2023 Field Notes

 

Sown 3/15
Germination 3/24 (9 days)

Germination counts
3/24, 3pm: 1
3/25, 9am: 3
3/26, 8am: 6
3/27, 7am: 7
3/29, 7am: 11
3/29, 4pm: 14

3/15 -- After a lot of thought (too much, probably) I decided to use full potting mix for these - the rationale ultimately ended up being that they spend quite a few weeks in the tray (at least six) before potting up, so in the off chance that they need nutrients during that time, better to give them a mix with nutrients. Sowed 50 of them into a 20 row tray, pressed them down but not into the mix, and then put a layer of vermiculite on top, both to lightly cover them (as directed) and to help keep moisture in, as the number one rule of these seems to be to keep them moist. I pre-wet the mix as well which will hopefully help with this.

3/19 -- Moved off the heat mat, since the next tray (Snapdragon and Salvia) needed a higher temperature (75 degrees, instead of 70). Brought the greenhouse temp up to compensate, will be keeping an eye on the mix temp to make sure it stays between 65 and 70. No germination yet but not expecting to see any for several more days.

3/23 -- No seedlings spotted yet but that's expected with very slow Delphinium.

3/24 -- Spotted first seedling! Just one, but was pretty obvious to spot, since these seeds aren't tiny.

3/25 -- Spotted two more seedlings. I expect, given what I've read and heard, for these to proceed pretty slowly.

3/31 -- These continue to germinate VERY slowly, but I generally spot a couple more each day. Up to 17 total that have popped up, plus one I removed because it was fairly sickly. A few of these 17 aren't leafy yet, hoping they get there.

4/6 -- Stuck on 19 germinated overall, including a couple that aren't looking particularly viable. Definitely have some very strong looking seedlings though that should be fine to pot up.

4/9 -- Potted up the seven biggest of these, into four-inch pots. The roots, on the biggest ones especially, were substantial, which I think means it was the right choice to move them up. Plan here will be to move a few more up mid-week as soon as they get a little bigger.

4/11 -- Potted up ones look fine, maybe three more I'll be able to move in a couple of days.

4/14 -- Potted up ones still look fine. And still planning to pot up any remainder this weekend so I can get the tray retired and get the space back for more seeds.

4/24 -- Long time between updates! The original seven of these I've potted up are proceeding just fine, growing well. The eighth that I did later is alive and OK but not really growing much. I'll honestly be happy with the seven if I manage to get them all the way grown and transplanted.

5/28 -- These are still in their pots, not really growing at this point, so they really need to be planted out. I just need to find a suitable location.

6/13 -- In the end, not having a good spot to plant these out did them in - I ended up only putting two of these into permanent homes, in pots that I placed in between raised beds. Both plants look fine, I don't expect much from them though.

7/2 -- The two plants I potted are still alive! That's about all I can say about these. They haven't done much, not expecting anything at this point.

8/5 -- One month later, only one of these has made it through the summer. But it flowered, rather inexplicably. Nice white flowers on a plant that is doing well, but isn't exactly what I expected. Still, seeing some actual flowers is a pleasant surprise indeed.

8/25 -- The display on that one plant didn't end up being much, not a surprise there given when the flowers showed up. Still, glad to have seen some flowers at all.