Painted tongue

Painted tongues are blooming. This is a keeper.

Those are really pretty! I had them ordered this year from GMTransplants, but all the problems that they had, I never received them. Hopefully next year!

Thank you Brinda, I really like them too! I had tried once before to grow them with no success, then this last winter I ordered the seed from seedsavers & they came with directions. They need surface sow & darkness to germinate. I did that and WOW! I had a crop you cannot believe! Well worth growing again. But they fall over so I am gonna do it differently next year.
Donna

I'm saving seeds so I can grow again next year. They DO like to flop around! I tried putting them in a hanging basket but they look awkward, so I suppose planting them with little twigs to hold them upright is in order for next year.

I agree, they need SOME support, I think I am gonna try shorter bushy plants around them. I love the purples! I have a few, and some that are tannish? guess that is the color, but mostly the yellows. I still have seed left from seedsavers, they give you so many seeds, so even if I don't get much gathered I will still be ok.

I have the purple with yellow tongue and lavender/blue with yellow tongue. They are beautiful but lanky and floppy. I can't remember if I pinched the seedlings or not, but they sure don't look like I did. lol I thought maybe they were hot, but I guess it's just part of the deal with this one. Did you get a bushier multi stem plant by pinching?

If you are thinking mine is bushy from the pic, it is an illusion. They are just stalks with flowers on top. There are some plants behind it that give the appearance of fullness. I have come up with a creative idea for next year. Don't know if I can describe it, but I can see it in my mind. Here goes, lol.
I want to put those plant rings in my beds for support but they are too expensive for me, I need too many. I want to put them really close together so I need to make my own. I am gonna buy more of the really big tomato cages, mine are like 5 feet tall and have 4-5 rings, can't remember without going to look, and then I am gonna cut the wires that go down (legs) right above each ring. So when I am done I will have 4-5 rings with long legs, just like the ones you buy only not fancy. So for the price of the cage, I will get 4-5 rings and I can afford to put them all over & then just let all my tall lanky stuff grow right up through them & the wire is so small that I don't think they will even be visible once the plant grows through it. What do you think?

Sounds like it would work to me! I had a couple of my tomato cages 'rings' pop their sauder this year though. But if they're new they should be okay for a while. I also needed some peony style rings this year but could only find the open ring ones, so I tied a piece of chicken wire across the top. Same diff, ya know? lol

Oh, and thanks for making me feel better about my spaghetti flowers. lol

LOL, your welcome. It's nice to know we ALL have spaghetti, huh? LOL
I think I am gonna invest in a solder gun if I do this, cuz your right, the mater cages DO pop loose all the time. Bet if I did them myself they would be more secure. And if I recall from my earlier years following dad around, it is an easy task of just brushing on some flux & melting the solder wire. Good idea. Thanks!

de nada :)

It seems that salpiglossis come in some more compact cultivars. I think they are one of the more unrecognized beauties of the annuals. The colors remind me of a tapestry or an old carpet bag. Chocolate Royale is a beauty when accompanying lighter colors: http://www.anniesannuals.com/signs/s/Salpiglossis_sinuata_PT.htm