Winter joys

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*In the featured image: Hepatica transsilvanica ‘Winterfreude’ (in translation “winterjoy”)

December sneaked in with a few flurries but usually a reliable snow cover will settle in only later in the month or in January (hopefully). It is particularly around this time that gardeners start to appreciate more the perennials and shrubs that retain their foliage (leaving aside the true evergreens).

I always use the snowless periods to count my ‘winter joys’ and thinking about adding more such plants in the garden. Unfortunately, quite a few species, even if full hardy, don’t handle well the winter desiccation in a 5-6 zone. The most common broadleaf shrubs we can use are:  Buxus, Daphne, Ilex, Mahonia, Gaultheria, Arctostaphylos and Rhododendrons/Azaleas (only some species here in ON).

But I haven’t seen Paxistima canbyi, Canby’s mountain lover or cliff green, in many gardens. Always willing to give a try to something new I acquired one a few years ago. It was planted on a part shaded slope exposed to winter sun and wind; snow cover sometimes minimal because of a nearby spruce. It defied all expectations! I already shared with a few friends (stolons; cuttings should also work well) and I highly recommend it for cold regions, zone 5-6.

Paxistima canbyi, Canby’s mountain lover. It can be found growing wild in a few localities of central Appalachian Mts. (US) on limestone bluffs and cliffs and is said to be threatened/endangered. A low growing small shrub, with narrow, glossy leaves; the flowers are tiny, insignificant. Named after William Marriot Canby,  businessman, plant collector and amateur botanist from Delaware who discovered it in the wild.

Another underused evergreen shrub which does well in cold regions is Erica carnea – winter heath, with its many varieties.
Low growing shrubs with needle like leaves and small urn-shaped flowers, usually pink or white. They grow well with good drainage, in sandy soils, in sun to part shade. Most also flower very early in the spring when not much else is available for early pollinators.

Erica carnea ‘Rosalie’ in December

Bulbs speaking, everyone should have an Arum in the garden (aka Lords-and-Ladies). They are truly wonders of the season with the way they start growing in the fall and how their foliage is bouncing back after being frozen.

Arum italicum ‘Marmoratum’ is the most common form available to purchase, but you can also procure or grow from seeds various other forms with patterned leaves. They are all beautiful. The second image is one grown from seeds as ‘Chameleon’, and there is another form nearby which I’ll have to separate.

Arum italicum ‘Marmoratum’

Arum ‘Chameleon’

Arum, another patterned leaf form

I would be interested to hear about other broadleaf small shrubs capable to withstand zone 5-6 winters.
Next, about other “winter joys”; we can have relatively green gardens even in the winter!

 

*The shipping of moist packed seeds has been suspended.
Caulophyllum thalictroides seeds will be available again in late spring.

 

Friday’s Lamiaceae: calyces & nuts

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Cleaning and sorting out the fruits/seeds in preparation for cold storage is always a good occasion to ponder on their characteristics.

It is time to discuss a bit the Lamiaceae family, which has so many genera and species well-known to all gardeners for their ornamental or/and aromatic, culinary & medicinal qualities: Acinos, Clinopodium, Lamium, Salvia, Stachys, Mentha, Monarda, Monardella, Nepeta, Origanum, Thymus, Phlomis and Phlomoides, Pycnanthemum… to mention just a few.

Not that we have to go ‘nuts’ about details, but it is always good to know what we are dealing with when collecting, cleaning, sharing and sowing the “seeds”.

What many of these species have in common is the fact that their fruits, called nutlets, form and remain inside the floral calyces (with some exceptions). What we are actually sowing is these fruits; the seeds are inside and cannot be separated. A nutlet, is a small, hard walled, single seeded fruit (practically a small nut).

Acinos alpinus nutlets

Clinopodium arkansanum nutlets

Salvia daghestanica nutlets

The calyces vary greatly in size from small ( Acinos, Clinopodium, Thymus), to medium (Salvia daghestanica, Stachys) and very large (Stachys inflata), and in some cases they can be quite ornamental (Stachys, Salvia species); some can also remain on the stems for a long time: Phlomoides, Monarda, Pycnanthemum.

Stachys inflata nutlets

Stachys inflata calyx, nutlets

Phlomoides tuberosa

Practical point of views:

The collection of such fruits can be more or less difficult. In the case of species with very small calyces, most times nutlets will be retained inside, and by collecting the calyces, one will also collect the fruits. The larger the calyces, the more likely is for the nutlets to scatter on the ground when ripen. This is a game changer: waiting too long and the seeds are gone, not waiting enough, and they are immature.

Most often, the calyces get dry/brownish and this is a sign that the nutlets are ready. They can be collected by striping them from the stems/or cutting off the upper portion of the stems. But in cases like Stachys inflata, the calyces remain the same silvery color and it is very hard to guess; periodical checking the fruits status is the only solution. Then, portions of the stems are cut and placed in paper bags.

Cleaning, sorting out: small size calyces usually only require cleaning the debris and will be shared as such.

Origanum calyces with no “seeds” from a seedex

For larger size calyces:  most often the fruits will fall out by themselves after the calyces dry out completely (if there are some left inside!). Let them stay in a paper bag for a while. If you were too late to collect, then no nutlets will be found!

 Make sure that you don’t share empty calyces instead of “seeds”! (this is the most common situation with the Seeds exchanges).
For species with medium to large size calyces – ONLY the nutlets should be shared.

 

                                                                            

 

This post has gotten long enough; part 2 may follow with Scutellaria and a few other Lamiaceae which differ in the fruits aspect.
Few more pictures for a cloudy day; the first couple with a trio of success from my rockery: Acinos alpinus, Stachys inflata and a thyme: beautiful and green all year long.

Acinos alpinus, Thymus, Stachys

Acinos, Thymus, Stachys, late fall – winter

Clinopodium arkansanum

Salvia daghestanica

Stachys inflata

Salvia verticillata close-up

Monardella odoratissima

Pycnanthemum virginianum

Phlomis russeliana

In the featured image: late fall aspect of Pycnanthemum virginianum (mountain mint).

What’s for sowing? and Ramps galore

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At this time I am sowing not only seeds (giddy up sowing species with cold/moist stratification requirements!) but also germinated seeds (roots only) of species kept in moist storage. If they are not purchased before the roots emerge, of course, there is nothing else to do with them.

Allium tricoccum (ramps, wild leek) germinated seeds

I cannot throw away Allium tricoccum in any form because it is an almost endangered species now due to over collecting in the wild habitat (never collect ramps bulbs from the wild). I am sure I will find a home for the baby ramps in the spring.

No ‘crying wolf’ next year for the ramps seeds please. Here’s the method for easily obtaining ramps galore, which will be posted on the Germination page:

Watch carefully for the seeds to reach maturation; hurry up to collect them before falling down (late August-early September depending on the region).
Clean, sort out and sow right away, or
Pack the seeds in slightly moist vermiculite; keep them at temperatures that mimics late summer/early fall.
Periodically check the bag for moisture levels.
Plant the germinated seeds after the roots emerge.
Keep the pot in a cold location (or ‘plant’ it in the ground for the winter).
Watch for the sprouts in early spring.

Use them to flavor a spring salad or,
Grow them further to obtain adult ramps.

Curious what’s on my winter sowing list?

Well, a few new species for this year available in the Seed List such as: Primula nivalis and Anemonastrum sibiricum, Primula maximocwiczii, Lomatium sandbergii (from Mt. Baldy, BC), to mention just a few.

In general, I also sow more species from previous years, they are always behind due to lack of space (Cirsium hookerianum from the Rockies, Mimulus lewisii….). Furthermore, I sow previous species for which I lost the young seedlings, most often due to slugs (like in the case of Veronica schmidtiana).
Few new species in too small quantities to share with everyone, like Dodecatheon frigidum and Arnica lessingii from Norther BC and Gentiana dschungarica from Altai are also on my fall/winter sowing list.

And with the sowing, also the virtual traveling begins! Everyone has their own desires and choices; the important thing is to keep on sowing! and keep on dreaming!
Cirsium hookerianum and few of its companions growing in wild habitat (mountains of SWAlberta and SE BC).

Cirsium hookerianum

Aquilegia flavescens

Mimulus lewisii

Erythronium grandiflorum

Friday’s Seeds and other happenings

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There are a few more new seeds for the start of November:
Allium pseudojaponicum – an excellent small size Allium for early fall flowering.
Allium victorialis – one to enjoy and also made it into a salad.
Liatris microcephala – the dwarf and beautiful Appalachian blazing star.

A couple of species that produced very few seeds this year are also available. Both are easy to germinate and grow:
Callirhoe digitata
Calycanthus floridus
And maybe, maybe Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’ seeds will have time to mature this year.

Allium pseudojaponicum

Liatris microcephala

Callirhoe digitata

Calycanthus floridus

Various moist packed species are getting impatient and showing the first signs of germination. Few like Trillium grandiflorum and Paris quadrifolia are on time, for others like Uvularia and Symplocarpus, ‘it’s just happening’. Not 2 seeds are the same…

Trillium grandiflorum germinated seeds (root only)

Uvularia grandiflora germinated seeds (root only)

Symplocarpus foetidus germinated seed

We also got our first nights below zero Celsius and the first flurries; it is November after all. But the trees are still wearing bright colors and fall Crocus and other stubborn plants are refusing to let go.

A from….

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Arisaema ciliatum var. liubaense
Arisaema cf. amurense Silver leaf form (explanation about this offering on the product page)

and Asclepias exaltata

recently added to the inventory.

The Arisaema sp. germinate at room temp., so there is no hurry for them, but Asclepias exaltata will benefit from a healthy period of cold/moist stratification (like many other species). This is the perfect time to start the fall sowings (ie. sow, water and leave the pots outdoors throughout the winter).

Unfortunately Allium psedojaponicum didn’t make the short list, the seeds are still drying in a paper bag – coming soon. For other species recently posted, check out the Seed List.

Keep on sowing!

Arisaema ciliatum var. liubaense 2019

Arisaema cf. amurense Silver Leaf form

Asclepias exaltata

Asclepias exaltata seeds

*A reminder that the remaining moist packed seeds will not be available if/when the temperatures start plunging sharply in late November/December.

Doodling with Dioscorea capsules

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I blame the lack of sun for doodling with Dioscorea caucasica capsules recently (they were collected after a rainy day, otherwise when completely dry, they break easily).

‘Butterflies’ of Dioscorea caucasica capsules; notice the seeds still present in the top ones.  Each wing of the capsule contains 2 (or 1) seeds.

Dioscorea caucasica has established happily in the garden and is easy to germinate and grow.
Same goes for our only native species: Dioscorea villosa, which would happily climb on a tree trunk, dead or alive in a sun to part shade location.  Both species are in need of conservation and ‘propagation means conservation’ is our slogan.

Dioscorea caucasica

Dioscorea villosa

After successfully growing D. caucasica, I can say that it is an easy to grow species. Sow the seeds in late fall outdoors, be patient, they will germinate quite late in the spring, but after that they will grow vigorously and you can plant the whole sowing pot by fall (or in the next spring) in the desired location. Good luck will make it to obtain both female and male plants in your little clump (the flowers are really insignificant, but the capsules are quite decorative).

It has rain quite a lot lately and I will mention other species that prefer wet places:
For those interested, there is a small amount of Symplocarpus foetidus seeds available (no international shipping).
Iris versicolor is also back in the inventory. And you can always throw in the mix a handful of Lobelia siphilitica and Lobelia cardinalis seeds.

Parnassia and Triantha have been in demand this fall, but there are still some seeds available.

Symplocarpus foetidus

Lobelia siphilitica with bumblebee

Triantha glutinosa flowers

Lobelia cardinalis

Parnassia palustris flower detail

Iris versicolor

Weather allowing, it is about the time to collect the hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) seeds….

The quartet, with emphasis on Trautvetteria

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I thought I’ll write about a triad but almost a week has passed by and it has become a quartet!
The following species, all good in part-shaded locations, are in the inventory: Gillenia trifoliata, Spigelia marilandica, Glaucidium palmatum and Trautvetteria caroliniensis.

The first 3 need no introduction for the garden aficionados; who doesn’t know about the butterfly-like flowers of Gillenia, the ‘hummingbird magnet’ Indian pink (Spigelia), and ethereal flowers of Glaucidium?


On the other hand, Trautvetteria caroliniensis (False bugbane) is not that well known and cultivated. It is the only species of the genus with a North American and Asian distribution. Trautvetteria populations from N. America and Asia were treated as different varieties for a while, but it seems that no differentiating characters could be found between them.

I found Trautvetteria to be an intriguing plant. The ‘naked’ inflorescences composed of only white stamens are very similar to those of Hydrastis canadensis; the palmate leaves are also hinting towards Hydrastis or Glaucidium, both from Ranunculaceae family. After all, an older synonym name is Hydrastis caroliniensis.

Of course, those not interested in botanical details are just growing it because it is a beautiful and interesting plant for part-shaded locations.

The fruit is called utricle and contains one seed; so in fact we will be sowing the fruits. It is not practical to remove the pericarp as seeds may get damaged if trying to do so. I only took a few out to take a picture.

Trautvetteria caroliniensis fruits and seeds

Like for many other species from Ranunculaceae, we have to assume that the seeds are best sown asap, probably requiring first a slightly warm/moist period before a cold one (otherwise we can expect germination in the second year). It is a rhizome forming species, so don’t expect it to flower sooner than 3-4 years.

*Ernst Rudolf von Trautvetter (1809-1889), was a botanist from Estonia who specialized in flora of the Caucasus and Central Asia; during his life he served as director of the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg and Professor and director of the Botanical Garden in Kiev.

Enough talk, let’s get going  with the sowing! Time flies.

The first 2 orders containing the trio of North American species: Gillenia, Spigelia and Trautvetteria – receive a free pck. of Glaucidium seeds!!!

 

Back to the bakeapple

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More and more, after trying various unsuccessful methods to germinate this species, I wonder why some people would bother to attempt growing it from seeds; except perhaps from curiosity.

The latest update (#3) on Rubus chamaemorus germination was added in the same post with update #2 and can be found HERE.

I hope that one day I will have the occasion to taste the fruits which are hailed as a delicious and with multiple health qualities. But I am realistic that I won’t harvest them from my seeds grown plants!

Rubus chamaemorus is a species with circumboreal distribution* and it cannot be grown in warm and /or humid climates; plus, it is dioecious and one would need male and female plants to produce fruits.
Even in the wild, in some years the fruit yield is very low. The primary means of reproduction is by vegetative rhizomes, and they can form large clonal colonies; this is also not favorable for fruits set.

The majority of fruits are still harvested in the wild in Nordic regions, where it grows abundantly; for many reasons the situation will probably remain the same in the near future.

There are plenty of reads on the internet for those interested in this species; just avoid the websites where they say you can grow it easily ;) Or who are trying to sell you 5 seeds ;)

Unfortunately, the hype that most times accompanies fruits/seeds/plants which are considered ‘wondrous’, leads to unrealistic expectations from the ‘consumers’, and dishonest marketing from those offering the seeds/fruits/plants or derived products.

That being said, those willing to spend 4 CAD to play with the seeds are welcome to give them a try.
If someone is interested in more than 2-3 pck. of seeds, please get in touch by using the Contact form.
Those hoping to taste cloudberry fruits, I suggest a visit to a Nordic country, or even somewhere to Northern Canada (I don’t know precise locations though).

*“Ecology and habitat. Substrates: wet meadows, around the margins of ponds, marshes, along streams, slopes, ridges, dry meadows; imperfectly drained moist areas, dry, moderately well-drained areas; moss; with high organic content, peat; acidic. Rubus chamaemorus grows in moist, peaty and turfy soils, including sphagnum bogs and hummocks with pH 2.5–4.5, muskegs, mossy tundra and black spruce bogs. The species occupies a broad spectrum of sites from dry to wet, but is most common on wetter sites, particularly raised bogs, and freshwater marshes. Good growth has been observed with the pH as high as 6.1. Rubus chamaemorus sometimes occurs in periodically dry lichen carpets on acid rocks. The species is considered to be a pioneer that rapidly colonises bare soil.”
From Flora of Canadian Arctic Archipelago: https://nature.ca/aaflora/data/www/roruch.htm

 

September seeds

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To state the obvious, it is already September!

With the attention on the Seeds List directed toward the species which need to be sown in the fall/early winter, I feature the buffaloberry, Shepherdia canadensis, which is a most valuable shrub: spring early flowering sustaining the first pollinators, edible berries, drought tolerance, nitrogen-fixing….

Shepherdia canadensis

Shepherdia canadensis


I never had the occasion to taste the famed ‘Indian ice cream’, said to be made from a crushed mixture of raspberries and buffaloberries beaten to form a foamy top, but it certainly sounds delicious!
Seeds freshly collected in beautiful BC. They need a good period of cold/moist stratification to germinate well (ie. sow in late fall and keep the pot outdoors, let the weather do the trick); some also recommend scarification before sowing.

On the letter L section you can find the newly added:
Lonicera involucrata, Lonicera utahensis and Lonicera dioica.

Lonicera involucrata

Lonicera involucrata

Lonicera utahensis

Linum hypericifolium

Those who don’t have the space or desire to grow shrubs from seeds, can find new among perennials this year – Linum hypericifolium.
Yes, Linum doesn’t have to be blue or yellow, it also comes in pink :)

Stay tuned for the Friday announcements on Trillium luteum and Primula section.

 

 

 

 

 

Time to sow & colorful baneberries

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The well-rooted habit of sowing seeds mostly in very late fall and winter has unfortunately  given rise to misconceptions about the germination requirements of some plants, claiming that they need 2 seasons for germination (or that they are very difficult to germinate in case of hydrophilic seeds).
The truth is that they only need to be sown at the right time, which is: from late summer to late fall in a temperate climate.

Failing to do so, these species will indeed need to spend 2 years in pots in order to germinate, and may also have a reduced percentage of germination. Medeola, Caulophyllum and those with double dormancy will still germinate in the second year/or over a period of two years.

I compiled a short list with the seeds which germinate best when sown asap, see below. It is by no means exclusive; I am sure there could be many others having this requirement.

Regarding Actaea (baneberry), this fall we have the occasion to sow baneberries with fruits of all colors: red, white, magenta, and even black (see Actaea spicata). Highly underused plants for the gardens, baneberries are tough, cold and drought resistant, have beautiful foliage and fragrant flowers followed by colorful fruits!

Among offerings this fall there are also seeds collected in SE British Columbia: Actaea rubra ssp. arguta and A. rubra ssp. arguta fo. neglecta; read about them on the product pages (click the links).

Actaea rubra ssp. arguta

Actaea rubra ssp. arguta BC

Actaea rubra ssp. arguta fo. neglecta

Stay tuned for Shop re-opening this week and a few more announcements!

Genera/species which require to be sown by late summer/early fall, for best results.

 Warm stratification followed by cold stratification Genera with hydrophilic seeds Genera with hydrophilic seeds
Actaea ssp.    
Anemonastrum Asarum Jeffersonia
Cornus Aconitum (most species) Lindera
Crocus Aristolochia Medeola
Daphne mezereum, Daphne tangutica
 Saruma Paris
Delphinium (tuberous ssp.) Caulophyllum Panax
Galanthus Claytonia Podophyllum
Euonymus Corydalis (some species) Prosartes
Helleborus Clintonia Sanguinaria
Hydrophyllum Dicentra Stylophorum
Ilex Diphylleia Uvularia
Lilium (most species) Erythronium (most species)  Trillium
Paeonia (except P. tenuifolia) Epimedium  
Streptopus Hydrastis  
Viburnum Hepatica  

*This is not an exclusive list.
Some species may still germinate in the second year after sowing, or from various other reasons may not germinate at all, but at least we did our best by sowing at the right time.

 

Colorful fruits

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August and September are the best to admire and/or collect many colorful fleshy fruits.
These are some of the latest waiting to be processed.  All beautiful and requiring much more work for extracting and cleaning the seeds than the dry fruits.

All species shown in this picture germinate best when sown in late summer/early fall. They require a slightly warm cycle followed by a cold one; failing to sow them as such results in germination only on the second spring after sowing ;) Mark them on your wish list!

*Actaea pachypoda fo. rubrocarpa fruits were collected from a garden-cultivated plant grown from seeds; it comes true to the form and is a nice addition to the regular A. pachypoda with white fruits (not mature yet).

**Actaea rubra fo. neglecta is the rare form with white fruits of A. rubra; wild collected fruits.

 

 

What’s new?

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First of all, seeds of Erythronium americanum are in stock, in limited quantity. The spring weather wasn’t favorable for the early flowering species pollination.

Then, a few Helleborus are already in stock: H. x hybridus ‘Cherry Blossoms‘, H. niger, H. foetidus and in limited quantity – H. purpurascens!
How rewarding to see the Helleborus purpurascens grown up and starting to produce seeds! Seeds from mother-plants which were grown from wild collected seeds are the next best thing, beside the wild coll. seeds.

Helleborus ‘Cherry Blossom’

Helleborus niger

Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus purpurascens ex. Carpathian Mts.

They should be sown during the summer months in order to obtain germination in the next spring. I wish there were more Helleborus to offer. They are so easy to grow from seeds and even if some cultivars won’t come true to the mother plants 100%, there are only nice surprises to expect.

Also, the formerly Corydalis, now Pseudofumaria alba and the NA Rock harlequin, Capnoides sempervirens are also in stock. Pseudofumaria lutea will follow shortly.
These species behave similarly in regards to the germination: fresh seeds sown right away will mostly germinate during summer time and form a leaf rosette; next year they will start flowering. Seeds sown later in the fall/early winter will mostly germinate after a cold period.

For those who need encouragement to start growing plants from seeds, I always recommend to try a few of the “easy” species, like these ones. Throw the seeds in the garden (in a location you will water at least occasionally) and is almost impossible not to obtain a few plants (same goes for Papaver species).
Especially for those problem places where nothing seems to grow, try these “Corydalis” and you will not be disappointed. What else would grow so bountiful around the house foundation? The ‘unwanted’ are easily removed.

Pseudofumaria alba

Capnoides sempervirens

Pseudofumaria lutea

Few other usual species of mid to late June are also collected and will be available next week: Sanguinaria canadensis (just coll. yesterday), Stylophorum diphyllum, S. lasiocarpum and hopefully Asarum canadense.