Update: Native Seeds for 2011

Following up on the Native Seeds for 2011 post, here’s a status report on what has and has not worked so far…

Did not germinate:

Allegheny vine (Adlumia fungosa) I’ve written a lot about this biennial vine. I just can’t get enough of it. I was surprised that the new seeds I bought this year did not germinate; however, I do have one self sown plant that is doing great and should be blooming soon. I also have overwintered and planted out some from last year. I’ll need to make a point of harvesting my own seeds this year.

Fern-leaf False Foxglove (Aureolaria peduculata) This biennial is parasitic on oaks, but, reportedly, does not need them for germination. None of these have germinated, despite trying several different germination conditions. 


Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) This is the first year I’ve tried these and alas, none had germinated. Fortunately I did get some bare root plants from Prairie Moon Nursery, and these are developing nicely.


Rosey Sedge (Carex rosea) I’ve had a small clump of this perennial grass for nearly 5 years. I was not able to get the seeds I bought this year to germinate. I understand that Carex is generally a difficult plant to grow from seed.


Good germination:

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) This is a perennial with white, long lasting flowers similar to the annual Sweet Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium obtussifolium) that I’ve tried several times before. These germinated really well, but have grown on very slowly and so far have not transplanted well. I just may not have the right touch, or location, for these plants.

Tall Swamp Marigold or Crowned Beggarticks (Bidens coronata) is an annual, with good-sized yellow flowers. These did not germinate last year when I cold stratified them in moist sand for 60 days, so this year I got a new batch of seed and conditioned them in moist soil for 60 days in the refrigerator. I was thrilled to see that they were sprouting within 5 days of coming to room temperature. I’ve got these blooming in the garden already! So far I would rate these better than the Bidens aristosa, for early bloom and a manageable size; however it’s still early so we’ll see how long the bloom continues and how vigorously they reseed themselves (a little, a lot or none at all?).


Browneyed Susan and American Pennyroyal in a pot.



Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) is a short-lived perennial, that while taller has a more delicate appearance than the typical Black-eyed Susan (R. hirta). Last year when I conditioned these in damp sand I got no germination. This year moist stratification in the soilless mix resulted in good and rapid germination after just 4 days of coming out of the refrigerator. I’ve moved some of these to pots and some into the garden. I don’t know if these will grow on to bloom this year, or if they need a season to get established.






Some germination:

Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata) Perennial also known as Wild Baby’s Breath. I thought this could be good for general landscape use, with white flowers through mid-summer. I got a low rate of germination and the plants seem slow to develop. Once the temperatures got over 90, the seedlings began to take off. I’m trying this in several locations and have this one in a pot. So I’m hopeful that at least one of these will mature.

Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) Perennial for dry shade. This plant can be weedy in the garden, but I really want to test it out under the Norway Maple where its vigor may be tempered by this challenging environment. Only 4 of these germinated, but these are developing nicely. I’ve already moved a couple under the 'nasty' Maple and they are continuing to grow.



Repeats, with good results:

Orange Hummingbird Mint (Agastache aurantica ‘Navaho Sunset’) grew quite well last year and I got good germination from the same crop of seeds as last year. Last year’s plants are a dense mass about 18” tall, not ready to bloom yet, but the foliage smells really great, even as tiny plants.

Native to rocky slopes, these transplants
are doing well among some Bearded Iris.

Rock Harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens) Even though the seed was for 2010, still gave a very good rate of germination. Some seedlings that I transplanted into rich humusy soil died immediately, while those interplanted with the Bearded Iris, in unimproved soil, are doing quite well.
















Sulfur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) these germinated well both indoors under lights and direct sown in the garden. I was concerned that I would confuse the seedlings with those from the Bidens aristosa that has reseeded itself all over the garden beds. There are a couple of features that distinguish the seedlings. The first pair of leaflets from the Cosmos are each nearly an inch long, compared to about ¼” for the Bidens, the Cosmos germinate about 2 weeks later than the Bidens (although the Bidens continue to germinate from late April to the middle of June) and while the leaves of both species are deeply divided, the Cosmos have broader rounder tips than those of the Bidens. I am pulling up and discarding the Bidens seedlings, this will be a test of whether I can eliminate this species from the garden so that I can test other plants.



Note the long cotyledon leaves and rounded leaf tips

 

Compare the first pair of leaves with
those of the Cosmos.

















The annual American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) has been getting established from a planting 2 years ago. I’ve found that these reseed themselves rather well and grow well under lights (after 30 days cold stratification), but did not come up where I seeded them directly in the garden. I guess these do better when they find their own home. I’ve planted out a few of these and am growing some in pots. I plan to snag a few leaves to rub on my arms to test their mosquito repellent properties.


Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) had germinated within 6 weeks in damp sand, while still in the dark in the refrigerator. I moved the germinated seedlings to starter mix and still ended up with a healthy crop of little plants.


Sweet Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium) has given me trouble on transplanting in the past two years. An this year is no exception – lots of seedlings that do not transplant well. The directly sown seeds did not germinate. I think need to be put into really well drained coarse soil and are not appropriate to my garden conditions.



This seedling is developing faster than ones transplanted from
indoors.  Monarda and Agastache are also cropping up.


Some other seedlings that are showing up on there own in the garden are from the Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea), Biennial Gaura (Gaura biennis), Strawberry Blite (Chenopodium capitatum) and of course the Swamp Marigold (Bidens aristosa). I was not certain if the seeds of the Salvia could overwinter here in the Northeast.  Seeing these appear in new locations points out the importance of knowing what the seedlings for these annuals and biennials look like, otherwise I would have weeded them out as I was preparing the beds for other plants.




The reseeded catnip has deeper teeth on the leaf margin than for the Salvia coccinea,
the catnip leaf is also has a fleshier texture.



Some Surprises in July

Redwhisker Clammyweed, Polanisia dodecandra, is a name I didn’t think I would be saying this year (who does?), but a few remaining seeds that I harvested from a lone plant germinated to give me a couple of strong seedlings. This annual is native to most of the U.S. and is often found in gullies and streambeds. It likes really well drained soils. With that in mind, when I transplanted these guys up I added sand and Perlite to my regular potting mix along with a layer of pea stones to the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.

This plant bears some resemblance to cleome, but is smaller and bushier. The white, cleome-like flowers have very long stamen.  Some reports refer to it being a stinky plant, but, to me, it does not smell as bad as a cleome. Check out the NPIN website for more information and photos of larger, more mature plants.

As a result of not mowing my lawn for nearly a month, due to droughty conditions, I got another surprise. Some seeds for a Philadelphia Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus, germinated and went into bloom without my noticing. The seeds came from a plant that I rescued during a weeding job and left in a pot next to my house. This species is a little less common than the Annual Fleabane, E. annuus, which occasionally shows up on the edges of my property. I wouldn’t mind having more of these, but that would make quite an obstacle course if I insisted on continuing to mown my lawn as well.

I was also pleased to see the American Bellflower, Campanulastrum americanum, growing in some difficult locations. In rich soil these plants get very tall and lanky. This one, growing in the shade of a Norway Maple is more compact. I’ll keep a watch to see if it continues to look nice through the season. As a biennial, it sends its first year as a rosette of leaves only a few inches tall. I have a bumper crop of these from last years flowering crop. I think I will be moving more of these under this dreaded maple.

Lastly, here’s a recent photo of one of the Rock Harlequins that I planted in a rock wall. This is more akin to its natural environment. This has taken some extra irrigation to keep it going, since my wall is quite dry and does not collect moisture the way a real rocky cliffside would.

Rock Harlequin, a Native Corydalis

I first ran across Rock Harlequin, Corydalis sempervirens, while climbing around a rocky slope when I noticed the pink and yellow flowers poking up out of a crack in the rocks. It seemed so odd that such delicate flowers would be in such a seemingly harsh habitat. In fact these plants do very well in harsh conditions like exposed stone walls and shallow, dry soil conditions, but it does not like too much heat. Other common names for this plant are Pale Corydalis and Tall Corydalis. I like the Rock Harlequin name, since for me it pop out of the rocks like some kind of joker.

Its native range is all across Canada and south from Minnesota over to Georgia (in the higher elevations). C. sempervirens is found in throughout Massachusetts, excepting Barnstable County and the Islands. Its native habitat is in dry or rocky woods and often on sites after a disturbance.

It seems as if it can deal with poor soil better than it can handle competition with other plants on a richer site. This was borne out in my garden when I put a few plants on the edge of a mass of Yellow Corydalis , C. leutea, in cool moist soil. The Yellow Corydalis completely engulfed the Rock Harlequin within 2 weeks, never again to be seen. I had much better luck on a dry site on the edge of the driveway where not much else would grow.

Corydalis sempervirens is not so much an annual as it is a biennial or short lived perennial, producing a large amount of seed and moving around the garden. Like an annual it will flower in its first year from seed. The highly dissected gray-green leaves occur all along the upright, branched stem. The ¾ inch long pink and yellow tubular flowers are borne in panicles at the ends of the foot-long branches. Blooming time begins as early as May, for year old plants, and continues sporadically though September.

Fresh seed, or seed kept cool and moist, are best for starting this plant. Seed started indoors should be moist stratified for 60 days and then be planted shallowly as light is needed for germination. Seeds are available from a few sources, including Summer Hill Seeds. I have started two batches of seeds with excellent results, high rates of germination and strong seedlings.

This year I started seed, before I figured out if I had a place to put the new plants, since space around the garden is filling up. Then I remembered where I first saw the plants, so I put a little soil in the cracks in a garden wall (over a layer of landscape fabric) and stuffed in a few plants. After a few days they seem to be adapting to their new home. With any luck they should be blooming in a couple of weeks.

For more information on this plant check out this link to the Wildflower Center's Database.