WS progress report

I thought I'd post my a few pictures and my database, such as it is, for anyone interested . I'm still trying to add botanical names to the data so that's not up-to-date. I'm a computer idiot, too, so if this stuff dosen't show up well, I apologize. If you bore easily feel free to skip the entire thread.

database


Container
Number Seed Date Sowed Date Germ.
common name bot. Name

1 Blanket flower gaillardia goblin 12/29/05
2, 3 Red Poppy papaver rhoeas 12/29/05 1/25/06
4 Bee balm monarda 12/29/05
5 Spider flower Cleome 12/29/05
6,7 Yarrow achillea 12/30/05 1/25/06
8 Cupid's Dart catanache caerulea 12/31/05
9 Delphinium delphinium magic fountain 12/31/05
10 Bachelor buttons mixed (tall) Centaurea 1/3/06 2/20/06
11 Love in a mist Nigella 1/4/06
12 Verbena on a stick Verbena bonariensis 1/4/06
13 7 dwarfs larkspur(mixed) delphinium agacis 1/8/06
14 Penstemon Cambridge mixed penstamon barbatus 1/8/06
15 Mexican hats ratabida red 1/8/06
16 Rocky Mtn Columbine (purple) aquilegia caerulea 1/8/06
17, 18 Butterfly weed gay butterflies aesclepias tuberosa 1/8/06
19 Iceland poppy & Bells of Ireland papaver nudicaule & moluccella 1/8/06
20 bellflower blue clips campanula carpatica 1/8/06
21 Poppy fairy wings (mixed) papaver rhoeas 1/29/06
22 Paul's Bells of Ireland molucella 1/29/06
23 Poppy angels choir (annual doubles) papaver rhoeas 1/29/06
24 Foxglove Camelot rose (1st yr bloomer) digitalis 1/29/06
25 Hollyhock summer carnival malvaceae 1/29/06
26 Balloonflower astra double mix platycodon grandiflorus 1/29/06
27 Foxglove foxy (dwarf, 18’, mixed) digitalis 1/29/06
28 Love lies bleeding amaranthus caudatus 1/31/06
29 Verbascum southern charm verbascum X hybrida 1/31/06
30 Poached eggs limnanthes douglassi 1/31/06
31 Larkspur Earl Grey consolidata ajacis Earl Gray 2/3/06
32 Blanket flower gaillardia goblin 2/3/06
33 Sweet pea vine (5 ft mixed) lathyrus 2/3/06
34 Snapdragon 1st ladies mixed antirrhinum 2/3/06
35 Sunflower sunspot (16 in) helianthus annuus 2/3/06
36 sunflower sunspot (16 in) helianthus annuus 2/3/06
37 Melampodium derby asteraceae melampodium paludosum 2/4/06
38 Catchfly ruby flax 2/4/06
39 Salvia scarlet sage salvia coccinea 2/4/06
40 4 o'clocks mirabilis 2/12/06
41 lavender lady lamiaceae lavendulda augustifolia 2/12/06
42 orlaya grandiflora orlaya grandiflora 2/12/06
43 verbena bonariensis (purpletop vervain) verbenaecae bonariensis 2/24/06
44 Bells of Ireland molluccella laevis 2/24/06
45 lupine sunrise lupinus hartwegii sunrise 2/25/06
46 cerinthe cerinthe major purpurescens 2/25/06
47 bachelor buttons mixed (dwarf, 12 in, blue) centaurea cyanus nana 2/25/06
48 night scented stocks brassicaceae matthiola 2/25/06
49 larkspur gentian blue 2/25/06
50 mixed stocks 2/25/06
51 verbena bonariensis 2/25/06
52 Snapdragon 1st ladies mixed 2/28/06
53 Rudbeckia becky 2/28/06
54 moon vine Ipomea 2/28/06
55 Cinderella stocks (antique pink) 2/28/06
56 poached eggs limnanthes douglassi 2/28/06
57 sweet pea jet set (24-30 in, mixed) 2/28/06
58 blanket flower Gaillardia goblin 2/28/06
59 Statice 2/28/06
60 black eyed Susan vine thunbergia 2/28/06

Hmmm...this is actually an excel document but I've managed to lose the divisions for rows and columns. Oh well, gets the point accross

"my jugs" so to speak

more of my jug ghetto

way to go! Have you transplanted the poppies or are they still in the container? Don't forget to update this with germination dates!

this one really makes my yard look attractive

I'll be over to swap plants with you as soon as the Last Frost Date (April 18)!

Looks like you have just about everything anyone would ever want!

Nice Weber, too! I'll bring the steaks! t.

It's cold here today. We can dream, though, can't we?

I took this one of my poppies today. They still look happy; they were planted 12/29 germinated 1/25, and have frozen innumerable times (including 3 degrees on 2/19

achillea taken today. Same dates as poppy. I'll stop boring you now

Karen

Tabasco, feel free to bring me steaks anytime! No guarantee that I'll have any (living) plants for you tho.

Karen

tabasco, how can your last frost date be April 18?!
Ours is somewhere around May 3, plus or minus 10 days.

I don't know.... here's a list of Last Frost Dates... I think the dates can vary depending on the source

http://www.almanac.com/garden/frostus.php


http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/documentlibrary/freezefrost/frostfreemaps.html

This message was edited Mar 3, 2006 5:26 PM

Never boring, Karen! Just love seeing the little green things! That long container with the casters is great!

PV

FANTASTIC, Karen! You're doing a great job!! Love seeing those green sprouts too! As Anita suggested, do add germination dates to your information!

The long container with wheels is an underbed storage box which I got at Home Depot. I'm filling it with yogurt cups and styrofoam cups. The giant tan box holding the milk jugs and 2 liters is actually the top half of a fiberglass dog crate.

Karen

OK, my husband did this for me. I lack the computer skills, but this is more like it

Your database base looks good Karen!

karen,

Love your selections. I am growing many of the same flowers, so we will have to compare notes.

I am wondering if your two listings of verbena bonarienses are two different colors/shades of verbena or the same. I love that variety and I am wondering if there are different shades of the purple available. Perhaps you know?

Thank you. t.

t:

No, these are the same seeds, just different containers. Some cultivars are in several containers; mostly I did this if the containers were of a small diameter, like 2 L pop bottles. I really like those pop bottles! I cut them in half, making tabs with vertical slits, and it's so easy. I don't think tape is even required, tho I've been taping anyway.

Have you WS verbena bonariensis before with good results? I think they're so pretty, and some gardeners report them as being winter hardy in our area, although most catalogues don't list them as such.

Karen

I purchased v. bonarienses plants last year. In the South some report it as invasive, so I think it should be easy to grow from seed.

I am watching to see if mine are winter hardy from last year.

I'm very impressed, Karen! I've been wanting to do some winter sowing but don't know if it is to late for me or which are hardy enough to survive our snow coverage and temperatures.
:) Donna

PerennialGirl: I don't know anything either! Don't get the idea that I have any clue if this will work- this is my maiden voyage into WS. But I would guess that in zone 4 you'd still have plenty of time. Maybe some of the veterans will chime in here...

I still have a few more perennials that I want to try. Some of those seeds I ordered from Swallowtail on 2/22 and they have yet to arrive, but I still plan to sow them when they arrive. That order includes some columbine and perennial lobelia as well as some cold weather annuals like breadseed poppies, baby blue eyes. Let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic

Try it - you'll like it!

t; good luck on the verbena. It is supposed to reseed well

Karen

Well done everyone! Here's my list so far http://lakehousecreations.com/Seed_Sown.htm

Perennial Girl: Since you're in growing zone 4A, you still have plenty of time to WS!

I hope so. Now I just have to figure out which seeds I can do.
:) Donna

tabasco, verbena bonariensis will grow all over the place, but I don't mind it. It's so tall you don't even have to bend over to pull it up.

I looked at your NOAA link, and if you are in Cincinnati, and I am reading the map correctly, there is a 10% probability that your temp will go below 32F between May 1 and May 15. My mother lives in Mason OH and will not put flowers out before Mother's Day, just to be on the safe side. But with climate change afoot, who knows?

I've been WSing since the end of January and I don't have one, single, teeny, tiny sprout yet! ??? I'm worried. I followed the instructions and people in 2 zones below mine are getting results.

;~(

missgarney--Yes, Mothers' Day is a popular 'planting out' day in southwestern Ohio. Mason, Ohio, has a different climate than we here along the river. We get more sun and it's milder (a sort of 'lake effect').

If you are ever up visiting your Mom, let me know. There are some nice nurseries and daylily farms up her way.

I don't have any sprouts yet, either, Katy--but my WS is in the shade and that makes a difference. And maybe you are growing seeds that have longer germination periods.

I planted more seeds today. More poppies-- 'Fruit Punch' from Thompson & Morgan and 'Black Peony' Poppies. Also cilantro and basil.

Also went to Big Lots and noticed they have Ferry Morse Seeds in stock now. Some packets are 5 for $1. Others are more like half off.

tabasco: we plan to go up to Mason in the middle of April. I'm ready with pen and paper to take down nursery names!