Can you identify this please. 8 May 2020 at 7:31PM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 21 replies 911 views

in_my_wellies

I've been trying to grow these for over 5 years! No luck so far

Davesnave

in_my_wellies said:

I've been trying to grow these for over 5 years! No luck so far

The question is: How have you been trying? Putting some bought seed in a pot is likely to fail.

in_my_wellies

I've never bought a packet, although I did try a free packet from a cereal box.
I've sprinkled fresh seeds collected from my aunts garden straight onto my borders, all sorts of places, kept some moist, just left others
I've collected whole plants in a paper bag just as the seed is ripe and planted the whole plant in my border and let the seeds fall
I've planted fresh seeds in a large pot
I've planted saved seed in the spring
I've kept the seeds in the fridge and just in an envelope
The occasional plant has come up but once it's gone it's gone and they've never set seed
I have no problem with forget-me-knots and often pull up a whole plant and shake it where I want new plants. ?
Anything else I should try?

Davesnave

in_my_wellies said:

Anything else I should try?

Nope, I think you have done everything you can. I can't explain that. We brought some of ours from highly alkaline soil in Somerset to highly acid soil in Devon and there was no difference in the way they behaved. Who knows, one day some of yours may pop up.

Silvertabby

in_my_wellies said:

I've never bought a packet, although I did try a free packet from a cereal box.
I've sprinkled fresh seeds collected from my aunts garden straight onto my borders, all sorts of places, kept some moist, just left others
I've collected whole plants in a paper bag just as the seed is ripe and planted the whole plant in my border and let the seeds fall
I've planted fresh seeds in a large pot
I've planted saved seed in the spring
I've kept the seeds in the fridge and just in an envelope
The occasional plant has come up but once it's gone it's gone and they've never set seed
I have no problem with forget-me-knots and often pull up a whole plant and shake it where I want new plants. ?
Anything else I should try?

Ours grow like weeds, even in gravel!

Farway

in_my_wellies said:

I've never bought a packet, although I did try a free packet from a cereal box.
I've sprinkled fresh seeds collected from my aunts garden straight onto my borders, all sorts of places, kept some moist, just left others
I've collected whole plants in a paper bag just as the seed is ripe and planted the whole plant in my border and let the seeds fall
I've planted fresh seeds in a large pot
I've planted saved seed in the spring
I've kept the seeds in the fridge and just in an envelope
The occasional plant has come up but once it's gone it's gone and they've never set seed
I have no problem with forget-me-knots and often pull up a whole plant and shake it where I want new plants. ?
Anything else I should try?

I can relate entirely. I'm in same situation, just can't get them to grow no matter what I do.

Other items just self seed and get on with it, including foxgloves, forget me nots & nasturtiums, and in recent years even shoo fly has taken a liking, possibly a gift from next door's bird feeder. I've even had peanuts popping up

Davesnave

Like erodium pelargoniflorum, which is a brilliant plant, but if you buy seed, sow it in a pot and water it,  it will refuse to do anything. Dig one up from outdoors, pot it and it will just laugh at you and die. My tip: chuck seed on surface of dry area and forget about it.

Janxx

Davesnave said:

Yes, foliage is correct for a Welsh poppy. We have the orange, red and yellow ones, but pull up most yellows because they are dominant and would take over. One you have them, they normally stick around and they grow just about anywhere except dense shade.

Yes they are popping up all over the garden. Even have one growing out of the stone wall in the front garden and just spotted a lone orange of such beauty.  

LessImpecunious

Have been in our house for c. 18 years - for most of these there were one or two Welsh poppies in one area, but over the past 3 or 4 years they have started spreading quite noticeably - seem to prefer places that are in partial shade, rather than open and sunny. Mind you, everything seems to take a long time to start growing here.. (on a 700ft Welsh hill)... Maybe you just have to wait a while!

Janxx

Just want to show you the foxgloves you all kindly identified for me and thank you all. I know they are poisonous but so lovely to look at. The type of plants that I have seen in cottage gardens I have always dreamed of. The first year I moved here I found some lovely rambling roses in this area of my garden..