Surprise in the seed department, and a near freebie comes into good form

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:17:35 PST
It’s been raining all day, so I’ve been looking for things to do inside. I
checked some pots of seed sown recently and had a nice surprise: seed of
Calochortus weedii collected in 2005 (Northwest Natives seed) and received
in the fall of 2008 and stored in the refrigerator since is suddenly
germinating en masse. This seed was sown in early November and has been kept
cold but above freezing since. I brought the pot inside the other day when
bad weather was expected – I wonder if the seed germinated so suddenly in
response to the comparatively warm conditions in the house? 

 

Several weeks ago I rescued a big florist’s cyclamen at the local grocery
store: it had dried out, wilted and was put out at a steep discount ($1.50).
I took one look at it and realized that all it needed was a good soak, and
so it came home with me. It then spent the next few weeks outside recovering
in the fresh air and rain. By now it is fully recovered and has a place of
honor in the house (but only temporarily because the house is too warm for
it). It’s got dozens of buds and maybe six or seven fully developed intense
red flowers. I’m curious to see how long it will continue to bloom – it
looks as if it’s set for several months of bloom. I’ll keep it outside as
long as the temperature stays above freezing (it was covered in snow in a
recent snow fall – that didn’t seem to bother it a bit). 

 

 

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

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