13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Most seed packs I've bought will specify something like needing light. I use the various seed tables you can google when in doubt or I don't know. I think Jellito has a good one and here is one I pulled up the other night. J.L. Hudson has specific instructions on many seeds.

Plants of the SW has Liatris spicata as one needing light to germinate but Liatris punctata doesn't need light. Cleome and Achillea need light. Some seeds need dark, on the other hand.

Winter sowing works well for lots of seed but not all. There is no such thing as a 100% successful seeding method that covers all seed and some resent transplanting so they are better planted in situ. For seeds needing very warm temps I still can't see the point of winter sowing but some people get defensive whenever I say that as if I am threatening to come through the computer screen and dump out their jugs. Personally, I would worry about seeds planted in winter rotting and I really do think its a whole lot of unnecessary extra work for seeds only needing two weeks warm to germinate based on my own time limits and habits. Ryse, I am NOT talking about you, its just that sometimes I have had people get defensive if other methods are suggested (like planting a whole stem covered with seeds right in the ground.... ha!:)

Liatris is one I would definitely sow in situ too and besides, if it works, I say do it and share the idea. Next year I will just plant the stems and forget taking those seeds off, I was picking stickers out of my fingers this year separating the seeds from the stems.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm1.html

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Sun, Jan 5, 14 at 15:46

as a very general rule of thumb, tiny seeds (begonia, campanula, digitalis, nicotiana) can lie on top of the soil while larger seeds (lathyrus, agapanthus, baptisia, hemerocallis) get covered by soil (at a depth roughly the same as the size of seed). I do cover nearly all the seeds with a thin layer of alpine grit.

I have heard that pulsatilla are often sown as entire heads...but I find the seeds easy to handle and are easily germinated so I tend to separate them.

Oh no, I hope the Pow Wow white don't get diseased. I had a few clumps that performed beautifully in part shade right in front of my window, I really enjoyed them last summer, but they were a casualty of the patio re-build. So, I bought some luscious new clumps during the end of the season blow-out sales - will be disappointed if they don't perform well for at least a few years.

I've never had any problems with "Magnus" or "White Swan" other than what folks on the forum told me was the mites on my White Swan last season - they still bloomed their heads off, though.

I had one specimen of "Pink Poodle" which I very much looked forward to for the last couple seasons, it had gorgeous fluffy double pink blooms. And then the neighbor's *&*^! cat p*ssed on it and it took a serious nosedive - I hope it it survived, but won't be surprised if it doesn't reappear in the spring.

I also love Pow Wow 'Wild Berry' (vibrant colour and compact growing habit).

Below: last July and now eliminated (coneflower rosette mite).

I'm currently still planting that cultivar but only counting on (purchased) plants lasting for maybe three years.

Oh yea, the clean-up...another chore I don't enjoying doing but it does have to get done, doesn't it. I still have a large, quite dead annual moonflower vine on my trellis next to the front door. Lovely....sigh...

I do enjoy some of the chores *if I'm in the mood*, especially if it's a crisp fall day or when the scent of spring is in the air. It's not really so much the chores I enjoy, it's the being outside and enjoying the season for what it is - especially the scents.

I don't mind cleanup so much, but that is probably because I "save it" to do in spring. By the end of fall I'm often burnt out with all things garden and want a break. On the flip side, by the end of winter I'm itching to get outside and at least do SOMETHING. At this point I'm bursting with energy and can usually get the main beds done in a few days.

Although tearing down the old hops vines from last year is not a particularly enjoyed chore, lol.
CMK

-Kate, I remember you telling me when you sent seeds a few years back that you had yet to be impressed by it.

It sure is nice to see you posting here! Thanks for the comment ;-)

-campanula, same here. I love light yellow in general, but in certain flowers it tends to come out looking insipid. Not sure if they are just on the paler side of light yellow, or if the smaller flowers make less of an impression.

When you say your S. ochroleuca is small...what size does that mean exactly? Mine is fairly large...2.5-3ft tall and a tad wider. As a whole I do like this plant (despite it re-seeding with too much enthusiasm). It has a nice billowy texture and a particularly nice presence in the autumn garden.
CMK

This post was edited by christinmk on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 13:50

Yeah, mines about 2feet, but it stays much tighter than the knautia macedonica, which looks neat for a month or so then flops over into a really unsightly mess (although I do love those deep red flowers). The ochraleuca stalks remain fairly upright - providing a reasonably well behaved clump rather than the usual shambolic mess caused by my craze for tall perennials and crappy staking skills.

Like Mad Gallica, my first though was Hydrangea Annabelle. I have it along with spirea in front of the house where we have to dump snow raked off the roof in those years when we have 4 or 5 feet of snow. Added to that, when it's buried, the voles and mice get to work and chew off the bark. In hard winter years, I cut Annabelle and the spireas to about 6". They both recover well, though in those years Annabelle tends to have fewer but larger flower panicles. She does sucker though, and without enough water will wilt in full day sun.

In the same beds I have Baptisia, a Major Wheeler honeysuckle on a robust metal trellis, and some climbing roses. All recover just fine from heavy snow landing on them. There is also a large Rhododendron, Roseum elegans, which I try not to dump really heavy snow on, but it definitely gets a lot of lighter snow shoveled onto it, and some of the snow from the roof lands on it as well. It has never had a broken branch or seemed to suffer from its extra snow load.

Yes, Annabelle will survive being pancaked; she will thrive regardless. She sprouts new growth each season from ground-level buds and sends up a heck of a lot of suckers if happy in her location - you can whack her down to nubs in the spring and she will quickly shoot right back up and bloom as if nothing ever happened. Which is why she is such a valueable hydrangea in cold-winter zones.

Thanks for the additional info, Linaria - I do speak German (Nelken) but I got the Swedish from an online dictionary. They are notoriously unreliable. 'Nejlika' was given for both meanings.

BTW, I'm sure it was a typo but 'cloves' not 'clover' is the spice. That would be a whole other flower recipe ;-)

Hi flora,
dear me, yes, no Trifolium :-)

probably just was lucky, picked the first dictionary that popped up.

and I just love all these questions that popp up here on the forums.

Bye, Lin

Here is a link that might be useful: clove in Swedish and German

Happy New Year, everyone !!

Definitely, Happy New Year! Hoping that 2014 will be the best gardening year for everyone! Can't wait to get past indoor projects and chores to get to planning next year's garden. I think this winter is going to go by really fast. :-)

I live in Barry County in Michigan and we got hit pretty hard with ice. I think at one time 85% of the population was without power starting on Sunday the 22nd. We lost power at 7:30 am on the 22nd and got it back three days later at around 4 am Christmas morning. Some people around the area just got theirs back on today. I lost several of my fish due to no power or heat for the three days we were without. My parents ended up staying with my sister in Grand Rapids for a night where she had power. I had to stay behind because GR was too far for me to drive to work. I work in Battle Creek. So I had to sleep in a house that was only 40 degrees beneath several layers of blankets with several layers of clothes on to keep warm. We had some nights in the teens with daytime highs in the 20's. So grateful for heat and power. Even the cats were miserable and couldn't understand why it was so cold in the otherwise warm house.

But the ice and snow made for some really pretty landscapes. Too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of any of it. I worked from sun up to sundown every day and didn't have the time to capture the stark beauty before the last two days of above freezing temps melted it away.

Karen

UPDATE:

There are many reports that Toronto has lost over 20% of its tree canopy because of this most recent ice storm.

Here is a link that might be useful: trees so hard hit

Thank you for the link. There was a lot of information.
The last person suggested putting the whole flower head with seeds in the soil and transplant those that show up. No follow up on how that went. I have a grow light I may try putting the seeded pots under it. Worth a try.

I would split them open and cull out the good seeds if it was me. Are you talking about the person sowing laitris seed heads? Thats a wildflower and he sounds like he's direct sowing plus those come up real easy.

Looking at the pictures on the seed forum, there was a lot of difference between the viable seed and the sterile duds. From what they posted, it also sounded like the seeds need a bit of controlled conditions so your grow lights sound like a good idea. I find it helps to put a baggie over the pots until the seeds germinate, keeps it nice and humid. A common snack baggie fits really nice and snug on a 4" pot. Take them off after they come up or just cut the top open for some ventilation until they form their first set of true leaves.

I received a forced mum from my son last Easter. I usually toss those after bloom but he was so proud to have given me a "garden" plant. I cut off the blooms, kept it going in the house and planted outside in May. Luckily it bloomed again in Sept. So it can be done if you want to put in the effort.

It will not likely rebloom much in the same season, but I always deadhead after blooms are done and sometimes get a small rebloom (probably not this late, though). I trim mine down, a lot, after the foliage/stems turn brown. If it is in a pot, I would keep it inside until spring and plant it out. My area is borderline for mums to come back the next hear, but I have had good luck with mulching them.

Just sorting garden pictures from last year.
Get a lot of mileage from columbines.
Another plain pink one.

Below May 30, 2013.
From my records, seems to be at least four years old and should be either a Winky or a Biedermeier; currently suspecting the latter.

These are nameless self seeders. They do very well amongst the vegetables.

I'm thinking of getting these this year. I'm trying to create a bee garden, and every year I see these and want them and never get them. I tried I think it was called "Icicle" veronica and it got really nasty looking. There wasn't much sign of life, so we got rid of it. We are going to put some clay breaker down because there is some clay in that area. Hopefully that will help some of the drainage.

"Icicle" is still on my evaluation list. I've had it for a couple of years and like it, but it has a tendency to flop terribly for me from the center outwards. It also hasn't been a very good rebloomer after the first flush of flowers. I'm going to try pinching it back earlier in the season this year to see if I can reduce it's height a bit and hopefully control the flopping.

Kevin

christinmk, you can trim them to keep the size down. I think its hardy in your zone. We see them a lot around here and lately the city has been planting them by the droves in street medians and along highways because they are so indestructible and drought tolerant. Its quite a sight in summer. They can get very large for sure and will completely dominate an area if left to grow untrimmed.

-Susan, is LI considered a z5, or higher? It sounds incredible.

There was a GW member in z5 that posted a pic of her glorious Vitex. I seem to recall she said it died back to the ground each year and then got around six feet by the time it bloomed.

I regret not looking for one at the sale, although there really isn't any space for it (not that that has ever stopped me from buying a plant before mind you, LOL!)
CMK

Again, thanks for all the help. The two websites were great. As much as I look at Wikipedia, I didn't think of looking there for plant information.

I will enjoy the plant and flowers for now, plant it in the spring if still alive and see what happens. It wouldn't be the first time I killed a plant - always feel a little guilty, though. :)

Happy New Year!

The plant may not look alive in spring if it has already entered dormancy. After flowering the leaves will begin to wither .. don't think you've failed it, this is natural. Just make sure, whether planting indoors or out, that it is in a well-drained area. Excess moisture during dormancy can cause rotting of the corm.