The daffodils along the edge of the woods at my dad's house are still coming into flower. Here are two that began this week which I haven't identified yet.
The white one with the orange cup has no fragrance, but the large-cup white one does. I took pollen from both of these back to Auburn and pollinated 'Sweetness' and N. jonquilla var. henriquesii. We'll see if any seed comes from it.
The one with the orange cup reminds me of 'Flower Record', a daffodil I planted as a teenager, which I loved, but unfortunately it only lasted 5 or so years before disappearing. Since this has been growing happily in the woods for years, hopefully I can use it to make some nice crosses.
I was poking about the courtyard today planting some hardy annual seeds and saw that the "Trevithan" you gave me last year is poking through. Barely, but there's definitely some green showing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! What seeds are you planting. Are you planting them directly in the ground?
DeleteI've planted some sweet peas, nigella, larkspur (though I forgot to pre-chill the seeds, so the germination rate will be interesting to see), and bupleurum. Just some smaller batches of hardy annuals that shouldn't be affected by a change in the weather too much in the shelter of the coutryard. The grass never fully went dormant in there any way!
DeleteI've also started some Foxglove under lights, the "Camelot" variety that blooms year one. The first several things I have to start are surface-sow plants which all make me nervous. I haven't had as much experience growing them. Next indoor start will be on the 4th of March with two varieties of Rudbekia and some Chinese Forget-me-nots.
I have an update on the garden/flower business in the works, I just sort of fell asleep this afternoon instead of working in the courtyard like I had planned. But I have Monday off to work on that!
That all sounds really nice! What do you mean by surface-sow? Are they the kinds of seeds that need to be exposed to light at the surface? Also, have you experimented with bottom heat? I used a seedling heat mat under my nasturtiums and was shocked at how evenly they germinated and grew. I bet the commercial growers use bottom heat.
DeleteSurface sowing means the seeds need light to germinate, so you basically just set them on top of the soil.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of bottom heat in commercial circles, and I think we used to do it years ago here, but I have other expenses that come fist, like landscape fabric or support netting!