6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Irises will likely remain evergreen, & being perennial, they return year after year.
Moving them often sets them back, & transplanted irises sometimes don't bloom for 1 or more years, but
*that doesn't mean they are underachievers!*
By all means, get some quick-growing zinnias for this summer, but don't destroy your iris garden;
next spring you'll likely have more flowers.
& remember that the annual flowers from seed will live their entire life cycle within *1 year*, & that lots of varieties are sterile, so you have to buy new ones every year, while your iris will return every year & increase.
Enjoy your garden & have fun!
I found this site, perhaps you can email for more specific info?
Tammy
Here is a link that might be useful: Angelonia Angelface
Onion seed is black and so you might be able to see the seed that already scattered on the ground, if you look closely, and pick it up. Or just leave it alone and let nature take its course and you will have seedlings in the spring, maybe. I don't know about Alaska, though, the winters are pretty long.
I second Johnny's. Also consider Tomato Growers Supply, Territorial Seeds, Fedco, and Seeds of Change. I also get a few select varieties from Burpee and Park.
The key to a great veggie garden is to try different varieties until you find one or two that work well for you. Each area has a unique soil and climate and gardener so if someone raves about a particular seed and it doesn't do well for you then move on to the next one. Gardening life is too short to fool around babysitting seedlings when others work much better.
Last November I placed two genetically pure American Chestnut seeds in the fridge in damp Sphagnum in plastic bag with a few holes. I have been so busy with Butternut tree starts that I had forgotten about them, but my wife discovered them in late June this year sprouting in the fridge. Had never tried to grow Chestnut trees before. So I planted shallowly in 7" x 16" deep treepots and kept very well watered. I waited about a week and carefully dug the spouts up and replanted with leaf sprouts just through the suface. I now have one tree with very good leaf formation and am going to lift the other spout out again tonight to see if it is still alive.
1) the wind MAY cause the soil to dry out & that will impeed germination & further growth
2) In the conditions you describe a "mulch" or other protection may be required
3) Experiments show that a gental breeze & the resulting plant movement produces stronger plants
If you would give more information than "they die" we might be able to suggest a reason why they die. Al
depends on the apples i guess. I used to do a lot of grafting and would raise abour 200 seeds from Golden Delicious apples each winter to graft onto (very uniform and sturdy seedlings). Never had many problems with them. Stratify seeds in fridge for 2 months then plant in deep pots. set out in rows after last frost and dig to graft on next winter.
George