Seedling Update: Green Thumb Sunday

Dimorphotheca African Moon all grown up.

I'm going to start with the big guys. This post is mainly for myself so I can have the dates down for my seeds in one place. Plus I'll give some information because I tend to forget after a while. The seedlings that were once small are now huge. The Dimorphotheca African Moon first seedling is huge. The others that were transplanted are getting there but not as big yet. Dimorphotheca aurantiaca African Moon likes dry areas and good for containers. It's an annual and attracts bees and butterflies. Also it self sows it's self and will flower in late spring/summer. Dimorphotheca aurantica likes full sun and will get around 12" tall.


Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle Mix all grown up.

The Gaillardia's are large now. They are the same size as the Dimorphotheca. The 2 or 3 pots are looking good but one is pot the Gaillardias are larger. They seems to like their section in the partial shadow of some pots. Gaillardia pulchellsa gets around 20" tall, likes full sun and hot areas, is good for containers and cut flowers.


Myrtle Spurge

My Myrtle Spurge is starting to get new leaves. I'm surprised I got the turn out I did from them. I wasn't expecting many or any seeds to sprout. For some reason I just thought that. Now I have around 7 seedlings. Euphorbia myrsinites likes full sun, likes it dry, gets around 12" tall or shorter, self seeds, blooms march - april, is a perennial, and is considered invasive in some areas. Planted in bonsai pots on 3-26-08 and sprouted on 3-30-08.


Rock Soapwort.

I purchased the Rock Soapwort because I wanted some trailing plants. I seemed to always pick the plants that are fillers and not thrillers or spillers. It took a while for the seeds to germinate but now there are 3 sprouts and probably more on the way. Saponaria ocymoides is a perennial that normally blooms in it's second year, it likes full sun to part shade. Good for rock gardens, hillsides, ground cover, containers, and hanging baskets. Saponaria ocymoides gets around 12" high or shorter, can withstand dry periods, likes light well drained soil, and reseeds. planted in flat on 3-28-08 and sprouted 4-7-08. Planted more on 4-6-08 has not yet sprouted.

I'll leave the rest for next time. This has taken me longer then I thought it would. Happy GTS!


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Green Thumb Sunday: I've got Buds!

Dianthus barbatus Pinocchio Mix has buds.

Many of my plants are in bud. This makes me very happy because I've had hardly any flowers on my balcony. For Garden Bloggers Bloom Day this month I'll hopefully have plenty of flowers to show.



Hibiscus Rose with many buds.

The Hibiscus Rose has many buds. There are about 5 and all at the same stage. These pictures above are taken on different days. The buds are about to open any day now maybe in two days. They might just bloom way before GBBD but I'll be taking pictures and count them anyways.


Sweet William tall double flowering mix with buds

The sweet william are looking like they will have some blooms soon. I'm excited about these since I've been waiting for a while to see them. I'm still so surprised I got some seeds to germinate at all.


Pansy corso mix bud.

This pansy has actually opened today. It seems whenever I buy a mix plant either seeds or the actual plant...I really don't get a mix. The only one that I really did get a mix was the candytuft. Maybe when the other ones bring out blooms they will be a different color. So far they have been blue but still beautiful. I love blue anyways so I can't complain.



Evening Primrose Buds

My evening Primrose has been packing on the buds for the past week or two. There are about 4 or 5 that are enlarged and ready to burst. Then there are around 8 little ones dangling and waiting for their turn. I just love love the evening primrose blooms. Seeing them on the side of the road in masses makes my heart flutter. These might be a weed/wildflower but I would love a large part of my garden to have them. Who cares if they take over it wouldn't bug me at all. I say this not having a yard. They probably would bug me if they took over at least until they all bloomed.



Corkscrew Vine is starting to climb.

Okay, this is not a bud but still just as exciting. The other corkscrew vine has finally started to vine and reach up. So now I get to weave this one up and over to the right to meet the other corkscrew vine that has been climbing for month. I do hope these flowers! I can't wait to see the snail shaped blooms in their great purple cream and white color. Maybe I might even get seeds from them. I won't get my hopes up on the seeds though.


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Green Thumb Sunday

Snake Plant

Here is a plant I never talk about it. It's one of the few that get kind of neglected on my balcony garden. I've gone through a week or two of not even watering it. Now I'm trying to pay attention to every plant I have and not neglect them just because I initially didn't like them. I wasn't a fan of the snake plant. It was yet again another plant that the old women gave me. It was just there and a little burnt at the tips and just nothing interesting. Just a few days ago I noticed some new shoots forming in the pot. That is when I thought that I might just like this plant and give it a chance. That is also when I realized I have liked this plant all along, just not my own. Across the way another balcony gardener has a huge snake plant. I've admired it because it's tall and clumped together and very unique looking against her geraniums. I just never registered in my head that she had a snake plant and that mine could grow like that with more watering maybe.


Sweet Peas and Stock

Well these seedlings have been doing great. They were planted a week or two earlier then the other seedlings I have growing right now (african daisy, nemesia, gaillardia). I'm telling you when I plant seeds in pots they do wonderful. In the flats my seeds just grow like snails, so slow. Anyways my sweet peas have toppled over. I'm not sure if they are supposed to do that but I can't get them to stay up. Maybe I'll get some chopsticks and try to keep them straight. These sweet peas are a dwarf variety so I didn't think they would need staking. The stock is growing nicely too.


Stock




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Green Thumb Sunday Seedling Update

Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle Mix seedlings

My seedlings have been coming along. It's been almost a month now since they have been planted. I really should get the bigger ones out of there and into something bigger. I only have 4 pots, 3 small 4 inch, and one 6 or 8 inch. Really that should be enough to pot what I have. I'm thinking I'll do that in a bit and see how it goes.


Dimorphotheca seedlings

My African Daisies (Dimorphotheca aurantiaca) are doing great. I got the one big seedling that has been growing for 1 month now. A week ago I believe I planted some more. The one seedling was the only one that germinated so I decided to try again. This time I followed what I read online and just very slightly covered them so they wouldn't get blown away. Now I have many more seedlings popping up and getting ready to grow. The first time I planted them I think I stuck them in too deep.


Nemesia seedling

The Nemesia is growing slowly. I have 3 seedlings of Nemesia. One seedling is quite elongated and I'm not sure why. Maybe it just needs to go into a bigger pot but it's not that big. It looks like the one pictured but with a longer stem on it.


Parsley seedlings

My Parsley seedlings have their true leaves now. They are funny frilly edged leaves. I'm glad that I got these as a freebie. I love parsley and use it constantly on my pasta. Pasta just doesn't taste right if it doesn't have parsley. I hope that these do well once the heat and sun get going.


Laurentia seedlings

Never did anything come from the first batch of laurentia I planted. I tried again when I replanted the Dimorphotheca seeds. There are two little seedlings in this one plug. None of the other have come out. I'll try again another month when it gets warmer.


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Green Thumb Sunday

Sprouts of Phlox or Dusty Miller

My seedlings are growing and everyday new ones appear. I planted a mix of phlox and dusty miller in this planter. I'm still leaning towards these being phlox and not dusty miller. Even if the dusty miller does not germinate I will be happy. The dusty miller seeds I bought from Value Seeds so the .99 cents they cost won't make me feel sad. I love to get seeds from Value Seeds because they are just Thompson and Morgan seeds but greatly discounted. There aren't many choices but I usually find a few things I want. There are many of my plants growing really fast now. One of my corkscrew vine has started to grow like crazy over the past two days. That is a great sign because I really want the Corckscrew Vine to grow. The grape hyacinths are mostly all up and blooming now. They area welcome scene to my mostly green. Plus the bees have really started to show interest in them. That make me feel great when some beneficial insects are coming to my little corner. My spearmint is growing well now and will probably start to grow like a weed soon it seems. The columbine, armeria, and the bellflower are doing well. Mainly the columbine has been growing the most.


Kasha being mean and biting my plants.

Yesterday when I was taking photos as I normally do my dog Kasha decided she wanted to be a bad girl. While taking my photos she wanted to get in the way. Not only get in the way but try to bite anything I was taking a photo of. The picture above is her trying to bite my hyacinth. She did it for pretty much everything. Then she finally stopped to smell the mint and grape hyacinth.




Green Thumb Sunday

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Green Thumb Sunday

Seedlings of either phlox or dusty miller

I planted some seeds of Phlox "Phlox of Sheep" and Dusty Miller a week back. There are little seedlings popping up now. Not sure if it is the phlox or the dusty miller. I'm assuming the phlox for now because I think dusty miller is hard to grow from seeds. I could be wrong.

When I planted the seeds I had already put some grape hyacinths in the same planter. I thought by now the grape hyacinths would be blooming but they are taking their sweet time. I have a glass container where I put some grape hyacinths and they are much larger then the ones outside. I wonder if the depth that I planted them has made that difference. I'm hoping the combination will be okay with the grape hyacinths for now. If not it was a learning experience.




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