start of the new season (2006)

[no ideas man]

hi
   my season started yesterday when I transplanted seedlings of a variety Viola (Penny Sunrise).The seedlings have been placed in my cold greenhouse to grow on. Sowing more seed will be my next task (more of a pleasure than a task) anyway must get on I have to brew a cup of tea before going out to the greenhouse. I was just wondering if other members are tea/coffee drinkers or is it just me.

Happy Gardening

No ideas man

[ideasguy]

Lots of Coffee for me Harry.

When do you expect your Viola Penny Sunrise to start to flower from your early sowing? When did you sown them? Are they from your T&M haul?

[no ideas man]

Hi george
              The seed of penny sunrise were sown 3 weeks ago and were transplanted 2/1/06 did I tell you I transplant all seedlings when the seed leaves emerge,yes they were part of the bundle there were 4 pkts in total 1 of which I will be sending you very shortly by the way if you would like to know about my method of transplanting which is different from the norm let me know, I will have to go now the kettle is boiling (more tea).

happy gardening

harry

[ideasguy]

Please tell us about your method here Harry. Its good to get practical advice!

[no ideas man]

My method is not infallible george but it does work for me and at the end of the day isn't that what it's all about. Initially the seed is sown in the conventional way after germination which in my propagator takes about 7 days the seed is allowed to grow on for about 7/10 days depending on temp in the greenhouse then when the seedlings are large enough to get hold of I stand the seed tray in a container of water (the trays without drainage holes are ideal) so that the surface of the compost is saturated and the seedlings are almost floating then I just apply gentle pressure to ease the seedling out of the compost the seedling can then be placed in a container of choice and allowed to grow on. I find there is little or no disturbance to the root system because the roots have not started to develop anyway you asked for my method and there it is as I said before it works for me. Time for a cuppa

Happy gardening

harry

[Pixydish]

That is excellent, Harry! I will try this as it sounds like just the ticket to transplanting more seedlings than I destroy.
I have a rather unconventional method of germinating, since I do not have a propogator. (I do have two nice warm beds of sand in the greenhouse that I originally built for germinating seeds, but I have filled them with cacti and succulents, my new addiction, this winter.  So I go back to the method I used before I had a greenhouse.)
Again, this is totally unconventional, and yet it works beautifully. I use a regular heating pad, the kind one uses on sore muscles. I keep it on either low or warm, depending on the seeds that I've planted. Just this week I planted some Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' into little peat cubes and placed them in a covered germination tray on the heat pad. 4 days later I must take them out of the tray and pot them up because their roots are already coming out of the peat cubes! I have had similar quick germination times with other seeds, although since these seeds are in the bean family, they come up fast anyway. Still, it has worked for me very well. 

[ideasguy]

Just a wee aside here:
RE: Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' seedlings
Watch out for frost. I grew these one year. Fortunately in two lots.
I set the first lot out on top of the greenhouse staging as they were growing away strongly.
OK for a week or more, but then they were wiped out by one night of frost!

However, the second phase survived and heres a photo of one of them:

Ricinus in Georges garden-2001

Incidentally, GREAT plants. I love those big attractive leaves. Flowers are a bonus, almost unnecessary.

[Pixydish]

Oh! I love it! Yes, I know it is tender. I figure I'll have to grow it as an annual here. We had the strangest winter ever - a great deal of heavy wet snow in November! It was positively shocking and I figure I will lose some plants from it. Great excuse to buy more!
I am currently extending the bed by the pond so I can build a small deck overlooking the deep end of the pond and have a place to grow things like the Gunnera that will probably out grow my veggie filter this year. I love the large leafed plants and also want to put in a boggy area for carnivorous plants.

[ideasguy]

Heres a photo on Beth Chattos web site of another one of my favourite large leaved plants

Rodgersia pinnata 'Superba'

Have you tried Rodgersia's?

This photo is more inspirational, and actually very true colour:
http://www.stauder.net/bildearkiv/Rodgersia%20SL.jpg
on yet another GREAT web site:
http://www.stauder.net/

[Pixydish]

I'm laughing because I put this very one in the garden last year! It is planted to the rear of my pond, on the edge of the stream. I put it in just before my garden party in August, so it didn't have much time to establish itself. I am hoping that it comes back strong this year!
Thank you for the link to Beth Chatto's website. I just finished her book on the damp garden. It's the kind of book you can read over and over, finding new information each time. I loved her listing in the rear of the book of plants for the damp garden. A very useful resource!

[ideasguy]

I just finished her (Beth Chatto's) book on the damp garden...

I must drop a few hints when my bithday approaches! I would love to read that.
I see on her web site that there's a range of publications. I wonder how many of our members have one in their collection. If you have, please post your comments.

I am hoping that it comes back strong this year!

I find mine (Rodgersias)  are very slow to establish. Ive had them in a few years now. They are very reliable for me, 100% survival rate, and slowly beginning to make an impact. With more attention they may do better. I got my 2 varieties at a National Trust Autumn sale (a great place to buy plants1) No names given, but 2 had nice bronzish leaves, the others plain green. The bronze leaved ones were given  better sites than the others. I later took a liking to the others,when I found out that they were Rodgersias, and I had seen them in full spendour in a garden I photographed outside Belfast. I thought I'd lost two as the areas, lets say "needed attention". But, when I took a pile of weeds away, there they were, only a few leaves, but surviving.
I like GOOD survivors. Its usually the reverse!

[Pixydish]

I checked Beth Chatto's book out from the local library. It does make good reading.
I was out grooming the pond today and checked on the Rodgersia. It's looking good! It was a fairly large plant when I bought it, since I wanted some 'instant impact' in that area for the party.
In terms of the larger leaved plants,  I also have Gunnera tinctoria and it has done extremely well thus far. I grow Darmera peltata, which is native here, and also Petasites japonica in the pond. It's very invasive so if I have to move it out of the pond due to re-landscaping that side, I'll have to contain it or be very sorry later!
I just bought two bulbs of a very large Alocasia, the species of which I cannot recall at the moment. It's supposed to get to be about 7 feet tall, but I doubt it will get that large for me. If it gets to be 4 feet tall, I'll be happy with it.
I have a good sized area for these plants to grow. The Gunnera will be the focal point in an area I am currently expanding just by the pond. The Darmera grows in  more shade, so it is actually growing in part of the Hydrangea border. It takes a few years to get large.

[The Gardener]

Pixydish - A 7ft tall Alocasia  I want one!!!  Do you grow your Alocasia in the pond, and do you leave it out all year?  I have Alocasia odora, but obviously have to keep it in a pot and bring it in over the winter here in the UK.  I grow Petasites japonica variegata, which is a very attractive plant with buff coloured variegation.  It is a bit invasive, but being variegated, not as much as the plain green kind.