twin scales v chipping

[RichardW]

I switched to vermiculite years ago, found perlite too dry & dusty and bags really needed to be watered before use which then doesn't make it ideal for chipping if it has been sat there open and damp for a while.

Vermiculite is just a cleaner product, easier to store and better for chipping in my opinion.

Did ask this in the other thread, what do others do with 1st season chips if you keep them in the pots?

Interested in compost mix, watering regime, conditions where they are stored, cold frame/plunged etc.

[Neil]

For those not in the know a good guide with photos is here

http://www.judyssnowdrops.co.uk/Propagation/Twin-Scaling/twin-scaling.htm

[Anthonyh]

Agreed.

I keep mine in pots for at least the first two seasons. Just a general-ish mix of approximately 30 % loam/JI No. 2,  30% peat based compost (please don't hate me) the rest is grit/medium vermiculite and I add some Vitax Q4. I don't really measure the quantities... just do it by eye. 

The first season they stay in a cool part of a heated greenhouse until the frosts have gone, then the go in a semi-shaded frame for  late-spring /summer. For the second season I bring mine back inside and under the staging in a cool part of the heated greenhouse for the winter... and they are now on the staging, behind some taller plants to provide some shade from the mid-day sun... or are screened... Before the greenhouse gets too warm during the day, they go back into a cool frame (not plunged).

I think I give my pots slightly more water than most people seem to say they do... and I prefer to give less water more frequently, but I think it's more common to give more less often. I do water them in the frames in the summer if it's dry like some summers have been... I also feed them during growth... but ad-hoc really.

The third year depends on the bulb... some go out in the garden, some in net pots... some in the ground. I keep some in pots to 'admire' in the greenhouse/keep safe/twin scale if big enough/protect in a  frame.

I hope that makes some sense... I think they'd be fine outside after their first season of growth. I only bring mine back in to speed up their growth a little and give them greater protection in the second and sometimes third year.
 

[RichardW]

Thanks Anthony 

[JanB]

I'm glad I started twinscaling before I read this part of the forum, I think I would have been put off as sounds complicated! That said, perhaps I was just naive? I was told to always use Vermiculite and bought the only grade I could find locally. I've had a sucess rate that I'm pleased with and haven't found it too difficult. Maybe I've just been lucky?
I was a paediatric burns and plastic surgery nurse in a previous life, so find working 'small' easy, I'm sure it helps. My weapon of choice is an unguarded razor blade, although these can 'snag' on larger bulbs and I might try with a scalpel for those this year.
Angelique was deffinately a good ego boost last year, every twinscale took and all bulbils grew on the topmost part not down in the valley near the basal plate, they all had roots too It was just so keen to grow.
I was also advised to always try the tops, have included pics of the 'hedgehogs' produced, had 17 bulbils on one of them! I just potted the whole thing up to let it sort itself out.
The pics below are from one bulb and I got about 28 scales out of it although I didn't count all the resulting bulbils.
I do find that a pair of 'surgical enhancers' work well :-D


hedgehog size comparison on vermiculite

twinscale bulbils on scale

bowl of sorted twinscales

Angelique twinscales with roots

[RichardW]

That's the first I've heard about using the tops, will definitely be trying that next time I'm chopping, many thanks for the tip 

[Maggi Young]

That's the first I've heard about using the tops, will definitely be trying that next time I'm chopping, many thanks for the tip 

Have a look at this thread from 2008 ..... http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2042.0

[JanB]

I looked at that thread last week, very interesting, Maggi. I'll have a look at my 'top' and see if it can be seperated to judge how it fares compared to the scale bulbils.

[Maggi Young]

I looked at that thread last week, very interesting, Maggi. I'll have a look at my 'top' and see if it can be seperated to judge how it fares compared to the scale bulbils.

That would be a good idea, Jan - as you see, there is not much in the way of info about how the "tops" perform against the chips.

[mark smyth]

My propogating list is now 49