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14-08-2005, 01:22 AM

In article ,
--- says...

"Warwick" wrote in message
news:MPG.1d673441c82937839896a4@dalai...
In article ,
--- says...

"Warwick" wrote in message
news:MPG.1d660325b4d1131d9896a3@dalai...
My SIL in Worcester considers them weeds. Things that self seed like
they do and will add to the cottage feel of the borders here are
welcome.

So why can't I get the flipping things to grow? I can't even germinate
the seeds. Do I need to give them a 'winter' and freeze them? I'm not
*overly* enamoured of them as plants, but our 2 year old should find
them interesting. She already knows which of the sunflowers she
planted.
(yes, some replanting happened earlier in the year after her bedtime).

Warwick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are many plants that will grow as weeds for some and
impossible
for others. I cannot grow L.o.t.Valley. Others find it pushing through
their tarmac.
For a very young child, a potted grapefruit pip will sprout and
flower
[one solitary bloom] in days. Spectacular and highly scented. Will not
flower again for many years. For an older child a peanut [not salted!!]
will make an interesting pot plant with yellow flowers that bury
themselves
and make peanuts under the ground. Both will flourish on a windowsill.

Thanks for the grapefruit suggestion. Peanuts were already on my list of
interesting things for her in the greenhouse next year. On the citrus
I'm aware that the 2 foot high lemon tree from seed that is 3 years old
is unlikely to bear fruit in the next half a dozen years if ever, but it
is a nice plant with interesting glossy leaves so I'm not killing it off
just yet.

Regards

Warwick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seedling citrus are a waste of time. I recently visited my old garden in a
sub-tropic zone and found that my lemon seedlings had eventually fruited
after fifteen years. However the fruits were grotesque and nothing like
lemon shaped. There are many genes involved in the fruit with the shape we
accept. Even commercial plantations produce many that are discarded.
A Meyer's lemon in your greenhouse will fruit with immediate effect and is
perfect for young children. They take little space and the fruits are quite
genuine.

The lemon isn't for her. It is for me. The outcome isn't important. The
lifetime isn't important. The fruit isn't important. In fact the
pointlessness may be important. One day there may be a shrivelled fruit.
It may take 20 years. I don't care. There's the vanishingly small chance
that it crossed with a lime in a good way and will fruit with abundance
producing the next thing to go into drinks and make me a million from
the clones. Even that doesn't matter. If I wanted to produce lemons in
our climate I'd buy a clone from a garden centre and look after it as it
needed.

I'm letting/helping it grow just for the pleasure of growing it.

Warwick