What? You ordered spice seeds and didn't tell me? Meanie.
Fauna4flora, did you ever take a sniff at those developing cinnamon blooms?
Favorite foliage fragrances... what an addiction!!!
I like cinnamon vine for a strong cinnamon fragrance to the blossom (like big red chewing gum, even warm inside the nose like big red in the mouth), but you can't grow it in warmer areas without it getting VERY invasive. :(
-Joe
ASTC- Ah, the fleshy tropical seed. Like Theobroma cacoa maybe.....those don't store well AT all. I get a kick out of finding a already germinating seed in the fruit.
Chantell....I would feel better, too!
Critter, no or not yet........ I remembered to look at them, but we also got cold snap number 2 after that. This will sound like a joke compared to what you folks up North have endured, but 32-34 degrees makes a mess of things down here. The buds got brown tipped and although the inflorescence wasn't toast I'm kinda doubtful they will do much. Plant looks fine, though.
Joegee, what is cinnamon vine?
Thanks for keeping an eye on them! I haven't been able to find a description of the blooms anywhere (particularly interested in their fragrance, of course).
I must apologize for calling Chantell a meanie. She didn't tell me she was ordering seeds because she just went ahead and ordered some for me too! I knew all along she was an angel. ;-)
A friend is sharing some Passie seeds with me -- quad-something. I looked it up in PF, and it has a huge, fragrant bloom. I hope I can get them to grow! (Yes, of course I am sharing them with Chantell. And then we'll share cuttings around, LOL.)
Jill - you are too cute...you know i don't get pressed 'bout stuff like that - Silly Rabbit - stressings for adults...LOL Do you think Joe's talking about that vine that Judy shared the seeds with us? I planted that out w/my chocolate vine last year. Those are the non-thug vines I was referring to keeping...no runner bean for me this year and NO planting of MG's....sheesh God knows what will come up on their own...yikes
Oh, that could be the one! She said she'd bring some more "seeds" (they were like teeny potatoes, right?) with her to the swap this year. Mine grew 6 inches high and then perished, so I didn't get a bloom from it... sounds like yours did better... did they bloom?
I hear you on the MGs! I'm going to try to go against my instincts (they're so pretty) and pull up the volunteers along the fence bed this year, because I have a flat's worth of Japanese Morning Glory seeds I want to start and set out there instead. I don't want the self-sown seedlings to crowd out my new fancy ones! My neighbors loved the flowers along their fence, so I'm going to sow a fat handful of seeds along the back of their fence and see if they take (yes I asked, and they thought it would be great to have them there). I can't really go digging along back there because the poison ivy isn't quite all gone, but if I throw a bunch of seeds I think something will sprout! We'll see.
Never got blooms...who knows...then again might have under that mess of runner bean...ugh! I did a mini-fence of MG between my neighbors & my front yard....she (non-plant0 person loved it...Me? Not so much when I realized they'd enveloped my Persian Lilac and then preceded UP my dwarf Magnolia - pretty, yes - a mad, mad mess YES...no thank you to that again. With the amt of seeds i heard hitting the ground as I pulled the dead vines from the tree this fall...I'll need to keep on top of it. "Might" let a couple do their thing but nothing like the amt I purposely grew ahead of time, then planted last year. Like to put the dwarf sweet peas over there this spring...which reminds me...need to start those this w/e. Hmmm....sweet peas, stock and the white scented daturas along that area.....mmmmm
Are you starting your sweet peas in pots or in the ground? I told DMIL she should wait until March 1 to plant hers (in the ground; I'll tell her to pre-sprout them in a baggie). She's getting impatient though, so I might ship some cow pots to her next week.
That's what I'm doing with the seeds I'm starting (fingers crossed) that will be put in the ground...they're all in Cow Pots in the big plant rack in front of my wndows
OK, then I'd better get that box packed. I got her some special "vintage" varieties from Summer Hill for Christmas (Macutana and 'Lord Nelson's' I think) since I figured she'd have even more fun with the blooms if they had a history... plus, the old varieties seem to be the most fragrant. :-)
Woooo-whoooo...just found those little mini-greenhouse starters but they're window sill shaped....yeeee - haaa
If that is the cinnamon vine, I grow it and have never even seen the blooms much less smelled it!!! Major disappointment on that one...
Cinnamon vine, dioscorea oppositifolia, wild Chinese yam, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53822/ . It can definitely be a thug, but unlike the tubers of air potatoes this vine's little tubers are edible and delicious.
-Joe
Looks cool...but sadly seems like it is invasive over here in Florida....and in my tiny garden I can't risk it...don't think my neighbors would appreciate yams popping up in their garden. I'm just going to have to come visit ya'll's place someday.
Funny I always say the same about ya'lls...!!!
Samantha - got my clove seed in today - already sprouting thru a split in seed (love my use of official germination terms, eh?). Directions didn't specify how deep to plant it but said plant any roots down. Question is that "sprout" - is that considered a root or is that the beginning of a seedling that should be growing up. Guess I'm wondering if I planted the dang things upside-down? LOL Yes, that would be something I'd do. I'll post pic in morning...
Here's the pic, finally - I planted the "tail" down...was that right?
Most seeds seem to sprout a root before they sprout leaves, so I'd say that's fine... if in doubt, you can plant it sideways; most seeds will right themselves.
How's your Clove going Chantell? Mine decided to finally pop out and have a look around...
Anyone else buy the clove seed?
I planted cinnamon seeds at the same time and they are doing well too.....i love when I get "fancy" seeds to sprout, I usually don't have much luck, but since starting this Aerogarden, it's right there for me to see everyday so I don't usually forget about the seeds.
Here's the Cinnamon Zeylancium
Samantha - I was going to ask you about your clove. I'm not seeing anything yet. Beginning to worry about the time spent in the metal mail box when our temps were pretty cold. How long did it take for yours?
BTW - got a cute little Kaffir Lime in last night - leaves are fragrant...gotta do a repeat sniffer test to describe though.
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 12:33 PM
Chantell it seemed like the Clove took forever to pop out. From when I posted that last pic on Feb 12, it took close to a month to actually fully emerge out of the little green split thingy (love my termanology!)....just be patient, I nearly missed it.
Yes the Kaffir lime is one of my favorites....I could crush and smell those leaves all day. Don't try eating the lime or using the juice, it's not at all like our regular limes. You can grate the skin though, very good in cakes.
I'm off shopping again on Tradewinds....I'm so excited that all the seeds I got from there are sprouting. Even the Biriba that popped out but the top got stuck in the soil sprouted new leaves. And my paw paw's are germinating. And my rangoon creeper seed (I only had 2 last year) I popped into the soil not expecting much since it sat on the branch through the winter until I realized what it was....that even germinated. Can you tell I'm excited. I've never really done much seed sprouting because I've had such bad luck at it.
Hmmmm....what should I try next? Lots of their seeds are out of stock right now.
LOL Maybe we talked them up too much on DG eh? LOL Or simply they only keep in stock but so many at a time ensuring their freshness! You're the sprouting queen aren't you?!?? I'm excited for you!! I'll be patient on my little cloves then. BTW, what does the lime taste like then???
The kaffir Lime is grown for it's leaves and the rind....not for the fruits. Usually in Thai cooking.
Chantell...I was looking at my clove seedling and noticed that the root was nearly 1 1/2 inches outside the bottom of the little pot I had it in....be careful if you have it started it in a small pot or jiffy cube. I think I'm going to have to cut the pot away so as not to harm the root.
Wow!! Mine is in a 4" 'Cow Pot' so I figure they've got plenty of room...each in their own.
You guys are responsible for making me a weekly shopper at Tradwinds, tsk tsk. :-)
I think the clove seed is a freshness thing. I managed to get 1, yippee! Thanks for the tip on the roots, astcgirl. I will transfer mine to a deep pot when it sprouts. Sooooooo excited about my paw paw seeds coming! Thanks for that tip, too.
Anyone need Perilla seeds? Found some old plants in my brug pots and harvested seed today, the anise scent was unbelieveable. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/276
I love the purple/bronze/dark green foilage almost as much as the anise/orange scent of the leaves and would choose it over coleus any day. They are not invasive if you pinch off the flowerheads (just like coleus).
Vi!!! THAT'S the plant that comes up various places in my yard every year...always wondered what it was...too pretty to pull up though so I let it do it's thing
Have you rubbed the leaves and sniffed? If I have a pocket or gloves on, there's usally a crushed leaf. I was wondering what it would do as a tea. Never nibbled one, but read that people do, must try that this year, hope they taste as good as they smell..
I'm thinking I would've b/c well that's what I do with anything that doesn't resemble poison ivy/sumac/oak...LOL But I don't remember what, if any, scent it had.
I saved seeds last year too, but then found out it's on "invasive" lists for many states, so I haven't been passing the seeds out as I otherwise might. I've got plants all over a side bed every spring since planting *one* and not deadheading it a couple of years ago.
Well, my opinion is that the world definely needs to smell better, lol. How did you find the scent of them, Jill?
vaguely "herbal," almost like a nice soap might be... hard to describe, but definitely not sweet... also not overly strong unless you're right in there pinching leaves or pulling unwanted seedlings!