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thinman_gw

Got Trachelium? Lisianthus?

thinman
13 years ago

Hey Steve, how are your trachelium and lisianthus doing? As reported, the trachelium does seem to be pretty slow-growing. Here's a pic I took a few minutes ago of mine.


It was started on March 1. They all look pretty healthy though, so I can live with them being slow. There is a lot of time still to go in Michigan before the last frost.

ThinMan

Comments (14)

  • steve22802
    13 years ago

    Hey Thinman,

    My Trachelium germinated after 17 days. Mine are still very tiny like lisianthus. I must have planted mine a couple weeks later than you but I'm glad they are up and on their way.

    My first batch of Lisianthus (Cinderella mix) has been up and poking along for a few weeks. I've got good germination but they just grow so sloooooow! :( Unfortunately, part of my seed order arrived a month late and that included more Lisianthus seeds (Arena Red.) I sent an email to cancel that part of the order on the day they arrived. ;( They haven't even germinated yet, so I'll be lucky if I can get them blooming by September.

    I've also got germination from a number of other early starts: Dianthus Bouquet Rose, Limonium, Craspedia, Agapanthus (strong blade-like seedlings,) Hypericum (tiny and slow like Lisianthus) and my first Alstroemeria today also after 17 days. I planted the Trachelium on the same day that I removed the Alstroemeria from refrigeration and they both came up on the same day. :)

    I'm using Pro-Mix for the first time this year and I really like it. It wicks water really well which is great for these tiny fragile seedlings like Lisianthus, Trachelium and Hypericum.

  • thinman
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I've used Pro-Mix before and thought it was fine. This year I'm using Baccto, a product of Michigan Peat Company. Have to support the local economy a little.

    I haven't tried agapanthus. Do you have some experience with it?

  • steve22802
    13 years ago

    >> I haven't tried agapanthus. Do you have some
    >> experience with it?

    Nope, it's new to me. I may just buy a couple mature plants to start learning on while the seedlings grow along. Brent and Becky's has Headbourne hybrids and a white variety called Polar Ice. Both are suppose to be hardy to zone 7. I've seen potted Peter Pans at my local Lowes but they looked too short to cut and they are only rated to z8 for hardiness.

  • steve22802
    12 years ago

    Hey Thinman,

    How's your Trachelium coming along? I planted some of mine out into a raised bed today. It's still rather tiny but there's a lot of rain in the forecast for the next week so I wanted to go ahead and get them settled in.

  • thinman
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Mine are doing well. Here's a tray of them - sorry it's a little blurry.

    {{gwi:620220}}

    They may grow slowly but I've had a lot better luck with them than I did with lisianthus. I'm looking forward to getting them in the field in a couple of weeks.

  • steve22802
    12 years ago

    Hey, those look great, Thinman! :) Mine are much smaller, I think I planted mine a month or so later than yours. By the way, are yours a mix of colors? I wanted a mix but they were out of stock so I just got Black Knight.

  • magz88
    12 years ago

    Did you get any of the lisianthus growing? I got about 16 and I just put them outside yesterday. They didn't all immediately die so I hope they live long enough to flower.

  • thinman
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Steve, those are Black Knight, if the seed packet is labeled right. I also did a tray of Shine that look about the same.

  • steve22802
    12 years ago

    Yes Magz88, I transplanted 65 (out of 100 seeds) Lisianthus seedlings outdoors 2 days ago. They are the Cinderella series mix.

  • steve22802
    12 years ago

    Hey Thinman,

    How are your Trachelium doing? I've got 15 healthy little plants growing in the ground now but they are only around 8 inches tall and are starting to bloom. I wonder if I should pinch the blossoms off and try to get the plants to grow larger before blooming? How big are yours now?

  • thinman
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi Steve. Unfortunately I don't have much of anything in the ground. I had a little heart attack a month ago and have given up on growing and selling flowers for this year in favor of relaxing. It's disappointing, but that's life sometimes. I'd probably pinch some of yours back and see what happens. It's a learning experience, right?

    TM

  • steve22802
    12 years ago

    Sorry to hear that Thinman! :( I hope you recover rapidly. I've appreciated your input on this forum.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    12 years ago

    My goodness, TM! So sorry to hear about your heart attack. I hope you are feeling better! Take care of yourself this summer. We need your input here!

    Dee

  • thinman
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks a lot, Steve and Dee. I'm working on it! :)

    TM

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