Sowing By Faith
Wednesday, May 27, 2009I bought two types of flower seeds that I am quite sure will do well in my sunny container garden.
Portulaca or nine o'clock flower is a very common plant back in my teenage days. My family used to have a bed of this plant in front of our house. This plant loves the sun and the flowers open in the morning at about 9 o'clock... hence its name :-) The flowers look like small roses and have striking colours.
I have planted the seeds in my strawberry pot. Once the young shoots are out and ready, I will be transferring the pot to a spot where there's full sunlight.
The plants that were previously in the strawberry pot pockets were transferred to small pots.
In another pot, I sowed Livingstone Daisy. The description on the packaging says that this plant thrives in hot places. Sounds very suitable for my garden.
But again, this is a bedding plant. I hope they will look nice in this container later.
I plucked a vine of Rangoon Creeper this morning from the beautiful pergola I have posted earlier. As the plant has grown very bushy, its vines almost reached the ground. I am sure no one can tell if one vine has dissappeared! For the first time, I smelled the nice fragrant :-D
I have planted the cutting into this container using my own simple way. Hopefully, I might just get a young plant and later a small shrub from these stem cuttings.
Meanwhile, the Begonia 'Martin's Mystery' leaf I used to propagate earlier is doing well. Two little shoots sprouted out. I was told that the new plant from leaf propagation would be smaller in size and this is exactly what I wanted :-) Smaller plant in smaller pot. I hope to re-pot these little shoots soon.
Happy gardening!
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8 comments
Hi Steph. I know that portulacas love the sun and are drought tolerant - but, I found that seedlings like a lot of water (with good drainage). I use a "soaker hose" which is a thin (1/4 inch) hose than constantly keeps the ground wet - without using much water. You can see it on the second shot of my Venus Flytrap from my last post. If you're going to keep your plants in pots (not beds) then you should make sure to water your young seedlings very frequently.
ReplyDeleteyour soil looks quite interesting, what does it consist of?
ReplyDeletelooks like i will hold just enough water, quite fibrous.
Fun choices! I love that you are planting seeds and completely understand the leap of faith it takes. I'm feeling it too. I'd never make it as a farmer! Your leaf cuttings are very impressive!
ReplyDeleteProspero, tqvm for the tips! I saw your soaker hose... very neat! I have been using a bottle to spray water onto the soil and into the pockets regularly to make sure the soil is moist all the time.
ReplyDeletenibarryc, the soil has coconut husk fibre in it.
danger garden, the seeds are so tiny and is grey in colour for both... they don't look so real... so, I am really sowing them by faith!
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with portulaca, but it looks quite spectacular in the photo on the seed packet. And the daisies will be a cheerful, fun addition to your garden. I bet seeds sprout in no time in your climate; can't wait to see the results. Cheers!
Wow...you really need to have patience in gardening :) I'm sure that when you sow your plants in love, they will grow beautifully!
ReplyDeleteHi Steph, I love portulaca and learned the hard way that deer/rabbits like them too! I also know them as moss rose and it'll be fun to see what color combinations you get in the packet. The daisy seeds?...never heard of them. Begonias are easy to propagate, aren't they...cute little baby leaflet.
ReplyDeleteBtw, thanks for the compliments on my last post :)
Lynn
Ha ha, finally you've decided which flower for the pot, wise choice! I'm sure it will look great.
ReplyDelete