Re: blue chelone

At 08:48 PM 8/18/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Does any one have blue turtlehead?  There is some growing by the water
>at my brother's cottage (zone 5), and I would love to have some in my
>city garden, but I think it needs a very wet spot. 

Chelone does prefer a damp spot but you can also grow it in a bit of shade
in a regular garden and it will thrive. Especially if you work in lots of
organic matter to help hold the moisture. Hot sun is not its favourite
position - it will survive but not thrive.
If you are in the east, it is likely C.cuthberti and can grow to 1.8m (5-6 ft). 
If you are in the west, it is likely C. nemerosa and it will be very much
shorter 60cm or 2-3 ft. tall.  There are leaf differences: C.nemerosa is
broader but both are a lance shaped leaf and C. cuthberti has a sessile leaf
(no stem).  Both of these would be more violet than blue however.
I note that there is a C.glabra variety 'Montana' with a purplish lip and
throat but it is not likely to be wandering around in cottage country.

If the plant in question is truly blue - you may be looking at Lobelia
syphillitica which is in bloom right now in zone 4.  If the seeds are really
tiny - this is Lobelia. If larger (1cm) they could be chelone.



 I would like to grow
>it from seed, so would need advice on how to do that, and how to collect
>the seeds.  

Wait until the seed is brown on the stem and then simply strip it off the
plant. The easiest way to sow it is to cut the bottom off a pot, plunge the
pot in the garden, pour boiling water over the soil to sterilize soil and
after soil has cooled, sow the seeds directly into the garden soil inside
the pot. The pot marks the area of sowing - you can easily weed it and when
they do germinate next spring - you know what you have there.
Alternately you can store dry in an envelope in frig - put in baggie/frig
with damp vermiculite in Jan - sow in pot or starter flat April - tranplant
into garden in June.


Doug.
Doug Green
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