Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: mark smyth on August 25, 2007, 03:34:03 PM
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I have seeds of species Pelargoniums. These are open pollinated. They are only suitable for those with heated green houses, conservatories or lucky enough to live where it's warm and frost free over the winter
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Which species have you got there, Mark?
I have managed to get a few of the monsonia for you too!
cheers
fermi
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zonale
peltatum
australe
capitatum
graveolens
mollicomum
White Boar
The Boar
tabulare
splendide
scabrum
quinquelobatum
papillionaceum
denticulatum
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I could have sent you some of these Pelargonium carnosum. They are rooted today after being sown yesterday morning 36 hours ago!! Unbelievable but true. And how did I keep them viable? By keeping them in a glassine envelope in a drawer for over a year. The were collected last summer at National Botanics, Dublin. It's amazing what a seed can put up with. The biggest question is how did they grow so fast?
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It's amazing what a seed can put up with. The biggest question is how did they grow so fast?
If I kept you in an envelope in a dark drawer for a year and then let you out, you'd be pretty keen to get on with doing what comes naturally as fast as possible , too, wouldn't you? :-\ ::)
I think the fact that you have finally sown them at the same time of year that they would have been ready to grow last year means you have hit their "growing window" and so they have just taken off.
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Maybe Ian should experiment with some of his seeds using this method. I'm going to put some olf Pulsatilla albana lutea seeds in damp paper later
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Diane Whitehead, I think it is she, uses a similar method for all/most of her seeds, ... I'm sure she has said that she finds it easier to do this, then she only has to pot up live seeds and not fill lots of pots with dead ones!
I think, over the years, that Ian has tried every posssible method of seed sowing to encourage germination.... and quite a few that were impossible too, but sometimes worked!! ???
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Quite remarkable Mark. Am I to understand that all you do is put seeds on some damp paper towel and leave them to their own devices? Sounds too good to be true.
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simply so.
All I do is take a square of kitchen towel spray with water until damp c10 hand mister squirts, hold in half, set the seeds on half, fold it over, stick in a small freezer bag and leave it sitting around for 3 days and check daily. This morning I had the urge to check the Pellie bag
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if it's too wet just use another square to take awy the access water.
Checking other bags Centaurea ruprestis '06 have sprouted
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Gonna give this a try with my armeria seeds. And I have others in the fridge too. Course, if I do this now I shall have to overwinter a load of seedlings. Ah well, I'll give it a go....
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plain white paper is better to show new roots. Open the paper carefully as they will root right through in no time
Fermi add P. alchemilloides to the list and to help you choose here are some photos
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For those in the UK P. australe and P. alchemilloides are borderline hardy
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Mark,
it's like opening a colour catalogue from a Seed Company! Great pics!
P.australe is native to this area, so I worry about that one!
Most are allowed into the country, too!
Not willing to publicly expose my greed, I'll e-mail you privately!
cheers
fermi
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Mark,
I just love the Papillionaceum and scabrum. Such cool shape to the flowers with the undersized lower petals and the prominent upper pair. Different shape but same effect from the splendide of course, which is just so striking. Great pics to see the pelargoniums all together in one are like that. Thanks.
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glad you liked them.
I've just gone outside to have a look at my Pelargonium seedlings. I got up early today to plant my P. carnosum sprouted seeds in modules with everything else. They are up already and by tomorrow morning their seed leaves will be open. Stunning!!
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I always tell people I dont grow enough from seed which is true but when I was outside taking photos I thought I do grow from seeds but only easy plants that need no or little care
Here are some of my seedling Pelargoniums. What a stoopid time of year to start them! I should have sown them 4 months ago.
P. barklyi - named after Sir Henry Barkly Gov of Cape of Good Hope 1870
P. myrrhifolium - similar to the leaves of Myrrh
P. myrrhifolium var corandrifolium - more finely divided leaves than above
P. papilionaceum (one L) - flowers like a butterfly
P. ranunculophyllum - Ranunculus leaved and a form of P. alchemilloides
P. 'Scandens' zonale x inquinans same cross as P. x kewense found at Kew in 1932. 'Climber'
P. zonale - needs no intro does it?
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Lovely healthy babies, Mark. How will you treat them overwinter?
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with crossed fingers and toes! Some of these, like P. barklyi, growth from bulbs so I'll dry them off. The parents of bedding plants will come into the sun room and be kept on the dry side
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here's two general shot of my seedlings including the P. carnosum that are already getting their fattened stems
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These close-up shots of P. carnosum are most interesting... almost succulent and so hairy...I would never have recognised it as a pelargonium, such is my ignorance :'(
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Here is what the seddling P. carnosums will grow in to and at the bottom Fermi's Pelargonium denticulatum
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here are some of the seedlings now
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I've just been directed to this thread by Maggi, how did those seedlings turn out, Mark? :)
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Unfortunately all I kept are in the bin because they died in the December/January frosts
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What a shame, looked like they were going really well. I think a lot of plants that normally struggle through a winter will have died this year.
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Mark,
I got P. alchemilloides to germinate and it is now flowering and seeding in the shade-house! How much frost do you think it will take? - we get down to -7oC usually.
One seedling of P scabrum came up last year and may flower soon.
Having the tray of seedpots knocked over did not help much when it came to germinating these! I wasn't sure it was the true seedling when the P. scabrum came up as it was in an area where P. iocastrum has gone a little wild and I thought it might've sown itself into the pot!
cheers
fermi
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Fermi, yes to -7 C and below. Here it has naturalized and look quite different depending on the amount of light. It is a very attractive species, long lived and sets good seed.
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It has survived with me outside for many years until this winter. All alchemilloides dies during the cold period during December and January
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P. alchemilloides has naturalised in a gravelled area in a sun-trap in my garden, it renews itself by seed each year, but I wonder how it will have survived the very cold and wet winter we have had this year? I wouldn't say it is a spectacular plant, but I find it attractive as it scrambles accross the rockery, my plant in the greenhouse is a few years old now and gets cut back hard when it becomes untidy.
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Hi all,
Can anyone identify this unusual pelly I saw at Kew yesterday? the label was too far back and overgrown to read. The plant had unusual sprawling woody stems, not very pretty, but unlike any other pelli I have seen, I wonder what the flowers are like?
Many thanks, James
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Here are a few more at Kew yesterday, if anyone can spare a cutting or seed from any of these please get in touch, I have a few other intersting species I can offer material of in exchange.
enjoy the photos, James
Pelargonium acraeum
P. album
P. papilonaceum
P. ribifolium
P scabrum
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fun to see these--pelargonium really has tried every leaf shape strategy, hasn't it?..lol
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Cohan - I hope someone can post a pic of P tetragonum just to illustrate that the genus has also tried not having any leaves at all (save a few vestigial traces in the one I grow)! P tetragonum simply has photosynthetic stems instead. Lovely flowers too, though they look a bit odd on the top of a bare green stick..
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sounds familiar, i have probably seen pics of that before, darren..
i'm cool with odd and tend to like flowering sticks ;D
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My P.Tetragonum has leaves! but they are seasonal and drop in the dry season. Must try and dig out a photo...........
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Hi James - I don't have much idea about variation in P tetragonum. I've seen pictures on the web of plants with almost normal sized 'zonal' leaves but my plant has tiny lobed leaves only up to about 15mm across, and very few of them. As you say - they drop in the dry season.
I confess it is one of those plants that gets neglected by me unless in flower!
Nice to see all these pellies on here. Interesting your remark about alchemilloides seeding around. I thought I'd lost this species but just found a little one stowing away in a conophytum pot! P barklyi pops up all over the place in my greenhouse too and fights it out for top weed status with Melasphaerula graminea and Cyclamen cilicium. I would not be without any of them of course!
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weeds like those i could handle ;D
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"I could have sent you some of these Pelargonium carnosum. They are rooted today after being sown yesterday morning 36 hours ago!! Unbelievable but true. And how did I keep them viable? By keeping them in a glassine envelope in a drawer for over a year."
I have found some old Pelargonium seed which I will try to germinate using your method. Will post results if any!
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Hi all,
I have surplus seedlings of some nice species pelargoniums going spare if anyone wants to do an exchange. They were sown last autumn and most are approximately three inches tall now, I have just potted them on for the first time. I can spare a few each of the following; Vitifolium, Glutinosum, Capitatum, Australe and Odoratissimum, I also have one (smaller) seedling of Aridum.
I would be interested in swapping for seedlings/cuttings/seeds of almost any species pelargonium I don't already have, also any spare material of interesting bulbs, I have recently started collecting allium, fritillaria and arisaema to add to my cape apecies, if anyone can spare a few.
Best wishes, James.
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In flower now........
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Brilliant selection James.
I didnt bother sowing seeds this year. ::)
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James those are really lovely. These smaller types seem to do ok here in South Australia in our fairly harsh conditions. A friend gave me a couple last summer of: P nemaform and P sidioides. These are lovely dark pinks.
As he had seen some clumps of what are possibly related ones on my driveway - can't remember what species they are on the driveway.
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In flower now........
lovely flowers all, and some nice glimpses of interesting foliage...
are these all summer growers? or winter growers blooming before dormancy?
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Cohan;
acetosum, fragrans and ionidiflorum are summer growers, the rest are all succulent and are winter growers here in England.
-James
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Does anyone grow the variegated P. acetosum? It's been on my wants list for years
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I grow since many years one pot with P.tetragonum .....it looks never very well ....
In last fall a friend of mine told me that these plants are wintergrowing :o
I follow his advices and put this plant in winter in my greenhouse and I gave it all 2 weeks a little water ...and it grows and grows .....before some weeks I could see that comes a lot of buds ( more than ever ) and now are lot of flowers open ;D ;D ;D
Pelargonium tetragonum
Hans
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Hans do you know your photo needs to be rotated 90o to the right
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;D Mark :
yes - I have rotated this pic several times ...I think this is the best view
The plant is very big now and I have moved for the picture outside my greenhouse
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Hi Mark :
here is now a pic special for you -made in situ in my greenhouse
Hans
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Thanks Hans. If your plant produces some seeds can I beg a couple?
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Mark :
I dont know this pelargonium is self fertil - in the last years I had never fruits
Today I saw bees on this plants her feet was full with pollen
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lots of cacti flowering there!