Extreme conditions

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by paxito, Aug 15, 2011.

  1. paxito

    paxito Apprentice Gardener

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    Hey!

    I have been dealing with this matter for over 2 years now and am still not satisfied with the results.

    I am looking for a ultra-low-light-tolerant plant from seed. Big seed and relatively fast initial growth would be a bonus.

    A rare combination, but maybe someone has an idea?

    Best I have found until now are solenostemon scutellarioides "Flamex" and celosia argentea "Kimono".
     
  2. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    am just guessing, but:

    Gunnera manicata ? .... or one of the smaller gunnera if you are restricted with space?
     
  3. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    Hi Paxito, the plants you are talking about are annuals, have you thought of putting perennial low growing or ground cover plants in.? There is soo much more choice..
     
  4. paxito

    paxito Apprentice Gardener

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    Could be perennial and ground cover too. What do you have in mind Marley Farley?

    And gunnera seems like a good option, I will check it out. Thanks Dim
     
  5. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :scratch: Well Gunneras like it boggy so not sure about them.. I would go for Ferns, Hellibores, Hardy Geraniums (a huge choice) an assortment of spring & summer flowering bulbs, Spurge (euphorbias) Periwinkle, Lily of the Valley.. For ground cover I like Veronica, Bergenia, Campanula,Creeping jenny, Lithodora, Ajuga.. :scratch: I hope that helps a bit, have a google on the plant names... :sunny:
     
  6. paxito

    paxito Apprentice Gardener

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    Thanks.

    Well. Ferns go from spores. That's a bit tricky as the spores are small and can be difficult to germinate.

    Bulbs are a great idea, but can you name one that doesn't need cold treatment or forcing. One that you may keep in dry substrate and that start growing when given water.

    As I read, growing bergenias from seeds takes a long time. Periwinkle, Lysimachia and veronica have an awfully small seed.

    Lithodoras grow in shade?

    Ajugas, Hellebores, geraniums, campanulas, euphorbias, are good ideas, but can you specify some especially tolerant species and varieties? Also Convallaria is a good idea.

    But thank you very much!
     
  7. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    Hmm I was forgetting about the seeds size there.. May I ask why you want to start from seed.?
     
  8. paxito

    paxito Apprentice Gardener

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    Hey. Sorry for the late reply.

    Yes Marley, you may ask.

    Well I work as a gardener in a start-up company called Click & Grow. Webpage is here. We develop an innovative hi-tech plant growing device.

    The pot features a punch of environment sensors and precision irrigation and fertilization mechanisms. The growing medium is a stabilized coir-peat mixture with very precise and controllable physio-chemical features.

    We put seeds into the pot and when started (we irrigate the dry substrate) the seeds will germinate and grow into a plant.

    The only thing is that we do not want to put a lamp on the device. That's because we do want to keep the machine extremely energy efficient.

    So here comes the part of finding suitable plants and seeds or bulbs. Something that could grow almost anywhere.

    But there are a lot of requirements. We want to ship to all over the world and it may happen that the product has to stay in a warehouse for a couple of months (tricky with the bulbs). The plants should be fast sprouting and tolerate low light conditions (because people want to have flowers in shady places not windowsills :)

    But yes, any help or ideas what to grow are very welcome.

    Thanks for your help.
     
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