Couple of Flower Musings

[so lucky]

We had a stem of French marigold in a little vase in the window. I noticed a few days ago it was sprouting roots like crazy! Never had marigolds do this before. Maybe it's the time of year?
I wonder what other flowers do this. Maybe anything that has junctions along the stem.

Also, I grew 4 o'clocks from seed that I saved a couple years ago. They are not setting seeds this year. Do they act like biennials in the garden? Also, this year I did notice the tubers under them. Do new plants grow from them next year, or do they just rot? Has anyone tried digging them up and storing like a dahlia?

You would think I would know these things, as long as I have been gardening. Always learning, I guess.

 

[Nyboy]

" Always Learning" so true so true

 

[digitS']

That's it! Always learning. So many different plant species and varieties ... so many different environments.

We gave a neighbor a bouquet which included some cutting marigolds. (There are some "nice ones," with pleasant fragrance .) She noticed the roots and planted them out. They grew and flowered.

I used to spend a lot of time in the cooler of a wholesale florist business. The only flower that consistently set roots and grew in those cold conditions was the annual chrysanthemum.

I'm sure almost everything in there could have been cloned with the proper techniques. However, I had to really watch that one . New flower buds would develop and bloom. Meanwhile, the old ones would fade and die - the stems would become unusable to the florists.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Steve, I had friend who grew football mums and pompom mums for wholesale. Oh, and the big spider mums. You would think I would have gleaned some knowledge from him. About mums, at least.

 

[ninnymary]

Yes, plants will grow from those tubers. My neighbor has them and they are a little invasive. With our mild winters, she leaves them in the ground.

Mary

 

[so lucky]

Mary, a couple springs ago, I remember digging up a nasty rotting mess where the 4 o'clocks are. It had been a hard winter, so I guess they froze. Some winters here don't freeze the ground much.

 

[digitS']

... gleaned some knowledge from him. About mums, at least.

Perennial mums seem quite a bit different from annual chrysanthemums. I'm not sure how closely related the two are.

The perennials would deteriorate fairly obviously in the coolers. They annuals would grow! New flowers would cover and hide old ones. "Self-cleaning," I think we would call it in the garden ... except the florists were not happy to see it ... But then again, the annuals were not big sellers.

Steve