Tucking in Plants and Seeds when the Weather Is Hot

Yesterday I tucked variegated Spider Plants along the edge of a bed. The well rooted ones looked fine today, the ones without real roots looked pale and wan. Then the rains came and I think they'll be fine.

2007 or 2008? Purple Castor Bean leaves.

It's been years since I planted Castor Beans. I stopped when Buff was a puppy and somehow just never planted them again.

Today I stuck out old seeds into soft ground ahead of the rain. Maybe one or two will sprout.

You know how you research things? You can find any answer you want, if you read enough articles. Most current articles just dismiss old seed as being viable for 2-3 years. Some learned articles from years back found castor bean seed to sometimes be viable for  years. We'll see.  I only need one plant to sprout, to save enough seeds to plant several beds next year.

A seed vendor sent an email today saying it is time to start perennials. I need to do that. Some need starting in flats and I need to scatter seeds in new places. Echinacea can go along the field roads. I gathered some Verbena bonariensis seeds before the rain and cut back Verbena on a Stick for new growth.

How Long Do Seeds Last?

I found some seeds in my desk that had no date, from Janie in Texas. There was a small packet of red Hollyhock seeds and loose in the padded envelope were seeds about a half inch across, round, flat and kind of wrinkled. My first guess is Orchid Tree. I planted them in a tray, 3 to a cell since they are not exactly 'fresh' but being large seeds, probably will sprout. I set the tray under the mist so they'll stay damp enough to sprout in the heat, obviously tropical.

Come on in the greenhouse for your weekly peek.

Tomato seedlings.

3 Camellia seedlings.

I found seeds on a Gerbera and planted them

in a yoghurt cup. Year of the Gerbera, Yay!

Watch for little fat seeds, many are not viable.

White begonias look so cool. They haven't found a home. Yet.

 

 

Pink Begonias beside stone steps to secret path.

 

 

Bromeliads moved out to the rough steps to summer with Begonias planted along the path.

 

 

 

 

The Termperature Takes a Downturn, not Spring after All

Just when everything was budded out and starting to burst into bloom and we're talking 'early spring' the wind shifts to the north and cold blows in. We expect 25ºF tonight and 27º tomorrow night with a high tomorrow of 52º which may seem balmy to some but is uncomfortable in the South.

I even wrapped little volunteer tomatoes with improvised row cover. Tommies Toes will be such a treat for salad if I can keep them going and since they are there....

When the sun peeked out today the greenhouse warmed to the seventies and I transplanted some rootbound Pentas.

I went ahead and tucked a Neoreglia bromeliad into this pot of Wax Begonias.

Now to find a use for a tray of Kalanchoe cuttings and many Spider plants.

 

The bromeliad I used is a little sister to this one.

 



 

I made a big mistake today. I had a packet of Nigella seeds so I sowed them in an 18 cell tray of planting mix. Wait! Nigella dislike transplanting and beside that, should have been direct sowed last November. I knew that. I'm wavering between trying to transplant before the taproot gets very big and scooping the tops off the cells and sprinkling them in the bed with all those volunteer petunias. Nigella would probably be most happy there.

 

I dragged the pepper plants I cut back and the two eggplant plants with blooms back into the greenhouse. They'd been enjoying the air outside until it got so cold.

 

I have a little list of seeds to order off for. Black Pearl Peppers, White Madagascar periwinkles and some Geraniums. Last year I intended to buy a geranium plant and never did. I saw somebody's blog -- maybe it was Tootsie's -- where geranium seeds have sprouted and I decided.... No one vendor I've looked at have all three kinds of seeds. Does anybody know one who does?

 

 

 

 

Where Does the Time Go?

Where does the time go? I marvel at people who get so much done in a day.

It is hard to pull weeds while doing Constructive Staring, or pot up seedlings while dreaming of next spring's blossoms.

 Juanita in the Spring -- Daffodil bulbs to plant next month.

 In the North, you should be out planting now.

I spend too much time reading the blogs of others and trying out new ideas, like deciding which font looks like typewriter.

Viola seedlings

White Sweet William seedlings -- I think

every 3-year old seed sprouted.

Violas left and center; Sweet William right

 

I used two year old seeds, or maybe they were from 2009. In case they didn't germinate well I planted them very thickly. Fortunately I saved back some viola seeds because the dog chased the cat and my violas upended onto the greenhouse floor before the seeds sprouted. I replanted. Orange violas are slow to sprout. Blue violas are a little thicker and the mixed seeds which will probably revert to 'Johnny-jump-ups' are thick, thick.

 

Christmas cacti are forming buds, like tiny baby teeth.

These are cuttings in my grapevine ball experimental sphere.

They were the first to have noticeable buds.

 

I like to set containers on pebble trays to increase  humidity. These sit on dollar store baking pans. I'm going to try the little  trays made to resemble silverplate that are in the bridal section. 

 

 

Constant scrutiny is necessary for healthy plants.

Notice the dead leaf?

The dying leaf was harboring a little worm. Caterpillars are

desirable when they hatch out butterflies. Not so when it's a

destructive moth. Large greenhouses spray; I patrol and pick off.

 

I chased a Sphinx moth out of the greenhouse the other night, hovering over my Pentas

cuttings. There are plenty of Pentas outside for her to lay eggs.

Seedscatterers must be vigilant to catch seeds at just the right time. I found this Pride of Barbados

pod just as it was cracking open to reveal the seeds. Otherwise they twist open, the seeds fall to the

ground and in this climate never grow a plant. Seeds are not not picky about the containers for gathering: ice cream tub, paper cup, tin can, flower pot, paper bag, cardboard box.

 

Next month I'll be scattering seeds, mostly spring annuals like Larkspur and Poppies that lie on the ground through cold months and sprout in late winter. Farther north, spring annuals are scattered in September or early spring. Tropical seeds like Esperanza and Pride of Barbados  I will sow in a warm environment for transplant after frost is over. Tithonia, Datura and other summer bloomers usually reseed, but I gather seeds for scattering in new spots in early spring.

 

There are daylilies to divide and replant and many other tasks waiting. I spent much of this week creatively staring where the new paths go in the Upper Garden. The luxury of wide grass paths requires much time spent in edging and digging out where I let grass crawl into beds during the worst of  summer heat. 

 

When I was planning areas that will revert to grass, I pointed out to He-Who-Mows a large flowering Pomegranate that will be sacrificed. "Just dig around it and we'll lift it and I'll dig a new hole with machinery and reset it," he said. Sigh. No more rooted pieces and seedlings were brought to his attention. I can't keep up.  

 

Meanwhile, I'm reading Deborah Silver, Tara Dillard, Sandra Jonas, Martha Tate and Tim Martin, daily seeing where I could use a garden staff to execute all the lovely ideas I gather from them. Most of them are just a winter heat zone north of me. I skip over when they go on about peonies and such.

 

Okay, so Deborah is not in the South. She advocates Boxwood. I'm glad she likes them in a natural state as well as clipped. I have some that are seven feet tall, a virtual wall of Boxwood, near others that surround a huge mass of Wisteria that I hack at all summer.

 

When my Ship comes in, I'm going to call Tara to bring a crew.

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Join us here: tootsietime:fertilizer-friday-flaunt-your-flowers 

Some Like It Hothouse

It was rainy yesterday, so I puttered in the greenhouse. I planted up some Pentas that rooted in water. There are more than a dozen potted up about 3 weeks ago, already looking green and putting on new growth. Curiously, the cuttings that root in water will bloom in water but put on no growth.

According to Tom and his Almanac, yesterday was an ideal day to plant veggies that grow above the ground. I seeded six cells each of Super Bush tomato, Little Prince eggplant and Jewel Toned bell peppers. I'm planning that these will successfully grow in containers and can come into the greenhouse for at least part of next winter.

The bell pepper seeds are color coded: yellow seed = Admiral Golden Bell, greenseed = Vidi Crimson Bell and Pink seed = Valencia Orange bell. Renee's Seeds provided all these.

I seeded 6 cells each of flat parsley and chives. Seed by a famous vendor, bought by me.

More plans for next winter are to have Pelargoniums. I am seeing hothouse-grown geraniums (pelargoniums) on the Swedish blogs. Speaking of geraniums, I saw a wild geranium bloom on a plant outside today. I pulled it up.

Begonia, new shoot on Shell Ginger and Staghorn Fern

Begonias have bloomed the whole winter inside.  Alyssum blooms well inside planted in the edges of pots of non-blooming flowers like asparagus fern. Kalanchoe came into bloom after Christmas and is long lasting. I potted up two Stachytarpeta cuttings that bloomed in water as they rooted and cut off the bloom spikes.

Duranta blooms on a rooted cutting

Duranta cuttings rooted in soil have bloomed all winter. They'll go outside when the weather warms and I'll start new cuttings in late summer. Butterflies can't seem to get enough Duranta so I keep planting more.

Potted Pentas cuttings

Ruby Red, the butterflies' fav Pentas

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

Secrets of a Seedscatterer

My other blogs have 'Seedscatterer' in the title. There haven't been many posts lately about scattering seeds, nor the results.

Before last night's freeze, I brought all the potted violas into the greenhouse and tried not to think about the ones in a bed out under the pines near the road.

I've been pinching off fat seedpods and dropping into the spaces

along the edges of the pots. I noticed when I was picking up pots

that tiny round cotyledons were thick on the soil.

White Alyssum seeds dropped in spaces around Foxtail Fern are

happily blooming.

Seeds scattered back in November: larkspur, poppies, silene, black eyed Susans and other spring delights have sprouted in some areas. Good-sized California poppies are already showing up along with larkspur. They are not deterred by freezing temperatures, just slowed a bit.

Behold my potager! I sowed a packet of Mesclun in a planter.

One fourth of the seeds would have been sufficient.

I transplanted some into a second planter. Squirrels got into

both planters outside; they're recovering inside now.

It's a treat to have enough greens for a salad or to clip arugula

to sprinkle on a pizza when it comes out of the oven. 

It's only weeks until we'll be sowing seeds for transplants. I'll be making transplant cups using empty rolls from bathroom tissue or paper towels. Four 1/2" snips with the scissors and folding the tabs under like closing a box lid make a cute little plantable container. 

I placed the little cups atop a new seed catalog. Paper rolls are not very colorful.

I receive no compensation from Seed Vendors nor Paper Manufacturers, lol.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in chilly Southwest Georgia.