Livingstone daisies

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Fat Controller, Feb 23, 2014.

  1. Fat Controller

    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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    I am giving these a shot this year to put them in the fairly dry soil under the thieves conifers that are at the back of the garden on the sunny side (they will get a helping hand from me and my hose occasionally, so they won't be totally abandoned :heehee:) - any tips for growing these from seed?

    Also, is there an equivalent that would perform on the shady side of the garden? I have some primula vialli growing slowly from seed, and a few heuchera coming from T&M, but I am at a bit of a loss as to what else to put on that side (especially now that the tree has gone)? The shade will be fairly bright shade if that makes sense?
     
  2. Spruce

    Spruce Glad to be back .....

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    Hi FC

    I have grown from seeds as well :snork:
    hate being transplanted so grow in modules is my advice , and plant out about 6 inches/15.24 cm apart , when I was a kid I was fascinated with how they felt and looked.

    Hosta for the "fairly bright shade if that makes sense?" would be my choice with a couple of ferns mixed in.
     
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    • Fat Controller

      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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      Ah, Mrs C sowed them yesterday into a standard tray, so cells are not an option now - lesson learned. I always liked them as a kid too - I liked how they 'went to sleep' when the sun wasn't about.
       
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      • Spruce

        Spruce Glad to be back .....

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        since you have already sown make sure they are big when you do transplant and use a tea spoon to get the soil around the roots out will help.

        Spruce
         
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        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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          Thanks Spruce :)
           
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            You could still prick them out into cells if you have the patience.:)
            I used to prick out lobelia individually when I was younger, cant see well enough nowdays.:frown:

            I have a bit of a different approach when it comes to plants like livingstone daisies, it's often thought they like dry conditions, they dont in my experience, they do love sunshine.

            They are succulent, but bear in mind most succulents, and even cacti only flower when they have water, so, they are drought tolerant but prefer to be damp around the roots to do well.

            Just as a ps, I think you are sowing them far too early, I'd go for beginning of April


            Well drained, but moist all summer.
             
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            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              I've grown them in the past and found they tend to harbour earwigs although they didn't do any damage.
               
            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              Isn't that Dahlias?:)
               
            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              No Pete, I don't grow Dahlias. :)
               
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              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                What on earth is it with these things? The first tray sown succumbed to some sort of hair like white mould just after the seeds germinated, and ended up getting turfed out. I then bought two packets of seeds from a different supplier (Suttons) and sowed two trays this time putting the seed in with some silver sand into an old pepper pot to get even seed distribution (was wondering if there was a bit of clumping going on causing over-crowding and leading to the mould); one of the trays has germinated and around the bottom of the seedlings is the beginning of mould again! I have removed the cover to allow air to circulate more, so hopefully this will help, but I am now utterly confused as this is only happening to the Livingstone Daisies.

                Are they prone to this?
                 
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                • Spruce

                  Spruce Glad to be back .....

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                  yes , try sowing into perlite instead, they will be fine until they need transplanting , pre soak the perlite and leave for a day then sow the seeds.
                   
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                  • Fat Controller

                    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                    I'll need to get some perlite then - I only have vermiculite to hand
                     
                  • Spruce

                    Spruce Glad to be back .....

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                    problem with vermiculite it holds to much water
                     
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                    • Spruce

                      Spruce Glad to be back .....

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                      forgot to say have you tried what Longk does, measure out the compost that you need and put into a plastic bag and heat up in the microwave to kill all fungus etc which will help sterilise the compost just make sure Mrs FC dont catch you :th scifD36:
                       
                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      Not yet - I couldn't as Mrs C was in when the sowing was done......... :snork:

                      Its interesting that its only one of the two trays though; I had one tray covered with a propagator lid and the other with a sheet of cling film as I had run out of propagator lids - its the cling film one that has the problem. The seeds in the one with the proper lid haven't germinated yet.
                       
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