thought we needed a thread for all our seed grown beauties.. show off your babies!!
nicotiana

Both the veronica and scabosia were winter sown this year.

great combo!!

Nicotiana 'Fragrant Cloud'.

Thanks, Allison!






[BTW - I still can't smell these! It must just be that my scent detectors are screwy. ]

my new wintersown nicotiana perfume is starting to bloom, too. i can't smell it, either.

karen

It's a good thing that these can handle dryness, eh, Karen? We've still had no rain here... ...it's all going just south of us.

Unknown poppy.

Pretty tho'.

no rain here yet, either, chelle. but radar looks like we'd have to get some...

karen

I'm ahead of most of you...but here are a few, some from earlier this spring

Top L to R: Zinnia 'Senorita', Larkspur 'The Blues', Phlox drummondii 'Tapestry Mixed' (Annual Phlox), Angelonia 'Serena Purple' (Summer Snapdragon)
Larkspur and Phlox are winter annuals for us and almost finished now. Zinnia and Summer Snapdragon will go the rest of summer.

Bottom: Some annuals just want to live! Self-seeded Annual Phlox 'Coral Reef' and Celosia 'Purple Flamingo' in driveway cracks.

If you haven't tried Annual Phlox, it's great. Lots of different colors, heights to choose; easy to start; winter annual deep south but should bloom most of summer in north.

I discovered the annual phlox a few years ago and have loved the way it preforms .It reseeds by it self in this pot and it does bloom all summer.

gardengus said:I discovered the annual phlox a few years ago.

Interesting...fashions come and go. This was a wildly popular annual after British & European breeders got hold of it in the late 19th century (it's native to my area of Texas) and played with shapes and colors and size. Then it fell out of favor and just recently (last 10 years) is making a comeback. Most are at least mildly fragrant too and a big draw for bees and butterflies.

I just tried an annual phlox this year for the first time...I like it! Annual Phlox (Phlox drummondii 'Twinkle Star Mix') Now, I want to sow more of it.

Oh, you have Twinkle!!!! I'm so jealous that I have to wait. I got the seeds this winter (have to buy them when they're available) so I can start them next September for planting out in maybe October. Try 'Tapestry' - it's about 18", multi-colored , with large heads that provide a perfect landing spot for butterflies; unused seeds store well. 'Coral Reef' also did well - about 12", soft colors and nice fragrance. They will all self-seed but eventually (2-3 years) will revert to the native deep rosy pink color.

Chelle ,
I saw those in the database , beautiful. Did you wintersow them?

I searched high-and-low for those Twinkle seeds! Isn't it funny how once we see something that strikes us just right, we've just gotta have it!

Where did you get your Tapestry and Coral Reef seeds?




Cinda, yes, I wintersowed them at the end of February.

Twinkles Mix: John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds
Tapestry Mixed: Johnny's Selected Seeds (HPS also has at higher price)
Coral Reef: Select Seeds

Also have tried: 21st Century Hybrids (Park's) - nothing to write home about, but one or two individual colors; Promise Series (Park's) - short, some individual colors, just ok...of course, your mileage will vary.

To start this fall besides Twinkles: 'Cherry Caramel' (interesting bi-color), 'Moody Blues', 'Sugar Stars' - all from Select Seeds

Real bust : 'Peppermint Candy' (Thompson & Morgan) - like 0% germination

Thanks for the info.

I've got Promise mix growing...no blooms yet. I bought a BIG packet of those, so I hope I like 'em.

I don't normally use T&M, I think I'm mostly scared off by their prices, but (obviously ) no price is right for -0- germination.

I got great germination from my largish .99 packets from Crosman Seeds. I've even got some annual asters going.

I used to use T&M in the 80s and early 90s, before they got U.S. Corporate fancy-schmancy - seed quality seems to keep deteriorating while their prices keep rising.

Never heard of Crosman Seeds - it's on my favorites list now. Thanks

It's not that I hated Promise, or that it didn't grow; actually the nurseries here sell innumerable flats of this cultivar for winter; it just didn't thrill me.

No annual asters in my neck of the woods (they're not good for winter and cook in summer); not even perennial asters except our native one.

But, my Rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye', Cosmos 'Cosmic Orange' and Zinnia 'Profusion' are pumping out flowers now. And the Echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry' has its first bud.

krancmm said:

But, my Rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye', Cosmos 'Cosmic Orange' and Zinnia 'Profusion' are pumping out flowers now. And the Echinacea 'PowWow Wild Berry' has its first bud.

Pictures please, when it opens.

I have one Echie 'White Swan', I think, that's still alive...I tend to over water those when they're in pots and invite rot. Oops.

Do you have them in pots for decorative reasons? Cuz they're really hardy in ground...at least in MN (4b) I had 'White Swan' last a few years until it got some virus and became distorted.

The 'PowWow Wild Berry' is a test here. I gave plants to several different gardeners. Some in containers, some in ground. You see, Echies aren't native here and don't like our summer humidity, at all, at all, so no one has had any luck growing them. If they make it thru July-August, possible 6" rainfalls and a potential hurricane, then we'll have an Echie down here.

Will take photo when it opens. Might even try to use my new camera that has more knobs and dials than a fighter jet plane. Well, it does have ZOOM