Pistil, I'm in zone 8 and would be interested in trying Grevillea x gaudichaudii seeds. I'm always looking for interesting groundcover.

OK great I will take another stab at it! There are many Australian plants that do OK here, but often they want a bit of heat, so maybe they would like TX better. Both are Zone 8 but of course the climates are very different. One thing though, Grevillea hate phosphate fertilizer, so don't plant where you might put any down nearby.

I think what I will do about the Grevillea, is just throw a pack into patrob's baggie when I mail things in, she should not have to waste a ticket on such an experiment. If anyone else wants any, just let me know. I just put some of them in a moist paper towel in a baggie on the kitchen counter (the Deno method) to see if they will sprout. I may also try wintersowing.
I am having trouble getting the ?seeds? out of the husks, and if I try to pick them out with forceps most are damaged, so I am just leaving them in. maybe as they dry out more they might pop out. I also worry that since they are not falling out on their own they might not be mature, even though the capsules are dry, brown and split open.
Any obsessive seed starters might want them, just for the challenge...

Here are photos. That is a dime they are really tiny.

Since this worked well for the last swap I thought I would try it again.

For those of you interested in daylilies crosses-I have far too many to list. It would be helpful to know preferences. The last swap someone wanted small flowered crosses while another wanted late blooming dips. If you have height, color, ploidy or bloom time preferences please let me know and I'll try to list crosses that fit.

Daniel, I know you already stated the kinds of crosses you'd most like. Unfortunately I don't have any patterned daylilies, only one sterile toothy daylily and most of my tets produced very few seeds this year (probably due to the drought). I only had 2 tets (both small flowered) that produced lots of pods-Alice Faye & Hermitage Max Planck. So I doubt I have any crosses that would fit your wishlist.

DnD oops to before

Pistil How about here ?

Paeonia mlokosewitschhii (Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii ...
https://treeshrubseeds.com/spe...

As for me I still drying seeds

Can you grow helebores from seed?

Lalambchop1 I have read about it being done , Have not tried that myself so far , I'm still at weeds , mostly

Erigeron (Azure Fairy

Smooth blue Aster

Lalambchop1-
Hellebores can be grown from seed, and I have done it. It is recommended to sow them as soon as you get them, they are unusual in that they do not appreciate being stored dry-it is recommended to sow them as soon as they are harvested. That said, I got a packet of H. foetidus 'Wester Flisk' and just did a winter sowing that year, it worked fine. Hellebores will self-sow, which is usually an indicator that wintersowing works. But you need to know that Hellebores will take years to bloom, and if you want any fancy new colors, they don't really come true from seed. But there are some breeders who breed seed strains that are really great- I have some from the breeders at Northwest Garden Nursery, the 'Winter Jewels" series. I have the yellow ones, they have other colors. They do sell fresh seeds in the summer.

jimard8- Sadly, I tried ordering 'Molly the Witch' Peony seeds from that company, along with Camellia sinensis and Laurus nobilis, they are backordered on ALL three :-(

Pistil well it was A US Source , and there are not many , If I see anymore , I will paste here . Not easy seeds to find here (for sure) I am reading a lot of sold outs ..

Thank you Pistil for the information on the hellebores. I have been considering putting some in this year but have not done my homework yet. But you raised some really great points and I now have a question. If the hellebores self seed, and they do not come true from seed, then over time do you not need to replace or divide the mother plant to keep the color/bloom consistency? Also, where is the best place to purchase the hellebore plant? I truly like Bluestone's selection, however, I can never seem to get a decent plant out of them. Thanks for the help.

Hi Karen.
I have a bunch of very nice Hellebores. They slowly increase the size of the clump, and I have never tried to divide them. I have them in a summer dry climate, and don't get many seedlings, but I think in a climate with more summer rain a clump might get "infested" with unwanted seedlings. So far that has not happened to me. You could also be careful to pick the flowers before seeds form. I don't do that.
I think the best way to get Hellebores is to go to a local nursery in February, and pick out blooming plants, then you know exactly what you are getting. Many of the flowers look great in photos, but are dangling blooms and if the back of the petals are not brightly colored you have to lay on the ground and look up to see them! I also have Hellebores I got for the foliage, like 'Wester Flisk', 'Janet Starnes', and Corsican Hellebore (it keeps changing names).
I picked my Winter Jewels 'Golden Sunrise' plants out at the nursery, by choosing ones I could see across the Greenhouse, the backs of the petals were yellow too. I also planted them where I see them from below when I drive up my driveway or walk on a path below them. At the nursery put the potted plant on the ground and look at it. Ask yourself if the flowers are visible enough.
I have never bought any online, but have gotten great plants from both these nurseries and they have nice selections of Hellebores. Bluestone sells small plants, so they have to be babied for quite a while.

http://www.plantdelights.com/i...

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plan...

In terms of nodding flowers being hard to see- the last photo I took by putting my Iphone in "selfie" mode and laying it on the ground under the flower. These flowers are not really visible much when walking by on the path because they face down!
The second to last one is planted on a rock wall with a path below, so the blooms are easy to see (and photograph).

Colleen ( @agoo ), I just saw your wishlist and wanted to respond. Based on offerings from previous swaps, chances are good that you will find many of the items on your wish list in the swap. No guarantees, of course, but I would wager there is a high likelihood of the following being available to you:
Columbine, Dianthus, Foxglove, Lavender, Peony, Zinnia, Bellflower, Poppies - red or orange tall variety, Dahlia, Gaillarda, Petunia, Snapdragons, Evening Primrose, and Nasturtiums.

I noticed that you weren't listed on the member list, so please don't forget to click the button to join the swap so that you'll receive emails, etc. I just sent out the first official email for this November swap earlier today, but I can forward it to you if you join.

Karen,

I got my Hellebores from Bluestone. I recommend ordering them in the fall for spring blooms. I did that with my first, and it settled in well and had gorgeous blooms and they lasted for months! I was so surprised. (Pistil, yours are GORGEOUS). I also have a couple that were planted at the same time, that were gifts to me, from a friend. I added 2 new ones this spring, but they struggled with our summer temps, thus my recommendation to buy/put in the fall so they can get their roots set before they get hit with high temps. However, my 2 new ones are doing good. and looking forward to those new blooms next year!

Here is my Pink Frost

Those are gorgeous, Val!

I am doing several things , shortly I will add some to the seed list , several possibles ,
Species Echinacea and couple others , I am looking for seeds that are not already listed ,

Beautiful possibilities in all the listings ,

Val,
You know I love your hellebores. You do a beautiful job with them as do you Pistil. And I am definitely happy I have 2 people that grow them and I can bug the mess out of them for information.

I had bought several items from bluestone this year but every time I was sent dead plants. Bluestone is great about replacing or crediting you. I ordered a pink lavender. It got here last week. Deader than a door knob. This week they sent me a new one. I got it today. This one was exactly what I expected. The plant was alive. I do think from here on out I will order for fall. I can't give up on them. They truly try to hard to make sure you are happy.

Jimard, you are correct about the possibilities here. Every time something gets listed I get giddy and my imagination goes overboard. I want it all!

That being said, I do need an intervention. I told val last night someone needs to take my debit card from me, lol. On the other hand, I did pass the nursery up today. It was hard. Then I went to my friends house and she had a new mum I want. That means I have to go to the nursery. Oh what am I saying? I'll steal her seeds, lol.

Pistil, what is the variegated plant in the photo above? I love anything variegated!

Lisa

Jim, whatcha looking for?

Lisa I do not have particular wants I have 16 or so chosen on my wish list . I am planting ,seed starting natives mostly and easy perennial green for vegetables ,
I still have Zinnia and Tomatoes growing

The Erigeron (Fleabane ) may be bringing metalmark Butterflies
Right now Aster covered everything is bringing swarms of bees .
When I cut back the aster I have to be careful not to kill Pearl Crescents


Still have bunches to add
The few Candy Cane Zinnia I grew last year some grew back true in my mixed Zinnia , Iwas thinking of individually offering the yelow , the red and so forth besides the mixed candy canes if i get enough seeds
My add list is still a good 25 long yet to happen mostly all flowers this season
Next year I will try a few Melons and cucumbers , not much room for that though

Karen,
Here's my hellebore advice: Plant it, water it, it grows! LOL! In the right spot. Mine also are in a dry sunny spot. I dont think I have any "moist" spots in my yard! My hellebores are in a "shade garden" that isnt very shady at all, gets afternoon sun now that I lost 2 trees in the area.

I agree with Pistil that it's great to go to the nursery and buy one blooming so you can see first hand. I ordered my first hellebore as a fluke..it was on sale in the fall when i was ordering some clematis on sale also, from Bluestone. I mostly order spring deliveries from Bluestone, it just works that way (except for the clems/pink frost hellebore last fall). But looking at those pictures on line (Bstone), I can't help but want some more. And their sale prices are VERY enticing!!

This has been a terribly hot summer all around, and not all plants have done well. I wonder if that has something to do with the plants you've received from Bstone (either that or someone in shipping does not do quality control before they ship!?)

Pistil, GOOD to know that Plantdelights is a reliable place to buy from. I have looked at their site at times. I have heard nothing but great things about

If anyone has any suggestions for "different" shade plants, my hubby just cleared the woods behind our fence and moved the fence to the border of our property. I dont plan to go gung-ho in this area (I need his permission! HA HA cos I dug up as much lawn as I could in our backyard for my gardens thus far!) because I need to get a handle on my gardens I have so far...but I would love any seed suggestions for some shade plants I might not have/thought of.

THANKS ALL - have a wonderful Friday and weekend! (I'm sure I'll be back again), but gotta go out and get some fall planting done -- WINTER's COMING and those plants gotta get in the ground!