Here is the new thread....
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #13
Thanks to everybody who was worried about me :))
Meredith, Yes to the seeds for the red dianthius, thank you for thinking of me! - that's really pretty!
Wind, My Mina germinated just fine, but I have to agree on the Purple Majesty Millet -- mine is green, too. No, I never got Gartenmeister Fuchsia; the little garden center had all different things this year. They also didn't have my pale butter yellow Lantana, and though I got some seeds to germinate, they were flooded out with all the rain. On the other hand, the peppers with the black foliage are actually black. (I pulled out the seedlings which were green, and just kept the ones with some black, but I didn't really think they would darken up like they have. Pretty!)
Star, I have Knautia 'Melton Pastels" from Bluestone. I bought 6 last year. They are supposed o be all different colors, but mine are all the same color: vivid jarring magenta. They have a basal rosette of foliage with some crazy bare tall weird stems coming up and little flowers on them sort of like a smaller Scabiosa daisy. I had a million flowers and they just happened to bloom at a time where there was nothing near them, so they looked ok. Now the oranges and scarlets are up and it is a riot of color, but I can honestly say no one would plan it!
Luckily I didn't have the time to even glance at the T&M sale!
Tuink, You could probably supply a couple of florists with all those cut flowers you're going to have! What is the name of the one flower (pink with a white zone) that you said was your favorite?
Lala, The Coral Nymph Salvia gets gigantic -- you wil love it even more 6 weeks from now! Oddly, mine didn't reseed at all. There MUST have been a Million seeds that fell to the ground -- where'd they go? NO RESEED! Harumph!
Star, Girl, what are you doing? You sent osteospermum pluvials tetra sunshine Giants to the swap, didn't you? I got some Tetra Sunshine something from you! In any case, I had them, the plants were big...as big as garden center plants. I put them out...and the BUNNIES ate them! They also had a bachelor's buttons buffet, but those came back...as if they had been pinched. They are just now blooming when they should have bloomed a month ago, but at least they didn't eat them to the ground.
Lea you are dry enougth for cracks??? Oh my! How did all the rain get past you without falling down? :) Sweep or put some sand in those cracks and you can see how far they go down. I love those veins of sand!!!
Pam, Your border is wonderful!!! I am so jealous that I don't have a nice long shallow border just like it!!! (Fairy, yours is the same idea, complete with a fence in the back...I am jealous of yours, too, but Pam posted first and got top billing.
Fairy, What a surprise on that Mystic Merlin Malva! It doesn't look anything like the catalog pics, or at least not how I imagined it based on the pics. I really like it -- very full. I'd like to hear for you in about a month and see if the Japanese Beetles have eaten it to nubs or not. Also, I wanted to tell yo the compost tumbler has a flaw in the design. To get the compost in 2 weeks (ha!) you need ot have a couple of pices of rebar welded or bolted inside to make an x. That way, when stuff tumbles, it will hit the bars and break apart better. Just tell your grand pa that and he'll know what I mean. The x is stationery and bolted to the drum.
Meredith, Your Silene is pretty -- 750 seeds to a pack...hmmmm?
Wind, that Petunia and ornamental oregano is a really pretty combination!!!! Tell me about the ornamental oregano - is it perennial?
I have a million pics on my camera and some tings I missed in full bloom. Some really , really pretty double semi-pale pink poppies. They look actual;y okay where they are -- on the paler side of my bright hot orange and coral border. The Hollyhocks are jumbo-big. I am serious -- they are like 36"-48" across and I have several of them.
The dahlias, Zinnias and other heat lovers are looking sick. It is just so cool here, esp at night. We are almost always in the 70s by this time in June, and this year we are still in the low 60s.
My fave combination is those little short daisies (I'll get a name, I just forget right this second, but they are like a regular daisy, just only 9" tall.) with a yellow scabiosa-flowered Calendula called Kabloona Yellow.
My least fave combination was orange Calendula with the pink, rose, and red peonies--- YUCK!
The hydrangeas I started from cuttings last year are all blooming - I have about a dozen of them (only 2 or 3 flowers, each, but still, not bad for free.
The pic is "ragged Silene"...I think it's Silene Ragged Robin, but I'd have to check for a tag. I cut them back after bloom and only saved a few seeds, but that is only like 5 or 6 plants in the pic, so you don't need many!
Suzy
This message was edited Jun 24, 2008 2:06 AM
Morning all!
Wind, my summer shower geraniums are now budding. I don't mind if they're fuchsia pink, though! BTW, what a lovely combination of the oregano and petunia. Did you plan that, or was it an accident?
Seander, an allotment is a patch of land that you can rent from the government to use it as a garden. I have two of those, the cutting garden and an edible garden.
I may partake in the Fantasy swap, but will have to check first if I've got anything that will do......
Critter, as this is a hybrid salvia it may not come true. Most certainly if there's other salvia's in the neighbourhood. They're so promiscuous......
Illoquin, looks like you've got the species Knautia. I have them too, and indeed they are as magenta as they get. I planted some calendula next to them that were supposed to be a pastel yellow. They turned out to be bright orange......
The pink with white favourite flower of mine is a Schizanthus "Angel wings".
Glad to see you are OK Suzy-I already braught the tumbler home, I will have to look in it and see and if there isn't something like that in there, I will have to figure something out-I had printed "do it yourself" directions online and mailed them to him to make...
Someone said Neem oil works well to deter the beetles-going to try that and see...last year they really only bothered my marigilds and roses and a couple on my dahlias...if I have to I will plant a TON of the reg marigolds (the ones I cal the uglies) and let them have at em-that way I don't have to worry about my other stuff...
A QUICK ??-I haven't planted my 4 oclocks yet-can I do it now, or is it too late??
No problem, Fairy, you can plant them right now. However, I'm not sure if they'll survive your winters. If they do, you'll have magnificent bushes of them next year. They make very big tubers. I think it would be best for you to dig them up in autumn, store them and plant out again next year. Because of the big tubers, they're no good for growing in pots.
Suzy... I have no idea what I am doing. My seed boxes are one giant jumble of a mess and when I see a pretty pic, I buy it, and it not unusual for me to end up buying something I already have.
Don't feel bad about your Zinnas. I had to pitch bunche sof mine. The extremem high heat adn the above normal humidity and mine even with a fungicide have taken a turn for the worse.
A uarter inch of rain in to months just doesn't cut it and even with watering, things are burning up so bad it not funny. I am seriously thinking of moving to someplace with rain and cooler temps.
Suzy the ragged Silene is very cool : ) I didn't even look at the amount of seed per pack, and I ordered from Dianeseeds instead. I wish I had looked at that because I'm only getting 250 for the same price, http://dianeseeds.com/silene-orientalis.html (I am sure I will have left overs if you would like some ; ) ) However I did throw in a couple other things in my order and diane seeds have always come the same week I order so that was my reason for ordering there. I need these seeds soon, so I can have blooms for next year. I also ordered some rocky mountain bee plant, I tried some from a trade (none dg) and I've had none sprout so I want to see if I have better luck with purchased seeds. I am going to put it in my notes to send you some of those red dianthus. Oh and I bet your garden looks great and you are just being modest : )
fixed link
This message was edited Jun 24, 2008 9:28 AM
Oh, yes, I agree. DO NOT buy from Specialty perennials if you want them in the next 3 months. Their shipping is terrible (but their selection kind of makes up for it!)
Fairy, I agree with Tuink, plant those four O'clock seeds. It must be the water in the winter that kills the Four O'Clocks. If you remember in the 80s when we had winter temps 20 degrees colder than we do now, my Four O'Clocks came back like, well, clockwork. (Pun intended) They literally looked like shrubs. Last year, nada, and it only got down to zero. Regarding digging up the tubers, well, I'm not too sure that's necessary here unless you get a really, really pretty color combination and you want that exact one for next year. They love the summer heat, but I don't think they llve the full sun.
Meredith, I have some big patches where nothing is growing...the perennials are too small to look like anything, and the annuals won't grow. I had put about 4" of compost over the area in question so that the daffodils would stay cooler in summer, and the compost drains too fast and dries out, even with all the rain we've had. I need to go get a couplkd 5-gallon buckets of DIRT!
Gotta take my mom to the doctor & shopping today....have a good one!
Suzy
Here is my red flowers container and after reading the question about 4' oclocks I had to get the pot with 4 o'clocks in it. I saved my tubers that I grew from seed last year. I think you can do a pot with the tubers as long as it is quite large. The first year I tried them I did a pot with a large tuber I got for $3 at walmart. It worked out well. Here they are in my journal http://davesgarden.com/tools/journal/showimage.php?eid=112948 (I actually planted the ones I grew from seed that year around the tuber and they didn't get more than a couple blooms off before the frost.) The only problem was the flowers were yellow and not the color they showed on the package. So last year I grew the red glow from seed and figured I give storing the tubers a go. It was really easy, I just dug them up cut off the old roots and let them dry on the counter on paper plates. Then I put them in a brown lunch bag and stuck in a cabinet in my garage which stays on the cool side. 2 years in a row I grew them from seed and both times the ones from seed stayed small and only put out a few blooms about 2 weeks before frost zapped them. So that's why I tried it this way. The plants in the pic are already the same size as the ones I grew from seed were in Sept. I am also trying them in full sun because of how few flowers I've gotten in a part sun location. Where they are in a pot I will be able to move them if they seem unhappy.
Last time I dug up a 4 o'clock tuber it was as big as my underarm, and just as thick too! Amazing how big it was, also because the upper part of the plant stayed quite small. Then, the next year they romped away and took over a whole bed!
Yes Tuink I was thinking yours probably get much larger than mine. You have much milder climate than I, and they are probably perennial for you? The ones I dug up from last year were all different sizes with the largest 9" (probably as deep as the pot I put them in, if you count the real skinny tip) and the smallest about 3". The one I had purchased was larger than that. I think if you keep them every year and they get bigger you'd need a very large pot like a 3' tall one. : )
OMG you all! lol I've got to catch up again lol I'm trying to spray for weeds then I'll be back, Suzy did your red and yellow 4 O'Clocks bloom yet? I haven't put mine in the ground yet waiting for the weed killer their about 10" high so far and have them in the cow pots but I guess you know that lol
Hey everyone - finally got caught up reading last night, but then was too tired to post anything that had thought behind it. Suzy, I'm glad to hear the water didn't hit anything but your front yard. Lea, my sis said she didn't get a drop in Scottsburg, so I figured you wouldn't get much anyway - wild spring here, eh?
Meredith, those red blooms look a lot like a lobelia....
I'm ashamed to admit I've no updated pics, mostly cuz there's nothing to take updated pics OF. I've been in clients' yards so much mine is back to looking like the Cobbler's Child again, darn it anyway. About a fourth of the seeds I started ended up dying on me for lack of care (too many started, not enough transplanting/planting) but the rest are doing OK, either in my yard or (more than likely) in friends' and sis's yards. A few to a special client (the one who prefers heirlooms), and now I've started up four more trays of seedlings - mostly snapdragons and impatiens (for more containers for friends and clients, and me) but also some coleus, and a few veggies (to replace bunny feasts).
This week it's back to my sis's to work on some more of her yard, and then back to some clients, and in between working on getting that cottage garden up and going in our front yard. The back yard is a bit wild, but the perennials I put in last year are doing very well thankewverymuch, the glads I got with Ansonfan are up, the garlic and onion sets are keeping the dogs away from the ajuga, the bee balm is about to rip into bloom, the plume poppies are finally putting out buds, and I MUST get my sunflowers, 4 oclocks and zinnia seeds in the ground, for pete's sake!
Tuink, I've been meaning to ask you where you got the drip setup for your tomatoes - it looks like a wonderful setup. And frost? What are you doing getting frost???? I have to admit I'm not crazy about our weather being up in the 80's already, but at least the nights cool down a bit. Yeah, it's not good for some of those plants, but it's good for me - LOL!
Dryad, you know I was going to get the tags and include what they were with that post, but I forgot because I was too busy trying to remember all my 4 o'clock experiences. (silly me) So I went and got the tags...
Tallest one is Salvia microphylla 'Red Velvet' Zone 8-11
One on left is Phygelius 'Devils Tears' Cape Fuschia Zone 7-8
The one on right is Ruellia elegans Common name says False or Wild Petunia Zone 8-11
These are all things I've happened upon in plant files at one time and loved but where they aren't hardy never hunted down. When I saw them at the nursery, I thought I could put them in a pot and try to take cuttings to keep over winter. I've never done cuttings but I want to start trying with stuff that isn't hardy for me.
This message was edited Jun 24, 2008 11:14 AM
You guys are wonderful! I love DG. Here I was, racked with guilt because I haven't been taking pictures, I have too many seedlings, and I can barely keep up with potting stuff - and you are so kind as to reveal you are facing some of the same problems. I know what great gardeners you are, so I don't feel so bad.
Illoquin - OMG! That is still a lot of rain. The zinnia seeds you sent are now starting to blossom. Was I supposed to pinch them at some point? In any case, they seem very healthy.
The terrace gardens are starting to fill in - thanks to my DG buddies who shared their wonderful seeds with me. One big mistake on my part was that I failed to record from whom I received each seed. Now I feel really stupid because I am sooo thrilled with many of them and I would like to thank the source. Anyway, I want all of you to know I really do appreciate all your advice and the sharing of seeds.
hi all
diana..i love your hollyhock !! id love some seed later
meredith..ive rooted cuttings of phygelius..they are rather easy.. salvia.. yes too, just do more cuttings just in case. ive never done ruellia.
welcome back suzy!!
im not sure what i will plant in that border after the poppies and the sweet williams are finished..i will let both go to seed so that will look ugly for awhile.
ive gotten so far behind in plantings because of the cool weather im going to postpone alot of seed plantings to next planting season. the evenings are cold here!! i hear that summer is going to finally arrive later on this week
i got the newsletter for the t and m sale but we had two birthdays plus fathers day this month..so it was out of the budget.
here is sweet william 'newport pink'
Pamsue, love your pink sweet williams : ) Thanks I am glad you think it's easy, that means I have a half a chance of getting them rooted. Thank you. : )
I love the scent of Sweet William. Yours look wonderful, Pamsue.
I had two datura plants growing from seeds from the swap, and I found four cucumber beetles on it today! They chewed it pretty good but I sprayed them with some neem so maybe it can be saved.
Morning all!
Dryad, I found the drip systems in the same shop where I bought the tomato greenhouses. Kind of stumbled upon them.....
OK-so I am not really dumb-but when I plant 4 o'clock seeds, they will grow into little tubers kinda like dahlias, then I dig them up & store them for the winter-then next year they will grow to be bigger quicker?? Is that right?? And should I keep them in the garage or the basement??
Yes Fairy that's right. I dug mine right after the we had our first frost that killed back their leaves. I had a hard time finding info on when is the best time to dig them but that seemed to work well for me. Is you basement damp? If it is damp I think I'd do the garage. Remember to keep them in a dark place and cool and you will be good to go. : ) It sounds like others have had better luck with growing from seed than me. Mine just never amounted to much from seed. I'll post a pic of mine later in the summer so you can see what you think. : )
you are in 5b too and you put yours in the garage?? I put my glads in the garage and they do fine...
Yes I put mine in the garage in a cabinet so they didn't get any light. My garage is built in, it has a heating element in it and it's under a room of the house. It doesn't get any colder than 45 degrees F even in the coldest months. If your glads do fine in yours it should be perfect in your garage. : )
OK-mine isn't built in, but I dig up the bulbs, and let them dry, then kinda knock the excess dirt off, put em in an onion sack and then in a box...they are starting to sprout now & I don't even have them planted yet!!LOL
I'm glad I'm not the only one lol :)
Are snapdragons hybrid? Last year I purchased some georgeous short pink ones. Didn't save seed but had lots of volunteers. A few (2) so far are blooming white or pale yellow. The rest are pink. I want to save the seed this year so am wondering. I got the tall Chantilly seed from Park's this spring, planted and only saved 1 plant. It did not say in the catalog if it is hybrid. Any info appreciated...
Veronica it doesn't say anything about them being a hybrid:
http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=51706&PrevMainPage=textsearchresults&scChannel=Text%20Search&SearchText=snapdragon&OfferCode=VH1
I have them to plant for next year in my orange garden, you will have to let me know how they do :)
I sure hope to get some seed off of the little critter and will try next year to go by Illoquin's instruction to get them out in a greenhouse early. I am going to be alert and be first in line at Wal-Mart for the greenhouse next year. BTW I have 3 of the tiniest Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' that I put out. They did not grow a bit. Probably bad soil conditions. Today I decided anything that would live that long in those conditions should have half a chance so moved them to a better place. It will be interesting to see if they make it. How they could live 2 months there is a mystery. I am continually amazed with plants and seeds.
Well, go figure. I tried sooooo hard to get datura to germinate for me (they have just germinated now, even though I started them in February).
Meanwhile - get this! - I have datura volunteers from last year's plants - and the volunteers are bigger than this years seedlings! Who knew that datura could self sow in zone 6?
I have datura that self-sowed in the dirt I used for WS, and ended up with a couple of very lovely daturas in the middle of the clary sage and sweet williams :) I'm putting one in my sis's yard and the other in a friend's yard - can't put it back in my yard as that's where I put the greenhouse that Suzy hasn't seen yet. I'll get seeds from my sis's plant this fall for anyone who wants them.
Go figure . . . . ^_^ Just goes to show, the seeds really do want to germinate!
I think for them it is part about heat-they need it hot to grow....they do self sow like crazy BTW
Depends on the species, though: Datura stramonium is a plant for cool climates. You may have that one. It's usually a nice purple....
no-I don't have that one-just some of the others...all mine like heat and seem to grow best when it gets humid out...
Which datura is that in my terms like the real name lol I'm courious if one of mine will self sow, I planted the double yellows and tripple yellow where I had my last compost pile I would love it if they would selfsow down there! My purple one didn't germinate :( I already have Inoxia and love it, but it's a perennial here, I may have hit it with the weed killer the other day I sure hope not, you should have seen me I kept hitting leaves from my plants so I kept taking the leaves off as I hit them LOL
Oh I just looked that one up and I do have a couple of those those get huge!
Oh! When I saw you guys talking about datura I had to grab my camera and run outside. What the heck IS this thing? I know it's not a bud, but I've never seen a growth like that on anything before.
Here they are (my only 2 germinaters) at front right with Suzy's corncockle behind them. Sorry about the sun glare. Noon is not the best time to take photos outside, LOL. I also have Suzy's cherry zins in front of "Neals" lilies. That reminds me I must check on the experiment....the ray seeds vs. the discs.
La, that's a seed pod to your datura :) Beautiful flowers!!!
Alrighty then. I'm not the most experienced gardener, but I'm not a newbie either. I thought the seeds would be where the spent blooms were. Is this quite unusual or am I more of a newbie than I realized?
And thank you. :-)