Hmmm. I don't think the picture is loading....

Houzz is hosed today.

tj

Yup, I have developed this affliction of not letting any seedling or cutting or division die. I wanted to grow a ground cherry (golden berries) and sowed some seeds of a store bought fruit and then some more when they didn't sprout...Now I have 32 seedlings...Also have a hundred plus nicotiana seedlings, a gazillion kalanchoe plants, 28 fuchsias....

Those seedlings are now several weeks old, they are all surviving. I will just have to find them good homes. :)

I should mention these are dwarf nicotiana..

I have the same affliction! I save more "annuals" inside over winter than I have space for, and still go shopping for more plants. Slowly, I'm adding more shrubs to my landscape by propagating too. I have piles of various seeds, both purchased and harvested, and most of my houseplant pots, about 100, have at least 5 plants in each, some more, some less. When they get packed inside for winter, we don't need to close the blinds in a couple of the rooms, and they are covering every surface that has any amount of decent light.

I try to give extras away but w/o getting involved with shipping, I don't know enough people to give away all of my extra plants. I have so much fun tropi-scaping with them though, using extras "as annuals." Most "regular" hardy perennials are not as interesting to me so most of my cultivated area is a blank slate each spring waiting for impulse, opportunity, and inspiration to start decorating for the season - and do most of it before it gets too hot to do anything but run by plants and admire as much as possible with sweat in my eyes.

My focus is on finding plants that may not be evergreen but are root-hardy, and all nectar plants ...and if it has unusual leaves, I want that too. I have a weakness for Kalanchoes too. I have about 20 different species, and for some of them, hundreds of individual specimens. K. blossfeldiana is root-hardy, so in another year or two, I'll have a solid border of it at the starting edge of about all of my cultivated areas. I harvest the stems before first frost, stick them in jars & bottles of water & enjoy the blooms that soon appear until those individuals go in the ground... repeat...

It's fun, to me, to compare methods and exposures, like putting half in water, half in soil, or half in mostly sun & half in shade, or half babied with water and never suffering a thirsty moment vs. another set that is left to fend for themselves. All so very entertaining & educational, and I seem to be incapable of stopping, I must make more plants that I don't need.

Well if they're DWARF nicotiana and it's only a little over 100 seedlings well then that's very reasonable. I'm sure they will flourish under your care and make excellent gifts! Actually that's what I'm thinking when it comes to my excesses, either give them away or try some 'tropi-scaping' and fit them in all over the yard. Is that a new word!? I like it and may start using it this summer.

For me tropicals seem to do better in pots, and not fighting for space in the beds, so the biggest problem will be more potting soil, but a few things like coleus and the tropical creeping trandescantias work really well in with the perennials. I have a ton of the second, but the coleus did not like the cooler nights back in the garage and I lost a few.

Tiffany I admire how you try things out... and then remember what you tried. I swear I've run my own little experiments over and over but get too distracted and forget what exactly was done differently. i would have never suspected a kalanchoe was even close to being root hardy, they all seem so juicy and frost-tender.

Have you ever tried Caesalpinia gilliesii? It's a cool flower with a tropical look and although some places list it zone 8 a friend in 7 gave me seeds and said his hasn't died back in a couple years. Of course I broke the top of my only seedling... I'll have to wait for more seeds :(

I was surprised about the Kalanchoes too! I haven't tried that because it looks so big. Those flowers are definitely pretty! I hope you find some more seeds soon. :)

Oh no. It's pouring rain and muddy outside and I NEED to do something with plants today. Cuttings it is! Also with no below freezing weather in the 10 day forecast, all the amaryllis and succulent pots are going outside. Thoughts and prayers and maybe a sheet of reemay will protect them if things get iffy again (which they will).

Weekend was spent moving winter-saved plants back into the ground, then snipping new batches of cuttings, repotting a few things, some weeding, watering.

We are still iffy for frost until the middle of may, so only the things which dont mind a little nip of cold are going out now. i also moved winter saved plants out into the light, but it was only the things which were starting to inch closer and closer to death each day. things like colocasia and draceana are cool and dry in a dim corner of the garage all winter and are pretty much done with that after 5 months!

I need more potting soil before i start the next round of repottings. In the fall, a lot of pots get two or thee cuttings and now ill repot them into their own homes. actually I’ll buy pine bark mulch and use that to stretch the potting soil i have, mixed half and half i can improve the drainage plus double a $15 bag of potting soil for just $4.