Whats everyone growing this year?

Hello, Everyone! I'm new to DG. I just signed up yesterday. My name is Steve and I live in Southern Ontario, Canada.

A while back I bought seeds from a place called William Dam Seeds and spent around 40$.....thats alot for me to spend on seeds! I bought Painted Tounge, Ammi, Pink Babies Breath, Moonflower Vine, Safflowers, Canary Bird Vine, Balsam and many more....which I'm going to start in my cold frame soon!

I also got Clarkia(which is sprouting), Larkspur and California Poppies which I sowed already outside :)

Tips and advice on these would be great as I've never grown any of them before! I grew the Cal poppies before but only 2 came up and I tried to move them and they died. Which ones are good in containers?
I've also got Shirly Poppies coming up which I've grown before.

So, that's what I've got! Whats everyone else growing?

This message was edited Mar 31, 2006 2:10 PM

Hi Steve and Welcome to Dave's Garden!
I have a small greenhouse so have a lot of plants in there, most are only a couple inches tall at the moment. Let's see....so far I have...celosia (called ruffles),snapdragons,two colors of alyssum,veronica,salpiglossis(which I think is also called Painted Tongue),petunias,morning glories,forget me nots,two kinds of centurea, zinnias (planted yesterday) tomatoes,hot peppers and bell peppers, two big pots of geraniums kept over from last year,asparagus ferns,century plants,spider plants,coreopsis,Easter egg plants,hardy hibiscus, and gobs of aloe!

Can't give you much advice on the things you asked about except the painted tongue is really really tiny when it first comes up and takes a while to get big enough to plant outside, but is gorgeous when it blooms!!

Wow, you have quite the collection in your greenhouse! Is it heated? Cause I have a small greenhouse thats in the process of being built.....It doesn't have a roof yet, but, I'm hoping it will get finished this year. I'm hoping to get some form of heating in it when its done though. Thanks for the tip on the Painted Tounge!

Most of these have been wintersown and have sprouted:

morning glory (red & blue)
moonvine
nicotania sylvestris
nicotania alata
night scented stocks
other stocks (beauty of nice; giant imperial mix)
Virginia stocks
dahlias (unwin's mix)
zinnias (several kinds)
cosmos (sensation mix)
nasturtium - vine and regular
four o clocks (several kinds)
snapdragons
limnanthes douglasii
polyganum orientale (kiss me over the garden gate)
nigella damascena "persian jewels"
old fashioned vining petunia
scarlet pimpernel
thunbergia
celosia cockscomb
convolvulus
marigolds (all kinds)
hollyhocks
larkspur
sweet pea cupani & old spice
amaranth "love lies bleeding"
impatiens
sweet alyssum
ambrosia (chenopodium)
malva "zebrina"
phlox drommundi mixed

and sunflowers of all heights: we make a sunflower "house" for the kids.

Zeppy, Can I sow a moonvine now? Is that right or have I got it wrong?
Is the same with all the plants on your list? If I've got it right...WOW!

Painted tongue likes to be sown on top of the soil. I do it in small pots like 4" x 6" size. I just sprinkle the tiny seeds on top. Cover it. It needs darkness at the beginning. I water it from below. I just started some last week with a cover of paper bag and it worked great. Take the paper bag off after they start to germ. The seeds started to germ in a few days.
I grew it last year and had a heck of time doing it. Learned more on how to grow it this year. The plants did take a long time to get going but yes, as said above, the plants are great. They just keep blooming all summer/fall long.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Carol

I soaked half of the moonvine seeds, and they all seem to be sprouting about the same. I can't say whether they'll grow well and bloom well, but so far so good.

I'm sure I'm growing some on my list completely wrong, but this year'll be a learning process. I do find the wintersowing technique very valuable, as it takes care of the "hardening off" phase nicely.

sw gardener.................yes the greenhouse is heated, has been all winter,it is 12X12 and we have an electric heater made for a greenhouse (the electric bill will wrack you! lol!) also, you will need a vent fan, soon as the sun comes out temp goes up to 100, even when it's not warm out!

I think we're going to look into solar heating for our greenhouse and try that to power a heater. I know I'll love it once it's done!

winter sowed and now going to seed:
poppies
snapdragons
larkspur
stocks

so far started this spring:
zinnias
rudbeckias

(boy that's a pitiful amount of annuals--I need to get some more things going this weekend like sunflowers, portulaca....)
Debbie

What kind of poppies do you grow Debbi? Last year I grew Shirlies for the first time and I'm hooked. They're so pretty and their petals blow off if the wind is too strong......I sowed a whole bunch of them this year. I think I might still sow some more this week.....

I've also got zinnias in my cold frame I just put them in the other day so nothings coma up yet. They are the Persian Carpet type. I've never tried that one before. And I'm also trying Larkspur for the first time this year.

Steve

SW--they were an heirloom poppy supposedly from India--white--I'm trying to save seeds--seeds originally were a gift from "seedpicker" over on the vines forum. Will post a picture tomorrow night--left my laptop at work--am on daughters pc now--did not bring data travellor (external harddrive) home tonight either. Persian zinnias do well for me.
Debbie

I've never seen that kind before. I look forward to seeing the picture tomorrow!

Steve

Today I just bought seeds for 'Danish Flag Poppy'. I've never grown it before but it looks really nice. I also got 'Red Empress' nasties , Lawn Chamomile, Datura 'ballerina', Nemophila 'penny black' and silk oak which is supposed to make a good foliage plant. Has anyone grown silk oak before form seed?

Steve

Zeppy, I'm curious about your sunflower house... sounds fun! How do you make it? I'm growing lots of sunflowers this year; Russian Giant, Vanilla Ice, Moulin Rouge and Del sol.

Cham

New for me this year:
Calendula Hens and Chickens from Greta's Organic Gardens
Erigeron Pink Jewel from Greta's
heirloom large zinnias from member WigglyPaw
Chrysanthemum Primrose Gem from member LeBug
Mirabilis Longiflora from Chiltern Seeds
Tithonia Goldfinch (yellow) purchased at Target
Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate from ebay Kims-Greenhouse
4 o'clock Custard and Cream purchased at Lowe's
Black Eyed Susan Vine White
BES Vine Blushing Susie from Parks Seeds
I also picked up some Angels Fishing Rod seed that I hope will grow here.
Hopefully I will have some success with some of these and have seed to share for next season. I splurged on some stuff this year and need to ease my "guilt" by being able to give some stuff away this winter:)

Cham, there's a bunch of photos of it and a full explanation of how if you scroll down this thread:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/584178/

Dmac, I've grow a number of those types before and they're fairly easy.
I splurged too this year. I hope everything grows well.....I always have thoughts of sparse scraggly stunted plants with yellow leaves and few flowers....so far my direct sowings seem to be coming good though.

Steve

I think my membership here has made my problem worse! LOL None of my friends garden...my only cohort was my neighbor but she passed away a few years ago. Alot of my patio pots are super weathered and I get to have some new ones! Love the shopping--hate the lugging of soil! I can never gauge when to start seed indoors so I usually just direct sow once it warms up. This fall/winter I think I'm going to try to winter sow some stuff. Alot of members seem to have really good luck with this way of planting seed.
I just got a catalog from Mr Fothergill's in England and I want more stuff!--the $11.95 S&H for overseas orders is killing me:)

You sound like me, some of my planters are pretty weathered and I'm getting new ones this year. My parents garden but other then that just my Opa and my neighbor who have both passed away. My friends don't garden either. I prefer to start seeds out in my cold frame cause I don't have anywhere to start them indoors and hardening off is a pain. Just went and counted and I got 26 different types of seeds this year......not to mention the ones saved from last year. I should probably be locked up :)

Zeppy, that sunflower house is GREAT! My dh would love it. Any area of the lawn that I take over for plants or flowers belongs to ME now, and he doesn't have to mow it!

DMac, this year is the first year I've really started much from seed, and I jumped in with both feet. I started winter sowing in early february and so far so good... all my babies look GREAT! I have lots of herbs, veggies and perennials, but my list of annuals is the longest:

Marigolds (CUTE Lemon Gem)
Phlox (dwarf beauty mix)
Sunflowers (LOTS)
Cleome (ok, i lied about how well everything was doing ... this plant JUST WON'T GERMINATE FOR ME!!)
Thunbergia (love this vine, and the cartoony shape of the flowers... what I really really want for next year is some of the pinkish or salmony kind)
Sweet Peas
Morning Glory
Moonflower
Salvia (blue bedder -- jury's out on whether it will be an annual for me)
Nicotinia (x sanderae and sylvestris)
Stocks (the evening scented kind, and the regular mini-delphinium looking ones)
Cosmos
Bachelors buttons (are you allowed to have Cosmos without bachelors buttons? I think NOT! isn't that a rule somewhere? :P)
Baby's breath
alyssum
Larkspur
Oriental poppy
4 O'clocks

Chamelle, I think I have some extra Thunbergia Blushing Susie I can send you if you'd like it now. Just let me know. I know what you mean about Cosmos and Bachelor Buttons. Besides Marigolds I think those were some of the first flowers I ever grew when I was a kid. My mom used to tell me Bachelor Buttons would only grow and flower for virgins!LOL

How did you decide when to wintersow? I guess I mean what time of year. It sounds as easy as prepping your soil and putting seed down.

SW_gardener--lots in common except I'm jealous of the coldframe:) I'm in an apartment.
I've got a decent sized front planting bed which I've managed to extend around the corner of the building;) My patio is OK. They bricked off each units individual patio space this past November so I think I might end up with some weird microclimate back there. The sun exposure will definitely be changed, but it will be more protected from wind and rain.
I've got a killer bearded iris and lily addiction to feed too! Thankfully I can plant on top of the lilies:)

As far as annual flowers go, this year I'm planting Nigella, Silene, Anterrhinum, Limanthes douglasii, Ammi visnaga, bachelor's buttons, larkspur, sweet peas, poppies (fall-sown California poppies are about to bloom, earlier than I expected), Texas hummingbird sage, Agrostemma (I love that flower), zinnias and French brocade marigold.

Got some violas planted this week........

DMac - Nothings come up in my cold frame yet. Yesterday and today I wasn't at home to close it while the sun was still on it so it could warm up and last couple nights it got unexpectedly cold...down to -13 C. (or 8 F). There was a nice layer of ice/frost on the inside of the lid and the soil was half forzen.....should my seeds still be alright? I've had a recent lily craze too and Margie over in the iris forum has convinced me to cross my own bearded iris.


Missgarney - I'm growing Ammi majus....but whats Ammi visnaga?
I'm going to try sowing California poppies this fall as so far only ONE from the tons of seed I droped has sprouted for me this spring...which I had to pull out as I was planting lilies there....

Steve

Zulu Prince Daisy has made an appearance in the winter sowing container. Go figure. It's suppose to be from Africa and its my first WS seedlings.

Steve, I was thinking of sowing some Flanders Fields Poppies in one of my lily beds. You don't think it's a good idea?

I think poppies in a lily bed would look really nice! In fact you just gave me the idea to try it myself! I haven't grow Flanders Poppies in a while, but I think it would look really good. I think I'll put some shirly and danish flag seeds down tomorrow.

Steve

SW_gardener, I bet your seed are OK. I'm guessing because that's the premise of winter sowing. Is crossing the iris complicated?

kbaumle--your viola is pretty--one of my favorite color combos:) Is it named? I bought some on clearance at Lowe's (50 cents a 6pack) and the color was gorgeous, kinda light chocolate with some rose and yellow. I'm hoping they'll set a bit of seed before it gets too hot here.

I'm sure they are named, but my pack didn't have a tag, and usually I make sure I check that. Anyone have an idea what they are?

Kylee

The colors kinda remind me of a pansy called Ultima Morpho--I had some a couple of years ago. They were listed as pansies but the flower size seemed more like violas. The color is supposed to be like the morpho butterfly. I've been trying to keep up with my plant names too. Tough to do with some of the 6 pack annuals that most places have.

Wow. That DOES look like it.

Kbaumle - your viola could be 'sorbet mix' I've had that before and there was a blueish one with colouring alot like that one. You could google image ' violas 'sorbet mix' ' and theres some good pics of them.

Dmac - I've never really done winter sowing before.....Is that all it is? planting your seeds in winter? If thats all it is then I guess I have done it before, I just never knew thats what it was called. Crossing iris is fairly easy... heres a couple links that Margie gave me: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_perennials/article/0,1785,HGTV_3602_3168194,00.html the last image on the page is the video. http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/bg0002.asp

You know what? I think it IS part of 'Sorbet' series, because the other ones they had looked like the other 'Sorbet' ones. In any case, I love them!

Other annuals I'm growing this year include all kinds of sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos in a colorful annual garden with a directional post in it. This post is actually a white pine tree that died last year that we cut off at about 5' high and trimmed all the branches off. I've painted arrow signs in primary colors and then I'll put name of towns we visit regularly and miles to them on them. I hope it all turns out like I'm envisioning!

DMac, I would LOVE some of your blushing susie! Shall I send you a SASE, or shall we attempt my first trade? I just dug up some Italian Alum from my moms house today, I will be dividing spiderwort tomorrow and I have twenty tons of scavenged Shasta daisy. I have too many russian sage plants for the space they're in- just about to break dormancy and a TON of wisteria babies growing up from the vines that grew over the fence from my neighbor. LMK!

I decided when to WS based on when I first read about it here at DG, which was early Feb. I thought "hey! I wanna try that!" and was glad I read about it in Feb, instead of July! Winter sowing experts say any time after winter solstice, and the earlier the better for warmer winter climates. I think the only important issue with timing is that you do it early enough that the seeds benefit from some cold stratification. My seedlings are so STURDY. None of the leggy or spindly look. Since they've been outside in the cold, none have had any big growth spurts, just steady but healthy growth. I think if you waited till later when it was warmer, seeds would germinate much quicker and grow much faster long before it was time to plant out. This way seedlings are hardened off with no effort as well.

I think lots of people do just winter sow right on the ground where you want stuff to grow, the advantage of doing it in containers is that there is no risk of heavy rains washing seeds away, or of them becoming bird food.


Lots of you are growning annuals that I'm not familiar with... I've been having fun doing google image searches for the names I don't know. wow! There are a LOT of plants that I need, and didn't even know it!

Hey Chamelle! No need for sase, just gimme an address and they'll get sent out this week. I wish I could handle some more plants but I'm full up right now:) Keep me in mind for another time though, you never know what I might kill ;)

I wish I had read about WS in Feb. We're having weather from a hard frost warning (for tonight) then 2 days later hitting 71. Perfect spring weather, then wind, thunderstorms and hail.

I'll definitely be doing it next winter. I think that's why I have problems with indoor sowing--I end up with weak spindley puny plants and end up nursing invalids until I give up and toss them and direct sow whatever I can.

SW_gardener I think there's a winter sowing forum that has more details on WS--I'm going to start watching it. Someone else suggested checking out gardenweb for good WS information too. I'll probably just start reading all the early posts and any thread started by a newby to the process. I'll be checking out the iris info you gave too. Gotta be fun playing mad scientist with the iris:)

Kbaumle, make sure you post pics once you've finished with your directional post. It sounds really neat.

Heh, it takes me FOREVER to write a response, and I every time I post I get the little message that says "Excuse me, but while you were taking 60 years to type a 3 minute message, someone else posted."

dmac, I'm excited about getting seeds! I'll be waiting in case you kill somethin, k?

I'd like to be able to save seeds for next year... do you think I should keep the blushing susie away from the alata?

Chamelle, I will post pics when it's done! :-)

My attempt at starting seeds indoors in peat pots isn't going so well. Good germination, but then spindly, and lots of damping off, even when it looked like they were doing so well! My gazanias and marigolds are the only things that look like they will make it okay. Oh, and the morning glories.

One big lesson I learned last year was to not fertilize tiny seedlings. I fertilized them from above and most(if not all) of them died from fertilizer burn. So none of that this year. For the next 10 days here it's supposed to be warm and no freezing temps. YEESSS!!! I hope some of my seeds will start sprouting. I'm also going to take a look in the winter sowing forum and find out exactly what it is.

Kbaumle, your direction post sounds really neat! I'm looking forward to seeing the pics.

Dmac, 'mad scientist' ....I like that! It makes me think I should get some crazy eye glasses and a funny hat.

Steve

Come on SW_gardender--you know you already have a funny hat ;) Don't all gardeners have a funny hat...you know the floppy weird sun hat...ok...maybe just me!

Charmelle--you'll have mail in a few days:)