I knew someone years ago who used to do this every year, and I've also seen
lobelias growing through flags etc where hanging baskets the previous year
had dropped seeds.
What I want to know is, can I take seeds from any or all of these for sowing
in spring? - if so, how and when?
(I'm not being tight-fisted, it's just that these were exceptional flowering
and I wondered if their progeny would be the same)

Lobelia.
Tagetes.
Verbena.
Pansy.

Also, I remember that geraniums have to be taken indoors over winter, what
is the best time to dig 'em up?
will the first frost kill 'em stone dead or can they resist a bit of light
frost?
- how do I store them? - some of them are in baskets/planters etc which will
be easy to shift, but the majority are planted directly in the beds..


TIA

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 21:29:59 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

I knew someone years ago who used to do this every year, and I've also seen
lobelias growing through flags etc where hanging baskets the previous year
had dropped seeds.
What I want to know is, can I take seeds from any or all of these for sowing
in spring? - if so, how and when?

Impatiens (Busy Lizzie) are fun to save seed from and unless you want
particular colours, I have found no loss of vigour from seed saved
year after year. The progeny will NOT be the same colours as the
parents. About now, assuming you have some in flower, the seed pods
form and pop when ripe. I soon learned at what stage to pick them,
and get them safely in a paper bag or deep pot. Store them in a paper
bag or envelope until sowing time next spring.

I have found that several non-hardy plants have grown fron seed which
has self sown, as the lobelia you mentioned. Impatiens do that also.
Morning glory is easy to save seed from, as soon as the pods are ripe.
You will learn by experience and save a lot of money, whether you are
tight fisted or not.
You will NOT be able to save seed from Surfinias however!
It depends what you are growing this year, and remember you only
really need a few seed of each to get started.

Pam in Bristol

"Phil L" wrote in message
...
[...snipped...]

Also, I remember that geraniums have to be taken indoors over winter, what
is the best time to dig 'em up?
will the first frost kill 'em stone dead or can they resist a bit of light
frost?
- how do I store them? - some of them are in baskets/planters etc which
will
be easy to shift, but the majority are planted directly in the beds..


TIA

Hi Phil,

I'm assuming that you are talking about the tender pelargonium rather than
true geraniums. Most geraniums are UK hardy, dying back in the autumn and
regrowing in the spring. If you don't have a greenhouse or conservatory, try
to dry them out as follows:

Best time to dig them up is before the first frost. If they get caught with
a hard frost they will turn black and die, but the extent of the damage will
depend on how dry they are and how heavy the frost is. Depending where in
the country you live this is likely to be sept/oct.

Put it in a plastic or preferably a paper bag, allowing the soil to dry out
completely. Remove the dry soil as it drops off the root ball. You'll also
find that any remaining flowers and leaves will fall off.

Loosely tie the top of the bag and store in the shed, porch or spare room.

Check the plant regularly, if the stems begin to shrivel, mist with a water
spray.

If there's signs of mould, open the bag, allowing any moisture to escape.

In the spring, plant up, water well and cut the stems to 6ins (15cm).

If you do have an unheated greenhouse, pot them up and water sparingly
though the winter, trimming them in the spring.

HTH

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk

In article , Phil L
writes

Also, I remember that geraniums have to be taken indoors over winter, what
is the best time to dig 'em up?

will the first frost kill 'em stone dead

Yes
or can they resist a bit of light
frost?
- how do I store them? - some of them are in baskets/planters etc which will
be easy to shift, but the majority are planted directly in the beds..

Less space consuming to take cuttings. They're very easy to root, and
you will have younger bushier plants for next year. Don't know whether
it's too late for reliable rooting.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Phil L" wrote in
:

What I want to know is, can I take seeds from any or all of these for
sowing in spring? - if so, how and when?
(I'm not being tight-fisted, it's just that these were exceptional
flowering and I wondered if their progeny would be the same)


Verbena.

I have found that most hanging basket verbenas are really tender
perennials. They survive over winter in my unheated greenhouse, though I
think you might get better plants next year if you took cuttings and kept
them indoors instead.

Cuttings should come completely true to the parent, unlike seed which is
usually pretty variable, so definitely worth a try if they are something
special.

Dunno about the others, sorry.

I can report that the 'miniature morning glory' convolvulus sabatius and
'million bells' petunias can also be treated as slightly tender perennials
and perpetuated through cuttings.

Petunias need a bit more warmth / damp than the convolvulus, which will
survive sub-zero temperatures if you keep it very dry.

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

Phil L wrote:

Thanks all!!
On reflection, I think I've left it too late for cuttings, so will salvage
what geraniums (pelargoniums) i can and will store them as suggested by
Nick for replanting next spring.

The seeds I shall attempt to save are from the tagetes only...I don't think
I'll bother with the lobelias or verbena, although I am tempted to try to
keep the latter alive over winter as they were immense this year, each plant
almost filling an entire hanging basket by itself! - although this could
have something to do with the medium which I filled the baskets and planters
with....In early spring, I went over the flagged area of the back garden
with sodium chlorate, not trusting the soil adjacent to the treated area for
using in the planters, I used a small amount of potting compost along with
about 60% of rotted lawn cuttings from last year, which are about two foot
deep in my 'compost' heap - it was soggy and took a lot of mixing etc, but
the final outcome was a good texture and retained a lot of moisture,
something which I think is essential for hanging baskets in
particular....I've never used home made compost before as our lawn is full
of dandelions and other assorted weeds and I figured that I would spend mre
time weeding the hanging baskets more than the rest of the garden but it
never happened - in the first few weeks I simply picked out the weedlings(!)
as they sprouted and nothing came even close to getting established except
the intended plants...I have 8 hangers and about 20 planters of various
shapes and sizes and they all did far better than those planted in the beds
at the same time...even now they are still twice the size.

Thanks all, I'll keep all replies and print them off so that I can check
that I'm doing it right through the coming months.