While we bid adieu to Hepatica flowers, many other spring delights are awaiting for us in the forests and as well in our gardens. One of the most important events for all woodlanders – the flowering of Trillium grandiflorum, is starting in SW Ontario! The cool, late spring makes it to coincide with Claytonia virginica […]
Less is more when it comes to writing during May: there are seedlings to be taken care of, planting beds to be rearranged and new ones to be built. Today I will show THE easiest method to grow plants from seeds, i.e. plant them in the ground, in an appropriate location :) And, the second […]
In the woods and in the garden Hepatica are flowering. There is a whole page dedicated to them: Hepatica – queens of the woodlands, and there is nothing else new I have to say. Every spring my admiration for them grows more anew! To those celebrating this weekend – Happy Easter, with love, peace and […]
I cannot envisage springtime without Corydalis flowering. Usually around Easter they are in bloom or just about. The first to flower this year is Corydalis malkensis, a species with large, white-cream flowers. Corydalis paczoskii followed closely, while Corydalis solida and Caucasica caucasica are just beginning. Until I can take more pictures, there are plenty already […]
A short note for those who purchased Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal) seeds last year and kept them in moist storage, as advised: it is time to sow the seeds! Then, put the pot outdoors and the seeds should germinate sometime in May. You can read about the goldenseal and why I recommended this method below: Goldenseal: […]
Theoretically, we know that during germination the radicle emerges at the micropylar end of the seeds; in practice, it is not that easy to figure out where that would be, especially for Aristolochia seeds which look a bit peculiar. Just few seeds of Aristolochia steupii remained in moist storage (it happens in many cases) and […]
In a blink of an eye the spring will rush over us with its myriad of gardening tasks and enjoyments; Hepatica will also start blooming :-) So, it is time for the 2022 indoor seedlings wrap up and awards presentation. First prize in the following categories:
I am doing a last few sowings using the HWT (hot water treatment). As explained and shown in previous postings, the HWT applied for Fabaceae species (and not only), causes fine fissures in the seed coats and allows for water imbibition, eliminating the need for the cold/moist stratification period. Those unfamiliar with this method can […]
The last two remaining species that will be available soon, as moist packed seeds, are Saruma henryi and Aconitum moldavicum. Saruma henryi, the upright wild ginger is a nice, foliage-wise perennial species complemented by yellow flowers in early summer. It goes well with various Arisaema, Aconitums, Podophyllum, Glaucidium, Deinanthe…to mention just a few. A tough […]
Lindera benzoin, Northern spicebush, Forsythia of the wilds Early in the spring (mid-April in some years) the flowering of Lindera, which grows as an understory, lightens up the deciduous woodlands. The small, abundant, bright yellow flowers are a sign of the long awaited spring and very useful to the early pollinators! The species it is […]
First, an announcement about changes in the Shipping rates and destinations: Shipping and Delivery The local shipping and handling rates have been in needed of revising since a couple of years ago. The new break-out on different rates depending on the order size aims to better reflect the time spent on packing the seeds and […]
There are so many interesting seeds-related subjects that sometimes it is hard to choose what to write, or the time is too short. An email arrived yesterday saying: “I thought I’d better drop you a line before I forget. Have been now been giving most of my north american seeds at least a week of […]
Sowing too much already, haven’t we? Well, there are much worse vices than this one. The indoors sowing is almost done and a few species are starting to germinate already. I always try to test some of the new seeds additions, which I suspect by association with similar species, to be warm germinators. And indeed, […]
Epigenetics is a scientific field in high fashion and moving fast nowadays. Although the term was coined in 1942 by C. H. Waddington and scientists have been working since to elucidate the mechanisms involved, it is only recently that the mainstream media has been inundated by articles on epigenetic themes. Very concise and without details, […]
February has arrived (with a vengeance) and I hope many are preparing to start their indoor sowings. I have written about indoor sowing before, but maybe is good to mention again the ‘warm germinators’. This is the term used in the catalogue to describe the dry seeds that will germinate at room temperature (+/- 17-21C) […]
It is always exciting to find Phacelia sericea (Silky Phacelia, blue alpine phacelia, silky scorpion weed) in flower when hiking up in the mountains in mid to late summer (various mountain ranges of Western North America). It grows on dry, rocky slopes, near avalanche chutes and rocky forest openings, often in small groups or as […]
