What seeds can I still sow now in Z7a?

As so many of us, I have way too many seeds, and am still buying more when I see something I don't have or want more of. There must be a name for this syndrome.

It is getting quite warm here now, so I was wondering if I can still sow the following seeds, and if so, how. I want to them in jugs, of course, I love this system.

Festuca glauca (germinated in 5 weeks)
Lavandula angustifolia (none have germinated so far, sown Feb. 4)
catmint, lemon scented
Verbena bonariensis
Centaurea cyanoides
Datura (has not germinated yet, sown Feb. 27)

I am still going to add a couple of tomatoes and sweet peppers, then I'll be done.

Thanks for you thoughts on this.

C.

Clementine:

You're doing great! The Lavandula angustifolia will most likely germinate as the soil temperature warms up. Lavender normally grows in hot dry climates, so it's waiting for the right time to germinate. The rest of your seeds should do fine.

Definitely wintersow some tomatoes. The peppers probably will wait until the temps warm up too before they do very much, but you can definitely go ahead and sow them.

Thanks, Shirley. We have had such warm weather here lately (to end tomorrow unfortunately), that I have tons of seedlings. I guess you are agreeing that I can still sow all the ones i listed in my previous post - I just want more of those, I have decided.

And I have taken your earlier advice on tomatoes and peppers, and am looking forward to them.

Clementine

Shirley is surely right about the Datura, I always deadhead them but if you want to collect seeds secure a piece of stocking over the seed pod since they will pop open and scatter. Someone always wants Datura seeds so they are good as give-aways or trades. Large White (Inoxia) shown below will come back from the roots every year and will set seedpots easily. I love all of them but am partial to this one.

Judy


This message was edited Mar 16, 2007 8:45 AM

Thanks Judy. Yes, Datura inoxia it is! If you want to collect the seeds, do as Judy as instructed. Wearing gloves when touching the plant is encouraged as the seedpods are coarse and covered with prickly hairs. Do you find that over varieites of Datura reseed as vigorously as Datura inoxia?

All but the doubles are very good at reseeding - at least here not to the point of weedy but here and there (and they are very very very easy to pull when young)

You're very welcome.

What type of Datura are you growing? If it is the white variety, I just wanted to let you know that it will reseed all over your garden. So you might want to consider growing it in a container. I found this out when it grew in my garden bed, my lawn and in places I never planted it. I guess that's why its common name is "Jimsonweed".

Hi Shirley and Judy: my datura is D. meteloides (from 'Botanical Interests'), which I understand is a D. inoxia. I guess I will just watch it and deadhead regularly - and maybe I'll think of a better place than I had originally considered, i.e. in the border in front of the house. Maybe I'll put is more in a side bed.

how BIG do these plants get?

I recall seeing one when i was a kid, and it was quite large... i just want to make sure i plant it in the right place to accomodate the large size -- if it is as big as i think it may get.

Mine it white too.

terese

I have never grown them, and my seed package says it'll grow to 2' to 3' tall, which for me is a very good height. But I think I saw some in a yard along the road that was at least three feet tall, and the width is close to that too.

That's good to know that the singles are the ones that reseed abundantly. I'm going to focus on growing doubles this year, because the Datura inoxia grew to about 3ft tall and easily 3-4ft wide. Some varieties can get around 5-6ft tall.

Even in a pot, inoxia can get pretty big! Mine was about 24" tall and 90 feet wide! LOL! Grabbed me every time I walked by. I think the doubles are supposed to be a bit more compact ...

PV

I had a d. inoxia last year that was about 3' tall and 4+' wide. I dead headed every evening when I came home from work. It was fun to count how many blooms I'd had the night before. I think the most I pulled off was 43 one evening. I generally leave 1 or 2 at the end of summer to let it go to seed and then try to catch the pod right as it's ready to open before all of the seeds drop out. I had so many comments on my plant. People were always walking by the house asking what it was. I told them I would have lots of seeds to share. :-)

Well, it looks like this will be very interesting. I am ceratinly good at weeding an dpulling and digging things out.

Daltri - do you wear gloves when you work with them?

I wintersowed three Daturas this year - double black, double yellow, and white (not sure if double or single as it came from a swap). They were all sown Feb 24th. The black sprouted Mar. 15, the yellow, Mar. 17, and the white is still a no-show.
When we first cleared the land and moved our house, within a few months there were single purple datura popping up everywhere in the back yard. I have no idea where the seed came from as the land had been an overgrown patch of trees and vines before (an old farm site).