the main root which got all the way under my house, was still digging up seedlings in that flower bed 5 years later. It was amazing, never planting again, and the stuff is poisonous if a dog or cat eats it

I had no idea they were that bad Gypsi, of course I believe you! I just couldn't imagine being over-run by a tropical plant (it's a Northern thing).

Datura is jimsonweed to cattle owners- locoweed. Not loved. (Close anyway to our native) Hawaiin, huh? Searching...I like that one. MG just get thrown out and stand back, sigh...

Oh, so that's what locoweed is.

I can never remember the name. they are SO fragrant, just heavenly.

Ipomoea alba

Germination takes heat. I tried to start indoors once, all failed, seed taken from prior year. Dumped in front flowerbed full sun, didn't cover, it did get watered, and one by one they started popping open. I transplanted, and used a toothpick or straw to keep cutworms from getting them. They bloom until fall once they get going. Grow with blue morning glories for day and night blooms

OK Robin, I think it was you that was silly enough to say you enjoyed my "off the wall" topics so here goes.
As you are aware I just came through a week of having up to all 4 of my young apprentices (grandchildren). Kira, the oldest ;age 10 , who is a lot like grandpa, a bit of an extremist in everything she does, left me with a very difficult challenge. I guess a very pretty butterfly for these parts picked my greenhouse to spend the winter in. Unfortunately with the heat now on it has woken up way too early. While she was here she was putting out feed for it; sections of clementine oranges and grapes sliced open to make the juice accessible. When she left she left me a detailed instruction sheet on how to take care of the butterfly. Does anyone know if this is the right way to feed a butterfly? Any other suggestions? Until this morning I thought I had failed already because I hadn't seen it since she left Saturday night. But this morning I was out there doing some seeding for a while and all of a sudden I heard it flying against the glass.

UPDATE
OMG! I actually got a bunch of pictures of the butterfly feeding on a piece of cut grape. I guess Kira knew what she was talking about. I was not a believer but now I am

very wise grandchild. this early heat wave is throwing everything off schedule

Wow Keith, what a great story. Tell Kira I love her!

Uh, thats not a butterfly. Maybe a moth, or even a skipper, but not a butterfly. Wish I was better at id tho!

Have to be truthful, I don't really know the difference, but that may explain why I didn't come up with a positive ID when I googled brown and orange butterfly. I will try moth. Thanks Kitt.

No luck with positive ID as either butterfly or moth. Also having trouble sifting through the differences between moths and butterflies. From the way I read the differences I see 2 traits that make me lean toward butterfly. It is active during the day not night and it folds its wings vertical versus tent shape against its body. The fuzzy body seems to indicate moth but lots of butterflies pictured in Google have fuzzy bodies. For now we will call it a pretty insect unless someone has a positive ID

Keith, be sure to send Kira the picture. That is really cool. Doesn't matter, moth, butterfly, bumblebee. It is hers. Jen

Thanks guys.
Jen, I sent a copy to both parents right away as that was one of the instructions on the list, to keep her informed.

Keith , that has antennae that is a butterfly (apologies Katt ) Moths have all fuzzy hair with no bulbous on the ends , That is a Northern that we do not see here Looks like one of the Emperor Butterflies to me though There are over 6,000 types of those

Hi Ju and Evelyn
Thanks for your input. Ju, I was hoping you would jump in to my rescue as I have taken notice of your knowledge on this subject. I did scan through the pictures on Google for Emperor butterflies and didn't really find a match but as you said there are so many and they vary a lot. There are some gorgeous blues in there. And Evelyn I scanned through Mourning Cloak and don't really think that is the answer either.
About all I have concluded out of this is what I already knew before and that is that Google is not a very reliable source of accurate information. When I do a search of "brown and orange butterfly" and scan through all of the pictures there are many obviously moth pictures in the lineup and also when you do find a close match and click on it a lot of them aren't named. They will just be labeled as things like "U.K. Butterflies" or "butterfly with orange and yellow wings".

Well Robin I guess this "off the wall" topic has stirred up enough discussion for now. Glad you enjoyed it . I will pass on all the comments to Kira. Here she is with a crappie that she caught on the weekend fishing with her dad and Reece. It is currently in their freezer with discussions ongoing about having it mounted. Her dad says it's the biggest crappie he has ever seen. My daughter is having a fit. Not sure who is going to win that one!

Well, after a little more digging I am relatively convinced we may be looking at a tortoiseshell butterfly. This is how I arrived at that conclusion. I found it quite surprising that a butterfly would overwinter as an adult in this cold climate. So I asked Google how a butterfly over winters and the answer I got is that most overwinter as either a caterpillar or a pupa, however a few, mostly tortoiseshell and anglewings overwinter as adults in hollow trees or crevices in wooden structures. Upon examination of the 2 it looks more like a tortoiseshell and we are in their range. Attached picture is pasted from Google. The script said that overwintered adults would be paler and more ragged looking. What do you think

Oh my, Kira's a little beauty too. Thanks for the Butterfly adventure, that was fun. I think you've got a match, it looks like a slightly more ragged and paler Tortoiseshell.

Keith I use to go fishing every chance I could Biggest crappie I ever saw was 5 pds and about 4 or 6 ounces , It was a tie for records status back then ,
I have seen a couple 3 or 4 pound Bluegills also , Stand there a minute looking at those wondering for a second if that is what they are , lol

Those aren't common here (the Butterfly ) as said more northern i don't see , but that looks correct , The antennae and wing pattern matches ,

wow I have missed a lot! I grow morning glorys all year around. I have the space and the light downstairs. I read in my journal I tried out my texas red star and the Kopper King so maybe that is what has popped up. I do grow daturas, three of them, but they don't travel far from home here. I have grown almost everything inside, and move them out to the garage or front porch first to get used to being out, and then to their spots. I found the best method for morning glorys of all kinds including alba and lavender moon vine is in a water bottle with fast draining medium. My e and N keys still stick when I am typig fast, sorry. *sigh* I also started milkweeds in a gallo jug winter sow last year they grew fine after transplanting, hope to see them again. Pretty excited to uncover the lillies from Ju. Moved the now blooming tomatoes ad four blooming peppers out to the garage already. Back to work tomorrow, I am "demoted" now and supposed to be on retirement road, faster tha I had planned, so I am not in a very good mood about anything right now, but am glad to see th pics of th buttrflys from you Kitt,.

saying Hi Debra . Hope those return for you , also love the little seedlings
I forgot to say above
1 cabbage
2 spearmint
3 peas
4 beets

Neat butterfly story. and Debra good to see you. and now, sleep.

Well, I got one out of four Ju and that's not good for my team. Of course if I had seedlings up at this time, I could have done better. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day I get to spend doing that.

Isn't that a kick in the teeth Debra, you gave them the best years of your life. Dang. I bet you make a mean lemonade tho...

Robin , myself when it comes to guessing seedling id ,,

well the picture says it

I am hoping when I retire to brush up on what id talent I once had- the impetus is slowing tho. Hang in Debra- the closer it gets to retirement the harder it is to wait- no matter whose idea it is.

well my tomato seedlings in the crappy soil from home depot are a whopping 2 inches tall. Most of them. the 2 on the pond, well they are about 6 inches

Keith, the majority of butterflies I see are those attached to my radiator grill. If I were a northern butterfly, I would have much more fur than that one does. Good for the id! Me sleep too, long day...

some echinacea

1 white swan or raspberry
2 old native purple
3 one of two smooth blue Aster
4 Gizmo

I just find it absolutely amazing that they can find anywhere to survive this brutality over winter. They even go kind of dormant over night in the heated greenhouse. Usually after the sun goes down I have no idea where he is until the sun warms things back up the next day and he starts fluttering around. Tuesday morning when I went out he was laying on his side, wings totally closed and as far as I could tell he was dead, but I didn't touch him. An hour or so later I went out and he had changed positions but still looked lifeless. But shortly as I got things warmed up a bit he sprang back to life. What a relief because I did not want to be the bearer of bad news to Kira. Aren't you looking forward to retirement when things like this can be the most stress you have in a day?? Haha!

Yes they re quite resilient (as for thte planet is always cooking up something

1 The seeds that germinated were all the ones that were floating
2 the Daffodils
3 The Penstemon beginning to grow
4 Prairie Coreopsis
5 The red bee balm from Debra

JU, my sister sent me a planted bunch of bulbs for my birthday a while back. I made the mistake, I think it was, of having them in the house because if was freezing nights. Of course all of a sudden they were several inches high and had fat things I thought were buds. Well, I put them outside to slow them down and how they are about 8 inches high and have leaves. I thought they would bloom before the leaves came out??? I think some are tulips, some crocuses, maybe some daffs, there is an Amaryllis in the middle that shows no sign of life. Can you help me on this? I do not grow bulbs so not a clue. jen