RE: Sweet William

Hi everyone,

I live in Milwaukie, Oregon, a suburb of Portland.  I used to have a
strictly black thumb, but in the past 3-4 years have found my 'inner
gardener' and now have quite a garden underway.  Our goal is a largely
perennial garden, and well on the way to achieving that.  We also have
two large vegetable gardens, and a native [Oregon-Washington] plant
shade garden.

I was really happy to find this list, as I have many. many questions.

I just came into the middle of the "Sweet WIlliam" thread, and wanted to
make a comment.  

I planted 2-3 seed varieties of "Williams" in the spring of 1995.
They're in a small bed, atop a stone wall, and get sun for most of the
day.  They actually bloomed that year-- I simply let them go, wanting
them to grow and get strong without my interference (is this a valid
theory??). In later summer, 1996, I cut them back, and was rewarded in
late winter/early spring 1997 with vigorous new growth and spread.  Last
summer/fall, I neglected them somewhat-- didn't cut them back much, if
at all, and this year they're still strong as ever (although a couple of
the plants look a little shabby.)

Now that my "Williams" are established and vigorous, I am anxious in
tending them more carefully, and in propagating some plants to spread
around the yard.  They just finished a major bloom, and I'd like to know
what to do next.  Will cutting off the bloomed-out heads encourage more
growth, or a second bloom?  If I let them go to seed, will the plant
stop blooming for the rest of the year?  I guess what I'd like, if I
could have an ideal situation, would be to know how to keep them
blooming as long as I could, while still ensuring I'll get some seed for
new plants.

By the way, the "Williams" are planted with star-flowered False
Solomon's Seal, a northwest native.  

Thanks,
Sue P.




> If you leave some of the flower heads to go to seed, and then plant
> the
> seed right away you'll have more plants than you know what to do with
> next
> year.  They'll seed themselves too, but I like to grow a short thick
> row
> of them and then  move them where I want them in the fall.  Never can
> tell
> what color they'll be.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > I was glad to hear from Marie and Bob that their Sweet Williams came
> > back year after year.  
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