Bleeding Heart

I didn't know this flower before (like many other), and when I saw the bulbs at Home Depot, I had to get it, just beacuse.  When I looked at the pictures on the package of BLEEDING HEART bulbs, sure enough, the flowers really look like as if little hearts are bleeding.  According to the package description, this is good for shaded areas - perfect!  I needed something for the side of the house and  under my Japanese Maple tree in the back yard.

I bought Bleeding Heart and Lily of the Valley.  Both are recommended for shades. 

This is how a 'bulb' of Bleeding Heart looks like.  Doesn't this look like a piece of giant root?  I don't even know which side is up or down.  I just buried it, about 3 inches deep in the ground. 

26 days later, I noticed something new joined my yard - is this it, or is this weed ?

I checked all three places I planted the bulbs and found the same leaves at all three spots.  Yay, my Bleeding Hearts have successfully emerged from the ground. 

BULB INFORMATION:

Bulbs I bought: Bleeding Heart, Pink

Bulbs bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: Netherlands

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: Unknown - Mine took less than 26 days to sprout

*  Days to bloom: Unknown/Late Spring-Early Summer Blooms Mine took 79 days to bloom

*  Plant height: 36 inches

*  Grows best: Full Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: January through April - I planted in January

Chinese Lantern

I love Chinese Lantern as it reminds me of summer festivals in Japan.  I love the vivid orange colored, tomatillo-like fruits that resemble lanterns.  I remember, as a young child, I helped my parents decorate the house for Obon; these lanterns would guide our ancestors home.  I want plants that let me remember home and my childhood, so when I saw the seeds, I just had to get them.

This is a vigorous and very invasive plant, so it's highly recommended to plant it in a container.

This is how the seeds look like.  It is like chili pepper seeds.  I seeded them in some peat pallets as I always do.

The seeds germinated in about a week, but I forgot to take pictures when that happened (grrr!).  Here's a pictures of the seedlings, 27 days after seeding.

 46 days after seeding.  Large true leaves started to grow, and roots were growing out of the pallets, I transplanted the seedlings into plant-cells.

This is how they look at 72 days after seeding.  They grow fast, huh?  I will transplant them in larger pots in a few days.

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's CHINESE LANTERN

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 20-30 days - Mine took about 7 days to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 60-90 days

*  Plant height: 24 inches

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: February-May & August - September - I planted in October.

Primrose (Showy Evening)

I've actually tried Showy Evening Primrose earlier and successfully planted it in my yard but forgot to keep journal of it.  I just promised my bestfriend that I would give it to her to fill her nearly 3-acre yard, so I sowed the seeds again.

These are the Showy Evening Primrose seeds.  Very tiny, but each seed can grow to rather a tall plant.  I sowed them on 10-17-10.

Today, 10-24-10, is the 7th day, and a couple of the seeds germinated.  Look at them - seedlings are as tiny as the seeds.

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's PRIMROSE - Showy Evening (Oenothera Speciosa)

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 21-28 days - Mine took 7 days.

*  Days to bloom: 120-130 days

*  Plant height: 8-14 inches

*  Grows best: Sun/Partial Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: February -March - I planted in October

Geranium

My mom had Geraniums in our yard, and I didn't like the plant because the leaves smelled funny.  However, as I see them in my neighborhood, I must admit the flowers are pretty.

I bought a packet of seeds that was on sale from an online seed retailor called Thompson & Morgan.  

These are the Geranium seeds that I bought.  Don't they kind of look like little bugs?!  I will plant all 6 and see how many will germinate.

2 of the 6 seeds I planted on 10/17 already germinated on 10/22.  It took only 5 days!

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Thompson & Morgan's GERANIUM - Vogue appleblossom

Seeds bought from: Thompson & Morgan

Origination of the seeds: Holland

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 7-14 days (at 70-75F) - Mine took 5 days (10-22-10).

*  Days to bloom: N/A

*  Plant height: N/A

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: January - March - I planted in October (10-17-10) 

Platycodon

Platycodon is beloved flower in Japan, and it is one of the Seven Flowers of Autumn.  In fact, my father's family seal contains Platycodon (is called as KIKYO in Japanese), so I wanted to grow it in my garden.

These are Platycodon seeds.  I sowed three different kinds: HAKONE BLUE, MOTHER OF PEARL and FUJI BLUE. 

After about 1 week from sowing, Platycodon seedlings emerged.  (I forgot to label which is which - I will have to wait for the flowers to know!)

After waited another week, I transplanted the seedlings from seeding pallets to bigger pots.  I want to see the flowers already!  I hope they grow fast now...  (10.08.10, Day 14 from being sowed)

Gaura

I bought a 2-gallon pot of Gaura when Home Depot had them on sale.  I planted it on the slope of my backyard, but the plant dried and died fairly quickly.  I read that Gaura will come back in spring, so I am hoping it will.  In the meantime, I collected the seeds and sowed them (the Gaura seed should only be placed on top of moist soil, never to cover them with soil as they need light to sprout).

 The Gaura seeds I collected from my dying plant.

 After 14 days, from one of 5 seeds, one 'hatched'.  A tiny red seedling emerged!

Paperwhite

Another kind of bulbs I planted was Paperwhite (Narcissus).  I remember my mom planted them by the front door, and I loved how they smelled in early spring.  As a young girl, I used to squat to smell the flowers - suddenly, I get nostalgic - so, why not planting them?

I am sorry about the blurry picture, but this is a bulb of Paperwhite - it's much larger than a Freesia bulb.

The instruction says the bulbs need to be planted in 6-inch deep.  Wow, can they really manage to shoot out of the ground if they are planted so deep?  I wonder how lont it will take?

Noted on the craft stick is the date (10-4-10) I planted the bulbs, and I placed some wires so I wouldn't accidentally dig the site. 

Freesia!

I noticed at a local home center that they were selling bulbs.  I remember seeing some paper bags marked "Mom's bulbs.  Don't touch, don't eat" sitting in the fridge when I was young.  Hm...do I have to do that too?  I did some online research and found out that I may not have to, thanks to the warm climate San Diego offers.

OK.  No digging in the winter, so I shall try bulbs.  I picked FREESIA bulbs.

Freesia bulbs.  There are 10 bulbs in the package I purchased, so I planted them at several different parts in my front and back yards.

The instruction says the bulbs should be planted in 2-inch deep and need a 4-inch space between each other. I dug soil and planted the bulbs 2-inch deep. But isn't a 4-inch space too sporadic?  I decided to give about 2.5 inches of space.

One of the spots I planted the bulbs.  I used a craft stick and noted the date (10-4-10) I planted.  I am so looking forward to see rhe sprouts!

Forget Me Not

"Forget Me Not" has been one of the flowers that I have always liked and wanted to have if I had a yard.  Well?  Now I have my own yard!  I shall plant the seeds and hope they grow to bear those tiny pretty blue flowers.

These are the seeds - how tiny!  It's hard to believe one seed will grow to a plant that bears flowers as I've known.  Again, I used the peat pallets to sow these seeds; I used three pallets and sowed three seeds in each one.

About a week after sowing the seeds, seedlings emerged from the peat pallets.  It's hard to see in this picture, but they are fuzzy!  8 out of 9 seeds germinated - I am happy!

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's FORGET ME NOT - Blue Bird

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 10-14 days - Mine took about a week to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 70-150 days - Mine took about 7 months (210 days)!

*  Plant height: 12 inches

*  Grows best: Sun/Part Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: September - April - I planted in September

Blanket Flower

These are BLANKET FLOWER seedlings.  I can't remember exact date when I sowed the seeds, but it's been about a week.  I used JIFFY brand peat pallets, and they seem to work very well to help seeds germinate fast.

I sowed 18 seeds about a week ago, and 6 of them have germinated so far.

Two more seedlings in another peat pallet.  Can you see the true leaves?