PBS Forum

Better protect your six flower specimens from fast fingered thieves.  I can see a hippeastrum hybridizer being real tempted to walk off with your baby.

Martin, my pleiones are also not really up either.  They're in a barely above freezing greenhouse but we've had a cold, damp winter.  I do see some buds however.  When we visited Utrecht Botanic Garden a few years ago I noticed they grow pleiones outside so they must be reasonably hardy.  I put out some seedlings last year but I haven't checked to see if they're still there.  They weren't blooming size yet. 

Here's the bag of the packet for the KNO3 and gibberellic acid powder. 

Scilla 'Sibrose' a hybrid of Scilla siberica and Scilla rosenii.  I also have its sister S. 'Rosiba'.  Neither are all that great but I'm hand pollinating them in the hope the F2 generation will yield something that looks more like S. rosenii but isn't so demanding.

Vigorous narcissus hybrid.  I believe I got the seed from Anne Wright at Dryad Nursery.

Crocus 'Pilgrim' from Odyssey Bulbs.

Hyacinthella acutiloba has lovely sky blue flowers.  Hand pollinated last year and now have a few seedlings coming.

Daubenya aurea in all its glory.  One of the few South Africans I grow.  Last year I blasted the flower buds and the leaves by forgetting to close the greenhouse one cold night.  We've been having a cold spell so I brought it in the house for a bit. 

Tomorrow I'm going to do a little work with a paintbrush on cotton swab.  I hand pollinated it a couple of years ago and didn't get any seed.  Heat is sometime helpful for seed set so I think I'll keep it inside. my husband keeps this place a balmy 72 degrees so maybe it'll feel at home.  And yes I know those of you in Germany or Great Britain think he's nuts.  I agree but then I run hot.  I have also thought of dabbling the stigmas with a little sugar water (hummingbird nectar) and see if that doesn't anything positive for seed germination. 

And if anyone also has a bright red daubenya blooming talk to me about trading pollen. 

Jan

Robin, Cistus nursery swears by dividing them while blooming.  No joke.  They put out roots in the summer when dormant so this divides them in a relatively root dormant period.  

Jan

For all you experimental seed sowers I've found something new to play with.  Seeds 'n Such, a US seed company, sell something they call Super Hot Pepper Seed Starter.  It's a mix of Potassium nitrate and gibberellic acid.  Unfortunately they don't tell you anywhere what the concentration is.  I bought it not for hot pepper seed but to play around with on difficult to germinate seed.  I haven't mixed it up yet.  I plan to email and ask them the concentration of Potassium Nitrate and gibberellic acid in the prepared solution.  

Seed will start to roll in soon since I've opened up the SX. Do you folks have suggestions for any seed I should try this brew on?  If I have enough seed donated I don't have qualms about using some for experimentation. I'm not much interested in non-hardy bulbs but I could grow any that germinate for a year or so and then send to the BX. 

Years ago I was trying to germinate seed that required smoke treatment.  My son was about ten at the time.  He was quite willing to take over this part of the seed sowing.  Nothing a ten year old like better than to get to burn something.  Whatever it was didn't germinate anyway.

Jan

Not pre-packed seems like a big mistake.  I don't open the US SX for orders until everything is packed and organized.  I don't know how you can efficiently run a seed business if you don't prepackage the seed.

Jan

Paul, what nursery or grower in Oakland?  We got back on Tuesday from visiting our son in Berkeley and fly down there once or twice a year.    He actually lives on the border of Berkeley and Oakland.  He unfortunately doesn't have a car and works full time so is unlikely to be able to pick up and mail bulbs to you but I might (no promises) be able to in the future.  

Where do you live?  My sense if most of these Western American lilies like to stay in the west.  

Jan

I spotted wascally wabbit (bunny rabbit) tracks in the snow today.  In my yard.  I am not pleased.  Where is a coyote when you need them.

Jan

The US seed exchange is now open for donations until further notice. Please read ALL the instructions carefully and contact me at seedyjan1@gmail.com if you have any questions.

The seed exchange welcomes all non-ephemeral geophyte seed, but not in unlimited quantities.  I only need enough seed for a maximum of ten packets unless the seed is unusually desirable.  For more common seed I plan to only make up five packets.  Based on past experience this should be enough. Examples of seed with extraordinary desirability would be paramongaia and worsleya.  If you have seeds of these I'd really like to hear from you! Bulbs of these plants are either not available commercially or are very expensive.  For most seed a tablespoon is quite sufficient for five to ten packets.  If your seed is huge (pea size or bigger), it would be appropriate to send a bit more.

I am stressing not sending too much seed because, when I took on this job, I discovered old seed in rather massive quantities, far beyond what we'd ever use.  In one instance someone sent in over a cup (50ml) of seed!  Folks, this should not happen again.  We can't use the seed and it costs the society money because we reimburse for postage.  Don't make me throw out seed (I hate that). 

Wild collected seed, with geographic collection information, is very welcome. Wild collected seed mustcollected in accordance with local laws and applicable regulations.

Please label each bag with the scientific name of the plant and your own name so that all donations are clearly identified and can be referred to the donor. I can take as small as one packet's worth of seed. 

If you are willing to prepack your seed please let me know how many free seed envelopes to send you. I get my seed envelopes from NARGS https://www.nargs.org/glassine-envelopes and these are what I will send you.  Be sure to include your mailing address.  Prepacking the seed will greatly reduce my workload.  Each envelope should have at least enough seed for a pot, generally at least 10 seeds. Rare seed can have less. You don't need to label each packet individually; just clip or rubber band them together.  If you're unsure how many seeds to packet just send me the seed and I'll pack it.  If you think your seed will be especially desirable and you have extra seed you can send it in a separate envelop and I will pack it as needed.

You can also use your own envelopes to prepackage seed but they must 2" to 2.25" wide and 3" to 3.5" high. The NARGS envelopes and #1 coin envelopes meet these qualifications.  Please do not package seed in plastic envelopes unless they are small enough I can easily pop them into the glassine envelopes. Plastic envelopes alone have a nasty habit of slithering to the bottom and hiding from me as I pick orders.  All the packaged seed is organized in coin boxes for easy and quick order filling.  This is why I need seed envelopes of a particular size. 

No one is required to prepackage seed.  I realize not everyone has the time, finger dexterity or inclination to package seed.  Jane and I have time to package seed.  Please however make sure your seed is clean.  Nobody like dirty seed.

If you wish to donate seed from outside the US please let me know.  I have a Small Lots of Seed Permit I can send you for your donation.  This form is required for all seed entering the US from foreign countries.

As a donor you will get a credit on seed equaling the postage you paid (rounded to the nearest dollar) for your donation.

Please remember that you must be a fully paid member of the PBS to order from our seed and bulb exchanges. You do not have to be a donor to order, all US and Canadian members can order from the US seed exchange.  EU members have a separate seed exchange due to the requirement for a phytosanitary certificate for entry into the EU.

I anticipate the seed exchange will be open for donations until May when I will close it because I'll be going on vacation for three weeks. Of course the vacation is plant related.  I'm going to the International Rock Garden Conference in Prague and then on to Great Britain to visit gardens.  I don't have a date at this point for the next seed exchange but will keep you posted. 

Send your seed to:
Jan Jeddeloh
1315 NW 174^th Pl.
Beaverton, OR 97006
USA

Narcissus asturiensis.  It's real cutie.  I've been hand pollinating it.