Seedlings!

Although the last few days have been a bit wet, this summer has been quite warm for Calgary.  Most of my seeds have already sprouted.  I'm still waiting on my banana and banana cousin but they can be a little finicky and often take a while.  I've been putting the pots outside on my balcony during the day and bringing them in for the nights.  It gets cool here in the evening and temperatures drop to about 12C some nights (or cooler) even though the days may be 28C or so.

Unfortunately I have them all a good soak right before we had three days of rain.  Most of the seedlings seem to be fine but I'm worried the Goji berries may be damping off.  Hopefully they'll dry out before I loose any more.  By the way, all of these seeds were stored in a fridge for over 4 months.  It doesn't seem to affect their vitality.  Anyways, without further adieu, here are the seedlings:

Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Silver Leaved Mountain Gum) - Most sprouted.

Brugmansia versicolor (Fragrant Peach Angel's Trumpet) - 1/5 I believe, just started yesterday.

Passiflora caerulea (Purple Passion Flower) - About 1/2 have sprouted.

Lycium chinense (Goji Berry) - Please don't damp off, please don't damp off...

Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm) - Here's to hoping it's not just a stray poplar seed.  Ha hopefully I see some more.

Seed Planting Bonanaza & Happy Canada Day

Right before finding a job in Calgary I purchased a bunch of seeds online.  They arrived a few weeks before I left so I didn't have the opportunity to start them but I did take them with me.  Now that I have a balcony garden up and running I figured it was about time to fuel my tropical/rare plant addiction.

Now I didn't start all of my seeds, but there are seven varieties.  Two were impulse purchases I made while getting the pots and soil.  These include Ensete ventricosum (labelled Ensete musa which doesn't exist) and Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm).  My seeds from before the move are Musa velutina (Dwarf Pink Banana), Passiflora caerulea (Blue Passion Flower), Lycium chinense (Wolfberry, Goji Berry), Brugmansia versicolor (Fragrant Peach Angel's Trumpet), and Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Silver-Leaved Mountain Gum).

Now I'm really hoping these seeds sprout and do well.  The climate is Calgary is cooler than southern Ontario and a lot dryer.  I'll have to pay special attention to watering and if they heat doesn't seem like it's enough, I might have to get some heat mats and grow lights.

To my fellow Canadians, happy Canada Day!

Endless Hibiscus and Brugmansia Blooms

You need to check out these two websites.  There are about 150 photos of Brugmansia including many detailing the petals.  The Hibiscus one has over a thousand photos of various cultivars.  I sat there and scrolled through every one.

Brugmansia: http://www.arghyagardens.com/index.php/brugmansia/

Hibiscus: http://www.flickriver.com/groups/814780@N21/pool/interesting/

Brugmansia Bludgeoning

My Brugmansia is now about seven months old and has been growing really well. It was stalled after it's cross country adventure, but growth picked up and I had to repot a few days ago. The roots had nearly completely filled the old pot! I could even see little roots appearing across the surface. Seeing as I want a giant plant I through it in the biggest pot I could find.


I also did a little trimming. Most of the time Brugmansia are trained into a standard form with a long, thin trunk leading to a horizontal canopy. This apparently is the best way to display the large bell-like flowers. To be perfectly honest I hate this form. The plant has no trouble displaying it's beautifulness in nature with multiple branches. I've decided I'll train it into a dense bush.


I started by lopping the top off. This will help encourage side-shoot growth. I also noticed that the lower shoots have been dying off. I removed the mature leaves on the side of the plant facing south (the sun) so these little shoots could get full sun. I'm hoping the combination of these two will result in a nice bushy plant. Once the south-side shoots have matured, I'll remove the rest of the large leave so they can get as much sun as possible.

Has anyone tried anything like this before? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've also noticed something seems to be eating the leaves. I'm thinking it's the giant BC slugs. Any tips on keeping these at bay? Happy Friday!

Quasi-Mega Plant Update

It's been a while since I've done a full on plant update so I figured it was about time!

I'll start with what I did today.  There is a large mulberry tree in Cottonwood Community Garden.  It's currently covered with mulberries.  James and I LOVE mulberries.  I noticed a branch that was hanging really low (into a hydrangea) and decided why not try some cuttings.

Apparently they are quite easy to start.  It's recommended to try in spring or summer but I figured why not try now.  You can see they are different sizes so hopefully the variety will end with something that roots.  Each twig has at least two buds in the soil.

I also ripped out my spinach and pak choi because they were covered with flowers.  Then I went to Plant Works expecting to come back with enough plants to fill the rest of my plot.  Nope.  Sometimes I forget how expensive things are.  Like when I think $9 for a shirt is ridiculously expensive.  I think I may be a bit cheap.  I ended up spending about $15 on some petunias and reasonably drought tolerant, discounted, slightly sickly looking plants.  I dropped them in the plot but forgot to take a picture.  Next time.

Now for the Trachycarpus fortunei sprouts.  I've counted a total of 14!  There aren't any actual leaves yet but I'm still excited.  They won't even have leaves resembling a fan for at least two years.  Some of the seeds were picked off a tree and the others were grabbed from the ground (probably one and two years old, so not very fresh).  I don't think I'll split them up until after the second leaves are out.

These are the Yucca rostrata that I started from seed.  I had three but left one at The University of Western Ontario Greenhouses.  The one of the right has started growing again and has produced several healthy new leaves.

My Musa basjoo has recovered.  This is the one that I chopped in half, destroyed the roots and wrapped in a bag.  Apparently they can put up with quite a bit.  All four pups even made it!  I probably won't split any of them off until next year.  I got this one as a 20cm plant at Home Depot.

BTW My landlords are gone so may plants are strewn across their yard.  You can see their children's toys randomly scattered in some of the pictures.

Here are my Stevia seedlings.  Only a few sprouted and they were growing really slowly.  In the last few days they've really started to pick up and have almost doubled in size.  I'm can't wait to try them as a sweetener!

I have my Adenium arabicum located in three different spots (two outside and one inside).  These are the saddest.  They were hit with a basketball and then attacked by aphids.  I was extremely angry at the time but now I'm just a little annoyed.  I figure the aphids attacked because they were stressed, as plants in the other location seem fine.  They'll be almost a year old at the end of August.  The other plants look much better (not pictured here).

I split my Moringa stenopetala between my community plot and these three pots in the backyard.  These ones were hit with a rather bad attack of aphids.  I think they were stressed because as far as I know aphids aren't very common for Moringa.  I sprayed them with a water/onion/garlic mix and I think it's been working.

I'll end off with my Brugmansia.  I started this one from seed in early spring.  It's the only one that I ended up taking across the country.  You can see from the trunk that it got a little bent during the trip.  There is a lot of new growth towards the top and offshoots along the entire stem.  I'm hoping for some flowers this year but don't expect to see any.

Hope you enjoyed this long and arduous post!  I've been a little MIA the last two months. ;)  I also got recognized today!  "Hey, aren't you the guy with the blog?"  Yeah!  I'm famous!  I've officially arrived!!!  If anyone would like an autographed seed packet, send money to...  :P

Brugmansia Transplant (58 Days)

It's been 58 days since I sowed my Brugmansia.  Three of the five seeds sprouted and two have done very well.  The other was overshadowed and is still tiny.  It's now in a pot of it's own and will hopefully catch up.  I used a mixture of Miracle Grow potting mix and some left over cactus mix from my massive Adenium arabicum transplant (tomorrow's post).

Does anyone know what size I can expect them to start flowering?  I was also wondering about minimum temperatures to prevent leaf damage.  I think dormancy starts around 7C (45F).  I'll probably just have to put them outside during the day and bring them in at night for the next little while.  They'll stay in today though because I don't want to stress them too much and there is a wind warning.  Apparently my foot got in a picture.  Yes, I do have a stubby big toe.

I love growing things from seed.  It's just so satisfying!  On a less exciting note, I haven't heard back yet about the job I'm super excited for.  I'll just have to wait and see what happens.  I'll probably do a few more apps today though.  Happy Easter to anyone that celebrates!

First Tomato and Brugmansia (45 Days)

I noticed yesterday that Tomatoes are actually beginning to form on my Tiny Tim plants.  I pollinated them with a beard trimmer as suggested by Kenneth.  Apparently the vibration is enough to release and spread the pollen within the flower.  I was worried that it didn't work, but the little green ball I saw this morning tells me otherwise!  It's hard to see but right at the centre of the picture.  Yeah, super early spring veggies!

The Brugmansia are also doing very well.  They're already hitting the lights with their very large leaves.  The stems are budding with growth and the first few branches are beginning to start.  Now I probably should have transplanted them into their own pots a while ago.  I'll make sure to do that this weekend after I apply to a few more jobs.  Does anyone have transplant tips?  The roots are really intertwined.

I'm going to send in a second application to the job that I'm really excited for just to add some things.  I'm concerned they won't want to hire me because I might have to fly there for an interview (I'm hoping skype is fine but worst case I might be able to pay for a flight).  I also haven't included any renders of buildings so I'll probably do a new one on Thursday.  Wish me luck!

Under the Lights

I'll probably be starting some more seeds in the next few days so I figured it was time for an update on what I already have growing from seed.

Above you can see a crowded corner.  In the back are my Tiny Tim Tomatoes.  The largest one already has flower stalks and they started opening today.  I'm super excited to have indoor-extra-early tomatoes!  On the right you can see the Brugmansia (37 Days since sowing).  They're growing very well and I think the two plants already need to be separated.  There is a third tiny one but it probably won't grow very much until the others are removed because of the constant shade.  I love the toothed leaves! 

In the front you can see a little Lantana that was started from seed.  It keeps drying out so it doesn't look to happy right now.  The Purple Orach has been growing very slowly.  I don't know if this is typical because I've never grown it before.

Above you can see 9 Datura "Purple Blackcurrent Swirl".  Only one didn't germinate so it was a good batch of seeds.  They are growing extremely quickly and already have long roots out of the bottom.  I think I need to transplant them soon because they are definitely overshadowing each other.

Finally you can see a picture of the leeks (with Adenium behind).  Many are touching the fluorescent tubes so I think I might have to give them a bit of a hair cut.  Does half the height seem reasonable?

Seedling Update

It's been about a week since my last seedling update.  I'll mention the Lithops and Conophytum in a separate post.  I'm also thinking about going through all my posts and checking all the plant names and nicely italicizing them.  The idea to do this began with a simple annoyance - the 's' on the end of Lithops.  I blame Kenneth.  See the post and comments here.

First off we have the Tiny Tim Tomatoes.  They only grow to 45cm in height and are just over half way there.  So I guess they're not really seedlings any more.  I tried to tell them but they seemed offended so I figured alright, whatever you say.  I should thin them, but I'm trying to keep them smaller so they'll fit under the light.  That being said I'm still planning to remove all but two or three.  I might have to do some pinching.  Hopefully I'll start getting flowers relatively soon so I can have winter tomatoes!

Next up is the Brugmansia.  They have started to put out their first 'real' leaves so I'm very proud.  That tiny one is the one that I had to perform open seed surgery on.  The plant was damaged a little when I tried to remove the seed capsule but I think it will be alright.  If not, two plants is alright but I always like to have a back up.  It's been about 28 days since sowing.

Finally here are the Datura with some leeks in the background.  Only one of the ten Datura seeds hasn't sprouted so I'm quite impressed.  I'll just move one of the plants in the furthest cell to the empty one.  The leeks have been doing very well.  I accidentally let them dry out a little but they seem unphased.

Veggie and Brugmansia (23 Days) Seedlings

Latest seedling updates from the exciting plant village of Growlightia!

Some of the Brugmansia leaves have a white colour, is this normal?  I know I should remove the seed shell on the third one but I'm afraid of hurting it (of course it looks really really sad).  When should I move them to their own pots?  It's been about 23 days since sowing.

EDIT:  I felt bad and performed emergency open seed surgery.  It's in stable condition but there was some damage to the surrounding tissue.  Nelly will probably pull through but any and all support is greatly appreciated. 

I've never grown Leeks before.  The germination rate seems to be in excess of 85% so far.  Should I thin them to one per cell or is it fine to grow a few together?

Everyone want to call this 'Purple Spinach' but it's not related to spinach and that really bothers me.  It should be called Purple Orach so that is how I will refer to it.  I'm going to plant the seeds outside in the spring but was really curious about them so started a few early.

I thought they were unhealthily lanky but I searched for some images of seedlings and the few that I saw looked like this.  Really odd.  I'll keep an eye on them but I'm less concerned.  All the seeds sprouted but one is green.  I secretly hate that one.

Here are the Tiny Tim Tomatoes at about 3 weeks old.  I've removed three or four seedlings already.  I'll probably end up leaving three plants in the pot.  One of them decided to be yellowy-white.  Could this be a light or fertilizer thing?  I'm must wondering because of the Brugmansia.  I put a garlic clove in the middle because... *cough*

Supposedly I'll get the first fruit in three weeks.  I think I need to step up the fertilizer and maybe toss in some more dirt so they can form more roots.

Tomato & Brugmansia (7 Days)

Just a quick upate.  Two of the Brugmansia seeds are mostly sprouted and a third is starting which is hard to see.  There are 5 in total.  They don't seem to be pushing themselves out of the soil.  I tried giving them a little wiggle and their roots are definitely holding well.  I keep an eye out though.  I think the pot needed some more soil...

UPDATE:  The centre one is now vertical with the two seed leaves separated.  There is still a seed case attached to one leaf though.

The tomatoes are growing slowly but starting to pick up.  There seems to be a 'super dwarf'.  It sprouted at the same time as the others and although it is growing a little slower, everything seems to be smaller than the other sprouts.  I'll watch this one carefully and save it if it seems like it's more than just a runt.  I'll probably plant those Conophytum and Lithops seeds tomorrow.  I'm super excited!

Brugmansia Sprouting(ish) (3 Days)

My Brugmansia are sprouting!!  Well at least the one in the centre.  Kind of.  It's more just a root but that means it's alive so I'm super excited!  I'll be sure to update when it has it's first set of leaves.

 

Tomato "Tiny Tim" - No leaf miners on the new leaves!  Yeah!!