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Post by steev on Jul 9, 2011 10:52:10 GMT -5
Have you stratified or scarified the seed?
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jul 9, 2011 16:15:39 GMT -5
No, I haven't. I've been getting the packets at the store and to be honest, it never occurred to me that store bought seeds might need to be stratified or scarified. Why would this particular pea need such extreme treatment though?
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Post by seedywen on Jul 10, 2011 14:54:40 GMT -5
Always liked the name of this forum...Other vegetables and flowers including exotics. Even exotic people. Now it would seem we have both a lady killer (steev) and a lupine killer, mnj...LOL! Well, I'm a bit of a lupine killer myself  But not. However, a hot-house flower or a shrinking violet! Many(most?) lupines have a hard covering that scarification helps germinate. Many times, I've nicked those seeds, although, withnot not much better results than when I don't. Used to gather wild lupine seeds by the handful, to try to improve the chances of getting them to grow. Good excuse to hang out in a lupine field:) Now broad beans are my main nitrogen-fixing cover crop. Squinting my eyes in just the right way and.... viol◙ rows of white-flowered lupines! |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jul 10, 2011 16:04:59 GMT -5
Lupine fixes nitrogen?!?! Tell me your joking!?!?!
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Post by seedywen on Jul 10, 2011 16:47:32 GMT -5
Me, joke you? Yes. But not in this case. A quick search for the nitrogen fixing ability of lupines, yielded the link below. Although there's many other links about Lupines. Think that I would obsess about growing Lupines, for no good, gardening reason...? LOL! (Did have some success for a few years, growing the shrub, 'Carolina Lupine', around my farm, for its nitrogen fixing abilities. Alas, Carolina left me She said even Wet Coast winters in my garden, were too cold. lupins-bk.blogspot.com/2006/07/nitrogen-fixation.html |
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Post by ottawagardener on Jul 10, 2011 18:40:26 GMT -5
Plant wild collected lupin seed (assuming you have some) in the fall and you should have luck assuming there isn't some seed eater hollowing them out. In fact, fall sowing should help the store bought ones too. I have never had trouble germinating them but then I've always let them self seed or fall sown.
Lucky you Seedywen: I adore bush lupins. I don't think they grow around here.
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Post by steev on Jul 10, 2011 21:08:38 GMT -5
I assure you I am no lady killer, probably may have made some wish they were dead, certainly may have regretted not strangling my ex, but never killed any (so far as I remember).
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Post by seedywen on Jul 10, 2011 22:01:06 GMT -5
Glad to hear, steev, that no women were harmed in the writing of these posts.
It's been a busy gardening day. Now it's time to plant two asters and call back in the morning.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jul 11, 2011 6:05:26 GMT -5
Wow Wendy, thanks for the link! I can't even begin to assimilate it at the moment, I'll have to put it aside till a bit later. Needless to say; however, it's more vital than ever to obtain this lovely plant for my garden!
Thanks for the idea of planting it out in the fall Telsing. That's precisely what I'll do assuming I can acquire seed. I don't have any at the moment. I might try getting some from GRIN. I want to ask them for couple varieties of thornless canes as well so it might be the right time.
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Post by castanea on Jul 11, 2011 19:26:55 GMT -5
I would KILL to have lupine growing in my garden! I've planted more seed for the damn things than I can count but has a single one grown? H E double TOOTHPICKS NO! I can get some of them to grow here but they usually die before flowering. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jul 12, 2011 5:40:22 GMT -5
Now that's interesting. They grow wild there! Is it just where you are located? They are all over on the coast and in the mountains. The nicest thing about Hayward was that lupine grew wild everywhere.
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Post by peppereater on Jul 12, 2011 8:09:49 GMT -5
I don't have any hostas just yet. We've been focused on food crops so far. There are those that would likely consider hostas a food crop. The first thing that came to mind when I read that was, "yeah, slugs!"  That's one of those ornamentals that I would have thought would be toxic, good to know it's edible. As for the mention of shade for columbines, I'm in central OK z7, and I've always seen them used as a shade garden plant. I suspect the intensely hot summers would wreak havoc on any planted here in full sun. They sure put on a show in the Colorado mountains! |
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