That's a good idea! I was thinking about doing one of these slips with petunia seeds, too, but I'm not finding any seedpods on any petunias except one kind, Dolce Flambissima or something like that from Park's Seeds. I guess the rest of what I grow is sterile hybrids or something. I wish I knew more about this -- which seed I can save becuase it will come more or less true and which I can't. I think I had a Dolche petunia reseed this year and bloom from that reseeding. (It bloomed in March and reseeded in April-May and that seedling has bloomed -- all in one season) The resultant flower is white with splotchy stripes of the same color as its mother. Not unattractive, but not too terribly attractive either, especially if it didn't have the mother as a complement nearby. :) The whole thing is such a mystry and nobody puts enough information on their seed packs. :))) Lime

I agree Anthuriums need sun to bloom. Not direct, summer south or west, unless the window is shaded by sheer curtains, (if afternoon sun aims at plants for hours,) but very briht light. Since my Anthuriums were relocated to a shadier spot, they stopped blooming. They are going back to their original spot. I doubt 50F would kill an Anthurium, but it'd probably slow down growth, let alone flowers. We all hear, read, 'plants should be kept out of drafts.' IMO, that is the most misleading concept ever. What is a draft? Breeze, when temps are 80F? or cold wind, when temps are in the 30's? When we bring plants out in summer, they get all sorts of 'drafts.' From every direction. This statement is written and rewritten in numerous plant books. A plant will adapt to 50F degrees, IF soil is kept on the dry side. Even as low as 40F, depending on the plant. However, if outdoor temps are in the 20's, oh yes, that over-used word 'draft' will cause frostbite and/or death. But when outdoor temps are 60 and up, a breeze will not cause harm. In fact, plants appreciate a burst of fresh air. Since Anthuriums are tropical, they require natural warmth, humidity and bright light. If one can parrot a tropical atmosphere, you got it licked..Toni

I've had to water a lot due to unusually high temperatures and no rain. April is usually damp around here. I have my pots all lined up with a width of 3 pots so I can maneuver around them. I grouped them in one big pile my first year and it was impossible to get to the middle! I found it's easiest to use a wand set on the soaker setting. I touch each lid with it to make sure the water gets into the holes. Sometimes I'll flood a container (oops) but it doesn't seem to effect the seedlings, the pots have good drainage holes. I've been moving the sprouted containers to the front of the line so I know to go easy with the water in that section. When the tops come off, I use a light misting spray on the babies. I give them a quick check on my lunch break for sproutage and can gauge whether or not they may need to be watered. If it's expected to be warm the following day with no rain, I usually give them a light watering whether they need it or not just as an assurance they don't dry out. I work so have to water in the evening. One thing you can be certain of, you don't 'forget' your containers when you have hundreds out there! It's definitely time consuming but I enjoy tending the pots so it doesn't feel like a chore caring for them. I love when all the tops come off, it's a breeze to do the watering. I'm so anxious to uncover my pots (173 have already sprouted!) but I have concerns that we might get a cold snap or rain storms being it's so early in the season.

It's normal for males to dominate before females start to bloom. Even then you will see pretty much one female to every ten males. To the poster who thinks his male flowers are dying off: all pumpkin flowers bloom for only a few hours every morning before they die off. As for not cutting the male flowers, I disagree. I've been growing pumpkins going on ten years now and if there are no female flowers to pollinate, then I will cut the male flowers just before they start to shrivel. I've yet to get a diseased plant doing this. I cut the male flowers because they are delicious to eat. So if you don't get pumpkins, you can enjoy cooking and eating the male flowers throughout the growing season. I cut off the stem, gently rinse them under cold water and saute them after dredging through a thin whole-wheat pancake batter - yum! BTW. I should mention that pumpkins are very difficult to hand pollinate. You'r e better off putting out bee loving flowers early in the season in order to get your location established on the honey bees routes. Ants do a pretty good job also, so if you see ants around your pumpkin vines, then do not try to exterminate them. If you do want to hand pollinate, then use a very soft artists brush and lightly stroke the pistol of a male plant (you should not see tons of pollen - in this case a little is too much), then lightly stroke the stamen of the female plant (again a little is too much). Even then you are not likely to succeed with hand pollination.