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[Pax]

     One more, for moonflower fans new & old: Datura metel "Golden Queen," in size HUGE.

[eriemermaid]

Those are beautiful! Now I wish I had them back in the yard! lol

[Skittelroo]

Oh my gosh, I'm sitting in U of M waiting room and can't contain my enthusiasm!  These are spectacular---I have never seen such beauties!

 Thanks so much for all the info you gave.  It's all so interesting. 

[Pax]

So the first two of three successful seedpods have ripened and been harvested.  I'm planting the seeds in the next day or two and will post pics if/when anything sprouts!

[Skittelroo]

So the first two of three successful seedpods have ripened and been harvested.  I'm planting the seeds in the next day or two and will post pics if/when anything sprouts!

So Pax, you start your plants now?   When I save seeds, I generally wait until Spring and then plant them right into the ground.   

I saw purple moonflower plants in a nearby downtown area......... must confess......................... I snatched a seedpod       What a life of crime my old-age has brought on 

[Pax]

So Pax, you start your plants now?   
...must confess......................... I snatched a seedpod.  What a life of crime my old-age has brought on 

     I figured, and this is only conjecture on my part, that if perennial seeds ripen in summer then summer would be just as good a time to plant as any other, and sowing "fresh" seed is always better than their aged counterparts.  Assuming they'll sprout within a week or two there'll be plenty of time for them to grow substantial enough roots to be able to endure the winter (if they're mulched properly) and sprout out again when their normal time arrives next spring.  But now that you mention it I might throw the third pod in the fridge for the time being, just in case.

     As for your new, criminal endeavours I have yet to meet a gardener who wouldn't gladly part with a seedpod, but only if they're asked first 

[Skittelroo]

     I figured, and this is only conjecture on my part, that if perennial seeds ripen in summer then summer would be just as good a time to plant as any other, and sowing "fresh" seed is always better than their aged counterparts.  Assuming they'll sprout within a week or two there'll be plenty of time for them to grow substantial enough roots to be able to endure the winter (if they're mulched properly) and sprout out again when their normal time arrives next spring.  But now that you mention it I might throw the third pod in the fridge for the time being, just in case.

     As for your new, criminal endeavours I have yet to meet a gardener who wouldn't gladly part with a seedpod, but only if they're asked first 

Thanks for the info!  I have never kept seeds in a fridge, always felt it best to keep them dry in an envelope or paper bag. 

Yeah, you are right about how freely gardeners share seedpods or starters.  Problem was, my desired pod was on a city sidewalk median (at a fair) and there was no one I could find to ask  .   
 
I'd like to find seeds for another castor-bean plant.  We had one once that could only have developed from a bird dropping it in our yard---or at least that is what the County Extension Service surmised.  It was huge and quite exotic-looking, but a dangerous plant to have where pets might chew on it. 

[Pax]

We had one once that could only have developed from a bird dropping it in our yard---or at least that is what the County Extension Service surmised.

My goodness that must've been BigBird flying over your yard then - castor beans are rather large!  I had some a few years ago myself, mostly red stems and foliage, and they got quite tall as well (7, maybe 8'!)

[Skittelroo]

My goodness that must've been BigBird flying over your yard then - castor beans are rather large!  I had some a few years ago myself, mostly red stems and foliage, and they got quite tall as well (7, maybe 8'!)

  , yep, definitely was a gigantic bird if it dropped that big seed here.   you have it right, that's definitely the plant I'm wanting. 

[The Fuzz]

Pax....I was going to PM you,,,,,you garden Orchids too right?

I have a Mystic Blue ready for moving to a larger pot.  Research says I need an orchid bark mixture.....do you know if that is true, and if so where do you purchase it at here locally?

[Pax]

you garden Orchids too right?

I went to an orchid show in Peoria, Illinois once, but that's the whole of my experience with them (some were pretty, some were pretty ugly, and some were downright fugly and I liked those the best  ) I've seen bags of oh-so-special orchid potting mixes in stores before, and for some reason I want to say at Lowe's, of all places.  What, exactly, makes it oh-so-special, however, totally evades me!!

[The Fuzz]

Thanks Pax.  Kind of a neat plant.....blooms last for months.

I found some potting soil at Meijer's especially for orchids, but it did not contain the "bark" that supposedly releases acid as it decomposes at just the right rate for this particular type of orchid.

[eriemermaid]

On my cruise I went on earlier this year (I love saying that), they had potted orchids on every table in both the dining room and the lido deck.  They were all different colors and just beautiful!

[The Fuzz]

This was the first one we've had here.  Now it is an experiment to keep it going.....kind of tricky to take care of.

[Pax]

     The best part about gardening (and especially starting plants from seeds) is it's the antithesis of instant gratification.  All too often we're inundated with advertisements for this or that new-fangled thingy and it triggers something subliminally to obtain it - NOW!  Plants (and plant people) are different though - yeah the pretty picture you see in the fall catalog might trigger that same impulse but the gratification for the act of buying it doesn't come until quite some time later, and keeps us grounded to the earth, from whence we came.

philosophical commentary *off*