Friday, January 13, 2012

Ready for the 2012 Seedlings!

We seemed to start a bit late this year getting the greenhouse unloaded of the surviving 2011 seedlings.  The first seedling bench was unloaded on the day before Christmas, and the remaining 3 benches were finished on New Years Eve Day, and New Years Day 2012.  There were about 250 seedlings saved and potted up for further evaluation outdoors.  After the seedling benches had been cleared of any remaining roots and leaves, they were amended with additional potting soil and fertilizer which was blended into the old soil.  This was then flattened out and a top dressing of Sunshine Mix #5 and #3 were added (both of these mixes have a lower fertilizer content ideal for germinating seeds).  Seed planting started on 1/2/12.  With help from the whole family and a friend named Tembherman, we got the seedling benches planted in record time!  The last seeds were planted on January 6th and the next day, they were all tucked in with a layer of perlite on top.  The perlite helps to keep the surface dry, which reduces seedling losses due to fungal diseases.

And so, another seedling growing year begins.....

Click here to see the process from start to finish.

I can't wait to see what sprouts!
at

6 comments:

  1. SallyJanuary 14, 2012 at 11:08 PM

    Me too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2012 at 8:47 AM

    Wow! That's an impressive set up. Found you by way of Paul Zimmerman 's tweet :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jim SproulJanuary 15, 2012 at 7:32 PM

    Thank you! I'm hoping for a few good striped Hulthemias. More than 4,000 of the seeds planted involved crosses between Hulthemias and stripes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SallyJanuary 19, 2012 at 9:02 AM

    I am particularly intrigued to see some of the striped results this year--loved some of the striped hulthemias you had photos of in earlier posts. Also--though I hadn't discovered your blog when you showed pix of the Hulthemia Line down the center of the petals some time back--I thought those were spectacular too. So exciting to see something truly new in roses being created!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dave BangJanuary 23, 2012 at 9:21 PM

    Cant wait to see your hulthemia stripes. My level of germinations this year are exceptional. I think this will be the year I get a Black Bacarra type bloom with stripes. Thank you for all your help and tips.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jim SproulJanuary 24, 2012 at 9:11 PM

    Thank you Sally and Dave! I think that the Hulthemias will give several different color effects for roses. We are just now beginning to get some germinations, so it won't be long to see what the results are!

    Hi Dave, congratulations on your improved germination rate. Best wishes for a great striped rose with excellent form!

    ReplyDelete