hi there, Last year I collected quite a lot of seeds from
antirrhinums, violas, pansies, busy lizy and foxgloves. If I plant
them in seed trays and grow them, will they be as good as the parent
flower? Also I planted a lot of bulbs ie irises, tulips and daffodils
in various pots, can you let them die back and remove them from the
pots and keep for next year or is it better just to through them away
and buy new ones?

Margaret

On 4 Apr 2003 13:02:48 -0800, (margaret) wrote:

hi there, Last year I collected quite a lot of seeds from
antirrhinums, violas, pansies, busy lizy and foxgloves. If I plant
them in seed trays and grow them, will they be as good as the parent
flower?

Who knows? Seeds from hybrid plants may turn out different from
parents. Some haven't been extensively hybridized, and will pretty
much produce plants much like parent(s). I've had foxgloves come up
years later from what I presume must be slow-germinating seed, and
they looked pretty much the same.

Also I planted a lot of bulbs ie irises, tulips and daffodils
in various pots, can you let them die back and remove them from the
pots and keep for next year or is it better just to through them away
and buy new ones?

Iris keep growing and multiply. When they get really thick, dig 'em
up, divide, and shallowly plant the rhizomes. Daffodils also multiply
in place. Every few years, dig *them* up, separate new bulbs, and
replant. The fun is increased by having the ideal time for this being
after all the foliage has died back and you haven't a clue where
they've been growing. While some tulips are supposed to be
perennial, many/most are one-shot deals. For best results, plant new
bulbs each fall.

Gladiolas are the remove/store/replant bulbs (corms, actually). Iris,
daffodils, and tulips can be left in the ground.