Ready, start, go – 2026!

The traditional February post on indoor sowing for the records. Actually, I started sowing last week with quite a few accumulated seeds from last year when I sown very few species. Here are the previous February posts, each with details on sowing, warm germinators and other related indoor sowing issues:
Ready, start, go – 2024! ; Ready, start, go – 2023! ; Ready,start, go- 2022!

I am sowing every day 3-4 species, to make it last longer and to have a gradual germination and seedlings to handle later on. This year I am mainly sowing a few species I previously had and then lost from the garden. We are usually blaming the weather, the not ‘perfect’ location and so on… Truth to be told, many perennials have a naturally short life. Those that require a very good drainage are prone to have an even shorter span life than usual. 
Then we have the biennials, which are not always self-seeding. For example, I have new plants to flower this summer for Ipomopsis rubra (warm germinator) and Cirsium edule, but no new rosettes for Bukiniczia cabulica and Erysimum witmanii ssp. transsilvanicum.

Today on the sowing menu alongside Silene jailensis, Bukiniczia cabulica and Echinops crispus (which acts like an annual most years), there was a mystery Draba that flowered for the first time last spring. I forgot to note a few fine details for the leaves which are under snow right now; so seeds are not shared at this time.

The issue of misidentification for the Draba species comes to light again.
Most Draba  seeds from exchanges are probably misidentified and it is no surprise because some seed companies are selling misnamed species, and some nurseries are selling misnamed plants; and their seeds go around and around….
Eager gardeners that like to show and share their ‘well-labeled plants’ are  adding to the misidentified pictures mayhem over the net. Thus, 95% of the images that show up on google searches are probably misnamed.

To identify Draba species, I recommend to use only various Flora treatments (Flora of North America, Flora Europaea…) plus images from on-line Herbarium repositories.
True to name species images can be seen for some species on iNaturalist and on other botanical sites, like for example Oregon Flora (for NA species).

For example, my new mystery Draba came labeled as Draba sphaeroides (actually the valid name being Draba cusickii). A look at the images of this species on the link below, will quickly reveal even for the non-specialist eye that my plant belongs to a different species.
https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=4627

Why do I continue to sow Draba? I belong to the relatively small group of Draba afficionados. Draba species are among the easiest rock garden plants to grow with evergreen rosettes very satisfying in themselves. Some of them start flowering in early spring when most other plants are dormant, joining the snowdrops, Crocus, Corydalis, Hepatica and few other early spring flowers. 
I am sure that if their range of flower colors would be more extensive, more people would join the Draba club.

The new mystery Draba flowers very early at the same time with Draba aizoides, sometimes in mid to late March! (if no snow). They are followed by Draba haynaldii and the white flowering Draba dedeana – known to try and steal the early flowering prize in some years.

There are still available seeds of Draba haynaldii (early flowering) and Draba lasiocarpa (May-June flowering) for those interested; plus other warm germinators easy to start from seeds.