A fairly windy storm hit Seattle Saturday night. We have a big Douglas Fir tree in our yard that worries me–I expect it to become an uninvited bedroom visitor one day. Luckily, that didn’t happen yet, but I spent some time picking up more twigs and branches off the street and lawn that had snapped off. A new neighbor was out at the same time performing the same chore…I’m sure it was a scene repeated all down our street since these giant forest trees are quite common in this neighborhood.
We had warm weather yesterday, so I took some time to pot on some wallflower seedlings that I’d started in November. I hadn’t expected all the seeds to germinate so quickly and well, so I had three 4 inch pots full of seedlings. I moved two pots worth to six-packs in a tray with a humidity cover. That will give me 48 plants to set out in early spring, assuming all survive. I hedged my bets by putting two seedlings in each cell since I had so many.
Since this potting on provided more space on the heat mat, I sowed a few other types of seed:
Agastache nepetoides–the idea of a 6-foot hyssop is appealing to me, and should be great for bees and butterflies.
Freesia laxa Joan Evans–the standard form does well in the greenhouse for me, and I have seedlings of the standard and the blue form that will likely bloom in 2015; I’ve read that this is possibly winter hardy in Seattle, so I’ll plant some out this year to see what happens!
Andean climbers mixed–very excited about these and hoping to get more than the Eccremocarpus to sprout–mixed seed in a packet said to include:
Leontochir ovallei Luzuriaga radicans Lapageria rosea
Bomarea salsilla Mitraria coccinea Boquila trifoliata
Tropaeolum ciliatum Schyphanthus stenocarpus
Eccremocarpus scaber Herreria stelata Tropaeolum tricolor
Tropaeolum polyphyllum Aristolochia chilensis
Dierama species mixed–I’ve had luck with these from seed, so thought I’d try a bunch more. I’ve read it takes at least three years from seed to flower, so best to get started now.
Polemonium yezoense “Purple Rain”–I’ve done well with Polemoniums (specifically Apricot Delight) from seed before and they are hardy and long-lived here, so it makes sense to try a new type. This dark version appears to have gorgeous flower color offset nicely by the purple foliage.