Top of the dry stream garden, where I want to plant milkweed |
Well, I swear that you came in the form of rain
That had frozen somewhere along it's way through the evening sky. So the trees got tired and laid on the ground. I swear you marched in like big gusts of wind. Oh, cutting through our clothes. Such an easy attempt to convince us
There is no reason we should be outside
--The Ice Storm, Big Gusts, and You: Tilly and the Wall
That had frozen somewhere along it's way through the evening sky. So the trees got tired and laid on the ground. I swear you marched in like big gusts of wind. Oh, cutting through our clothes. Such an easy attempt to convince us
There is no reason we should be outside
--The Ice Storm, Big Gusts, and You: Tilly and the Wall
The one, and only, literally, Cinderella |
It's the first day of spring break. I have a nasty cold, nasty, and we're supposed to get an ice storm tomorrow. What's a gardener to do? Evaluate, order, shop, and solicit help. I have been convinced that there is no reason I should be outside for the next two days!
I've evaluated my milkweed, Asclepias Incarnata "Cinderella," and what I have is great, but I only have one actual plant that has survived all my poking and prodding. I have several seedlings under the grow light. I decided to just dump the rest of the packet into two peat pots and see what happened. I am not very sophisticated. Seems to me the more sophisticated I try to be the worse the results. At any rate, the two peat pots have about six seedlings currently. This is wonderful news. However, it's not as wonderful as I need it to be.
I need quite a few Cinderellas to fill the blank spot in the extended front garden area (this is the top of the dry stream bed garden). So, this morning I decided to order more seeds, and low and behold, when I did I read something that I should have prior to my first attempt: "Refrigerate 7-10 days - germinate very irregularly over a long period." Oh! Well that explains it!
I received some much needed information from outsidepride.com, and now I need some planting advice from fellow gardeners. Last night, my husband and I bought four cherry saplings: Nanking and Sand Cherry. I want these for their fruit, but I also want them to look pretty in our yard. I need suggestions and advice for planting and pruning. If you have any advice please share!
For sharing seed stories head to Dave's Seed Sowing Saturday http://www.growingthehomegarden.com/
That Asclepias is a natural for winter sowing. Just throw it outside in a milk bottle, in the middle of your ice storm, and I bet it will sprout like gangbusters.
ReplyDeleteA lot of seeds need the freeze/thaw cycle of being outside in winter.
Thanks, Alison. It's so good to get advice from fellow gardeners. Makes everything easier :)
ReplyDelete