Re: [SG] Hosta seedlings, heuchera, tiarella, Red's Rhodies

Ken,
As to your question about when to transplant (if it hasn't been answered).  I
remember Bob Solberg recommending transplanting at the four leaf stage.  I
used to transplant them at the two leaf, but since going with four leaf, I
lose fewer.

You go to a lot more work to get seeds going than I do.  I did use one of the
same type of aluminum pans that you used, and I agree, it's too big.  I use
the smaller aluminum loaf pans and find they do a great job.  They are usually
on sale for about $.99 around the holiday season and I stock up.

I use equal parts of a sterile mix and perlite (Redi-Earth) and fill the
aluminum pans about 1/3 with the mix after poking holes in the pans.  I just
put the seed in the pan, put a label in the pan, sprinkle some more mix on
top, just to cover the seeds (I don't like those aerial roots that the
seedlings send out when they are on top of the soil.  It makes them grow up in
the air and hard to transplant) and pop them into a gallon size Baggie.  I
keep them in a warm place, but not on a heating element.  They germinate
between 2-3 weeks, not as fast as yours.  After two weeks they go under
lights.

Ken and Ran,
We were also discussing earlier the practice of forcing dormancy on hosta
seedlings that had gotten too big.  I think Ran said he cut off the growth and
stored them in the fridge.  I took in some seedlings that I saved when I was
weeding this fall, and of course they were getting big (already in 3" pots in
Dec).  Yesterday I decided to experiment.  I cut off the tops, put them into
an igloo ice chest and sat them in the garage.  Will I be able to pull them
out in April and get them going?


On Heucheras and tiarellas:

I love heucheras and tiarellas.  I would like to get some more and thought
that maybe someone would be interested in a discussion of this.  It seems that
a lot of the heucheras are similar.  I'd love to know which ones those of you
out there feel are the best and are distinctive.  A couple I am crazy about
are H. 'Purple Sails', and
'Chocolate Ruffles'.  Do any of the really pink ones get large?  I have a
couple, and I like them, but for me they stay small.

I only have a couple tiarellas, but would like more.  A few I have gotten
don't seem very distinctive from the common tiarella, but this was years ago.
I haven't bought any recently and know there are some new hybrids out there
now.  What are all of your suggestions on this?

We also had a discussion of terrestrial orchids and I am drooling over the
catalog from Red's Rhodies and plan to order some pleione and maybe an
arisaema.  Does anyone in zone 5 grow these and take the plants in to winter
over?  I was talking about the arisaema with George Schmidt this summer and he
said it was really easy to grow them in a pot sunk into the ground and just
lift them up and store them in the garage in winter.  Has anyone had
experience doing this?

Kay Dye, Edelstein, IL Zone 5
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