Comments on SRGC Seed Exchange No. 66, 2012-13

[Maggi Young]

Good grief! Lily and I could have walked to Moscow faster than that, surely?!!

Thank goodness your seed has arrived at last, Oleg   it is a valuable lesson to learn that the postal system can have such difficulties and that despite the efforts of the Seed Team to send requests out at great speed, once the package is in the system of whatever country, it is out of their control  - one might say "in the lap of the gods" - but one would hope that any deity would perform a little quicker!! 

[ChrisB]

I just had a journal returned with deceased written on it.  Posted mid January 2012 right here in the UK!  It doesn't even have to go abroad sometimes to get slow ....

[olegKon]

I don't know what the speed of the delivery depends on. But one thing is absolutely clear: but for the efforts of the seed exchange team I could receive the seed mid summer. So thanks to the team again

[Rodger Whitlock]

Interesting to see cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos) in the list - truly non-extinct now.

Some of that seed came from me via the Vancouver Island Rock & Alpine Garden Society. I received a few seeds directly from a generous member of SRGC in 2010. They germinated in 2011 (after a spring sowing) and flowered in 2012. I spent a lot of time with a small brush transferring pollen between the seedlings, the usual commercial form, and the cultivar "Choco Mocha", and got a surprising amount of seed as a result. Half went to the SRGC, as the source of the original seed, the rest to the Alpine Garden Club of BC in view of their particular emphasis on New World plants.

I held my original gift of seeds back from sowing until May 2011, in the belief that members of the Asteraceae generally germinate more freely if sown in gentle warmth. If sown in the winter, they often just rot.

Last year (2012), when the young seedlings began to grow actively after their first winter dormancy, I potted them on several times. They're now in a fairly large nursery pot, volume in the 14–15 liter range, ~23cm I.D. at the top, ~29cm tall.

To overwinter Cosmos atrosanguineus successfully (thereby frustrating nurserymen who depend on winter losses!), when the foliage starts to wither in the fall, withhold all water and store the pot, soil, and plants undisturbed in a cold but frost free place. In the spring, give very little water until you see active growth starting, then water quite cautiously at first. And if you have seedlings, pollinate, pollinate, pollinate. Cross-pollinate, that is. Close inspection of my plants last year suggested that the usual commercial clone is sterile because it forms little or no pollen, but now we are free from that limitation.

[Lesley Cox]

All of that's good news Rodger. I was able to send some to Carlos Magdelena at Kew, he who works with almost extinct species. It wasn't my seed though as lifting the plants in flower stopped them making any but a good friend gave me seed for him. Another friend and good gardener whom I don't doubt at all, says she has it seeding into her gravel driveway in a rather rampant way. I haven't seen that yet but will visit in the spring because these, or some of them should be rescued and added to the ever growing gene pool.

Unfortunately my contribution to SRGC and AGS lists will be meagre this year as I'm trying to resurrect the flagging OAGG seedlist. It's an interesting thing that almost every group, whatever it's activities involve, at some stage goes through a period where trauma, over-inflated egos and even straight out nastiness, usually among a very small group of members, have the potential to damage badly or even destroy a group which otherwise has thrived. I've seen it several times - Not the cause - I've watch from a distance or heard about it with groups such as fitness clubs, craft groups, all sorts as well as garden groups. Perhaps it's a natural part of the evolution of groups where all tasks are on a voluntary basis. I don't know really, but it's sad.

[Gene Mirro]

Leslie, there are people who MUST be in charge of something.  Sometimes they are very smart and productive, sometimes not.  And there are people who MUST follow.  It seems to be hard-wired.  I don't think people have much control over it.  So you end up with ever-increasing factions, schisms, whatever.  Think religion, cults, politics, the corporate world, and nationalism. 

A long time ago, I worked out my theory of social subdivision:  Society divides itself into a sufficient number of groups so that everybody who wants to be a leader can be one.  This is why you have positions like the chairman of the sanitation subcommitee at the local church.

In an ideal world, you would figure out what the responsibilities of a leader should be, and then choose somebody that has aptitude in those areas.  It can make the difference between success and failure of the organization.  Looked at another way, if somebody must be a leader, you try to find out what their aptitudes are, and try to find (or create) a role for them where they can be successful.  If they have no aptitudes, that is a delicate situation.  The group needs to be smart enough to keep one person's ego from doing a lot of damage.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

[Excelsior]

The Corydalis cheilanthifolia seeds either from the SRGC or AGS exchange ( don't remember) turns out to be some sort of small flowered Eschscholzia with pale yellow flowers 

[Maggi Young]

The Corydalis cheilanthifolia seeds either from the SRGC or AGS exchange ( don't remember) turns out to be some sort of small flowered Eschscholzia with pale yellow flowers 

You would wonder how that mistake could be made, wouldn't you? 

[Excelsior]

But I got a interesting annual, that I will allow to naturalize if it thrives... Will post a pic for ID soon 

[Maggi Young]

Yes, that's good. Some Eschscholzia can be perennial , can't they? Maybe only in the warmer climate of their home......

[Lesley Cox]

Gene, we must meet some time and continue this very interesting discussion. I agree with all you said above and would like to add to it, but it could take over the whole Forum, if Maggi allowed.

Re the corydalis seed that wasn't, there's a very pretty and attractive, small, pale yellow annual Eschscholtzia called E. caespitosa. It's definitely worth having in the garden/rock garden and I used to have it seed about gently. It was always welcome, coming then going then coming again. Now it's gone for good and I haven't seen it on the seed lists. Perhaps I should apply for the corydalis?

[Lesley Cox]

I'm currently sorting seed applications for our Otago Alpine Garden Grouo seedlist and hope to have the job finished by Thursday and posted out that day. One seed donation from Dunedin Botanic Garden was Haemanthus coccineus, just 6 seeds but that was OK as only one person applied for it. When I opened the DBG package to repacket in our own, I found the seeds had already germinated. Now I want to check who applied for them because if it was a local member, I think I'll pot them up and present the pot at our meeting, rather than risk them drying out more in a packet. Many South African, large-seeded liliaceae do this. Nerines, for instance, have their seed harvested and if put in a paper bag rather than in plastic where they may go mouldy, germinate in the air and form small bulbs before they are sown. This has the advantage from our point of view of taking a year off the time to flowering size, over seeds that are sown immediately and remain as seeds until they germinate eventually.

Dunedin Botanic Garden celebrates its 150th anniversary this year  with a calendar of many special events and displays over the twelve months. It is also undertaking an enormous restructure/refurbishment in its upper reaches and will be greatly enhanced and improved by the time that's finished.

[Excelsior]

Re the corydalis seed that wasn't, there's a very pretty and attractive, small, pale yellow annual Eschscholtzia called E. caespitosa. It's definitely worth having in the garden/rock garden and I used to have it seed about gently. It was always welcome, coming then going then coming again. Now it's gone for good and I haven't seen it on the seed lists. Perhaps I should apply for the corydalis?

The pale form look much alike! Maybe it will appear on the next SRGC seed list?

[ChrisB]

Not quite sure if it was the 2013 seed ex, possibly 2012, but this plant germinated and had a label of erysimum something or other.  When it grew it was quite evident that it was some other genus.  It has only been recently when I spotted it in John Richards garden that I have finally identified it as Arabis aubretioides...

[art600]

A nice surprise