I have some Paradoxa x Purpurea crosses that I planted in December. They are growing very well under a light. They will have 4 months extra of growing time this year. Do you think they could bloom this year? I've never gotten Paradoxa to bloom the first year. These seem to resemble the Paradoxa the most so far. One of them is really growing quickly. It's amazing. I can't wait to see them bloom.
No more buying the new varieties. I'm just going to try and create my own!
Have your Paradoxa ever bloomed the first year? Thanks for any info.
Paradoxa from Seeds
enchinaceamaniac: I bought a bunch of enchinacia seeds myself as I saw them in a magazine and thought "what a pretty flower"; I've never planted them before so am at a loss as to how to even begin and when to begin. I think I'm going to have an above ground garden built for mine right under a shade tree. Here are the seeds I bought, and I bought seeds as the plants are too outrageously high in my opinion.
Park's Coneflower White Swan - 50 seeds
Park's Magnus Enchinacea - 50 seeds
Park's Paradoxa Yellow - 50 seeds
Thompson and Morgan's Pink Parasol Enchinacea - 35 seeds
Thompson and Morgan's Pulpurea Magnus Enchinacea - 30 seeds
Thompson and Morgan's Lustre Hybrids - 25 seeds
Jung's Ruby Star Enchinacea - 30 seeds
RH Slhumways' White Swan Enchinacea - 50 seeds
I thought they would look nice mixed in with some other seeds from Park's:
Shasta Daisy White Knight
Shasta Daisy Dwarf Snow Lady
Crazy Daisy
Brachycome Blue Star
So; when do I plant the seeds indoors and when do they go outside and how do I care for them? Any pointers will be helpful here?
joy112854
Hello Joy :)
Usually seed pkgs have all the info you need on them...whether you are planting them from indoors 1st, or directly sowing them. Since you live in Florida, you should be able to directly sow them soon if you want to. You are in hardy zone 8a.
You'll need to check when all fear of your last frost would be for your area. I'm in zone 5.
Anyhoo, it's up to you when/how you want to sow...
As for myself, yes, the coneflower plants are expensive, but when I only want one or two of a particular variety, it's easier for me to buy the plants and be able to just put them where I want them. I usually buy perennials and sow annual plants. Remember, again, I'm in zone 5. Many plants that would be hardy to your area as a perennial is just an annual here for me. I already average sowing 300-400 from seeds...usually Salvias, Agastaches, Sunflowers, etc.
This year I only added 3 so far...2 'Hope' and 1 'Pallida'. I might get a Paradox' too...depending on finances and space in the new garden I'm planning. So far I have:
2- 'Tiki Torch'
2- 'White Swan'
2- 'Magnus'
2- 'Harvest Moon'
2- 'Summer Sky'
Hope that helps :)
Susan
Susan: Yes, I'm planning on putting them in raised beds so their planting might have to wait a bit. Thank you
joy112854
So do the coneflowers bloom the first year if you start them from seed?... I have seeds I'm starting but I will buy some plants too then as I want blooms this year. The Purpurea (sp?).......
.Pallida,(pale purple)........
Double Decker............
Paradoxa (yellow)
these were given to me in a gift ....about 5-10 seeds of each.
Also got the Rudbeckia Glorisia daisy ,
and Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy.............don't even know if these will grow in Central Florida (zone 9/ab)
Would I need to stick them in the fridge for a while ( in soil,,,,no soil??????)
New to the seed thing so any help is appreciated. (except for going out and randomly throwing some mixed seeds out and not really knowing what actually came up.
mj
I believe that most coneflowers will flower the first year, if you sow them early enough. The baby swan that I sowed last year flowered late summer/early fall.
From experience, I can tell you that rudbeckias gloriosa is usually very easy to start, and will flower earlier than the echinacea. I love them, and they are probably perenials in Florida. The ones that I have grown have very large flowers.
The jury is still out on the cherry brandys. One person has report a very low germination rate, while another person is getting twice the rate. So far, no on has reported flowering yet. I have quite a few of these seeds myself, so I am looking forward to hearing some positive reports.
Good luck.
As an afterthought................Wallyworld has/had the echinacea Purpurea , in bags.....4 plants for $5.00...........for the plain jane variety........that's not bad............all I need it to do is feed my butterflies............and the birds...........
Do I need to stick them in the fridge first? If so how long?