Just got the last of my semp and iris seeds planted before the rains hit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Like Mark, I have partaken in some of the seed exchanges, such as the North American Rock Garden Society, the Hardy Plant Society (UK) and various iris society seed exchanges. It is such fun to try something new or to get species and cultivar seed that is unavailable here in the US. With all the restrictions of moving plants from country to country at least we still can exchange seeds.
The semp seed from the earlier plantings are starting to germinate in many of the pots. Was surprised that some pots, like 'Shirley's Joy' X self, are germinating well. My batch from that cross in '12 gave me one whole seedling. There must be 50 in the pot this year. By the way, the one seedling from the '12 cross is quite a beauty. It may get a name if it continues to look good.
All kinds of things are coloring in the garden. Three of the ones I named in '13, 'Fashion Diva', 'Red Hot Chili' and 'Hot Tamale' have already colored up beautifullly. 'Forever Midnight' has never varied and a seedling that had very wide leaves has developed an incredible near black color. SUCH FUN!
Kevin
