dunno if this will clarify or not from my non-scientific viewpoint, but here goes. i had i. pennata for several yrs. then, after i got too vigorous in weeding that out, i found a source of seeds for i. quamoclit, which i'd seen and wanted really bad. anyhow, it seems more seedy/weedy than pennata, and comes up all over(no hope of weeding it all out)- but always with the extremely fine ferny foliage. i have some regular ipomeas(blue heaven, saucers, granpa otts, etc.- those are multifidas) that bloom at the same time and all over each yr, but have never seen them cross with or noticed any recognisable crosses of them and quamoclit(or pennata when i grew it). the common multifida ones cross every which way but loose with each other, but at least for me they haven't boogied with quamoclit. pup- i understood your question, but don't know the answer. it makes sense that it would be part of the genetic grab bag, but i haven't seen evidence of it. maybe your yard/experience is just that. i didn't mean that species don't or can't cross earlier, just that if the seeds are pure species, they should come true. we count on seedsman to label things correctly and breed them true. there's no way to really tell, though, just by the seeds(or plants), but i hadn't seen those 2 buggers cross or spontaneously mutate. however, because the common names are so similar, they certainly could get mixed up in a seed packet. and, who's to say some birds or storms didn't help along with some seeds from neighbor's yards? anyhow, i probably was making too many assumptions & should have kept my lip buttoned. i hope i didn't hurt any feelings. and, that's a good ? about what you call a species that can't cross. anyone?

I am looking for lots of things, mostly flowers. One exception is that I would like to try growing Wild Leeks (Ramps)this year. If anyone has any bloodroot or Silene Jack Flash that would be great. I realize people are less likely to have these, but I thought I would mention them on the outside chance someone does!

Thanks and good to know about the purplish leaf. They seem to be doing little to nothing so far since putting them in the ground, but I'll keep them watered and wait and see. Heather, I don't recall the seeds I soaked as being particularly slimy. Don't know if that really tells you anything. I also stuck some leftover seed directly in the soil next to my seedlings just in case. I suspect that even if they do sprout, our season may be to short for flowering. We'll see! It's always fun to have an experiement going on as long as the entire garden isn't affected. We have "drought" conditions in our area which is highly unusual for this time of year. It may be tough pin pointing shortfalls. Leigh

HB seeds come up pretty quickly. So do the clitoria/pea fine seeds. I started them in pots months ago. If you're getting some of this rain, set them out in the storm... the past few days I've had seeds pop up that have been doing nothing until they got rained on. I think one secret is to keep the soil moist for those hard coated seeds. Good luck ! patty