Chinese Wisteria III

This morning, I noticed that one more seedling has germinated. After watering them well, I set them outside for 30 minutes of sun. I believe the exposure to sun, beside providing the opportunity for photosynthesis, which is essential to plant health and growth, will also lessen the likelihood of damp off. I was closing the lid to the cupcake container at night, but I noticed a little bit of mold forming, so I stopped closing the lid. The mold, which was very minimally present, seems gone entirely. Germination rate is now 30%.

Weeping Willow

The weeping willow plant that I ordered on Ebay has arrived. It is quite bigger than I had expected, and I am very pleased. I purchased this plant because I read that the hormones it produces naturally are great for helping plants to root without using artificial rooting hormones. The recipe calls for one to take trimmings from the tree, boil the trimmings in water, allow the water to cool, then water the cuttings with the willow water. Many seasoned gardeners have reported having great success with using willow water for propagating cuttings of many varieties of plants.

Here is the willow tree planted in an 8" plastic terra pot. The two tiny 2" pots are my newly germinated Chinese Wisteria getting a little sun.

Chinese Wisteria Bonsai II

I noticed yesterday evening that two of my Wisteria seeds have germinated. Yay!!! The expected germination time was said to be 21 days. However, it has only been 10 days. I guess these guys were a little more eager than their buddies. Today I put them outside for just 20 minutes to receive a little sunshine. I want to be careful that I don't allow the seedlings to dry out as they are still fragile in this early stage, but I know that as trees, they will require full, direct sunlight. So I want to begin conditioning them for such. I watered them well before I set them out. Germination rate is 20%.

Plantaholic - My Daughter's New Name for Me

Well, most of my seeds have arrived. Although I am still awaiting my Willow tree and the Dwarf Blue Cedar Seeds. At the eagerness with which I am purchasing a variety of seeds and various planting supplies, my daughter has given me a new nickname... Plantaholic. Sigh...

Well, there are worst things to which I could be addicted. Perhaps I might share with you the newest purchases which have earned me the new label. Below are pictures of the seeds which I have just purchased through ebay.
 Rare Blue Rose
 Rare Midnight Blue Rose
 Rare Black Rose
 Rare Blue Strip Rose
 Rare Patriot Rose
 Rare Purple Rose

Here is the catch, my research has revealed that roses grown from seeds are not likely to be identical to their parents because there could have been some cross pollination and sheer genetics. I'm also aware that the first blooms may not resemble the blooms of the rose bush wants it is mature, which is around 1 - 2 years. However, I was willing to take that chance. Just the chance that I could have roses of these vibrant colors is enough for me.

The seeds have been ordered; now I just have to wait for them to arrive to begin the stratification and scarification process. It will be at least two months before I have anything noteworthy to report. I am very excited and will you keep you updated.

Propagating Rose Bushes

Every once in a while, I go through a spurt where I want to grow things. I can't say that I have a green thumb, but neither do I kill every plant that I own. I try my best to follow the plant care directions to provide my plant with exactly what it needs. So far, I have done pretty well with keeping my plants alive. However, I have never had great success is germinating seeds or propagating my rose bushes.

On February 22, due to my dog accidentally breaking off a piece of my rose bush with his vigorously wagging tail, I decided to give it a go instead of just tossing it into the trash. Who knows, it might just take. Since it has been a while since my last attempt to propagate rose cutting, I set the clipping in a vase full of water while I brushed up on my research. Since I didn't have a pot or soil to plant it in, it sat in water for two weeks, with a sandwich bag over the opening, with weekly water changes. I didn't feel too bad for it since it was an unexpected and unplanned for venture.

After two weeks, the date of this post, I finally made a trip to get the items I needed. The poor "cutting," if you could call it that, had lost most of it's mature leaves by this point and only had it's newly emerging leaves. But as it wasn't turning brown or shriveling up, I figured there would be not harm in still trying to salvage it. Here is a picture of it's home for the next 3 - 5 weeks. It's in a 4" clay pot with a sandwich bag on top to keep up the humidity. It is in front of a north facing window which receives more than eight hours of bright, indirect sunlight. So far, so good!

Chinese Wisteria Bonsai

One of the seed purchased for my horticulture venture are Chinese Wisteria Seeds. This plant is said to make an excellent bonsai, according to my research. The process begins with stratifying seeds by soaking them in warm water for a minimum of 24 hours. I began that at 6:30 pm on the date of this post. On Sunday evening, I planted them in 2" pots of moist potting soil.

To make use of materials I already have, I put the pots in a plastic cupcake container which came from the store when I purchased cupcake for my students.

I keep the container closed except for when I'm checking on them. The expected germination time is 21 days, probably because of their hard casing, which is also probably why I had to soak them for 24 hours prior to planting. Let's see what we have come April 5, 2014.

Red Pyracantha

One of the variety of seeds purchased for our horticulture adventure, the one my daughter chose as hers, is Red Pyracantha. Here is a photo taken from the internet.

According to the sellers instruction, I will receive the best germination ratio by stratifying the seeds for 2 - 3 weeks. Today I popped them into the fridge. My research revealed that this is quite an easy process. I simply took a moist paper towel, carefully wrapped the seeds in the moist paper towel, and put them into a plastic ziplock bag. Into the refrigerator they went. I plan to take them out on 3-30-14 which will be 18 days.

I haven't decided for sure yet, but I am thinking of starting them in a the same moist paper towel to ensure germination. This process seems to be a favorite of those who have been germinating seeds for many, many years. Since I haven't had much luck in that department, I'm likely to follow in their footsteps.