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Gardening in Oz

My Aquilegia have gone brown and crispy + sowing seeds

21 years ago

Are Aquilegia meant to go brown and crispy this time of year, or are have they not got enough water? I cant rememeber if they die down and come up again.

Can you help me! (Thank you!)

Also, when and how is the best tiem to plant seeds. I want to fill up my garden bed under a decidious tree and thought the granny bonnets would do well there. Are they sown in spring, do they need special attention?

Thanks guys!

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Comments (8)

cosmicgardener
21 years ago
I think they are pretty much self sowing. Autumn is nature's time for sowing seeds. I'm watching my Geum and Love in a Mist spreading their seeds.

Linda
jaykoko
Original Author
21 years ago
So Are aquilega's meant to die back?!?!
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riverstone6
21 years ago
Yes they do die down for autumn but they will charge away in early spring. Two benefits here as you get the old plant which will have bigger, better flowers next season plus those seeds will nearly all grow!! Give them some fertiliser to encourage sturdy roots over winter and then sprinkle more food for them in early spring to boost the flowers but don't forget to feed the snails too. Enjoy your granny bonnets as they are great fillers with flowers and lovely leaves. Cheers, Sandra
annabel__WA
21 years ago
I've been sowing some on wet tissue paper along with other seeds and had some success at last after previous faulures. They like light for germinating. Mine have never seeded well although I did pick a couple of pods this year.
annabel__WA
21 years ago
When they germinated I put them into punnets of seed raising mix. I have tweezers from my overlocker which are nice and long!! Some seeds are mine and some I bought but there have neen some of each germinated. I buy the 25lt bags of Growrich from Bunnings now-I was/am using so much and it's much cheaper- and I prefer it to the others and the success rate of germinated seeds has been much higher. My one surviving Aquilegia in the garden got a bit crispy at times, but recovered. It gets too much sun till I get shrubs going. Good luck.
annabel__WA
21 years ago
Germination was more successful than seedlings!! I did get enough and I prob planted too many. If they have roots and leaves, definitely put them carefully into good seed raising mix,water well and don't let them dry out. Some seed could still germinate so I just leave. Our weather has been funny. We get blasts of heat as a trough goes over WA so that it goes up at least 10-15 degrees overnight, more in summer and then drops. No wonder my seeds often fail. They die of heat stroke:-(((((( We've just had another 2 days over 30. I'm still on a learning curve. Good luck
User
21 years ago
Hi Jaykoko,
When my aquilegias go to seed I simply pick the seed pod stem when it is dry and opening and shake it in the garden anywhere I want them. It works for me!
Cheers
Dee.
ginnybee
21 years ago
I do the same as Dee with my seeds they come up very well no care needed as to the foliage they get a bit ratty at this time & if you cut off all old branches you will see new growth in the centre but they really come on in the spring, if yours are all brown they might have sunburn or need more water
Jan.

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