Some of the common names are: Carolina allspice, Strawberry-bush,
Sweet bubby, Spicebush and Sweet Betsy.
This Experiment became a reality just a few days ago. We are all excited to see how it progresses and what the final results will be.
It all began, when I was taking a walk around the farm and I was checking the three different varieties of Calycanthus floridus aka Sweet Shrub and how they are handling the bitter cold.
This was the first year they really produced full blooms. I realized all three of them had produced seed pods so I pulled them and not being a "seed" person, I went to Cubits and ATP members for help. As always they graciously began to tell me what to do next. After several conversations, several members and friends all agreed to take some seeds and we could all do this together. As the time goes by, we will be discussing the next step and sharing the germination and hopefully growth of our seedlings.
We thought it would be a good idea to have this information documented and saved for future members and me of course, since this will be my first try at shrub seed germination. If I can do it anyone can. All the seeds are in the mail, some have already arrived at their destinations. This thread will be the "diary" for the project. Hopefully as things progress we can all see how the other is doing and share our thoughts and information.
For anyone interested in following our little experiment, you should know we have several reasons for this project.
1. We wanted to know if the seeds were viable. There are three different species and each person will be trying all three.
2. We wanted to know which method would be better to germinate these seeds, winter sowing vs regular stratifying and planting.
3. We wanted to hopefully have information in writing to share with others who may be interested in growing this wonderful shrub.
The seeds in this project are being tested in the following locations:
Arizona,Canada,Kentucky,South Carolina,Belguim,Alabama, Georgia,and New Jersey
All comments and suggestions are welcome but for the sake of our future use of this information, please stay on subject as much as possible. To the ladies who are taking part in this experiment may I say thank you so much, good luck and God Bless.
