fuschia newbie - dumb question?
michoumonster
17 years ago
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michoumonster
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Newbie needs some dumb questions answered...
Comments (3)rachel77 - yes I've never had much luck with getting another season out of bulbs planted in containers. Usually the flowers are much smaller and fewer in number next year even if I've treated them with the best care. I agree with Patwood to get new ones. For future reference if you plant daffodils in the ground these will spread and continue to flower year after year. You do have to keep the foliage on the plants until it completely browns so the daffodils can build up energy for next years blossums. Then add a little bulb fertilizer. As an added bonus the deer don't usually eat them and squirrels/chipmunks don't dig them up. They are great for naturalizing areas where you can keep the foliage on until it browns....See Moreprob. dumb newbie question: unhappy Cecile Brunner
Comments (7)Just a quick report back: as you all predicted, my Cecile is indeed settling in nicely. Vibrant green leaves near the base of the plant, new growth all over. Now I'm getting scared. (: My Banksiae took a year to look so contented! Having entered the world of antique roses, I can see there's no going back, by the way. A friend has a gorgeous Joseph's Coat and gave me a cutting; she also has a rose I couldn't possibly describe but it's an energetic spring bloomer around here, deep magenta color, flowers are almost daisylike (not that oval-shaped "typical rose" look at all) and despite my friend's total neglect of that plant, that rose is super-happy and gorgeous, and she gave me a cutting of that one too. Any advice for starting antiques from cuttings, or should I just do what the folks on the cuttings/propagation forum suggest? (I have them all in my fridge right now...)...See MoreDumb Newby Question
Comments (9)Hi bigbob7777 and welcome! This is my second year Winter Sowing...last year everyone on the forum was so helpful about answering all my many questions, so here's the stuff I leaned about last year: Soil: Last year I just used regular MiracleGro potting soil and it worked very well. I also used some fancy organic soil with worm "castings" in it and that worked amazingly well, but the soil was kind of expensive. I also tried seed starting mix last year in some of my milk jugs, but I discovered that it didn't work as well as the regular potting soil. I haven't tried Fafards or Pro-Mix yet but a lot of people say those work really well too. Containers: The containers that worked best for me last year were milk jugs. But other people seem to have great success with the 2-liter bottles and other types of containers. Not sure about sowing in the drinking cups because I didn't use them last year but there's a whole thread on the WS'ing forum about sowing in drinking cups (see link below). Sun: Some people recommended putting containers on the east side of the house so they get morning sun and some protection from the hot afternoon sun. I don't have an east side area available for jugs, so last year I kept mine on the south side of the house in a spot where they had some afternoon shade thanks to our garden shed. Planting out: Last year I planted my seedlings out in the garden once they got their set of true leaves. The true leaves are the bigger set of leaves that come out after the first smaller seed leaves appear (the smaller seed leaves are also known as the cotyledons). Watering: We had a lot of snow here all the way into March, so I didn't start watering my milk jugs until the late spring since the melting snow piled on top of the milk jugs took care of any watering until then. Not sure how long the spring rains last there in NC or how early it heats up in the spring, but probably a little earlier than us here in PA. After the snow melted and the spring rains passed, I would water the milk jugs if the milk jug felt really light when I picked it up, and/or if it hadn't rained at all in a particular week. Watering from the bottom: During the time when I still had the milk jugs closed with duct tape, I watered them from the bottom. I just stuck those in a plastic bin with an inch or two of water in it, and the soil in the milk jug would suck up the water from the plastic bin through the drainage holes in the bottom of the jug. Watering with a hose spray nozzle: Once it got really warm out and I had taken off the duct tape on the milk jugs, I watered them with a very gentle light spray from the spray nozzle on the garden hose. But if the original seed package said "water from bottom" on it, I still watered those jugs from the bottom. I wrote "water from bottom" on the milk jug on those so I would remember which ones they were. Generally I would water from the bottom if the seed was really really tiny, and it was sowed just on the surface of the soil. Good luck & have fun! Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersowing in drinking cups thread...See MoreAnother newbie (DUMB) question
Comments (6)Hi Ann, There are no dumb questions. There might be a dumb answer every now and then! ;0) Betsy's right about both. You certainly can cross evergreen and dormant daylilies but there is no way to predict the foliage habit of the seedlings, unless you have lots of experience with the parents already. It just depends on which genes dominate. Sometimes siblings will have different habits. For instance, Tim Bell's SISTER OF PRAISE and SYMPATHY OF PRAISE are sibs, but have opposite foliage habit. The hybridizer must evaluate their seedlings over a period of time in which the foliage habit will be determined. Sometimes the habit will change depending on where the plant is grown. That's probably why the term semi-evergreen was coined. The plant acts like an evergreen in the south and a dormant in the north. Hope this helps, Ed...See Moreatash
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agobluenme
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agokenwoodlad
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agowinnjoe
15 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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