False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) From Seed - Part 2

Yesterday, I teased apart the false sunflower seedlings and potted each in its own container. I'll be moving them up as time and need allows. This is very similar to what I did with lupine last year and I have many flowering lupines this year.

Crested Iris Propagation - Part 2

This is a continuation of a post from last year Original Propagation Post Here.

So last year I snipped some fans from my crested iris and tried growing them in pots. They did quite well. Both clumps bloomed this year and they were both large enough to put in the ground. They required remarkably little care though I tried to keep them out of the strongest sun and well watered. They came up with new fans this year and spread rapidly. I'll be trying it again this year.

Siberian Iris

For years I've aspired to siberian irises like a clump I saw for several years at Elm Bank. However, I wasn't impressed with the options at various stores, that and I'm broke. Back in 09 I bought some roots off eBay, they did okay for their first year but nothing impressive. The next year they got a little bigger, but I panicked about how slow they were coming up and bought more roots in a bag from a big box store. Now I have several pots of slowly growing iris. They'd get about a foot tall then just laze about. I planted them out in the yard around 2010 i think and I got maybe 3 flowers. This year I should get triple that. To most it won't seem like much, but they're finally waist high and look happy.

False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) From Seed

Since I'm being too lazy about posting what I'm doing (ie yard is 80% or so done. I have very little left to move, and just need to sift the compost and mix it in the garden beds) here's a bit about a success.

Last year I collected seeds from my false sunflower plant. There weren't any where near as many as one would expect, but I dutifully tossed the bits that weren't seeds and put the suspected seeds in a sealed container (canning jar) in the fridge once they were dryish.

At the end of April I took the seeds out, left them waiting for a few days to warm up and planted some in a pot. I planned on separating out individual plants before they got too large, once they had a few true leaves. I kept them damp inside for a while (over a week), then I got impatient and put them and a bee balm seeded pot outside and just kept watering them. I planted April 28th and May 16th found seed leaves. So 2 1/2 weeks at temps ranging from 50 F to 80 F (we're having a weird spring.)

The bee balm also just started coming up. So my best advice is be patient. Time to go plant some more seeds from last year.

Gardening

So last week it was 80° F, and this week it's 28° F, got to love New England weather. Week before last I planted out some peas, radishes and lettuce under cover. The peas started coming up quickly with the radishes and lettuce a bit slower to follow. That week of hot weather did help a little. I also planted some peas inside and put them out last week. They're further along just because they had the warmer start. This week I made some seed tapes with radishes, beets, carrots and lettuce, historically veggies I am awful about spacing correctly. I'm trying to wait until the test lettuce I just planted comes up before I make anymore.

Peppers are up in pots inside, as are a few eggplant. Tomatoes were planted Monday and should be up sometime next week. I have huge amounts of moving to do in the garden outside. I had lots of work to do last week that kept me from doing as much outside as I wanted to. The cement block outline for the pond is set up but still needs to be filled with dirt and have the liner installed and trimmed. Then everything has to be moved and a few of the lilies will probably have to be re-homed as the pond is shrinking a bit.

Hopefully, next week will be warmer and I can start my obsessive shifting. I want to make two long garden beds across the yard, and finish moving the pond to it's new location.