Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Monday, February 20, 2006
Seedy
Thought I'd toss out a pretty picture before getting to the main topic. There were several plants in bloom (or close) on Friday before the fresh shipment of Arctic Air. I haven't been out to look closely at them since then, but there were: crocus (2 kinds), winter aconite, violets, snowdrops (no picture - photographer error), and this was just getting started. I could have uncovered it so you could see it better, but I knew the weather was about to go downhill so I left it alone. The first person who correctly identifies it (leave a comment) wins a packet of seeds (Achillea 'Cloth of Gold', Cosmos 'Candy Stripe', or Mesembryanthemum 'Apricot Tutu').
Most of the seed orders have arrived, but as I suspected, my seed starting trays are behind a pile of construction materials. So I found some old pressed fiber trays and bought some peat pellets preinstalled in some really cheapo trays for a ridiculous price (high, not low). I've never used peat pellets before, but they're similar to the peat sponges that I get (and like) from Park Seeds. We'll see how it goes.
What did I plant so far?
Last Thursday, I planted Alyssum 'Snowdrift', Alyssum 'Navy Blue', Coriander (Cilantro) 'Delfino', Coriander 'Sunmaster', and Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm). All planted in fiber trays and all now in the cold frame. I'm expecting those will be just fine without a lot of fiddling, and if not, well, I've got a lot more of those seeds.
I ordered every Cuphea that Thompson & Morgan offers, and today I planted Cuphea ignea 'Matchless', Cuphea procumbens 'Purple Star', and Cuphea miniata 'Summer Medley'. Then I planted some teeny tiny seeds that will take a long time to make a plant - Petunia 'Giants of California', Nicotiana alata "Dwarf White Bedder", Nicotiana x 'Perfume Deep Purple', Mimulus 'Shade Loving Mixture', and Coleus 'Kong Mixed'. All these went into the peat pellets and are now on the heat mat in the basement. It's way too cold down there for those unless I use the heat mat.
Most of these are seeds/plants I've grown in the past (well, the species anyway, if not the variety), but new to me this year are Cuphea procumbens, Cuphea miniata, Mimulus, and Melissa officinalis.
This is the first year in a long time that I've started many seeds. It feels good to get back into it.
3 Comments:
"This" looks like helleborus to me! Do I win the seeds?
Julia T.
We have a winner! Julia, please email me (kt at tangledbranches dot com) with your postal address and your choice of seeds.
Last year, the same clump of hellebore (Royal Heritage) was blooming by Feb. 15. One of my 2-year old Pine Knot hellebores is going to bloom very soon too.
Make sure you keep those peat sponges watered well, boy do they dry out quickly.
GardenGrown
Post a Comment
<< Tangled Branches: Cultivated, main page