Hello: It seems as if some AVs sport often. If you put down a leaf from a sport, you will not get the original play. You may get the same sport, or it may sport again. Some plants are very unstable, especially those with more than one color. Sometimes sports are an improvement over the original or at least have some very good points about them and they are registered. All the chimeras, those with striped colors, are sports. They are "discovered" within a collection. I have found two sports which are chimeras. One was supposed to have been Ness' Midnight Fantasy and another was Jonathan, hybridized by Croteau. It takes a very long time to take these sports through three generations to see if they will remain true to themselves or if they will sport again to yet another description. Nancy

The seeds are ripe when they are dried. Some clematis have large dark brown/black seeds while others are beige, some are large and some are small. Look closely at the seedhead and you will see anywhere from 0 to many seeds. Watch them develop and you will be able to tell when they are no longer changing and probably ripe. I have seen clematis seeds still on a plant even after a long winter. While seedlings will not be exactly the same as the parent they often have lovely blooms. Though I buy or start clematis from cuttings/layering I also grow some from seed just for the challenge. Some seeds will germinate easily and quickly while others can take a long time. In some areas clematis self seed and the seedlings can be potted or moved to another area. Google clematis seeds/seedlings and you will find info on what they look like and germination requirements.

You can see pictures of seeds in our "Seedling" album at this site. They are towards the end of the album. If you click on the small picture it will come up big enough to see the seeds. Dahlia seeds look like a flattened earwig! They are fairly flat, longish & have a couple of prongs on the end like an earwig does! You have to leave the pod- dried flower head - on the plant until the seeds ripen- they will form a cone shape & turn brown on the ends. Then the whole pod will turn brown. You have to make sure the pods don't get picked too early or the seeds won't ripen. Some people say you can cut the pod & ripen it in a vase of water in the house but we've never had any luck getting seeds from any that didn't ripen attached to the plant, out in the garden. You also have to protect the pods from rain as they will rot if they get too wet- we go out & "milk" the water out of the pods after a hard rain- what fun!!?? Be aware that dahlias don't come true to the parents when you collect seeds, so even if you're collecting all AA or A sized seeds you won't get all AA or A sized seedlings- esp. if you grow other types, smaller ones, etc. You will get a lot of bad seedlings & if you're pressed for space it's not worth messing with. We plant upwards of 300-600 seedlings a year & in the first year we cull all but 100-200 of them. Over the next 5 years those are culled down to about 20 that are worth introducing. The only way to be sure to increase your collection of big dahlias & share them with others is to cut up the clumps because they are clones of the mother plant- imagine the disappointment of those you give seed to thinking they'll be a nice big fully double AA & they grow it all season & it's nothing like what you thought it was going to be.

Hi all! So, my UC Davis cuttings came in April, and instead of starting them right away, I decided to chill them for a few more weeks. They are doing FABULOUS now, and are in clear cups in my covered patio. Leaves and figs are pushing out on all of them, so far. Here's what I'm growing: Panachee (3), Conadria (2), Flanders (3), Mary Lane (3), Beall (3), Pastiliere (1), St. Jean (1), Violette de Bordeaux (1), Kadota 1 (1), Grosse Monstruesse de Lipari (3), Cole de Dame (1), Osborn Prolific (3), King (3), Giant Amber (3), Castle Kennedy (2) I'm going to try and place another order to get the Black Madeira and Malcom's Super Giant that didn't come with this order. I guess they were out. At any rate, I'm still looking for Sal's and other giants. So my questions are: 1.) Does anyone know if UCD has a number associated with Sal's? If so, would you share it? 2.) What would you suggest for my collection for "giants"? And if those are supplied by UCD, do you know the number? I have a thing for the really huge figs! :) 3.) Size aside, what would you suggest for absolute best tasting that I don't already have? And if those have a UCD number, what is it? 4.) Is anyone here espaliering their trees? If so, would you share photos and techniques? I know the Japanese do it with great success. I just don't know how. When the roots start to show, I'd be happy to trade some of my extras for cuttings if anyone is interested? Thanks in advance, for all the help! This is the beginning of my fig orchard, which will go in the ground upon my husband's retirement from the military, (when we make our final move, that is).