Thursday, April 10, 2008

The Great Annual (?) Seed Project, or GASP

I don't know if this is going to be a regular feature or not, but let's pretend, because without the "annual" part in there, it's a sucky acronym.

I bought some seeds about a week ago from seedman.com, which I intend to sprout at some point though I'm still undecided about whether I want to do this at work or at home. But I've started soaking the stuff that's supposed to be soaked, so I guess I'll have to make a decision relatively soon. Also in the future: a decision about whether or not I endorse seedman.com. This is my second attempt with them, but the first one (which failed: Cissus rhombifolia and Pandanus utilis) was probably my fault.

The below pictures are kind of for crap, because I just took them this morning and didn't have time to do an especially good job, hence the weird lighting and the blurriness and so forth. But I tried. It was either that or wait to post until lunch.

So but here's our cast of characters:

Aloe assortment


Carludovica palmata, which when I bought the seeds I thought was equivalent to Asplundia 'Jungle Drum.' But odds are it isn't.


Cereus peruvianus, which seedman.com calls "Trichocereus peruvianus" but is probably the same thing. Trichocereus peruvianus, which davesgarden.com and Wikipedia list as Echinopsis peruviana. Hat tip to anonymous in comments. Though I am also a bit disappointed, 'cause I was hoping for Cereus peruvianus.


Cordyline fruticosa


Ficus religiosa


Haworthia pumila


Schefflera: I'm hoping that the species is actinophylla, not arboricola, because when it comes right down to it I don't really like arboricola very much. But either would be okay, I guess.


Updates as they become relevant. Actual planting probably begins tomorrow (11 Apr 2008).


5 comments:

Aiyana said...

Good luck with the seeds. I just don't have a patience to propagate this way!
Aiyana

Tracy said...

I love the idea of growing plants from seed, but I don't have the patience either, especially if they are not annuals. I have started some seeds as well this past week, but they are all annuals. I need a more instant gratification type of plant, if I am growing from seed. How long will it take for the aloe to grow into say, a four inch pot?

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Wow, what an interesting assortment. I don't have the patience needed for seed growing either, but I did pick up a pack of Coleus seeds this week. I found them at a local shop for only a buck, so I couldn't resist.

Good luck with your seed project; keep us posted!

mr_subjunctive said...

I don't know how long it will take any Aloes to be ready for a 4-inch pot, and I don't know how long for any of the others, either, as far as it goes. But then, I don't even know how long it'll be before something germinates. The tags have disclaimers like:

Germination is very erratic over [a] several month period. (Ficus religiosa)
Germination can take several weeks or months. (Haworthia pumila, Cereus peruvianus)
Germination can take several weeks to a few months. (Carludovica palmata)
Germination slow and irregular over several week/month period. (Cordyline terminalis)

But that might be good, in theory. If I'm lucky, I may have picked a grouping where something or another will be coming up at any given moment. And if not, well, okay. All things considered, attempting plants from seeds is pretty cheap, and I won't be out a lot if none of these should work. But, with as many seeds as I've got, I'd have to be a real screw-up for nothing to germinate.

Anonymous said...

cereus is not trichocereus