- Firstly, the Bambusa Arundinacae I mention in the previous post - having looked them up they'll require a little bit of TLC during germination - a 50:50 mix of perlite:peat/sphagnum moss is ideal, as is soaking for a short time prior to sowing. They'll then be placed somewhere warm, and probably in a freezer bag as they like to be kept humid.
- Also, the Datura Inoxia I mentioned in the previous post will be soaked overnight prior to sowing. Am hoping for some nice plants from these!
- Sonchus Fruticosus - this is basically a giant dandelion but looks very lush and jungly. Can't find any information regarding germination of these around on the net, although being related to the dandelion they can't be that hard? I'll just be giving them the routine seed sowing method, and we'll see what comes up.
- Aloe Thraski & Ferox - was given these kindly by a friend, and they look like they'll turn into nice plants eventually. Will be sowing in a mix of soil/sand/perlite, and placing on the heat mat in the house as they like to be as hot as possible!
- Several different varieties of Echium, which I acquired over the last year. These will be sown on the very surface of the compost as they apparently require light to germinate, although again they can't be that difficuly as they self seed all around Cornwall!!!
- Eucalyptus Globulus - I bought these seeds from Jungle Seeds last year, but I never got around to sowing them, so will get them sown and growing this Spring. Some suggest that a stratification period of three or so weeks would be beneficial for these seeds, although I won't be bothering with this I don't think. Routine seed sowing method for these really, although perhaps kept a little cooler than all my other seeds.
- Acacia Dealbata and Baileyana 'Purpurea' - I bought an A. Dealbata plant last Spring but I think it's been killed off by our -6C, so I'll be trying that one, plus another from seed this year, in an effort to see if growing them right from seed and planting them out at an early stage of development will make them tougher plants. Not much special treatment for these, except the seed will be scratched and then soaked for a day or two prior to sowing.
- Cyphomandra Betacea (Tree Tomato) - saw this in several gardes last year and loved the large furry leaves, and was kindly given some seed last year so hoping to get some nice plants going this season. Routine seed sowing method for these too.
- Cobaea Scandens - tried this last year but it didn't get past the seedlings stage thanks to my lack of care, but hopefully this year it will positively thrive!!! Am hoping to do a few pots with these in, and maybe set one climbing up the wall too.
- And finally (for today!!!), Canary Creeper, or Tropaeolum Peregrinum. It has lovely little yellow flowers which add to the interest of the unusual foliage shape. Again, I tried this one last year and it was so determined to grow that it even started flowering in the same pot I sowed them in!!! Hopefully will be able to get more outta these plants this year.
Sunday 1 March 2009
Seed Sorting Again
Been doing some more seed sorting this weekend, so thought I'd just update you with some more seed finds that I'll be sowing in the near future:
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6 comments:
Good luck with the Tomatoe tree! These as you say are great plants!!
I luckily got one last year from an NGS garden i visisted- hadnt heard of it before i saw it in the garden it has those huge purple flowers and fruit!
Good luck with the others seeds too (im hopeless at sowing seeds unelss they are hardy annuals!)
lol I'm usually quite good with seeds, but it's the aftercare I've not been so succesful with in past years. Hopefully not this year!
Hi Pete,
That's so many seeds - good luck! Hope you find time to carefully transplant the seedlings, it's a delicate operation.
I got a Cyphomandra from a friend, which survived this last bad winter with all its leaves intact! It's in a sheltered corner, but even then it was covered in snow for a few days!
Great blog too - keep us informed!
Rob
'Hope you find time to carefully transplant the seedlings, it's a delicate operation.' - Me too!
Interesting to hear you Cyphomandra came through unscathed - are you gonna let it carry on growing or pollard it?
It's only a baby, although I've had it a couple of years! The slugs really love it - that always sets it back.
You have to let them grow so that you can see the amazing flowers and fruit. It's a weird plant - I'll see if I can dig out a photo of one in my friends' garden.
Yeah, I'm waging war on slugs and snails this year - we're going to be using nematodes!
Have heard about the fruit - the common name is 'Tomato Tree', so I'm assuming they're like tomatoes? I wonder if they're edible?
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