Seed Sorting Once More

OK, this will probably be the last seed sorting post for a week or two, once all of these current seeds are well on their way to become beautiful plants!!!

• Begonia Boliviensis 'Bonfire' - the seeds of these are teeny, so they will be surface sown and then put somewhere humid to endure that the top of the compost doesn't dry out.
  
• Lobelia 'Sapphire' - pretty much routing sowing for these. I'll be sowing them in large cell trays, a pinch of seed to each cell so that nice bushy clumps are produced. They'll be left to germinate in the greenhouse as it's starting to get pretty warm in there now when a little sun hits it.
• Marigold 'Dwarf Double Mix' - like the Lobelia, not really exotic but some simple plants to grow that provide an easy splash of colour. These will also be left in the greenhouse to germinate.
• Tacca Nivea & Chantrieri - have had these seeds for a while so not sure how good germination rate will be, pretty much routine sowing although they will be kept on the heat mat as high temperatures are needed for germination.
• Dragon Fruit - not actually collected from an actual fruit, but sent to me by a friend, these will be sown in a gritty potting mix, and will be kept in a humid environment. Soaking can be beneficial, although I don't think I'll soak them as they're tiny!!!
• Iochroma 'Plum Beauty' - these seeds were also sent to me by a friend, and are related to the Brugmansia. They are absolutely tiny, but require no special treatment. It has however been suggested that starting them on moist paper towels would give better germination rate.
• Texas Start Hibiscus (Hibiscus Coccineus) - again received these seeds from a friend. They have beautiful big flowers, and are quite easy to grow in warmer climates apparently, so I might try some outside over Summer but I may keep one or two in the greenhouse as well. All they need is a bit of warmth to germinate, so that part shouldn't be oo difficult!!!
• Agapanthus - apparently these seeds don't store well, but I'll plant 'em anyway! Pretty routine sowing method for these again.
• Callistemon Rigidus - although taking a couple of years to get to flowering size from seed, it should be interesting to watch them grow. Routine seed sowing method for these also, although I might soak them a little first as they look very dry and in need of some water to break through the hard coat.
• And finally, I have a bunch of different Echinacea (Coneflower) seeds to be sowing.Some suggest that a cool period may aid germination, so I will sow these and leave them outside for a week or two, and then move them onto the heated propagator in the greenhouse.

As I said, that's it for the seed sorting posts for a week or two, I should have some more interesting stuff to post over the next couple of days, as everything's bursting into growth with this mild weather!

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:

• 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.

That's it for today, although I'm sure I've got plenty more seed sorting to do!!!!

Seed Sorting

Well, having just spent a little time pottering and tidying in the garden, I've decided to start having a sort through the seed box and actually get myself organized as far as seed sowing is concerned this year! I did sow a lot of seeds last year but I sowed them all in big 'batches' so there was a wave of seedlings, and then a wave of potting on etc. so this year I'm hoping to start a little earlier so as to spread the work out a little more evenly, and so that there are seedlings just emerging while others are being potted on etc. and they're not all in need of potting on at exactly the same time! Also, this year I'm going to sow less than I think I need, as I always sow way too many seeds of plants and then end up with a load of extra work which results in plants which are then not planted out/watered/fed so hoping to cut out that work too.

The following are just a small selection (EEK!!!) I'm hoping to definitely get sown over the next couple of weeks. They will all be brought into the house (with one exception) and either placed on a windowsill or on my heat mat set up, depending on the germination temperatures. The majority will then go into the greenhouse once pricked out and potted on, although there may be a couple of the more tender ones staying in the greenhouse for a couple more weeks:

• Nicotiana Sylvestris - I've tried these a couple of times in the past but I've never managed to get them past seedling stage, probably due to lack of motivation! There's an average of 2000 seeds in the packet and every other year for some mad reason I've sown the entire contents, so the fact that it looked like a mat of moss once germinated might have also put me off pricking them out! I'll be sowing an eighth of these at most, although the seeds are like dust so I'll get the magnifying glass out for those!!!
• Amaranthus 'Pony Tails' - I tried the tricoloured variety of Amaranthus last year but, like with the Nicotiana, with little success. Haven't tried this variety before, it's one of the more basic varieties but should look quite unusual and exotic if I can get them to grow into decent plants.
• Cosmos 'Sonata Mixed' and 'Seashells' - although they're not really tropical plants, you've got to love Cosmos for their abundance of flowers and ease of cultivation. Have grown 'Sensation Mixed' a couple of years in a row with huge success, although they did grow a bit TOO big for the border so am now trying the dwarf mix, 'Sonata Mixed' which we also tried last year and was just as floriferous but on smaller plants. I fancied trying the Seashells mix as the fluted petals look quite unusual, and should be something different to the normal Cosmos.
• Rhodochiton - haven't grown these before but they seem to be quite an unusual and exotic climber, and as I'm looking for a couple of different climbers to try against the house and up supports both in pots and in the ground, might as well add these to the mix.
• Something a little less unusual - Tomato 'Red Cherry' seeds will also be sown this week. We also grow a few tomato plants in the greenhouse, well worth it for the difference in flavour!
• Chilli 'Cayenne' - perhaps more exotic that the Tomato seeds, but I've not really tried chillis before with much effort, but am hoping to get some fruits off the resulting plants this year, which will be growing in pots in the greenhouse.
• Datura Inoxia - having heard varied reports on this plant being growing in the UK, I ordered some seeds from the US via E-bay last year but it was a bit late in the year to get anything decent out of them so I've saved them for this season. They'll be getting a lot of TLC as the flowers look similar to one of my favourite plants - Brugmansia - except they face upwards, and they're also slightly fragrant too, so might make a nice patio plant?
• Bambusa Arundinacae - more a novelty that a serious effort, but I bought these seeds last year so might as well have a go at germinating them. Apparently not at all hardy in the UK but if it ever gets so big that greenhouse over Wintering is not possible, then I'll be pretty proud!
• Sunflower 'Velvet Queen' - I'll be sowing these one seed to a cell and then keeping them in a coldframe outside. I'm always a bit too caring with Sunflowers and start them off in the house where they don't get a good start in life as they get leggy, so am hoping they'll be a little more toughened up if they're grown outside right from the beginning.
  

There are plenty more seeds still to be sorted so be prepared for many more of these posts, although hopefully the results this year will be worth the effort I'm going to put into growing them!

The Gardening Season Begins

Well, I though I might as well get stuck in straight away! I've decided to create this blog now as not only are we all eagerly anticipating the start of a new gardening season, but also because I'm hoping that through writing this blog (which I'll try and update at least once weekly!) I'll be able to learn more about growing tropical plants (and other related matters!), make many new friends and also be able to share my garden, and everything that goes on in it, the good, the bad and the plain ugly, with all of my readers, whom I look forward to getting to know! Also, this is my very first blog, so I have much to learn about the world of blogging! Because of this, if you think that there are improvements to be made to my blog, please contact me and let me know through the comments section on the right!

Anywho, today started off as a very fine sunny day, which has put me in a Spring mood, so I've been doing plenty of seed-sorting, and hopefully I'll be able to start the much awaited seed sowing tommorow! I can't wait to start the process all over again, seeing those tiny little pellets grow into some beautiful (and some not so beautiful) plants - this has to be one of the top things I love about gardening!

So tommorow, I'll hopefully be getting out in the garden and sowing the first batch of tropical seeds for this year. I've just received my order from JungleSeeds, which is the top company for tropical seeds. Once again I've managed to overspend a little, but this year I'm absolutely determined to give all the plants I grow all the care and attention they need (my New Year's Resolution is to be more motivated). I'll be sowing Ensete Ventricosum, Brugmansia Sanguinea, B. Arborea and Canna 'Crozy's Hybrids' tommorow, and they'll all be soaked overnight to soften the seed coats. I might also do a little tidying in the greenhouse, which is pretty clean but there's always dropped leaves to clean up and, dare I say it, the odd dead plant too, although hopefully there will be none of those!

I'll try and do an update tommorow of what I actually got around to doing in the garden, so tune in then! Thanks for looking in, and hopefully you'll stick around.

Take care

Pete