Friday, January 14, 2011

Sowing Seeds and Other Stuff

Hello there everyone. I apologize for my long absence. Been busy all these days and today, I've finally found the time to do a post. No amaryllis is blooming yet. Lima is on the verge and everything else are still asleep.

Sharing with you what is going on here and what are my future endeavors.

The Muscari armeniacum bulbs I planted on Christmas eve are now growing. After a week in the cold and dark spot in the basement, they were so eager to grow as seen on the above photo. Muscaris send up leaves in the fall and they stay green all winter, then their flowers come up in spring. (Just mentioning this fact for my readers in tropical climate.) I have patches of album and armeniacum growing in the garden and are planted where the snow thaws first when the temperature warms up. It is great to see those green leaves in winter time, sign of the arrival of spring.


This is how they look right now. I put them under regular fluorescent lights. The Poeticus Recurvus daffs are planted in the bottom of the pot. I hope the daffs will bloom in the spring. I am concerned that they are not getting enough cold treatment.


I started sowing some of my lily seeds (following the Cramer method). These are the results of my maiden hybridization efforts last year. I started with asiatics and trumpets, both divisions are easy to grow as they germinate epigeally. The crosses in the containers are Centerfold x Chianti, Tiny Ghost x Lollipop and Tiny Todd x Tiny Ghost. The trumpet crosses will be sown soon. (The tags you see are from B and B's and I reused them.)


These seedheads are from a gardening friend and winter sown them today as seen on the bottom photo. I have been reading about winter sowing and tried it.




Pulsatilla seeds sown today.


These are from a trading friend in Minnesota. I read that they are kind of tricky to grow, requiring warm period of germination followed by cold treatment. If anybody grew this plant from seeds, please share your experience.



Trillium grandiflorum from eBay.

I found them in bad state. The growth on the rhizomes are drying out except for one. Stored in the fridge for a few months in peat moss, potted them up today and I put them in a cold area and see if they will come up in spring.



Lily seeds from NALS and Dr. Griesbach.


Lily seeds from my crosses.

It will take me a while to finish sowing all of these seeds.


Liatris spicata seeds.

Hosta Ventricosa seeds.


I have collected some seeds for my winter sowing project. This hosta variety is an oldie but goodie with dark green leaves and dark purple flowers and the only hosta I know that comes true from seed.

So much stuff to do, so little time. :)

11 comments:

PlantPostings said...

So much stuff to do, so little time, so true! Wish I could garden and blog and compare ideas all day long. But at some point, I have to clean my house, go to work, and feed my family. ;-) It's so fun to visit your blog!

Lily said...

Same here! Thanks for the visit!

Anonymous said...

It really looks like a chore, but well worth the effort.

Cat said...

The anticipation of bulbs blooming is so much fun! You've got a lot to anticipate...thanks for taking the time to pick my kitchen window view post today. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by!

Alistair said...

Good to see you back Lily. I also have the Muscari armeniacum in the garden, they do look great in Spring leaves usually show in late February here and flower in April. As for finding time for these Winter pastime's, think I will struggle when the gardening season gets under way.

Lily said...

GWGT,
Yes, it is worth the wait.

WG,
So very true. You're welcome. I've enjoyed reading the post.

Alistair,
Thanks. I am just glad I am able to 'garden' in the basement. I think I will go nuts in winter without this pastime. :)

Lily said...

GWGT,
Yes, it is worth the wait.

WG,
So very true. You're welcome. I've enjoyed reading the post.

Alistair,
Thanks. I am just glad I am able to 'garden' in the basement. I think I will go nuts in winter without this pastime. :)

lifeshighway said...

I have to admit to a deep and true love for hostas. I have never tried to grow them from seeds. I usually get them from someone who is dividing their plants.

You are motivating me to try.

Lily said...

I haven't grown hostas from seeds either. I read that you'll get streaked seedlings from the hybrid hostas and that is what I want to find out. Streaked hostas are hot these days.

If you want to try growing hostas from seeds, I have some mixed hybrid and the ventricosa seeds if you are interested.

Thanks for the visit.

Larry said...

You do have a lot happening... do you have any experience with starting primula from seed, and if so, any recommendations? Larry

Lily said...

Hi Larry, I don't have any experience growing Primulas. I have read about them while searching for info on Pulsatilla. Great looking plants.

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