NARGS seed exchange!

I just got my NARGS seed list and have to pick just 25 out of the 4000 varieties of seed offered.
Anyone else looking through that huge list too? What are you ordering?

I've recently sent in my SRGC request (which usually has a similar list and a lot of the same members) for 25 packets and surplus for the life of me I can't remember exactly what I requested. I have a list somewhere. What did you request?

I haven't gotten into it yet. I need to set aside a few hours, grab some books and sit next to my
PC to figure out which I want. Soooo many choices. I thought maybe I'd get some ideas from my
DG colleagues too!

I've placed seed orders with NARGS (35 packets since I'm a donor), ORGS (Ontarion Rock garden Society...60 packets!), SRGS, RHS and AGS...I have over 230 packets coming.....YOW! The list is too long to get into but there are some 12 Aquilegia species, 15 Penstemon, 6 Pulsatilla, 6 Meconopsis, 7 Primula, 6 Gentiana and scads of others. Most will be used at our Botanical garden but, as the instigator of the seeds, I get to take home whatever I want...what a deal! (too bad I have no space!)

Do you have space at the botanical garden to grow out the seeds?
Lights/greenhouse? I have a greenhouse and I still needed more space
for seed starting so just set up lights in the basement. (Never enough room
is there!)

I doubt there'd be many ideas from my list, I share my allocation with a friend who does likewise for me with his NARGS list but this year I declined. Anyway we both tend towards Southern Hemisphere bulb species, he also goes for Orchids and Lilies and I go for anything I quite fancy the look of although Viola, Primulaceae and Scrophulariaceae are usually high on the list. I'll probably be kicking myself that I didn't get there early enough because they have Primula tangutica on the list and I've been keeping my beady eye out for it for a while now.

I also requested 60 lucky dip packets, that usually yields some interesting species that I've either missed or hadn't considered growing but I must make it a priority to get rid of the remainder this year because my seed box is practically full to bursting already.

Tammy, I hope we have the space at the BG...this year it will be tight as we are growing 50,000 alders for a reclaimation project...between them and the regular annuals, it does not leave much space for 230 plus alpine-like plants! I may have to wait until May before I sow and be content with small sized plants in the first season.

BAA, I just recently sowed the seeds of 9 different South American bulbs....I'll have a long wait before they bloom. I can't remember which ones right now...I'll get a list from the BG tomorrow.

I'd like to see what you've got there Todd. I've just finished writing out my ornamental seed list so I'll go through that and see how the bulbs in the greenhouse are doing. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the Lachenalia flowering soon, I've repotted them far too late. L. aloides was bought as mature bulbs but I've also been growing some from seedlings that are now 5 years old, 4 species flowered last winter/spring which was a great bonus ....... more of a topic for the bulb forum really since most of us couldn't grow them outside but I do look forward to seeing the laccies flower.

Baa - You do ORCHIDS from seed? From what I've read you need to have very sterile conditions
and be quite patient to grow them on. When did you get started and tell us more about your set up?

Tammy it's my friend who grows from seed rather than me. I have some epiphytics here in the greenhouse but I prefer the terrestrial orchids, in which case you can sprinkle the seed of a similar species around the base of the plants and see if anything pops up, I've not been terribly successful even with this simple method. I did think of setting up an old aquarium I have and getting the flasking equipment but it's a lot of faffing about that I don't really have the time for right now.

I about died and went to heaven when my seeds came in from the NARGS seed exchange...all those salvias wow! and the Scrophs wow! What a fantastic deal it is, agreed!

Excellent! I didn't get mine yet (pout). I decided to focus on stuff I could grow for the
local chapter plant sale. Seeds should get here soon.

Tam

I started some Salvia jurisicii already and got nearly 100% germination rate. Awesome!

I'm still waiting for my NARGS seeds but I received the Ontario RGS seeds and SRGS. Lots of seeds are now in damp sand in the fridge as I trick them into thinking its winter. The Meconopsis have been sown...so far only M. betonicifolia is up. Most 'direct sow' seeds will have to wait as there is no room at work to sow them.

Hi Todd,

Is that the method you use for the Meconopsis? I will have to give that method a go, as this one has been tough for me to germinate. Thanks!

Joseph

I got my seed back on January 20th. I'm feeling a bit guilty that I haven't gotten any sown yet. Hopefully that will happen this weekend. I'll have to turn on propane heater out in the garage to keep me warm while I pot things up.

Congrats on the S. juriscii Gerris. I had one start to bloom late last season and it looks like it'll be a particularly nice Salvia.

Have fun sowing! Hey Ally what other salvias do you grow in your garden?

I don't grow many different salvia. I find that most of the Salvia that interest me want at least a zone 7 climate.

I do grow S. dorrii, S. nemerosa 'May Night', S. transylvanica (which is a bit of a thug), S. grandiflora pitcheri(sp?), S. officionalis 'minima', S. daghestanica, S. juriscii, S. 'Raspberry Delight' and S. pachyphylla. The last two are borderline for me. I've got a small area on the south side of the house where I have these two planted.

I have dorrii starting but no life yet, and the juriscii, and also austriaca, indica, and nutans. I have some frost tender salvias overwintering in small containers in the lighted but not heated garage. Oh yes, also wanted to start seeds of several vendors of hians to compare and contrast, maybe I will get lucky and see the true species! Do you get hummingbirds in Utah? If so I will wager they flock to your flowers...try out S. guaranitica to give them a treat.

oh yes also S. dolomitica is started, I got that one from a nice overseas trader.

I sow Meconopsis seeds on sphagnum moss. I fill pots with pro-mix then put a thin layer of shredded green sphagnum on top, then sow the seeds directly atop the sphagnum. They are then covered in a plastic tent and kept at about 10-15 C. Any warmer than 15 C and they may not germinate.

Todd,

When the Meconopsis germinate, will you transfer the seedlings to other containers or will you let them grow down through the sphagnum moss?

Joseph

Thye grow through the sphagnum into the promix below. I'll wait until they are large enough to handle then pot them in a peaty-leaf-mold mix.

My NARGS seeds finally arrived....I got everything I asked for! Excellent! Now it's time to stratify.

I got my NARGS seeds last week. I only got three-quaters of my first choices. But I still say "Excellent!" too.

Wheee!!! I got my seeds today! Looks like I got most of what I wanted. I'm going
to start sowing this weekend.

Here's what I got from NARGS:

Abutilon vitifolium
Agastache rupestris
Albuca humilis
Albuca shawii
Anaphalis alpicola
Anisodontea julii
Aquilegia viridiflora
Arisaema consanguineum
Aristolochia fimbriata
Athamanta turbith
A. turbith ssp. haynaldii
Bergeranthus jamesii
Echinocereus reichenbachii
Fragaria vesca 'Alba'
Iris chrysographes
Iris typhifolia
Leuzea conifera x macrocephala
Lilium concolor var. coridion
Lilium mackliniae
Melittis melissophyllum
Phyteuma scheuchzeri
Rhodothamnus chamaecystis
Soldanella alpina
Swertia bimaculata

Always includes some zone experimentation, and a plant or two to winter inside.

They sure have an amazingly variety of species, don't they!

I'm researching the seeds this morning & will pot them up today. I got
several penstemon, edraianthus, draba, diathus, androsace, saxafraga,
anemonella, helianthumum, geranium...

Tam

I forgot - I got two specifically after seeing the plants posted in this forum:

Cyclamen Africanum (Zuzu?)
Crocus Pulchellus (Todd?)

Ok... off to researching the germination requirements & then potting 'em all up.
Tam

Get the seeds out this weekend for good stratification effect (snow storm is imminent).

Some are using tissue culture for Orchid seeds. I am experimenting with Azaleas.
African Violets seem to have the best results by amateurs.

hometissueculture@yahoogroups.com

Huge list of rare Salvias. Genetic testing shows that Salvias should be two genera on opposite sides of the mint family tree. Thhe similar flowers being coincidental.

http://greenstranger.com/catalog2004.html?

UU, great URL for the salvias wow! I will check them out further later at home.

Just got my NARGS seeds:
Acantholimon glumaceum (blue foliage) pink 15cm (Prickly Thrift)
Acantholimon hohenackeri pink 15cm (Prickly Dianthus)
Allium karataviense pink 25cm
Allium karataviense 'Ivory Queen' white 30cm
Androsace lactea white 10cm
Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorfer Stoltz' pink 15cm
Armeria rumelica dark pink 15cm
Armeria sp rose-pink 5-18cm
Andryala agardhii yellow to 15cm
Aquilegia vulgaris 'William Guiness'
Arenaria kingii white 10-20cm
Arenaria norvegica white 5-18cm
Arenaria tmolea white 7-10cm
Calceolaria 'Goldcrest' yellow 7cm
Campanula raineri hybrid blue 20cm
Centaurea simplicicaules pink 25cm
Crocus speciosus violet-blue 8cm (8 seeds) hope they grow...
Erigeron glaucus lavender 15cm
Erigeron leiomerus blue 10cm
Gazania krebsiana yellow 20cm (Weez, remember those daisy-like flowers at Carol
Lindsey's place?) I think these are the same... from South Africa as
I recall... I just remember they were rain proof
Gentiana alpina blue 5cm (Do you have any experience growing and
gentians?)
Gentiana clusii ssp rochelii blue 7cm
Hirpicium armerioides white mat
Jovibarba heuffelii 15cm (Hen&Chicks I think)

Anyone have pertinent insight on some harder ones to germinate?

I don't know how cold and snowy you are now (if at all) so you might have to wait until the fall to sow the crocus. They need a winter to break dormancy and sprout in the correct season. Check the Ontario Rock Garden Society webpage for germination info. Most gentians need at least 8 weeks of stratification. Erigerons, gazania, armeria and calceolaria can be directly sown, as can Jovibarba (I grew that one last year..very easy). Alliums need a cold period. Some Campanula do, others don't. I've never tried raineri from seed but I did buy a plant a few years ago. It is suppose to be tricky but so far, so good. The others I am not that familiar with, so check out the ORGS site...it's really quite good.

Todd, thanks for the info. Temp is 18F so I have plenty of time for cold stratification. It should get above freezing in a week or 3 and we don't plant outdoors until June 1st here in Seward, Alaska. So, I'll try the Crocus first, then the Gentians and then the Alliums seem to grow for me anytime. We have only a couple of weeks that get above 70F in the summer, so most of the others I sow indoors and after sprouting, a week later I put them in an unheated greenhouse. Over the years you adjust and learn. Every bit of info I can glean from Northern growers like you adds just a little bit more and I really appreciate it.
The other Carol

Finally got back to this thread :)

I did get almost all of my requests from SRGC, including the Primula tangutica, which means I need to get sowing ASAP now. I also ordered two lots of the lucky dip too so I'll try and remember to post up a list in case someone wants a swap.

I signed up for the second round of NARGS. Is that the "lucky dip" is? A second round - do you get to
pick or just take whatever is left? Oh do tell. (I need to sign up for SRGC.)
Tam

Got my second round NARGS mailing today!

Wow you guys are fast. I got my second round list on Friday 2/24 and haven't had time to decide on anything. Still not sure I really need any more seed. I already have plenty to keep my busy this spring, summer and fall.

Baa I have to admit I'm curious about what the "lucky dip" is as well. Is it a miscellaneous grap bag of the leftover seed? It's sounds like fun whatever it is.

The lucky dip is part of the second round, you pay X amount for 30 packets of their choice, anything left over from the two rounds, you can have more than one lucky dip selection. There are some great seeds to be had and if you like to be a bit adventurous it's good for encouraging yourself to try something new.

Hey - I didn't even get the list yet for second round!

Baa - lucky dip sounds fun! We get a bunch of left over seeds to pick over at the local chapter
meetings in Mar/Apr/May (I forget exactly when). Since I don't have much time & other folks want
to look through them too, I ususally grab packs fairly quickly & blindly - I got a fantastic draba this
way. Just marked species but they are really cute & I think will bloom this year.

Tam