Greenhouse Hits and MIsses 2013

1. Growing tomato plants from seed was a Hit. I won heirloom tomato seeds. They germinated, all of them. I planted them out timely and they did well until soil nematodes stunted some plants and turned them into a miss. VFN hybrids are a must if I expect to grow tomatoes in the ground. I did get some tomatoes off the ones I stuck in flower beds in the front yard, lol.

The previous year's container tomatoes lasted through the Winter and were pretty much a hit but I let container tomatoes go because of the space and attention they crave. Peppers in containers were a Winter hit, too.

2. Forced Hyacinths were a mid-winter Hit with the folks at my Church in 2013. I brought the little pots to Church one Sunday night and everybody got a blooming bulb. These were blue. They bloomed in time for Chinese New Year, which means good fortune, I think.

This year's Hyacinths are pink, and white. They'll be blooming before Valentine's Day 2014, I think.
Amaryllis are a hit with those friends who got one in bloom. I have bulbs not yet putting up buds. They'll be another mid-winter joy. A hit is that I won a really nice bulb from Longfield Gardens and it has the tiniest sprout. Hit.

Miss: I'm not going to discuss the bad Amaryllis bulbs I got from another vendor that were not only mislabeled but mushy. They've been replaced. Case closed.

3. Thyme cuttings were a bust. They didn't root. I'll start over with new plants in the spring.

The celery experiment is a miss, too. Celery bottom rooted easily and commenced growth but I think I kept the celery too wet after I read they liked plenty of moisture. Maybe not. I think I should try celery seeds.

4. Christmas Cactuses were a hit. I pinched everything that was rootable last winter and by summer I had more Schlumbergera than I knew what to do with. Some I potted into bigger pots of 3 for a fuller plant and some I just let grow. The blooms on Whites and Reds were mostly gone before Christmas but there are still Pinks and Oranges and Yellows.

5. Dianthus barbadus was a miss. They were lovely plants from seed but the hot sun just did them in.  Ill-timed and planted in too much sun. Those in the shade survived but I never saw a bloom from anybody, not even in late fall.

Pansies are always a hit.

6. Pansies were a hit. Violas were a miss because I bought trays of budded Violas that turned out to be fat Pansies sitting in the middle of trays of Pansies at a big box store in Tallahassee. I'll go to Alabama City to buy Violas toward the end of January hoping for the beauties I've always found there.

Violas from saved seed are always a hit with me.

7. Behind the violas are Noregelia bromeliads, another of my crazes. I am waiting to divide pups from all the Bromeliads until nearer time to let them go out for the summer. Bromeliads: big Hit.

8. New in the greenhouse were Mistletoe Cactus and Burro's Tail Sedum. Both were tiny pots and grew quickly to dividing size.

9. Planting Cycad seeds was a near bust as only one succeeded, but I thought it a triumph having one.

10. There are Parsley seedlings, seedling Alyssum, and a single Agapanthus seedling. I rooted cuttings of White Shrimp Plant, Red Alternanthera, Chartreuse Alternanthera and Pineapple Sage among other cuttings I kept bringing inside. Purple Heart and Persian Shield are together in a long container of soil. I never tire of sticking cuttings in a pot of soil or a jar of water. They are a Hit if they survive and if not, I am encouraged to try some other propagation method. 

Haven't totally decided about seeds for this Spring just yet. I make new notes almost every day.

What were your Hits and what will you plant in Spring?