Scented Geranium Swap (Pelagonium)

Dang I missed the first part of this thread with KathyAnn asking me if I put my SC in the ground..yes I do..most of them anyway...some of the smaller ones stay in pots since I would be afraid they would die...and the pictures of the plants are wonderful.....the ones I just got from ebay are ok except the pine is very nice...and I paid more for them then from Papas and Hobbs...Ive got to stop looking for more SC...lolol...and Tracy we aim to convert anybody who wants to grow SCs..lolol.they are addictive once you smell them...just have to find places for them during the winter and keep the bugs off them...lolol..judy

Bugs? Mine don't get bugs... Only little BassetDaughter fingers touching, stroking, picking...C'mon Tracy, play along with us!

Barb

Barb, this was the first year I had a place to put my tropicals and other babies and about half way through the wonter I was getting aphids...I used a few thigns and finally I beat the clock and got my plants outside and only a few inside that have to be mnoved out..If I cuold have bought some lady bugs and let them go at the bugs I sure would have but the breezeway is connected to the house..lots of ladybug eggs would have been laid and just too much of a pain...now Im going to pray that I can control them this year..Judy

I never got aphids on them, but white flies and scale, I hate that scale,

Brugs and callas and then headed to my geraniums....aphids are a naughty word....I was squishing them with my fingers...lolol...my room was too warm and should have been turned down more..I think thats why I got them...also the brugs would have stayed dormant without leaves longer..Im learning being a newer sorta of greenhouse grower...and Im praying to never get scale..Judy

Tracy, please do join in the fun! I hope both you & your sister will decide to do the swap with us! (A big DG welcome to her!) Just think, you could go from 20 varieties to.... ?? I'd be happy to root cuttings, as BassetMom said, just LMK when plants arrive if there are long enough stems to take some.

Oh you guys! You make this too easy! Let me tell you what plants we got, and you let me know if there is an interest...

First, our order from Papa Geno's isn't going to ship until June 13th! Darn! I guess we will have to share those on the next go...!

We picked up the following yesterday:

Silverleaf Rose
Scarlet Unique
Dr. Livingston
Apple (2)
Golden Angel
Citrosum
Chocolate Mint

These are all in 4" pots, are very healthy and happy!

Now before you say, "come on!", please understand that I'd need a little hand-holding here, since "I ain't never done nothin' like this before!" It seems that you have a huge project on your hands, and if you really don't want to take on a newbie to boot, let me know.

and I won't play...

I'll just take my SC and go home...

honest...

I won't mind...

sniff...

Tracy ;-)

Please play with us! The more the merrier!

Do you want to try rooting cuttings yourself? It's a fun sort of gardening adventure, although I'll warn you that propagating herbs can be addictive.... a couple of successes, and you'll find yourself evaluating every plant you're considering buying with an eye to how many cuttings you could get from it! LOL On the other hand, you'll never again be tempted to buy 12 identical creeping thyme plants to edge a border, because you'll know that you can purchase just one and have a dozen more just a little later on. I found a very nifty small-leafed purple basil the other week, and my friend and I bought just one to share between us because I knew I would have 6 or 8 cuttings in a glass of water within an hour of getting that little plant home.

I wrote a "how to" above, sort of a compilation from the propagation from cuttings chapter of Tom DeBaggio's "little book." I know it looks like an intimidatingly long description, but I was trying to include all the bits that I had found to be helpful, and hopefully the process will seem pretty straightforward once you read through it. If you have any questions, just ask!

I took some stem cuttings from my new ones that were barely 3 inches long, and no roots yet, but they seem green and healthy looking, so I think they're heading in the right direction. I have several cuttings in each 4 inch pot, covered with 1 qt plastic bags.

One great thing about taking cuttings from your plants, whether you root them yourself or send them to me to do, is that a little snipping will encourage your SGs to grow bigger & bushies than ever! I've found that some varieties, like my chocolate mint, get leggy very quickly unless I pinch them back early and often.

Tracy, don't you dare go away! The more the merrier! Whatever you get rooted and send, you'll get some back. And, have fun here, too! Can I put you down on the list???? huh???

Jill, I have to laugh. Every time I got out the door with scissors or trimmers, my husband knows more plants are coming... I no sooner emptied the greenhouse of plants and he found all my cuttings in there. AND, more seed strays lined up as well.

Barb

"seed strays"

that may have been a typo, but I love it!!!

I just found out hobbs farm buys all their scenteds from this place , they don't propigate like papa genos does


http://www.davidsongreenhouse.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi

this is a nice place, but high dollar for scenteds LOL

Yes, Jill, it was a typo! MS-fingers strike again!

As for aphids, I garlic them away! First, I spray everyting in the morning to knock off any critters, hoping the good guys will get them. When that fails, I spray with garlic juice. Keeps aphids off everything and keeps thrips off my pale roses. Almost lost a new peace rose to thrips last year. This year, I have five to six inch blooms!

Three big cloves, crushed, and steeped overnight in two cups hot water (cover). Put in a spray bottle with two cups water and a squirt or two of dishwashing liquid. Spray entire plant (and buds) on a cloudy day. Repeat after rain if problem persists. Hasn't failed me yet!

Barb

Barb,
Thanks, sounds like a great recipe! I've always used the dishsoap, but this sounds much better! ~ Suzi :)

This even keeps rabbits away!

Barb,
If it works on deer and fruit trees, I will go to the store RIGHT NOW to buy garlic cloves!!! Heck with sleep! ~ Suzi :)

Okay...consider my arm wonderfully twisted! sign me up for the swap. I'd like to take a swing at rooting them...I've done a little rooting on other plants before,and think this should be fun! I love the whole process of fussing over the little starts! I'm getting right on it!

Thanks for putting this together, and for being so willing to help!

Tracy

Yea, Tracy! Welcome! This is fun.... :-)

Barb, Ive always used the dish soap/water and veggie oil...but this winter they got way out of control...the garlic spray is going to be tried..I used systemic, and insecticidal soap too with some sucess but didnt get rid of all of them and they just came back after awhile...everything outside is doing great, still getting used to the sun and wind but they will be fine...thanks for the garlic idea...Judy

I use merit for aphids, sprayed once they were gone all winter. if you don't want to spray you can water your plants with it and it does the same thing as spraying I don't use it on scented geraniums though, i've never had aphids on them

Ive never heard of Merit....who makes it? and what is it?...Judy

I heard about it on the brug forum, several folks us e it for aphids , but it doesn't kill spider mites. you get it at rosemania, do a search with that name in th search and it will come up. it's highly expensive. but a bottle will last me for the rest of my life, LOL I use a quart hand sprayer from wally world, and put about l/8th of a teaspoon of the powder in the quart and fill it up with water. the bottle is 2 oz at rosemania for 50.?? something I gritted my teeth when buying it, but it was well worth it to me, cause I had an infestation of aphids and malathion (the most potent kind ) wasn't killing them off.

OK...I have a question about the cuttings. Is there any way to get more than one rooting off of one cutting? One of my SC is a tall, single stem about 13" long. If I take a long cutting, cut it in two, can I make two rootings? Leaving leaves at the top of both, and stripping the leaves off the bottom half of both. I could use a rooting compound in hopes of growing roots more quickly... ? Would it work? I worry about the wound at the top of the second cutting...?

Thanks!

Tracy

It should work for you. with mints you need to cut off a set of leaves on the stem and leave a set on, then stick it into the soil, but with scenteds, you don't have to cut off any sets of leaves to get it to root, it will root at any particular place on the stem, rooting hormone always makes it easier, I don't root with out it LOL

keep your soil moist, put it in a sunny place, but not l00% sun all day. I have mine in the greenhouse, and they don't get direct sun, but indirect sun.

Thanks, Kathy Ann...I'm off!

Tracy

your welcome


I took a pic of my scented geraniums I'm rooting, I always keep a big stash of them rooting,

Of course not all are for the swap, specially since there are only 7 of us or should I say 8 or 9 now?

kathy



This message was edited Jun 3, 2005 7:05 PM

Kathy Ann is that a vancouvor centennial in the middle of all those babies?...thats my all time favorite fancy leaf...Judy

yeppers it is, couldn't get that one by you ha? LOL I have 2 fancy leaves in there. the platinum and the vancouver, my mother vancouver is small, but I was able to take 4 or 5 cuttings off her. she's a beauty, she hasn't bloomed for me, cause I keep her cut back so much

ohhhhh man I gotta go out and get some more so I can trade for some more......LOL!!!

Heather

Ive got that one too..it has bloomed for me but thats because Ive let it grow in the house all winter..I so afraid of losing it...I will take cuttings off it later this summer ...Ive got Mrs Pollack too....Judy

I got three new ones today!!! I am Kicking myself for not picking up the eycliptus (I KNOW I spelled that wrong--LOL!). But I did get a nutmeg, lime and Prince Rupert -- all with planty of room for cuttings.

JILL I think I have a diifernt nutmeg than you-- this one has tiny leaves and little white flowers -- no white edging.

Prince rupet is the varigated one - nutmeg in the center, lime on the other side.

I talked them in to a nutmeg -- they had a dozen or so set aside for stock plants (aka propagation) and I mentioned that I had a freind looking for one.... LOL! they let me buy one. The woman at this nursery took me right back in to the green houses where customers don't usuallly go -- Cool! I told her right up front that I only wanted one and that Iknew how to do cuttings-- she smiled and said I picked good ones.

the lime has this piece that just trails that will be a couple plants by 5 pm!! LOL!!!

Heather

My nutmeg doesn't have white edging, and it does have white flowers, but I think 'Cody's Nutmeg' (mine) is a different cultivar from regular 'Nutmeg'. You did talk her into letting you have a lovely plant! That 'Prince Rupert' also looks very nice.... DeBaggios had some of those, but they were much too small to be taking cuttings any time soon, so I didn't get one. I've only been able to take a couple of cuttings from my 'Lime' and 'Cody's Nutmeg' so far, so if you can get a couple going too, we'll be able to get one to everyone in the swap -- how cool is that!

That's a wonderful picture of your daughter with your new plants -- I love that big grin! -- Looks to me like we have another gardener in the making, there. :-)

those are very beautiful and healthy geraniums heather, your daughter is so cute

kathy

Checked all the babies just now and they're all fine. Also took the time to clean out all the cookies on the 'pute this afternoon and now I'm smokin'!

Can't wait to get my new plants this week. Then, out with the cutters! Ain't this a blast??

Barb

I got a huge amount of gardening done today with getting some cuttings in the mail..they are now potted up and rather huge so I chopped them more to get more plants....I havent paid alot of attention to the names since my whole table out there is full right now...and getting Papas order this week..crossing my fingers...now to get my daughter all primed to water them while Im away..I was outside trying to water the plants to the soaking point and will do it all week...rain tomorrow so hopefully that will do a few weeks...Im so scared my brugs are going to die since I have to depend on a neighbor to water everything adn its alot of work....lolol..
Love the pic of your daughter Heather...she is a cutie and I bet she loves to put her nose in the SC...lolol...Judy

Judy, have you tried those water absorbing polymer crystals (WaterSorb, Soil Moist, etc)? They're wonderful for containers; plants can go 2-3 times longer between waterings with them!

Wish I lived closer, I'd be happy to water for you! Of course, I might do a little judicious snatching, umm, I mean pruning while I'm at it!

I keep encouraging my little geraniums to Grow!! (so I can take more cuttings, naturally)

I just bumped up the threads at PlantTrading and RR to see I can spur any more interest. NOT that this isn't a great group already!

Barb

Hello - thought I'd let you know I'm still here - seems like I only blinked - LOL.

Just updated my 5/21/05 11:38am post with what I'm currently working on. If I were to add another 1 or 2 SGs, does anyone have a favorite they'd like for me to add to the pot?

Did we leave out Terre, who posted 5/23/05 11:42am that she would be happy to send a couple stems of SG Cinnamon to Critter?

How 'bout Cottage Rose?

Kathy Ann, can you use the following; I'll contribute them to you as an offering from the group as a whole:

Lilium 'Black Beauty' - I've never dug a growing (as opposed to dormant) lily before, but I can part with a bulb of this one - It's an unusually vigorous, 5' tall, with black-red, pendulous, recurved flowers, blooms July, loved by hummers. It has no scent, but the siberian catnip and southernwood through which it grows make up for that.

Iris ensata 'Nara' - late, dark purple Japanese Iris
(also have double - white and an extremely prolific purple one blooming before Nara - have lost names)

You had mentioned this past winter you might be interested in a hardy geranium from me in trade for SGs. Here's my list: Biokovo, Brookside, John Elsley, Johnson's Blue, G. macrorrhizum and G. macrorrhizum 'Will Ingwersen'.

How about letting us have your wish list so we can see if we have anything else you might like?

Critter - do I owe you anything for your trip to deBaggio's? Am having a senior moment about what we agreed on there. I am going to strike cuttings of the thymes, etc. I listed on the Scented Geranium Swap thread back in the Plant Trading forum for you. Is my woolly thyme not the same thing as your Hall's woolly thyme? Will root mine anyway - can't have too much of that one. Will try to pounce on Britannicus, Caraway, Orange Balsam and Pink Chintz at Sandy Mush.

BassetMom, hehheh. To think I told you not to send me any scented geranium cuttings - under these circumstances - LOL. Thank you for sending them anyway - they are all rooting nicely and are not acting like they're planning on visiting my compost pile anytime soon. The lemon grass is enjoying its pot, too.

Am enjoying this thread - if I forgot or missed anything, let me know.

Bluespiral, do you have a picture of your 'Will Ingwersen' hardy?..Ive got a hardy that I thought had that name on it but its faded....Never mind..I forget I can search it...that is the name of it...thanks for postig the name..I wish there were more ways to figure out names of hardys..I have alot that dont have names anymore...do you happen to know the name of a very tiny white flowering hardy...this one just popped up this year or I proabably got it from a trade and never got a name...Judy

Another site for scented geraniums..nice pictures for reference....

http://geraniaceae.com/pelargoniums/leaf/

blue spiral sending you a message now.