Category Archives: perennials

Starting Seeds – Three Time’s a Charm?

annuals, perennials, seeds

Last year’s starting seeds experiment did not end well. Like I had hoped, I was able to keep up on regular watering of the seeds. I also noted seed-starting mix, because of its ingredients and light weight, is a more efficient medium than potting soil when growing plants from seed.

So where did the experiment go wrong? I feel the egg containers I converted into seed-starting trays were too shallow. When a seedling seemed large enough to transplant into a small container, I had a difficult time removing it from the egg tray. The seed-starting medium often fell away from the plant as I attempted to scoop it out with a tablespoon. I also wonder if the spoon did not damage the delicate roots.

Using Peat Pots to Start Seeds

However, I am stubborn and the urge to grow something is too strong in late winter to resist! This year, I switched up the variable of the potting container to be small peat pots to plant along with the seedling when it is ready.

041615_peatpots

Seeds for 2015 Growing Season

I have a TON of seeds to use up. When the soil is warm and the last front has passed, many will be directly sown into the soil of the Lot. However, I selected a handful to try starting early, indoors, with seed-starting mix, and peat pots. The vow to water the pots at least once a day was also taken.

Annuals

  • Hyacinth Bean
  • Black-eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata)
  • Canary Climber (Tropaelum peregrinum)
  • Picotee Blue Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)
  • Cleome
  • Moonflower
  • Heliotrope Dwarf Marine
  • Chocolate Flower
  • Sensation Picotee Cosmo (Bipinnatus picotee)

Perennials

  • Summer Nights Larkspur
  • Black Barlow Columbine
  • English Daisy (Bellis perennis)
  • Butterfly Flower (Asclepias tuberosa)
  • Malva Zebrina (Malva sylvestris zebrina)
  • Prunella Pagoda (Prunella Grandiflora)
  • Blanket Flower Burgundy (Gaillardia aristata)
  • Penstemon
  • Verbena Moss (Verbena tenuisecta)
  • Peppermint Candy Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
  • Black-eyed Susan Irish Eyes (Rudbeckia hirta)

Vegetables

  • Sugar Peas
  • Bush Beans
  • Persian Cucumber

They Arise

Two of the peat pot sets were planted on March 29th. The following two were planted on April 4th. There was no science or planning behind this decision. It was just the time I had available to plant the seeds. The tall seedling in the above photo is a sugar pea. The multiple green leaves are the English Daisies. However, yesterday is when I noticed the rest of the seeds breaking the surface. Here’s an up-close-and-personal shot.

041615_peatpots-closeup

It’s going to be fun watching the plants, noting how their grow patterns are similar and different. Hopefully I can successfully harden the plants off and have a smooth transplant outside onto the Lot. Then I’ll be able to compare these starters with the seeds direct sown into the soil.

Deadheading Asiatic Lilies

alley bed, bulbs, education, perennials

Tonight some garden volunteers worked to spiff up the Grand Ideas Garden for the Michigan Garden Plant Tour taking place July 28 – August 8. The whole group of us scoured the garden, removing spent blooms and making sure the plants looked great for the upcoming visitors. Throughout the garden, many varieties of Asiatic Lilies needed deadheading. I was on such a roll with the task, I decided to do the same with the lilies in the Back Alley Bed of the Lot when I returned home.

A Lily is Not a Lily is Not a Lily

Many plants with the word “lily” in their name are not true lilies. Examples of this would be the peace lily (of the genus Spathiphyllum) or day lily (of the genus Hemerocallis). True lilies belong to the genus Lilium, such as Asiatic lilies and Oriental lilies. Both grow from fleshy, scaly bulbs.

According to the University of Minnesota Extension site, Asiatic lilies “are among the easiest to grow. They’re very hardy, need no staking, and are not particularly fussy about soil, as long as it drains well.” Asiatics love full sun, are available in various colors / heights, and bloom from around mid-June through September, depending on the cultivar.

Asiatic Lilies on the Lot

Here is a photo of the lilies in the full sun, Back Alley Bed around Bloom Day (the 15th) of this month. These lilies had been abandoned on the front porch in a pot. Since we moved in and transplanted them to the garden bed, they have happily multiplied.

Asiatic-Lilies

When to Deadhead Asiatic Lilies

Since then the petals have faded, fallen off, and we are soon left with the plant stalk and leaves as seen in this photo.

Spent Asiatic Lily

If left alone, the lily would begin to create seed pods. Deadheading removes this part of the plant and redirects the plant’s energy into the bulb instead, creating larger nutrient stores for the following season. So, off with its head!

How to Deadhead Asiatic Lilies

With most types of Asiatic Lilies, the top part of the plant can be removed just below where the last petal stalks join the stem. One snip and its done.

071713_Asiatic-lily-snip

The remaining plant stalk and leaves look tidier now and are left to soak up all the sun and get ready for next season.

071713_Asiatic-lily-deadhead

As Fall approaches, the leaves and stalks of the Asiatic Lilies will turn brown and die back the same as tulips or daffodils do at the end of spring. After the die back, I usually clip the plant down to the ground so there is less clean up after the snow melts.