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!