Re: ..and what shall I do when winter comes?
Diane, I just looked up Cineraria and only found dusty miller type plants
that grow at best 1 foot tall -- which one did you have in mind? Do you
know a source for seeds, by any chance?
Silke
At 12:10 AM 7/22/2000 -0700, you wrote:
>I checked my notes under "Conspicuously in Bloom" for what I consider
>to be the three winter months (November, December, January)in the
>garden journal I set up. The inside plants flowering then are various
>fuchsias, abutilons and Cuphea 'David Verity'. The same plants bloom
>all summer, too.
>
>I have tried various annuals which are said to flower under glass but
>they must require more light, as they didn't start blooming till
>spring in my attached greenhouse. The problem is my neighbours on
>the south have very tall conifers which block almost all sun for the
>whole winter. The sun manages to light my greenhouse for one hour in
>the morning when it reaches the gap in the trees at my neighbour's
>driveway. Definitely not enough light for annuals to bloom. Out in
>the garden, further away from these trees, I do have annuals blooming
>all winter: calendula, snapdragon - probably some others, too. They
>just keep reseeding and I don't pay them much attention. You could
>try them if your room is very bright. Oh, stocks were successful.
>There are several different kinds so you have to be careful to get
>the ones that flower in winter. I just checked a couple of US seed
>catalogues, and they don't carry them, so you might have to check
>some UK ones.
>
>I did grow cinerarias one year, as I always admire them at Butchart
>Gardens. They just kept on getting bigger and I had to keep potting
>them on. They finally flowered in early March when about the size
>of a modest rhododendron.
>
>There is a book called something like: Plants that really flower
>indoors. I think our local library branch has a copy. I'll take a
>look tomorrow.
>
>Another book is A Year of Flowers by Peter Loewer, published by
>Rodale. It has information like the following:
>
> Eucharis - have two pots alternately in flower. They will start
>into bloom anytime. Withhold water for about a month after flowering
>but don't let the leaves wilt. Resume watering and it will rebloom.
>
>Cineraria - start seeds in May, August, and Sept. Repot till are in
>6" pots. Blooms better if rootbound. (Aha! Maybe I'll try again.)
>Bloom in 6 months. Prefer temps of 45 to 55 F.
>
>Oxalis - lots of different ones that require 4 different regimes
>(some needing year-round moisture and others needing to be dried
>sometimes) I like O. triangularis with dark purple triangular
>leaflets and pale pink flowers.
>
>Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
>zone 8, Sunset zone 5, cool mediterranean climate (mild rainy winter,
>mild droughty summer)
>
