Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
merricat_gw

columbines (and maybe swt willian): finally successful!

merricat
14 years ago

H'lo.

I posted here a while back re: having columbine seeds of various colours (and a couple of Sweet Williams) that I'm most happy to share. (This was a little bit after I had a nice long vent about a *expletive* destroying my little tomato seedbank AND my "personal" crop).

I was a little worried about colour. I don't know much about columbine cross-pollination, and for a while everything that bloomed was the same bright salmon-orange shade. But happily, they surprised me with a beautiful rainbow (just didn't bloom until later). They gave me: lovely pale cream, cool butter-yellow, deep blue-purple, delicate lavender, yellow outside with burgandy inside (two sizes: REAL big and pretty and small), magenta-almost-wine...I know I'm forgetting a couple, but you get the idea.

I am SO glad they didn't all cross-pollinate their colours. YAAY FOR COLUMBINES!!!

I labeled each plant with a colour tag, and now they are at what I call the "soft seed stage". What I mean is, the seedpods are formed, but they're still green and they just rattle a little bit. So I'm thinking they're not quite ripe, and that it'll take a week or so.

Would anyone like some? I love to share these pretty, no-care perennials. Seeing them in bloom always cheers me up. I'm far too buried in landscaping to think about trades, so if you'd like, please SASE me and I'll be glad to send the colour(s) you'd like.

I had also mentioned Sweet William. I had 6 different colours (from blood red to palest pink), and only 2 came up. Just 1 of each plant....weird. But I'll have a few seeds when they dry, if you really love them and want to try growing them. I wish I had hundreds, but I guess I forgot to sacrifice a Sacred Gummy Worm to the Sweet William Gods....

And I think you'll find this funny:

I went to get the mail today (small town post office). I had to pass the *expletive's* office to get there. You can't see in the window: it is literally packed with tomato foliage. Imagine SEVEN THOUSAND PLANTS in a small shop-front window. And not a tomato in sight.

Karma is wonderful.

Comments (2)