Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Seedy Subjects! => Seed Exchange => Topic started by: WimB on November 14, 2012, 04:36:44 PM
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Received the seedlist this morning :D :D :D When will the online-ordering and list be ready?
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Hello Wim,
Good to hear the paper list is arriving with members.
The online seed request service will not be available until next week some time.
I will place announcements here and on the main website etc when that happens. 8)
Seedlist No. 66 for 2012-2013 is available to browse/download here :
http://files/.srgc.net/seedexchange/SRGCSeedlist66.pdf (http://files/.srgc.net/seedexchange/SRGCSeedlist66.pdf)
Please read useful details here before the online request system goes live: http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) :)
N.B. Distribution of Seed will not begin until the first weekend in January.
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Seedlist No. 66 for 2012-2013 is available to browse/download here :
http://files/.srgc.net/seedexchange/SRGCSeedlist66.pdf (http://files.srgc.net/seedexchange/SRGCSeedlist66.pdf)
Please read useful details here before the online request system goes live: http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) :)
N.B. There was an error in the url - it is now corrected! :-[ :)
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Yeeeeeeehaw!
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Folks : a typo on the url has now been fixed!! ;D
Agreee
Göte
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Interesting to see cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos) in the list - truly non-extinct now.
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I have got some seeds on my Cosmos atrosanguineus plants grown from seeds offered by a nice forumist and I wanted to share them now with the other forum members interested in ;)
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I have got some seeds on my Cosmos atrosanguineus plants grown from seeds offered by a nice forumist and I wanted now to share them now with the other forum members interested in ;)
Wonderful! Exactly what the Seed Exchange is all about - and aided by the Forum - makes me VERY happy!
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I notice item 635 Bulbinella eburnifolia. I think this name is incorrect. It should be B. eburniflora. I have discussed this with Pauline Perry whose work on this genus was published by the NBI in 1999. As a descriptive term eburnifolia is unlikely. The problem has occurred before. I think it must be one of those cases when someone has a blank moment and the error just gets copied.
Erle
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I notice item 635 Bulbinella eburnifolia. I think this name is incorrect. It should be B. eburniflora. I have discussed this with Pauline Perry whose work on this genus was published by the NBI in 1999. As a descriptive term eburnifolia is unlikely. The problem has occurred before. I think it must be one of those cases when someone has a blank moment and the error just gets copied.
Erle
I'm sure you are correct Erle :
From Kew plant lsit....
Bulbinella eburniflora P.L.Perry
This name is the accepted name of a species in the genus Bulbinella (family Xanthorrhoeaceae).
The record derives from WCSP which reports it as an accepted name (record 301425) with original publication details: S. African J. Bot. 53: 436 1987.
I will point this out to Stuart Pawley and to Ian Pryde, who may be able to make a note for the packing and distribution.
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I have got some seeds on my Cosmos atrosanguineus plants grown from seeds offered by a nice forumist and I wanted to share them now with the other forum members interested in ;)
It makes ME very happy also! :D
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I will point this out to Stuart Pawley and to Ian Pryde, who may be able to make a note for the packing and distribution.
Ian Pryde is on the case! 8)
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I am not sure if this is the right thread for this but some forumists have mentioned the rarety of chocolate cosmos.It is sold here in Tasmania in the nurseries every year.
I have bought it a couple of times,but I can't seem to keep it more than one season.I will try again this year and collect the seed so I can send some to next years seed exchange.
best wishes to all John. :)
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Cosmos atrosanguineus is available in almost every garden centre every year here too. I always thought it was a common plant and never thought of it being rare or extinct. Well in the wild it is, but it certainly lives on abundantly in our nurseries here too.
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Cosmos - for many years only a non-self fertile clone was available. So lots of plants but no seed. TV gardeners always used to say "this is extinct in the wild". There is still debate about the wild but fertile forms did exist in NZ - see the threads on this forum. In 2012, there was besides the old clone, a new variety "choca mocha" available in the shops. Presumably there will be many more in the future.
I tried to get seed from crossing the old clone and choca mocha. I did not succeed. It was so cold and wet I doubt I could have got seed off the common annual cosmos.
See:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6197.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6197.0)
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It makes ME very happy also! :D
And me because one or two commercial concerns when offeref material have done their best to tie it all up in not-supply-elsewhere type agreements or contracts and I don't think it's right that a commercial outfit should claim for itself alone, what is, after all, a wild plant.
On the same principle as a man on the West Coast here a few years ago wanted to call his small shop Harrods shoes, or whatever it was. His name IS Harrod. But the big one threatened to sue him if he used HIS OWN name! How is that right or fair?
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No sign of the seedlist here yet and I haven't looked Online because I already have so many still to sow and with the packing up, it would be utter madness to ask for more. I'll give them a miss this year.
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On the same principle as a man on the West Coast here a few years ago wanted to call his small shop Harrods shoes, or whatever it was. His name IS Harrod. But the big one threatened to sue him if he used HIS OWN name! How is that right or fair?
There is (or was) a "MacDonald's Restaurant" in Pitlochry. Quite a charming establishment. Perhaps the "a" helped.
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I notice item 635 Bulbinella eburnifolia. I think this name is incorrect. It should be B. eburniflora. I have discussed this with Pauline Perry whose work on this genus was published by the NBI in 1999. As a descriptive term eburnifolia is unlikely. The problem has occurred before. I think it must be one of those cases when someone has a blank moment and the error just gets copied.
Erle
My fault, Erle. It was definitely a blank moment!
I originally got it as B. cauda-felis but it was shown not to be that species.
Not many seed this year so if it's on your wants list get in early!
cheers
fermi
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This is the first year 'Seed Distribution' for me, and something is not quite clear to me. Maybe I missed something in the instructions. English is not my motherlanguage.
As a Donor I fill in 25 numbers and 21 extra numbers in case some of the first 25 are out of stock. At the same time I can order surplus seeds.
In case 10 of the extra numbers are used, because 10 of the 1st 25 were out of stock, there are still 11 numbers in the 'extra' that I would like to get, but will not get because I do not know in advance how many extra numbers will be used, so I can't order them as a surplus.
Or did I miss something?
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This is the first year 'Seed Distribution' for me, and something is not quite clear to me. Maybe I missed something in the instructions. English is not my motherlanguage.
As a Donor I fill in 25 numbers and 21 extra numbers in case some of the first 25 are out of stock. At the same time I can order surplus seeds.
In case 10 of the extra numbers are used, because 10 of the 1st 25 were out of stock, there are still 11 numbers in the 'extra' that I would like to get, but will not get because I do not know in advance how many extra numbers will be used, so I can't order them as a surplus.
Or did I miss something?
Jonna,
das hast Du richtig verstanden. Das System ist nicht perfect. Fürs Surplus Seed bestelle ich Blocks, die möglicheweise vorher gewünschte Sorten einschliessen oder liste die Ersatzsamen nochmal individuell. Am Schlimmsten bekomme ich 2 Mal den Ersatzsamen, oder gar keine (ausverkauft). Wie ich es sehe, nächstes Jahr kommt doch!
Grüße aus Köln,
Jamie
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Danke Jamie
Jonna
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The Seed Exchange No. 66 is NOW OPEN for this season: please read all instructions carefully in the Seed Exchange Section. You must register each year for the Seed exchange, - from the links followed in the seed exchange section, not the main SRGC webpage or the forum.
http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) is the link to enter the Seed exchange area
The Seed Exchange No. 66 is NOW OPEN for this season: please read all instructions carefully in the Seed Exchange Section. You must register each year for the Seed exchange, - from the links to be followed in the seed exchange section, not the main SRGC webpage or the forum.
http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) is the link to enter the Seed exchange area.
Please note that for initial registration you must enter the special password from the Journal and you will then be prompted to enter your membership number, surname, email address and then to chose a personal password for your access this year
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It works like a charm! Thanks to the webteam!!
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Hello
I want to go to the webpage of seed but i have a problematic :-\
I enter my name BOTANICA
"Sorry, the membership number or password you provided were not valid or your account may not yet have been activated."
What is the problem ?
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You only enter the numbers, NOT the letters - of your membership number.
This is stated in the instructions! ;)
If you still have problems, Botanica, please send me your full name and address and number privately.
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Passwords must contain only letters and numbers and be between 6 and 10 characters long Remember that passwords are case sensitive
Your surname entered must be your surname (family name) , this not anything to do with any forum registration or username!
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I was succesful to order seeds, but I noticed that my address was not right in the summary of my request.
The community I'm living is Büllingen, but in the summary it's Büllingen. I'm afraid if the parcel will never arrive with that community name. How can I change that?
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Jonna, I will check this for you - but it may simply be the way it is showing in the confirmation to you!
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Hi Maggie,
I can not find the place where I enter my membership number and the password. Please help. The only thing I can do is browse.
Thanks,
Marianne
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Hi Marianne, I misunderstood your question initially.
I think your activation email may have got caught up in your SPAM filter- I've activated your account now and you can log in here
http://www.seedexchange.org.uk/index.php?page=ordering&func=order (http://www.seedexchange.org.uk/index.php?page=ordering&func=order)
Best wishes,
Maggi
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Sadly, the payment system rejects both my credit cards, despite ample funds being available and all information precisely correct. :(
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Hi Maggie,
I have registered for the seed exchange,but so far no conformation email back to allow me to order my seeds online.
how long should it take for the conformation to come back.
best wishes JohnBartush.
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My online seed order 'done and dusted' with no problems at all - a heartfelt thanks to Maggie and the seed crew ;D
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Hi Maggie,
I have registered for the seed exchange,but so far no conformation email back to allow me to order my seeds online.
how long should it take for the conformation to come back.
best wishes JohnBartush.
Hi John, I have activated your seed account for you so you can get started now !
General note : The Activation link email goes out pretty much at the same time as you register - if you don't get in a a few minutes, it has likely become caught in your email SPAM filter - This happens sometimes because IT IS AN AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED EMAIL and SPAM Filters like to hold on to those! So, if it hasn't arrived, check your email system's Spam filter.
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What a pleasure to use 8)
Warm thanks to all involved.
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Sadly, the payment system rejects both my credit cards, despite ample funds being available and all information precisely correct. :(
Glad to hear now that Tom's bank was just being extra vigilant in case there was a fraud being attempted from the UK.
All is now well!
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Hi Maggie,
thanks for that,seed order now done.A great big thank you to everyone involved in making this seed exchange possible and for all the time hard work and effort that must go into it to make it all happen.Thanks again,John Bartush.
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Happy to help, John. :)
All over the UK there will be folks beavering away at the minute to get the seed packeted ready for the distribution in January and February. You can recognise them - they're the ones with a crick in their neck and crossed eyes from bending over seed for hours on end!!
Of course none of it could happen without the seed donors in the first place - it's a massive collaborative effort, to be sure by the time it is all done and dusted!
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"November 20, 2012, 11:56:15 PM: folks beavering away at the minute"
At five minutes to midnight, Maggi, this packeter was asleep in bed!
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You haven't put your forum clock back, David, my message was just before 11pm --- mind you, I expect sensible folk were already in bed, even then!! ;D
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Our group at Belford will be getting boxes of seed to packet tomorrow. We did packeting (of approx 1,000 per box) for nearly 40 of the boxes (don't know how many boxes there would be in total). if I remember rightly last year. Ian Pryde will be bringing down the boxes and we take them back to our December meeting and he gets them to the place where the orders are filled in Jan. You are quite right Maggi, a willing army of volunteers make this thing happen, from the all important gathering & cleaning, to sending in to our co-ordinator, to packeting, and finally distribution. Its a magnificent example of team spirit! I love being part of it all.
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Good evening Maggie,
I registered and I´ve got the activation link. Nevertheless I can't login.
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Susanne, there is no sign you have registered for the seed exchange.
As the notes explain here: http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) you can see it is necessary to make a special seed exchange registration and so on, from the links on that page.
added : This must be done each year.
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Please direct any questions about the online seed system to info@srgc.org.uk
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Finally I succeeded! :D :D
Thank you Maggi so much.
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Excellent! Happy to help.
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I am a total stranger to this year's seed lists, just too much else going on here and my mind on a dozen other things. To my shame I forgot to contribute until too late and I am not applying for seed either as I've still a lot to sow as well as all the other plant stuff going on.
So much seed, especially of small bulbs, is ripening or ready NOW, too late for the seed lists but such a long time until the next one. I'm always in a quandary what to do about it. Store it in the fridge for 8 or 9 months? or send it to the seed receivers and ask them to store it? or offer it fresh on the Forum? or what? Any suggestions would be welcome. It's all good seed and some of very desirable species, such as Epigaea asiatica which will be ready very soon. I also think I have several full pods on Hylomecon japonicum! When (if) they ripen I'll photograph the seed and post along with pics of the plant and the flowers.
In the meantime, it's weeding, weeding, weeding, oh, and potting.
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At the risk of being shot by the Seed Team ;) - I must say that I think the capacity of the Forum to give folk a chance to share fresh seed at any time of year is a real boon. And the generosity of forumists to packet and share seed is wonderful.
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As long as you let the seed organizers know that you have late-ripening
seed, it can be put in the lists, and then sent as soon as it is ready.
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As long as you let the seed organizers know that you have late-ripening
seed, it can be put in the lists, and then sent as soon as it is ready.
That is true to a certain extent, Diane, but Stuart Pawley requests that such "late " seed must itself reach him by the end of October.
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Timing is governed by the printing and mailing I think...
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At the risk of being shot by the Seed Team ;) - I must say that I think the capacity of the Forum to give folk a chance to share fresh seed at any time of year is a real boon. And the generosity of forumists to packet and share seed is wonderful.
Absolutely agree with you Maggi. And especially where ephemeral seed is concerned. Much of Lesley's bulbs seed would store OK until next year but I'd rather see things like Pulsatilla or Hepatica offered via the forum when newly harvested. Though, that said, I've had remarkable success with Pulsatilla seed from the exchanges after reading on here that some others have as well. I'd previously not even bothered ordering any, assuming it would be dead. Clearly the seed team do a good job of storing them well.
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I've had good germination from pulsatilla too Darren, but also with some hepatica seed I picked up as late as the Edinburgh Show one year. Just shows....
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It depends upon what is done with the exchange seeds afterwards.
The Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia sells leftover seeds at shows and
study weekends. Often newly-arrived seeds from the Southern Hemisphere
are available at these events, so this gives us a chance for fresh seeds that
were too late for the actual exchange.
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It depends upon what is done with the exchange seeds afterwards.
The Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia sells leftover seeds at shows and
study weekends. Often newly-arrived seeds from the Southern Hemisphere
are available at these events, so this gives us a chance for fresh seeds that
were too late for the actual exchange.
That's a good way of working it, Diane.
The leftover SRGC seed does get sent round the groups and shows after the seed ex. closes, but we have no mechanism in place to allow newly donated seed to be distributed in that way.
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That is true to a certain extent, Diane, but Stuart Pawley requests that such "late " seed must itself reach him by the end of October.
Yes, and it wasn't until into November I realized there were seed pods at all. The seed should be ready by distribution date in Jan so maybe next year I'll take the chance and notify it will be coming, but not until December I should think. I have heaps of small daff seed too, on some which never have before and I think it could be because with everything being lifted and potted, so many are growing in close proximity so there will likely be many obscure hybrids. ???
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The best germination I ever get from Hepatica is the fallen seed around the plants or in nursery pots, very little from seedlist seed but Pulsatilla seems to come no matter what. I pick the seeds off into margarine pots and they sit sometimes for months before I get them sown and they still germinate well. That's mostly P. vulgaris forms of course.
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I have heaps of small daff seed too, on some which never have before and I think it could be because with everything being lifted and potted, so many are growing in close proximity so there will likely be many obscure hybrids. ???
Even this maybe very interesting. 8)
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It could be Susan. I'm thinking that I'll sow all the doubtful pods in large pots and when they're big enough to pot singly, offer the majority as un-named seedlings at local salestables or stalls. Maybe there will be the occasional bulb that is worth going on with as well.
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Lesley, I was also late in sending my seeds, next year I won't wait to october for collect certain species.
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It may be a nuisance for the seed receivers but I think I should send small batches as they're ready. It would lighten the load here too, and remove many of the pots of seeds to be cleaned then packeted. This year it was a combo of mid year hospitalization closely followed by house selling, house hunting and large scale potting etc. Hopefully next year the worst of that will be over and things settled somewhat.
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Hi Maggi,
Thank you for trying to help me register for the see exchange. It did not work I do not understand why. When I try to enter I am asked to register again and then I am told that my e-mail address is already used by someone else. Please help. I am probably sitting there someplace.
Marianne
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Marianne, you are registered and activated already.... I have just tested the LOG IN and it works for "you". I'll send you an email!
Cheers,
Maggi
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I was looking forward to the seed exchange (not that I sent any so maybe exchange isn't quite the word). I got the list through the post, saw some things of interest but it was too early to register. Then registration opened but it seemed that I needed some credentials provided with the list to register and can I find that list again? Well, no; goodness knows where it has got to. Is there a way out of this impasse?
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I was looking forward to the seed exchange (not that I sent any so maybe exchange isn't quite the word). I got the list through the post, saw some things of interest but it was too early to register. Then registration opened but it seemed that I needed some credentials provided with the list to register and can I find that list again? Well, no; goodness knows where it has got to. Is there a way out of this impasse?
Of course there is, Alan ... I'm here!
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Thanks Maggi it worked, I have now put my order in and everything went well.
Marianne
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Today Lothian members moved the seed to a potting shed in the RBGE nursery and set up the trays which will allow order processing to start next weekend.
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I see Madame President is busy there, too - in picture two.
I do hope that potting shed is not as cold as it looks - I know it's good to keep the seed cool, but that doesn't look too comfy for the pickers and packers..... :-\
Mind you, I expect they'll tell me that they work so hard and so fast that they generate a cosy atmosphere - I am quite prepared to believe that!
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Hi,
Got my seed today, very happy with it, thanks to all those who do the hard work.
Special thanks to whoever damp packed the hepatica seed (#1989). Past experience is that is is difficult, i.e. impossible, from the seed ex.
My experience with fresh seed is that it produces roots on the warm to cold transition in autumn. So not surprising to find I have a little packet of roots - this time I really can't complain about germination.
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First batch of Seeds to Donors went out yesterday, David, so good to know thew post office is on the ball!
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My seed arrived nicely this morning. Well done the team!!!
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WOW I never knew that there would be that amount of seed collected.
Now that is a lot of hard work.
Hopefully we all appreciate the hard work that has been done by these folks.
Angie :)
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Fabulous little white envelope awaiting me when I got home at lunch time. Thanks to everyone involved.
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The postie even found his way as far south as the banana belt today. 21 first choices so well satisfied; thanks to all concerned.
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Hi all
A quick update from the seed distribution team....... only 55000 packets of seed to send this year
We picked and packed the first 400 or so orders last weekend (the first 100 person-hours of picking work), so it's good to see seed is arriving. We should have all main orders completed by 20th Jan, all being well.
So far very few queries; thanks to all for getting their orders correct!
A comment on the hepatica seed; we hope it will be okay; but some was beginning to germinate already. It was in great demand so we picked a maximum of three packets per order, to spread out the joy. It has now all gone, though, so our apologies to all who haven't/won't receive any (it will only be donors who have been lucky). We'd rather have a few dozen packets of interesting goodies to offer, and hope those who have been lucky will germoinate and grow them and send more seed into the exchange in future years.
In general, it hasn't been a brilliant year for seed; could be something to do with the second wettest UK summer on record, but we hope we can send you all a reasonable selection of the seed you requested.
Happy sowing to you all, and back to the seed picking grindstone for the weekend
Ian and Carole B and the seed picking team
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My seed arrived today. Pots filled with compost, seeds listed and labels written ready to sow them tomorrow.
Many thanks to the seed team :-*
Roma
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some snaps of the volunteers at work earlier today. Using the lists recipients have sent or emailed in the packets are pulled from the trays. As seed runs out trays are topped up from the green back up trays. The tables are for envelopes to be filled and sealed according to the requirements of the recipent's country.
The boxes onthe floor fill up with packets which will go to post on Sunday evening.
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Such a lot of work. Bravo all!!!
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A huge task indeed, and if anyone within striking distance of Edinburgh could spare some time at the weekends to help out , here's what you need to know:
Seed Picking will take place on every Saturday and Sunday 0930 to 1630 through January and in February, if necessary.
It has already been mentioned that it was arranged at the last moment for Seed picking to be done at the RBGE nursery.
The nursery is along the unmade road (Inverleith Avenue South) which is the first on the right when you go up Inverleith Row and turn left onto Inverleith Place. Through the big gates at the end there is a car park. The classroom is the north end of the big potting shed (there will b a sign on the SRGC working days).
Give Carole or Ian Bainbridge a call first 0131 445 3268 to let them know you're coming.
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Very glad to find my seeds in the letter box this morning :D And all, first choices ! Thanks for all involved ;)
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I hope i received my letter in my Letter Box this Week ;D ;)
A big work to do, i am sorry that i can't do it with you ..Your are not near Paris :'(
Happy new year for everybody here !
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Hello,
My seed allocation arrived today!
Wow! such a good number of seeds in each packet...
This is -as always- so exciting
A real big THANK YOU to all the members ( volunteers ) of the seed team!
JP
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My seeds arrived today, thank you so much for the team and people who had donated the seeds. :)
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My thanks also and especially to whomever sent in the hepatica seed ready germinated and packed in packets of damp vermiculite! Now tucked up in pots.
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There were two groups of hepatica seeds: nobilis of various colours, and
nobilis japonica with Japanese names.
I requested some of the Japanese ones.
Which are the ones that are arriving germinated?
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Diane as mentioned above, mine that were germinating were #1989
nobilis japonica ‘Hanakikou’
opening the packet carefully is a good move, bits tend to stick to the packet. Got mine happily planted 11 days back.
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I too wanted to thank the SRGC for the amount of seeds in each packet. I was not expecting to receive most of the request but was extremely happy with my allocation. Think i will wait one week before sowing, shed and compost still frozen solid.
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Germinated seeds already sounds wonderful but if they were coming to New Zealand and were inspected, they would be classed as plants rather than seeds and either destroyed - at no cost to receiver or send back to source - at huge cost to receiver. In other words, we wouldn't be allowed to have them even if they were otherwise a permitted species. The pitfalls are many and various. >:( So damp vermiculite is not the way to go for seeds coming here.
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I think, for that very reason, Lesley, that the Seedy Folks were not sending such seed to NZ......
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Maybe that's why they didn't send any to me in Canada. Very disappointing.
I've had germinated seeds, like Nerine, arrive from various countries and it
has never been a problem.
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Or perhaps they just ran out of them, Diane.......
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Forgot to put a post here about this.....
The SRGC seed exchange is now closed.
The Edinburgh Rock Garden Group began seed distribution on the first Saturday in January; the aim is to have all main allocation requests completed by January 21st.
Surplus seed distribution will not begin until all main orders are completed; not before Jan. 21st, so members will receive their main and surplus orders a few weeks apart. It is hoped to complete surplus distribution by the 11th February.
Queries about seed orders should be addressed to alan.hayes31@blueyonder.co.uk, but please do not enquire about the whereabouts of orders until after 11th February.
Donor’s orders will be completed first, on the basis of their donation record: donating more seed and for more years moves you up the list. Non-donors and surplus seed orders will be dealt with in order of their arrival date with Alan Hayes.
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Our seed allocations arrived safely yesterday! :) :) :)
We only managed one packet of those Hepatica seed between us (Will and me) but I'd better check them tonight and pot them up if they are germinating!!
I don't usually sow seeds till the weather cools off in March - we've due for more hot weather in the next week but I'll just have to keep the hepatica seed safe.
Cheers and thanks again Maggi for all your help :-*
fermi
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Maybe that's why they didn't send any to me in Canada. Very disappointing.
I've had germinated seeds, like Nerine, arrive from various countries and it
has never been a problem.
Diane - as Maggi said the hepaticas may well have all gone before your list was picked. I wasn't at the picking on the first day but I understand that the hepaticas went the first morning. On the basis of the rate that lists are picked, that would have meant that they would have been distributed amongst the first 50 or so lists.
Now I don't know what 'formula' is currently being used to sort the donor requests, but when I was running the picking some years ago the sort was some algorithm I dreamed up based on the amount of seed donated and the number of years that the donor had been donating. The rationale was that the 'best' seed should go to those that were most likely to use it successfully, and as a reward to them for being diligent donors. As I sad I don't know what criteria is being use now and it could well be that a different philosophy is being applied to decide what sequence the orders are picked in.
Rob
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Rob,
Your protocol sounds very fair.
Diane
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I received seeds on Friday, all equally exiting! Thank you all, donors and weekend workers! This year I will try harder to get seeds ready for exchange :) Have started to sow, it's such a cosy activity in freezing winter.
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Hi folks
Distribution update...
All the main seed requests have now been picked, thanks to lots of help from local members. Almost all will be in the post/mail and it's good to see lots of posts from happy folk whose seeds have arrived. Just a few US and antipodean orders are waiting for permits or lists to be generated.
We've made a good start on picking surplus requests and the first of these will be mailed/posted at the end of the week assuming we're not totally snowed in; should finish the picking this coming weekend (fingers crossed).
We saw the disucssion on donors allocations: we do use a calculation based on numbers of seeds donated this year, average number donated over all years, and the number of years of donation to work out who gets first pick. We have some donors who give us over 100 packets of seed each year, and who have donated well for 45 years, and they get priority.
We also try to spread out rare items, as we did with the hepaticas this year, but even then, they were gone to the first 200 or so donors (we have over 450). We try to be careful with moist-packed and living material too, as we recognise the sensitivity of import issues in some countries.
All told though, we hope you enjoy your seeds as the seed distribution team moves towards completing our tenth seed exchange; we must have sent you all over half a million packets of seeds by now!!! What have you done with them all?!?*
Ian and Carole B
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Mine are all sown Ian/Carole.... thanks very much for your efforts!
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I've been worrying about the Seed Pickers getting cold as they work in that potting shed - I should have known better - they are obviously all working so hard and so fast that the heat generated can probably boil their kettle for tea!
Fantastic result to have the main allocations done so fast :o 8)
Thought of all those hundreds of thousands of packets of seed quite boggles the mind - I wonder what weight of seed and packaging that would add up to? Maybe better not to think of such large numbers! ;)
Hope the weather doesn't slow the Seed Team down- well done to them all.
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we do use a calculation based on numbers of seeds donated this year, average number donated over all years, and the number of years of donation to work out who gets first pick. We have some donors who give us over 100 packets of seed each year, and who have donated well for 45 years, and they get priority.
That is staggering! Even with my small number of donations to several exchanges, I have much of the kitchen covered with collected seeds every summer.
How does anyone manage over 100 donations?
I think that would be an interesting article.
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I don't get on here anywhere near as much as I'd like to - maybe one day. I do want to say thank you for the seeds - I got all my first choices but one altho I'd be happy with any of my second choices as all the seeds are great. I think I did not too bad last year with germinating the seeds (my first year) and I'm hoping to do better this year. I almost feel like I know what I'm doing - my husband seems suitably impressed anyway :-) Thank you all - donors and sorters - because I know what a huge job it is and I really appreciate it. I will try harder myself next year re sending seed in - I tried collecting but since I don't have a clue what I'm doing I was too nervous to send it - I'd hate someone to get seed from me that wasn't picked correctly. I am going to germinate it myself and if it works I'll send in next year.
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Sue, thanks for taking the time to send your kind words about the Seed Exchange.
I'm going to move your post to the Seed EX. 66 thread ......... :)
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There was a package in my mailbox yesterday! I would just like to thank everyone for their hard work. It is -19C and snowy right now so this package of seed is exactly what I needed.
Robert
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Hello, ;)
I see that many others have received her seed .
I hope you did not forget me... because I still have not seen anything in my mailboxes. ???
Perhaps this week ?:P ;D
Have a good day and good sowing for everybody ...
French literary quotation « Anne, ma sœur Anne, ne vois-tu rien venir ? » La Barbe bleue de Charles Perrault,
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After a month in Spain, I arrived at home today and found the envelope with seeds in my letterbox. I got all the seeds I wanted!
I want to thank all volunteers and donors who made this Seed Exchange possible.
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Hello,
So , the letter arrived this morning ! ;D ;D
I received 16/25 packets.. but it's really cool (Great species ;D)...I hope i could send you more seed for the next year for seed exchange.
I hope a could find Vincetoxicum nigrum and Veratrum nigrum for the next year ;)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b8NrtIEgoJE/UIV_wOY1TrI/AAAAAAAABL4/Cpp3XBSJ3us/s240/IMGP1566b.jpg)
Have a good day.
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The SRGC seed order arrived today after a slight delay in US Customs in New York. (I'll never understand plant inspections, since the sticker clearly states "Seattle, Washington" as the inspection station!) But no worries, everything was intact and ready to be sown. Thank you to all of the volunteers whose labor of love winged the seeds my way!
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Received my seed order today,only one packet nabbed by Quarantine Australia.
Thanks to all those involved for all your time and hard work. :) :) :)
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A white padded envelope containing 16 seed packets safely arrived today, in Michigan, USA, making my day an especially happy one.
My sincere thanks to everyone involved with this great project.
Now I wish everyone a happy sowing and successful germination!!
Koko
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Received my SRGC seed order today. Received most of my first choices too. Thank you to all involved. Also the BIS seed order.
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Hi, received my seeds today. Thank you very much all who where involved. I am looking forward to planting them, if we ever get any rain! ??? So happy with the items received too. :)
Marj Smith in bone dry, bushfire prone Tasmania
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It is good to know that the seed is finding its way around the world - the Seedy Folks will be very pleased to read your comments.
Marj, we've been horrified to see the devastation from the bush fires- hope that all will now be well.
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After receiving both my main order and surplus order, I've so pleased with the species I received! As a newbie, I've tried different seed exchanges this year, and the the SRGC seed exchange is definitely a keeper 8)
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After receiving both my main order and surplus order, I've so pleased with the species I received! As a newbie, I've tried different seed exchanges this year, and the the SRGC seed exchange is definitely a keeper 8)
Welcome Excelsior and thank you for your kind words!
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The surplus arrived today at my home.
Quantities of seed in the packages in the first batch were higher than I was used too. I was very pleased with that and I think it is a good choice of the seed team to add more seeds (or was I just lucky?). Anyway first choice should really be first choice.
But then I would expect the surplus to be in shorter supply, but even then I got almost all that I wished for. I'm really happy with it. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.
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The seed from the main order arrived yesterday in Vermont. Big thanks to everyone involved.
Marianne
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I have received my seed order yesterday.
I am so happy and want to thanks to all 'seedy folks' for great work.
It seemed absolutely too difficult to complate one by one. Thanks again.
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My surplus seeds arrived last week. Some seeds were not available any more but the replacement seeds were mostly very good choices, too. :)
I got Trillium and Erythronium seeds, I'm so happy with them :). Just a week ago I checked the plastic bags containing the Trillium seeds from last years exchange, and most of the seeds from 2012 had grown long roots, so I potted them and put in the cellar for more cold tratment. T.chloropetalum was a species which had the longest roots, and it had also started to grow them first. I wonder if it is easier to germinate or maybe it is just a coincident.
I have three bigger plants of Trilliums in the garden, but none of them have yet flowered, so this is a great way to get more plants with time. Thank you for the donors. :)
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Just for those who have forgotten about this year seed exchange or are enjoying germinating seed. The main order arrived in Moscow on March, 23 just at the time I began to think it would never come. So - double the pleasure! Many thanks to the seed exchange team.
Still another positive point of this story. I now know that the post of Russia still exists. The packet left Britain on January, 7, so it took it 2 months and a half to reach the local post office. It might be a new environmentally friendly service - to deliver mail on foot.
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Good grief! Lily and I could have walked to Moscow faster than that, surely?!!
Thank goodness your seed has arrived at last, Oleg it is a valuable lesson to learn that the postal system can have such difficulties and that despite the efforts of the Seed Team to send requests out at great speed, once the package is in the system of whatever country, it is out of their control - one might say "in the lap of the gods" - but one would hope that any deity would perform a little quicker!! ::)
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I just had a journal returned with deceased written on it. Posted mid January 2012 right here in the UK! It doesn't even have to go abroad sometimes to get slow ....
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I don't know what the speed of the delivery depends on. But one thing is absolutely clear: but for the efforts of the seed exchange team I could receive the seed mid summer. So thanks to the team again
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Interesting to see cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos) in the list - truly non-extinct now.
Some of that seed came from me via the Vancouver Island Rock & Alpine Garden Society. I received a few seeds directly from a generous member of SRGC in 2010. They germinated in 2011 (after a spring sowing) and flowered in 2012. I spent a lot of time with a small brush transferring pollen between the seedlings, the usual commercial form, and the cultivar "Choco Mocha", and got a surprising amount of seed as a result. Half went to the SRGC, as the source of the original seed, the rest to the Alpine Garden Club of BC in view of their particular emphasis on New World plants.
I held my original gift of seeds back from sowing until May 2011, in the belief that members of the Asteraceae generally germinate more freely if sown in gentle warmth. If sown in the winter, they often just rot.
Last year (2012), when the young seedlings began to grow actively after their first winter dormancy, I potted them on several times. They're now in a fairly large nursery pot, volume in the 14–15 liter range, ~23cm I.D. at the top, ~29cm tall.
To overwinter Cosmos atrosanguineus successfully (thereby frustrating nurserymen who depend on winter losses!), when the foliage starts to wither in the fall, withhold all water and store the pot, soil, and plants undisturbed in a cold but frost free place. In the spring, give very little water until you see active growth starting, then water quite cautiously at first. And if you have seedlings, pollinate, pollinate, pollinate. Cross-pollinate, that is. Close inspection of my plants last year suggested that the usual commercial clone is sterile because it forms little or no pollen, but now we are free from that limitation.
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All of that's good news Rodger. I was able to send some to Carlos Magdelena at Kew, he who works with almost extinct species. It wasn't my seed though as lifting the plants in flower stopped them making any but a good friend gave me seed for him. Another friend and good gardener whom I don't doubt at all, says she has it seeding into her gravel driveway in a rather rampant way. I haven't seen that yet but will visit in the spring because these, or some of them should be rescued and added to the ever growing gene pool.
Unfortunately my contribution to SRGC and AGS lists will be meagre this year as I'm trying to resurrect the flagging OAGG seedlist. It's an interesting thing that almost every group, whatever it's activities involve, at some stage goes through a period where trauma, over-inflated egos and even straight out nastiness, usually among a very small group of members, have the potential to damage badly or even destroy a group which otherwise has thrived. I've seen it several times - Not the cause - I've watch from a distance or heard about it with groups such as fitness clubs, craft groups, all sorts as well as garden groups. Perhaps it's a natural part of the evolution of groups where all tasks are on a voluntary basis. I don't know really, but it's sad.
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Leslie, there are people who MUST be in charge of something. Sometimes they are very smart and productive, sometimes not. And there are people who MUST follow. It seems to be hard-wired. I don't think people have much control over it. So you end up with ever-increasing factions, schisms, whatever. Think religion, cults, politics, the corporate world, and nationalism.
A long time ago, I worked out my theory of social subdivision: Society divides itself into a sufficient number of groups so that everybody who wants to be a leader can be one. This is why you have positions like the chairman of the sanitation subcommitee at the local church.
In an ideal world, you would figure out what the responsibilities of a leader should be, and then choose somebody that has aptitude in those areas. It can make the difference between success and failure of the organization. Looked at another way, if somebody must be a leader, you try to find out what their aptitudes are, and try to find (or create) a role for them where they can be successful. If they have no aptitudes, that is a delicate situation. The group needs to be smart enough to keep one person's ego from doing a lot of damage.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...
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The Corydalis cheilanthifolia seeds either from the SRGC or AGS exchange ( don't remember) turns out to be some sort of small flowered Eschscholzia with pale yellow flowers >:(
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The Corydalis cheilanthifolia seeds either from the SRGC or AGS exchange ( don't remember) turns out to be some sort of small flowered Eschscholzia with pale yellow flowers >:(
You would wonder how that mistake could be made, wouldn't you? :-\
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But I got a interesting annual, that I will allow to naturalize if it thrives... Will post a pic for ID soon :)
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Yes, that's good. Some Eschscholzia can be perennial , can't they? Maybe only in the warmer climate of their home...... :-\
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Gene, we must meet some time and continue this very interesting discussion. I agree with all you said above and would like to add to it, but it could take over the whole Forum, if Maggi allowed. ;D
Re the corydalis seed that wasn't, there's a very pretty and attractive, small, pale yellow annual Eschscholtzia called E. caespitosa. It's definitely worth having in the garden/rock garden and I used to have it seed about gently. It was always welcome, coming then going then coming again. Now it's gone for good and I haven't seen it on the seed lists. Perhaps I should apply for the corydalis? :)
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I'm currently sorting seed applications for our Otago Alpine Garden Grouo seedlist and hope to have the job finished by Thursday and posted out that day. One seed donation from Dunedin Botanic Garden was Haemanthus coccineus, just 6 seeds but that was OK as only one person applied for it. When I opened the DBG package to repacket in our own, I found the seeds had already germinated. Now I want to check who applied for them because if it was a local member, I think I'll pot them up and present the pot at our meeting, rather than risk them drying out more in a packet. Many South African, large-seeded liliaceae do this. Nerines, for instance, have their seed harvested and if put in a paper bag rather than in plastic where they may go mouldy, germinate in the air and form small bulbs before they are sown. This has the advantage from our point of view of taking a year off the time to flowering size, over seeds that are sown immediately and remain as seeds until they germinate eventually.
Dunedin Botanic Garden celebrates its 150th anniversary this year with a calendar of many special events and displays over the twelve months. It is also undertaking an enormous restructure/refurbishment in its upper reaches and will be greatly enhanced and improved by the time that's finished.
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Re the corydalis seed that wasn't, there's a very pretty and attractive, small, pale yellow annual Eschscholtzia called E. caespitosa. It's definitely worth having in the garden/rock garden and I used to have it seed about gently. It was always welcome, coming then going then coming again. Now it's gone for good and I haven't seen it on the seed lists. Perhaps I should apply for the corydalis? :)
The pale form look much alike! Maybe it will appear on the next SRGC seed list? :)
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Not quite sure if it was the 2013 seed ex, possibly 2012, but this plant germinated and had a label of erysimum something or other. When it grew it was quite evident that it was some other genus. It has only been recently when I spotted it in John Richards garden that I have finally identified it as Arabis aubretioides...
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A nice surprise