Viewing comments posted by chelle

Container sown Erythranthe palmeri sprouts are insubstantial and can be challenging to transplant. Batch #1 had no survivors, and newly transplanted batch #2 appears to be weak. This might be a plant that would do best sown where it is to grow.

Climbing penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia) seedlings are quite cold hardy and adaptable to wide temperature fluctuations. Seedlings transplanted outdoors under high cover have survived and show every sign of continuing to prosper; this batch having been started warm indoors, and then directly exposed to the following:

Day 1, 69°F / 32°F
Day 2, 33°F / 24°F
Day 3, 46°F / 23°F
Day 4, 66°F / 32°F

Germination may be best when winter sown. Vermiculite winter sowing trial in zone 5b/6 concludes with regular and uniform germination in very cool temperatures.

Chilean Monkey Flower (Erythranthe naiandina) is by far one of the best plants I've ever grown. Seed viability is excellent, germination and growth are very fast, and you need absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to achieve fantastic results.

I was interested in whether or not this plant produced viable seed, even though I'd read that it was sterile, so I ran an experiment of my own. Mature, freshly gathered, and continuously damp seed germinated in three months in the refrigerator; 2:7 radicles showing as of this posting.
I don't need any more of this plant (from seed), but I may pot these up anyway, just to see whether they'll continue to grow.

Rock harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens) prefers cool summers with plenty of light. Some shade can be helpful in warmer areas. Native soils are coarse, shallow, very well drained and acidic. Plants started early may bloom the first year.

Great pepper for northern gardens! Seed started plants fruit early, and fruits mature progressively as the season advances. Plants continue to produce candy sweet fruit right up to a killing frost. Plants take up very little garden space and produce well in semi-crowded conditions. These very healthy plants require very little supplemental water; even in dry-summer areas. Red Belgian pepper rates a "10" in my garden.

This variety is a great choice for areas that are typically difficult for lavenders. It's the only one I've found yet that will shrug off our cold, wet winters and prosper in our sticky clay soil. My first plant is a few years old now, and still going strong.

Sadly, this plant was an aphid magnet here. I tried to save it, but it didn't recover.

Fantastic little annual! This plant can take whatever conditions summer dishes out. If it gets too hot and dry it simply rests a bit, and just as soon as conditions moderate slightly it bursts into bloom again. I definitely plan on using lots of Blue Pimpernel in my future garden displays!

I found this to be a particularly fussy plant in our hot and dry summer conditions. Out of approximately ten specimens transplanted into different areas of my gardens, only one survived to bloom stage. The lone survivor was planted in a light but moisture-retentive substrate made up primarily of composted horse manure, with its roots shaded by other plants.

Evidently a tasty delicacy of rabbits; mine lasted just a few weeks.

Spur Flower (Plectranthus Mona Lavender) is day length sensitive. Longer days produce more plant growth during its bloom-free period. This is the best time to propagate this plant. Toss cuttings in any warm and consistently damp spot and roots will form in a matter of days.

This plant has reached a height of 9' in my seasonal stream bed. I'd class this plant as totally care-free. The leaves are coarse and they aren't pretty, but I find it to be a very nice background plant for a nearly-wild area.

The foliage of this plant emits a rather unpleasant odor, but I find it to be a completely undemanding resident of my rather wild, moist and sunny seasonal stream bed. The blooms are dainty and a wonderfully pleasing clear, bright blue.

Non-fresh seeds of this plant did not germinate warm for me. After 3 weeks I moved them into the refrigerator where they did germinate in about 10 days.

Seed soaked in water in the refrigerator showed no radicle emergence by day 10. I drained the water off, added a bit of moist paper towel to bag and returned to refrigerator. On day 25 the first radicle appeared.

Seed soaked in water in the refrigerator showed radicle emergence within 48 to 72 hours.

Salvia azurea plants are in their third year here, so they are reliably hardy to at least zone 5b. Plants bloomed first year from seed sown early.

Several sources rate this plant as hardy to zone 8. My first plant survived a zone 7 type of winter. I'll be interested to see if it comes back again after a normal zone 5b to 6a winter.