Unusual Seed Swap 08 Announcement

Thank you potagere, I'll put in a request for the Longue des Landes sweet pepper in with my seeds. They will be easy to save seeds from and family likes peppers.

Have'nt been this excited in years.LOL!!!!

have you received my seeds yet? plmk and thxs

I'll put in an extra pack pg those just for you, Vickie

not yet Moretz. Will let ya know.

Theresa,
I'm confused, I looked on the list of seeds and there is a 08 Unusual Seed Swap # 1 and 08 Unusual Seed Swap #2. Are we already on #2? I thought #1 just started.

no, I have to change that, its actually page 2. Sorry for the confusion. Tomorrow I hope to work on it as I received seeds today from you, beebe54 and moretz. First glance says they are cool seeds! THANKS

OK, I thought about that later after I posted. The mind is just not a s quick as it used to be, LOL. WOW, the seeds got there fast, I mailed them around 10:00 am on Thursday and they got there on Saturday.

Anyone want double peach hollyhocks or is that too common?

I'm always interested in hollyhocks and I don't have that one.

Carol

I have no Hollyhocks at all and would love some. I am just beginning to do "sun" gardening after years of only woodland shade plants...so I am open and ready.
Is there a "best" way to start seeds? Seems like in nature they just drop and grow.so is that what we should do? or is it better to wait till spring, and if so when .....oh my I get overwhelmed easily.....I hope this is not going to be complicated.....perhaps I am just making it seem so ..................I am so very happy and excited to have found DG (joined in July ) and so many nice, kind people.....sometimes I battle with depression and so it seems that the world is not so kind a place, but you people have made a very bid difference in my life

yes i want very much peachollyhock s to
i like them very much

marjolein

BirdieBlue, gardening is meant to be fun, so just take it slow and reward yourself with headway. Hollyhocks are easy, ya just throw them on the ground in the fall and let nature take its course, same thing with the mexican hats.
I'd be happy to send you some of both.

Do double hollyhocks come true from seed? If so, that would be fantastic! I just assumed they wouldn't. I'm not crazy about singles but any color doubles would impress me.

I would love some double peach hollyhocks, Theresa if you have any left.

Ana

I have lots of hollyhocks, they really put on a nice show for me this year.

Great, thanks Theresa. I really like double hollyhocks!

Please put my name on the list also. I like Double anything. All I have in Hollyhocks is the 'Nigra'. Some of it's blooms are single and some double.

I'd love to have hollyhocks nigra :)

OK, I need an opinion here. I just harvested and cleaned seed from my "decorative garlic". Does that qualify as unusual? I have no idea what variety it is, but it makes these big purple 8" globes. I don't even know for certain that it can be grown from seed, but I've grown both regular garlic and onions from seed, so I don't see why not. I could put together about 5 packs.

Potagere, I'd love to try some of those.

OK. I'll send some. More if others express an interest.

Ooooo! Big purple globes - sounds wonderful! I'd like to try it also, please.

OK. More going in!

I would like to try some of those, do you think they would be good for flower arrangements, or if they could be dried?

Seeds went off today.
vickie

ohhhh, Big purple globes sound FAbulous!!! count me three (soneone else was already "two")!

Can I be number four?

BTW remember having put a packet of double white hollyhocks in my package. It has arrived safe and sound so they should be there!

Theresa,
I like to join in !!!

welcome An57 and all other new participants. Really looking forward to the fun!

I'll have a mix of these morning glory seeds. Wow they make an awesome display.

OK. I'm putting in 4 packets of Purple Deco Garlic! May throw the 5th one in the Mixed Perennial Swap! Some of those mixed nuts just love purple flowers!

I am getting my seeds ready, and have a few questions… I’m not sure how successful some of the stuff I harvested will be grown from seed. I can include the seeds below if people are interested in trying them out, but I know little about starting them from seed, and I’m guessing these would definitely be “experiments.” Please let me know if I should include these or stick to more reliable offerings.

1. freshly harvested seeds from Begonia boliviensis var. 'Bonfire' (one of those that says that seeds are sterile or won’t come true from seed in plantfiles) http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/160830/
I didn’t intend to save these seeds, but I saw all these dry seedpods hanging there, and couldn’t resist ;-)

2. quite a few seeds from some type of watsonia from my family’s house. I believe they are a mix of colors, such as http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=87

3. I have a decent amount of fresh seeds from Impatiens balfourii, and while it reseeds quite plentifully, it might be a challenge to start from dry seed…plus, I don’t know how rare these are?

4. I am trying to save seed from Impatiens namchabarwensis, but in this heat it tends to drop seedpods before they mature, so I only have a few seeds that I was able to catch when one mature seedpod exploded (gotta be quicker ;-)) This one also has a reputation as being hard to start from seed, and while the seeds are fresh I don’t know how great the germination will be. I can only send one small packet of seeds.

5. A few seeds from freesia alba, which were harvested around two months ago, when the plant went dormant for the summer.

6. A few seeds from Tritonia hyalina, which I harvested a couple months ago when the plant went dormant for the summer
http://www.plantworld.org/gallery2/main.php/v/Iridaceae/Tritonia+hyalina.jpg.html

Thanks in advance for your input :-)

Hi sunny,
1. If you have seed, chances are it's worth trying. I love this plant; lost my 1 cutting to heat; and would take this in my trade just to see if it works.
2. This is unusual to me, as I have never heard of it before. Will it grow from seed?
3. Personally, I find this plant all TOO easy to start from seed and consider it a weed. I know that does not set well with those who love it (some of my family do), but I guess it's just one of those "love-it-or-hate-it" plants.
4. I don't know how big this one gets, but it is reminiscent of "Impatiens balfouri". Still, the colour is unique and I would say that this is definitely an "unusual". Since we are all doing unusual, I should think we are all open to difficult germination. I know I am. If you do include it and no one else opts for it, I'd be happy to give it a try (I'm always a sucker gor blue flowers!!!)
5. I think that counts, too. I love freesias.
6. Definitely! I'd love to try it.

The opinions ecpressed in this email are personal to Potagere and do not represent those of the management.

thanks Potagere, and I love your disclaimer. LOL

1. I will package these up today. The seeds are tiny, but I can include a good amount in each packet, and hopefully something will germinate and look like 'Bonfire' ;-)

2. I am not sure which species of watsonia I have here, but I do see seeds for sale online. Is anyone familiar with these guys? I did come across a warning that it would take around 3 years for plants to flower from seed, and watsonias are only hardy in the warmer zones. I can pack up a decent amount of seed in each packet if anyone wants to try this one out just for the heck of it. Here is a bit of info including germination tips for Watsonia pillansii http://www.b-and-t-world-seeds.com/carth.asp?species=Watsonia%20pillansii&sref=23548

3. How about I hold off on sending this one, and if anyone expresses an interest I can include a few packets. I personally love them (as do the bees and hummingbirds), but they do reseed quite a bit.

4-7 I’ll include these :-)

edited to add additional info on the watsonias



This message was edited Aug 27, 2008 1:29 PM

sunnyg,

About "Bonfire": I'd scatter a packet of seeds of this over an entire seed tray in hopes of getting just one seedling. I so love every one of these I have seen. Wish you were closer; I'd LOVE cuttings.

About watsonia: I'd guess that if the seeds are being sold by reputable vendors, the plants can be grown from seed (a DG friend sent me liatris seeds; over on the Perennials Forum, on a thread devoted to Liatris, I was told I could not grow these from seed; I now find Liatris seed sold by several US seed vendors; and my seed is producing seedlings quite nicely, thank you very much, completely oblivious to the common DG "knowledge" that they won't grow)).
But I LOVE the germination instructions! What exactly is "slimy moist"?

I gotta stick by my disclaimer!!!
We all have different ideas of "unusual".
You can't count on mine!

Theresa,
Have you posted any new seeds in the past couple of days, if so I am not seeing them.

Beats me on the “slimy compost,” but it is quite the description, isn’t it? LOL.

I just finished processing some of the begonia dust (errr seed ;-)). Man, those seeds are tiny, and I had to make sure not to breathe while I was removing them from the seedpods. I can now see why they sell begonia seeds in pelleted form. Now that I know there is an interest, I will keep my eye out for more seedpods in the next few days. There should be some more ready, and I do have a fair amount of seed at this point as it is. I hope they germinate well! I don’t know if this will help since it sounds like you are on top of things, but I found this link on how to grow them from seed http://swregion.tripod.com/program/growfromseed2.htm

Someone says Liatris does not grow from seed???? If liatris plants weren't so easy to relocate I would call them weeds. I have hundreds of them that have started from seed & they're growing all over the place , not to speak of all the bulbs & plants I have swapped or given away. And I can't tell any difference between the originals & the reseeds. (Actually I've lost track of which ones were the original bulbs I bought.

Sunnyg,

If you have any exttra begonia seed, I would be interested in trading or ?

Thanks, Carol

Okay--I am in, too. Sounds fun and i want to do the bulb exchange, too. My seeds will be veggies, pretty sure.