Things you just CANT grow!

Ivy, lobelia is one of those plants that needs to be transplanted in small bunches. The seeds are so small that it is easy to overplant and get spindly seedlings that don't do very well. I mix sand with the seeds to spread them thinner and evenly. I start mine quite early indoors, then transplant them by small clumps to cell packs. Later, I can pop the plugs into the soil where I want them... usually baskets. I find less is more when planting bunches of them to the cell packs. Too big a clump and none seem to do as well. When transplanting tiny seedlings, try not to touch the stems, but rather lift them by their leaves, not pull.

Thanks, Weezingreens. Should I not try to mix them in with other plants? Even when I buy them as transplants or in a hanging pot they die. Other people in my area seem to have them all summer. I have tried them on my west facing home in part shade on one side, full sun on the other. The seeds actually did better than the store bought ones. I've tried for 5 years every year. NO luck.

Well, the heat of summer may be an issue. Our summers are quite mild and they never die back. Maybe somebody from your area will pop in hear and offer enlightenment.

Mine are poppies,this year I tossed out around 500 seeds and have another 500 to sow.Not going to try pots,I here they don't like to be transplanted.:(
coleus -duh maybe someone can tell me how to germinate them too.
I've had bother good and bad luck with passifloras some take right off some never did anything at all.
I took about 1000 columbines mixed every kind I had and tossed them out along the woodline.I hope they didn't all get eatin by critters,that would be my luck.
Since I've been ill,my seed wants are much bigger than what I can start and keep up with.lol.
Thought I'd try a lot of different seeds the way mother nature does it and grow only my special seeds unside in flats.
By the way if anyone wants any kind of seeds,I may just have it., Please post or send me an e-mail,I'm looking for things I don't have and I have all my lists typed up and in separate ziplocks so I can locate them all.heehee I don't have my list on Dave's set up i did it last year and I keep my lists on g/w.I plan to move everything over here as soon as I figure out how to do it all in one category.
Anyone have that info,maybe weezyinggreens knows.
Thanks,jody
Maybe we can work out a trade.
Thanks for all the great reading on this tread,weezy your to funny.lol.Jody

Verbena - I've had little luck with them - always get leggy and bedraggled looking in my hanging pots so I eventually take pity on them and pull them out so they can have a decent burial. :)

Never had an african violet I didn't kill. Killing two now under my grow lights! LOL!

roseone,
Get them to a window sill, let them dry totally and water by setting the pots in a bowl with warm Violet fertilized (1/2 amount) water.
pinch out dead flowers. Brush keaves with special brush you use only for this to clean.
Good luck.

Thanks Sugarweed, I think it's too late for one of them but I'll try that with the other one. But this has been going on for at least 30 years, so by now I ought to know to stop buying them. :-)

Alocasia sanderiana 'Nobilis'. No matter what I tried, leaf after leaf either rotted off or went yellow. All I have left is a rhyzome with and a two-inch with little hope of it ever coming back :(

Nasturtiums. Tried to grow them last year... They were miserable and finally croaked.

Boy, we must have just the right conditions for nasties here! I thought they'd grow anywhere, but I guess not. They prefer cool, moist weather, but are also prone to get some sort of disease that turns the leaves yellow.

Doh! I transplanted them in the hottest area of my garden and didn't water them very much. My bad. I thought these guys were sun-worshipers. No yellow leaves, just little growth. Planning to try again this coming year.

Nasties like sun, but I don't think they do well in intense heat... of course, not having 'intense heat', I can't say that for sure. I do know they like our cool climate. I grow them in good soil, keep them watered but with good drainage, and we don't get blooms until the latter part of summer. I think the reason it is suggested they do OK in poor soil is that good soil will produce good foliage, and a stressed plant will bloom its little head off to produce seeds... more flowers, less foliage... just a guess.

Weez,
That must be why they never did well for me here in Ga. Too hot I guess, even when I grew them in part shade. I love them and think theyre gorgeous but just cant grow either them- or poppies. :(

Now Black-eyed Susan vine I cant get rid of, but I kill everything else- even Ivy!! Go figure!!

Oh boy. I really tortured them last summer then. I planted them in sun-baked clay soil right by a wall that happens to be close to a sidewalk so were constantly broiled. Poor things. I've now amended that entire bed, digging down 24". I added in a lot of organic compost, perlite, peat moss, and even some potting soil. The fun part was mixing it into every wheelbarrow load of that crappy clay. Glad my DH was so willing to help.

This one is called "Alaska Salmon"

Weezingreens, that is beautiful! The foliage is so stunning. My neighbor plants her plain nasturtiums at the side of her house right out my window- Maybe I'll get her some seeds!

Weezingreens, where did you get the Alaska salmon seeds? Did you pick all the salmon ones out of a mix? I can't find any place that sells just salmon colored Alaska nasturtiums.

Ivy, I got the seeds from Select: http://www.selectseeds.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/03119.3.56671943437718603227 The flowers on mine were considerably lighter than the ones pictured on the link, as you can see from my photo. I collected a few seeds last summer, so I'm going to plant them and see if they come back true.

Thanks once again! I decided to grow them myself, but when I looked on Select Seeds, they didn't look right . If I grow them in a pot, it won't matter which color they are. I can move them anywhere. Of course, I have about 30 packets of seeds already! I keep thinking I can grow them all and save money, but then I buy too many!

Yes, the color was much darker than mine, but that's where I got the seed. I bought another package this year, and if they come out the same, I should be able to get some seeds from them. Maybe next season I'll have some for trade.

I have a bunch of nasturtium seeds I want to grow this year. When is a good time to start them inside? Is it okay to start them inside or are they best directly sowed after last frost?

In your neck of the woods, you can probably plant them outdoors as soon as the soil warms up a bit. I have such as short season here that I start them indoors in paper pots. I start them about 5 weeks before the last danger of frost.

Read this suggestion by Dora777 about Nastys
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62233/index.html

I don't think Nastys would survive our wet, sunless (usually) winters. I think I'm going to take my chances and sow the seeds directly in many locations once it warms up a little. We're in the 60's during the day, but still a little chilly at night (low 40's).

Sugarweed, those are a bit different kind of tropaeolum than T. majus. Also, Dora is growing them in a zone 9. Emily, I'd direct sow them as soon as the nights warm a bit.

I sure wouldn't do this anywhere north of here, and yes, I discovered this morning that they are different Weeze. Emiko got the seeds from the UK.
I am more intriged than ever. Emiko and I have been e-mailing each other and she/he(?) has the reg nasties germinating in the house. Mine are all outside, but it's 40 lowest temps from here on until Nov.

Tropaeolum has some wonderful species. Canary bird vine also grows well here. Many of the others, like the ones that make tubers, have to be stored indoors over the winter.

Well there's obviously another garden door that becons me. A year ago, I had never heard of so many things although I was aiways an avid gardener. I'll be checking out all the Tropaeolum, see if any take the heat.
Sidney

This is a wonderful link, to know you are not alone. I am on the fuchsia hit list, as well as many others. I fear I should wear a bullit proof vest to the nursery sometimes. I have killed so many of their kind they have sworn eternal vengance. I also have a hard time with those annual salvias. Some of my roses hate me others love me. It just goes to show that you can't be all things to all plants. My violets do well until it gets too hot then they die, except for the wild violets that grow around here, they will flourish in any dirt that is damp. The also like the cracks in paving stones and my driveway. And boy can those seeds move, I have had them take over pots that are on a patio with none of their kind in sight. No wonder I try to wipe out most of them and keep them contained in my natural area, as some have the most precious blooms in early spring.

Fuchsias and I don't get along either, and I love them. The annual salvias don't even grow for me. But I have some salvia seed you need. Pink and red. It's not as compact a plant as those at the nursery, but they bloom forever (til frost) and the hummingbirds love them.

Gingerlily, The salvia sounds wonderful. I have some salvia's (perennials) growing with my roses but nothing that color. I haven't tried growing from seed in a while but have been thinking about doing it again as there are so many varieties available by seed that I don't see other places. I have salvia uliginosa that grows up through my Tess of the d'urbervilles and I just love it. I haven't tried gathering seeds, but that plant spreads so quickly that I just dig up extras and stick them in a pot for friends who want some.

Susie

I think I will write a book!
I didn't know some of the "easy" things to grow are so hard for others.
I guess after 25 years of trial & error, growing just becomes a habit like walking.
I read everything I could get my hands on over the years. Kept track of what I did & dated it all. Very important, especially if you want things to be the right size at the right time. Such as baskets at prime on Mothers Day.
Good places to find help ;
Stokes Seeds commerical catalog.
Johnney's commerical catalog
Goldsmith variety lister, you can't order from this.
Ball Red Book . This you have to buy, quite expensive, but worth every penny.
It is greenhouse operators bible!
There have been many books by good gardeners over the years. Go to the library, most should be on the shelves. I would check out half a dozen at a time when I started.
Yes they still have actual books you can take home. I know it sounds silly to the internet generation. LOL!
I am into my early getting old age, I still check out all new or different ways of doing things.
Bernie
These are Pansies.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2005 9:39 AM

Nice looking plants, CG! Those pansies look like they are in 3.5" square pots, so they'll be up to size in no time. I'm still in the early stages of my nursery business, so I'm still fighting for space. I have my basement full and my heated greenhouse is very small. I seed to small trays, transplant to 6-cell packs, then hopefully to 4-cell packs. As you know, the space needed multiplies many times over. Because spring is so late here, I really can't hope to depend on the greenhouse, even with heat, until late March. The poor little grennhouse is stuffed full until I can begin moving flats into the unheated greenhouse. I would love to have the space to start with larger containers!

Well, weezie you are a very good mentor to many of us out here. Born after WWII and getting close to retirement, we're looking for new things to play with. I am trying as you know to grow from seed for the first time.
I am going to try selling and planting some of what I grow. I also will have trades and garden gifts. Extra money for our "habits" has to come from somewhere.
Those Brightly printed ads from every garden center becon me, but I stay focussed on the seeds.
Bernie, just look what this love has driven you to. After seeing your coleus picture, I will wait quite awhile be fore posting mine. LOL
When did you plant those babies?
Knowing the things you have learned by trial and error Weeze helps give me confidence in my own ability to carry off my plans.
Ya'll just keep on shareing and we'll all be better for it.
Sidney