Catch them if you can

It is easier with a little help ;) It would be a pity to miss the seeds from this beauty, don’t you think?

Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cherry Blossom’

This is a gorgeous anemone center specimen from the Cherry Blossom seeds strain; not all seedlings will come entirely true from seeds of course but all other possible forms to obtain are very enticing!

Self- pollinated, or with a bit of help from this one – not bad either, eh?

In my experience Helleborus seeds can be safely sowed asap or until mid August in order to germinate in the spring after a cold period. When sowed in late fall/winter they will germinate in the second year (warm/cold cycles required for germination).
Alternatively, controlled warm/cold periods can be provided in the house.

Seeds will be available soon!

Late June woodland happenings and Polygala

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The woods are lush, green and full of mosquitoes at this time. Few perennials are flowering (Anemone virginiana in the header image, Hydrophyllum canadense and Medeola), most late spring flowering species are busy growing fruits and few shrubs take center stage, notably: Lonicera canadensis, Cornus rugosa, Diervilla lonicera (also Polygala senega in the image) and Viburnum acerifolium.

Lonicera canadensis

Cornus rugosa

Diervilla lonicera

Viburnum acerifolium

And, very important – the first seeds of Polygala paucifolia  have already been collected! I hope to get more in the next few days. In the last couple of years the seeds set was very low due to the drought. But after a gorgeous flowering in May and cool weather there is hope!

Polygala paucifolia (Gay wings, fringed Polygala)

A special post for Polygala will follow later before the seeds are posted in the Shop.

Mandatory readings

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The first moist packed seeds of the season are flying to various destinations. I want everyone to be successful in germinating and growing these species.
I cannot devise a test but few previous writings are actually mandatory for all purchasing any moist packed seeds:

Moist packing – what’s that?

We got the moist packed seeds – now what?

Hepatica: pollination, seeds and germination

The inventory on Hepatica seeds will be updated tomorrow and few other seeds of warm germinating species will be added to the Spring Shipping rate category!

Until then, I’ll leave you all with the mandatory readings ;) and an image with juicy seeds of Erythronium americanum.

Erythronium americanum fresh seeds

 

Viola declinata

Viola species are not that easy to ID and when collecting seeds in the wild, usually in a hurry there is not enough time for proper observation/pictures.

For this reason Viola declinata, an endemic species from Carpathian Mts., it was offered as Viola cf. declinata in 2017.
Flowering now in the garden, it is a different story :) you can easily take hundreds of pictures and make measurements. The name is confirmed and those few who purchased seeds can label it as Viola declinata.

Viola declinata from E. and S. Carpathian Mts.

Early June garden walk

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Let’s have a short garden walk. We will soon talk again about seeds and seedlings….
The species shown here have something in common: they all have been grown from seeds by myself or friends who gifted them to me.

Click to open the gallery to see the names.

Iris tectorum ‘Album’

Aquilegia nigricans

Paeonia rockii pink

Capnoides sempervirens1

Erinus alpinus

Pseudofumaria lutea

Primula pulverulenta hybrid

Dianthus superbus ssp. sajanense

Friday’s seedlings: Trillium luteum

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Last year there was only one capsule with few seeds on a Trillium luteum. Nothing else to do but to sow the few seeds.
Easy germinator after warm/cold cycles; moist at all time of course.

Trillium luteum seedlings

Trillium luteum, not only beautiful also with a fresh lemony fragrance!

One picture: just because

Two pictures for today actually (rules are made to be broken right? :)

I want to show this absolutely cool woodland species which flowers for the first time. I grew it from seeds just because someone sent me seeds 5 years ago. I didn’t ask for them, had no idea what the species was and how to germinate it, or if it would grow in my climate.
Nevertheless, I sowed them. And I was patient.

Aristolochia steupii

One picture: Pedicularis

Yes, it is possible. There are also few P. comosa and P. verticillata germinating now, in the second year after sowing.

Pedicularis atropurpurea

One picture: epicotyl dormancy

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Sanguinaria canadensis: seedlings of last and this year in the same pot = keep your pots for at least 2 years.

Cycles require for germination (moist at all times): W + C with about 50% of seeds with W + C + W (W- warm, C- cold). From a small sample of seeds you may never know, they can germinate all at once or in stages.
The epicotyl dormancy can be simple or double simple.

Sanguinaria canadensis 2 generations seedlings

Simple epicotyl dormancy = emergence of the roots in autumn and emergence of the shoots following spring; a germination pattern common for many species.

 

 

 

 

One picture: Glaucidium

A short series on the idea that “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

Glaucidium palmatum: last year seedlings germinated warm and seedlings germinated this spring after the winter cold. It can happen for all seeds to germinate after a cold period (always keep your pots for 2 years).

Glaucidium palmatum seedlings

Friday’s seedlings: primulas

A couple of days ago I started to prick out Primula seedlings when I realized I should take few pictures first. At this time of the year I don’t always get the chance to show the ‘before’ picture.
Featured image with Primula zambalensis already pricked out (easy, warm germinator).

Primula ruprechtii (cold/moist stratification) and Primula glaucescens (done with GA3/ otherwise cold/moist stratification)

Primula ruprechtii seedlings

Primula glaucescens

Primula amoena seedlings are still small, will have to grow a bit more (cold/moist for at least 2 months).

Primula amoena

Primulas are also flowering in the garden in all shapes and sizes & colors. It is good to adopt a relaxed attitude when growing Primula from seeds.
They are among the easiest to grow but keep in mind that some species hybridize easily in the garden; also the cultivars may not be stable (for ex. Primula ‘Sunset Shades’). But they are all wonderful.
Aquilegia nigricans just starts flowering – a reminder that early flowering columbines always make for a good combination with the primulas (A. canadensis in flower as well).

Primula veris ‘Sunset Shades’

Primula veris

Primula elatior hybrid

Aquilegia nigricans

Satisfaction

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It is always a joyful moment to see various species grown from seeds flowering for the first time. No matter if they are common or ‘rare’ species, natives or not, they bring a different feeling than those acquired from a garden center.

Flowering first time from the shaded side of the garden:

Podophyllum hexandrum (syn. Sinopodophyllum)

Podophyllum hexandrum, Himalayan mayapple

Triosteum pinnatifidum, a species grown for its beautiful foliage and fruits; the flowers are not showy but without them we wouldn’t have fruits ;)

Triosteum pinnatifidum

Lathyrus vernus, grown from own wild collected seeds, which adds to the satisfaction!

Lathyrus vernus

Other species that flowered for the first time in early spring in the shade were: Helleborus purpurascens and Pachyphragma macrophyllum.

Helleborus purpurascens (from wild collected seeds, Carpathian Mts.)

Pachyphragma macrophyllum

More to come. And let’s not forget the sunny side!

Fridays’s seedlings: native species

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The germination of various species is slower than usual due to the cold spring we have. Of course the native species are among the first to germinate.
Some were sown because I need more plants: Anemone quinquefolia, Asarum canadense, some to test the germination for older seeds: Dodecatheon hendersonii (2016 seeds) , or first time offered species: Zizia aurea.

Anemone quinquefolia seedlings

Asarum canadensis seedlings

Dodecatheon hendersonii seedlings

Zizia aurea seedlings

For Lilium philadelphicum I wanted to test the germination on smaller than usual seeds we obtained in the last 2 years due to drought conditions. I used the ‘freezing’ method described and it seems – size, it does not matter. All germinated!

Lilium philadelphicum seedlings

In the the featured image: Strophostyles helvola, the Amberique-bean; I found 3 leftover seeds, what else to do with them?

Going native: to each its place

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I am not among the people who say that we should grow only native species in our gardens. I think it is extreme and unrealistic. Not all native species are easy to grow and adaptable to garden cultivation. You have to study them first in their wild habitats, understand their needs and determine if these needs can be met in a garden situation. There are many factors involved.

But it is true that everyone can accommodate quite a few of them, and not just because they are hardy and good for pollinators (so are many others), but mainly because they adapt wonderfully in so called ‘difficult locations’ which resemble their native habitat.

To cut a long story short, I was facing a steep slope underneath an old spruce; the soil, or what was left of it, wouldn’t allow digging decent planting holes. The area gets sun in the spring and it becomes more shaded in the summer.
Trying to establish native species on it made sense; entirely. And starting with young plants grown from seeds also made sense: they establish much easier.

This is one part of the area right now: Asarum canadense and Maianthemum stellatum are 3 years old. There are various few smaller seedlings which don’t show and few young Trilliums.  With the backbones in place, I will also directly sow other seeds in late fall; particularly Thalictrum dioicum for its fine texture.

Asarum canadense and Maianthemum stellatum

Lower down, a small patch with Anemone quinquefolia, Hepatica americana – more to be added.

Anemone quinquefolia and Hepatica americana

On the reverse side, there is another small area where water pools temporarily due to a terrain depression and clayish subsoil. I’ve tried a few things which never performed well. Then I switched to Primula mistassinica, Viola nephrophyla, Sisyrinchium montanum, Parnassia, and all is well (the area still ‘under construction’, Viola nephrophylla in the featured image).

It all makes sense.

 

 

Viola jooi

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A picture with Viola jooi from last week to keep us going through another cold & rainy day.
Viola joy!

Viola jooi, the Transilvanian violet: an acaulescent, limestone loving species, endemic of the Carpathian Mts. (Romania, Ukraine); a new population was also described from NE Serbia

Hepatica americana colors

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The colder than usual spring this year (2019) has had one advantage: both Hepatica acutiloba and Hepatica americana have remained much longer in flower which allowed me to have a better look at various populations from which I collect seeds.
I followed few previously known specimens from buds to full flowering and then to fading; this allowed me to understand more about their colors in particular.

I mentioned before that most populations of Hepatica americana where I collect seeds are not blue, there is a fair amount of purple; in ‘real’ they are in the blue-violet range (from pastel to pure). I also never liked to use the ‘pink’ name because none are really pink. Light/pastel blue flowered plants are present only in mixed populations.

Last year I postpone it but I finally made the chart seen above (using the RGB palette) which will be used from now on when talking about Hepatica americana/ and H. acutiloba flowers colors.

Hepatica americana typical for the population where seeds are collected

One phenomenon of this spring was that some plants I knew perfectly as being white, flowered with tinges of pink.
It seems that the amount of antocyanins in flowers varies with the temperature, increasing with the cold weather; this is known to happen to other species as well.

Hepatica americana multipetal white 2018

Hepatica americana multipetal white 2019

Also, in some cases there can be quite a dramatic change from bud to full flowering color – see the transition in H. americana offered as deep pink in 2018; ‘deep pink’ for sure didn’t described it well.
The buds when they open are actually deep violet and then the color fades as the flowers open. First I thought I was looking at a wrong plant, if not for my label! During flowering the color changes gradually.

Hepatica americana deep pink 2018

Hepatica americana deep pink 2019, buds

Hepatica americana deep pink end of flowering 2019

Enjoy the flowers pictures, and a new finding with larger than usual flowers. What color is it? Use the chart.

Hepatica americana multipetal large

Hepatica americana ‘Spring Dawn’