Seeds and Annuals

2021 seed starting 

Re-cap:

April 9 sowed seeds. Not a lot of success. Everything sprouted well (except the Black Barlow columbines): nicotiana, cosmos, blanketflower, zinnias, even basil and parsley that I sowed later, after the other things were potted up all came up beautifully under lights.

But little survived. There were about half a dozen blanketflower and cosmos seedlings that made it to a size I could almost barely plant at Memorial Day, 7 weeks later. The zinnias and nicotianas just sat there with two baby leaves and never did anything else.

Once potted up, they went outside on trays for sunlight and to harden off, but were far too small for the cold nights and windy conditions. They remained at the two-leaf, tiny stage.

Conclusion: the issue is not my starting system -- my lights and the hydroponic kit worked well to sprout seeds. But they were potted up too soon, put outside too early, and between schlepping the trays in and out and watering the trays, and the cold and the wind, most did not thrive.

WHAT I PLANTED:

Under the mini light system:

Cosmos, orange Profusion zinnias and white Profusion zinnias. Also some Nicotiana alata although I have 3 plants on order from Whiteflower Farm too.

In trays outside:

One tray is blanketflower, one tray is cosmos. The third is a mix of some Nicotiana sylvestris and some Columbine Black Barlow, even though I have both of those coming as plants as well.

I will set them outside in bright sunlight all day when it's warm but will need to bring the trays in each night and set them on the floor by the bedroom door, until overnights are above 45 degrees. That will be a pain.

In the hydroponic system:

I put blanketflower seeds in each of the 7 starter cups. This is an experiment -- we'll see if I can start them hydroponically and then transfer to soil in pots as seedlings.

 

Thoughts on seed starting:

Annuals grown from seeds have not been successful here. Dry, windy springs and cool mountain summers mean the sprouts don't get going until August, even with watering and careful tending in good potting soil. They're slow, like everything else that tries to get started in this climate. A small, stunted plant can live and can flower for a couple weeks in late summer with lots of tending, but they do not thrive.

In a pot I have grown California poppies from seed but they never put on size or bloomed.

Also, blackeyed Susan vines from seed, and they did well but only grew and bloomed in late summer, briefly.

Nasturtiums from seed grew but were a disappointment for blooms.

Zinnias and marigolds from seed in pots took so long to get size; they grew but were tiny fragile things and didn't survive transplant into the garden in August at all.

Annuals seeded directly in the ground won't grow. I've had zero success with that. The soil is too hard, the tiny seedling roots are too tiny to stay hydrated even with daily watering, the soil is too cool for too long. None of the ones I tried came up, ever.

So, if I want annuals I have to:

Buy plants in spring. Geraniums and petunias and pansies I have bought at nurseries, most of them already in bloom, are reliable. Annual cuphea has been spectacular. But it's hard to find the more interesting annuals I want. I looked all over for Profusion zinnias, which I really liked before, but could not find them last spring.

or: 

Start seeds indoors in April. God help me, I just ordered a "micro" seed starter light kit, a small one, from Gardener's Supply. It was $115 and is really tiny. 

 

I got rid of the kits and lights I had in Bloomfield, and here I am with another set. They're hard to find room for when not in use, but this one is quite small.

 

I'll put it on the shelf over the bath tub in the master bath.

My challenge is not to transplant the seedlings when too small and fragile. I need to be patient and let them grow on, and I need to harden them off gradually before placing them outside. Those were my downfalls with seed starting in the past.

When ready to plant out, I could put some in pots sunk into the ground to keep them from the harsh, dry soil. Most will just go into containers to use on the patio or deck.

Even the giant Nicotiana sylvestris can be grown in a container!

Here's a fabulous article about exactly that, from of all places, The Hartford Courant in 2007. He had great success with them in 12 inch pots. (He mentions the seeds are fine as dust.)

I can use the blue pot (20 inch container) behind the deck once I take out the Japanese maple. The tobacco can get some shade there, I can keep it moist and fertilized (it's a heavy drinker and feeder). And the scent at night will be close by. 

It will be interesting to see if the thin, gigantic leaves will do well in arid air -- they are felted. The plant needs to be kept moist, it is a "woodland" tobacco after all.

I think the tall N. sylvestris in the blue pot will be dramatic and interesting.

And Nicotiana alata can also be put in containers -- it's smaller but still a three foot tall plant, so I'll need to get some bigger pots. I can spread it around the gardens, possibly in the dining room window garden behind the still-emerging Robustissima anemone? (Sink the pots in the soil? Maybe.)

So . . . annuals and seeds for 2021:

Scarlet sage - Salvia coccinea. It's always been a favorite and my first attempt with seeds from Amazon failed. Park Seeds has a very small bag of coccinea seeds called Summer Jewel. I could start half a dozen and see what I get. 

I'd transplant to a 12 inch pot and put them below the sundial amid the yellow hairy goldenasters that come up wild there -- I liked that red and yellow combo (with basic red geraniums) last year. This scarlet sage grows to about 20 inches tall, so it will fit well there in a small pot.

I don't think these will actually look like the Lady in Red variety I liked so much, they are more sturdy and uniform and are a "bedding plant". But they will look good with the hardscape structure of the sundial and deck.

I love dependable Profusion zinnias, but can't find them except seeds. I like the orange and white I grew one year, and Park Seed has them. I'd put them in pots on the patio again this year. Start them indoors, then put them outside in the shallow terracotta bowls on the patio.

Park Seed also has a delicate Cosmos called Apricot Lemonade I could put at the back of the kitchen courtyard, by the Kintzley's Ghost vine. I like the tall feathery meadowy cosmos bipinnatus ones, but don't want pink and don't have a big place for these tall sunlovers. But I might try a few of these seeds? 

I'd need to start them indoors, then either put them in the ground if they'll take transplant or in a small pot sunk in the ground.

Also got Nicotiana alata and some Nicotiana sylvestris and will put them in pots.

Annual Plants to Get in 2021:

From stores: 

Red geraniums for the front porch trough, pansies and petunias for the urn and herb bowl. Maybe a David Verity cuphea again from Waterwise.

And, from Bluestone Perennials:

Instead of the blue Cape plumbago, a blue Agapanthus in a pot on the patio. Striking, and the blue will be nice with the orange and white Profusion zinnias, just look at this combo of orange plants with deep blue-purple Agapanthus 'Northern Star'. 

Bluestone Perennials has 'Northern Star' in a 4 inch pot (not bare root, the way most are sold). I'll need a larger pot that I don't have now and will grow this in the container on the patio with the zinnias nearby.

Perennial Seeds for 2021:

I want to start these in pots outdoors (may not need to try germinating inside early), leave them in pots to grow on all season and then plant them out in the garden a year later after they have some size.

I like these pale, demure blanketflowers and want to spread them around the potting bench curve, filling spaces while the Japanese forest grass fills in. 

I grew a couple that I had gotten as plants last year, but only got single stems, not the big stand of them that pictures show. With all these seeds, I hope to create drifts of them and maybe they will be bushy as promised, not single stalks.

I got a huge 1/4 lb. bag of blanketflower seeds --Gaillardia aristata, from High Country Gardens. 

I will have to start them in pots for a year at least, I can't scatter on the ground and expect any to come up.

Also got seeds of Black Barlow columbine from Swallowtail Seeds. As with the blanketflower, start these in pots (not necessarily indoors early) and let them grow on for a year in the pot before transplant into the ground.

What I'd like to try, but won't in 2021:

Park Seed has Gomphrena - Strawberry Fields but if the scarlet sage takes, I don't really need any more bright red flowers and have nowhere to put it. . . maybe in a pot? Maybe another year, but for now I'll wait on this big red flowered annual.

Select Seeds had starts of Nicotiana alata, Choca Mocha cosmos and blue Cape plumbago, all favorites. If I can't get the tobacco seeds I got to grow, I might order plant starts again this year and see if more shade and less competition from the creeper vine will let them do better. 

I'll skip the Choca Mocha cosmos and the plumbago this year.

Three favorites I got as plant starts from Select Seeds in 2019