The Seed Monologues

Welcome to “The Seed Monologues.” 

Here you will find regular — and brief — updates on what’s planted and what’s sprouting.  Feel free to visit as often as you like.

February 26:  The first of the seeds were planted: Geraniums, Impatiens, Lisianthus, Cyclamen, Banana, Adonidia Palms.  The heating mat is set to about 70 degrees F.  I also planted a six Adonidia Palm seeds that I found on the ground near the base of  a palm in Florida.  We shall see . . .

Geraniums Have Sprouted!

March 1:  When I arrive home from work, a walk to the potting shed is part of my routine — especially at this time of year.  The first round of seeds have been in the ground for almost a full week and something should be happening.  Today, I spotted the first sprouts of geraniums emerging.  It makes me feel like a kid when I would first enter the living room on Christmas morning and see the display of gifts.  “He was here!  He was here!”  I would shout.  Only today, I’m home alone and no one would here me.  Oh, well.  “They sprouted!  They sprouted!”

 Round Two: Another Weekend Of Seeds

March 3:  The second round of seed starting included Amaranth “Green Thumb, ” Salvia “Flare,” and Candytuft — which was a free gift from one of the seed catalogs.  That’s one of the nice surprises about ordering from the catalogs.  They usually have some sort of giveaway, such as trial seeds or a specific blend.  We’ll see what Candytuft will do.  I also tried an impulse buy: Columbine “William Guiness.”  I understand that these seeds need some cold to help them along — so I have a small experiment going: one small pot is in the potting shed and another is outside.  I’ll keep you posted.

A Little Bit Of Sun

March 8: We had several days of clouds and dampness, and each time  I checked on the seeds — nothing.  Then, with some days of sun, the temperature in the potting shed was nice and toasty — and that meant lots of action.  Impatiens (pictured here), Amarynth, and Candytuft have emerged — little specks of green on a brown background.

 

Gifts That Give

March 12: Another weekend, and another round of seed planting — wedged in between this weekend’s St. Patrick’s Parades.  The new arrivals on the heating mats are: Polka Dot Plant, Sweet Scabious “Summer Fruits,” Gomphrena “Strawberry Fields,” and Dahlia “Bishop’s Children.”  I also took this as an opportunity to plant some garden gifts from my friend Cathey.  The first was a tabletop cloche garden with Chives and peat discs, followed by the planting of a seed-embedded postcard, pictured here.

Green, Green, Green!

March 19: I’ve been delinquent in my Seed Monologue updates — so here it goes.  Late last week and over the weekend, I noticed that many of the pots were getting greener.  Polka Dot Plant, Sweet Scabious, Gomphrena, Dahlia, Chives, Salvia, and even some Columbine are now sprouting.  There is nothing happening in the Cyclamen, Banana, and Palm pots — just some shades of moss-like green on top of the soil.  I’m still hoping, though.  My other problem is that some of the earlier sprouters, like Geranium, have developed their first set of true leaves and  need to be repotted into individual pots.  I wonder of there is a time seed.  Plant it and you have more time.

Busy Time In The Potting Shed

March 26: It’s transplanting time, now that the seedling are developing their first true leaves.  To date, Geraniums, Amaranth, Impatiens, and Salvia are in pots of their own.  It seems that no matter how carefully I limit my seed order, it’s always the same story each year — I get overwhelmed by seedlings and the space they take up in the shed.  And there’s still more to do!

Blooms Already!

It’s been some time since I posted an update in “The Seed Monologues.”  So far, everything seems to have sprouted, except for the palm and banana trees.  The jury is still out on hardy cyclamen.  But the big news is that the impatiens have buds, and the amaranth are already in flower.  Should I risk getting them into the ground just yet?

Where’s The Warmth?

So the seeds have sprouted and some are even sporting flowers.  Even a pot of hardy cyclamen has managed to sprout, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y.  All they need now is an end to overnight freezing temperatures so I can get them into the ground.  Has Mother Nature never heard of pot bound?