Aquilegia

Finally! The tub has been in the fridge then on the kitchen windwsill.I spyed these today..
:D I know i won`t see a flower until this time next yr but i`m so happy.

 

I'm happy for you tooo Elainefiz! I love aqualeiga! Are they home-grown surprises - or a particular variety? (Do they/any come true from seed?)

 

They will come true from seed if you have just one variety to start with- otherwise they mix up and in my gardenend up as very pale pink doubles and bigger dark purples.
I love aquilegias too and plant a new variety nearly every year.

 

They are summer bonnet mixed JarBax.(I`m no wiser.)
Can someone tell me please,is it better to pot them on, then leave them in the gh until next yr?It does say on the packet to plant out in august-september and october,but i`m a bit wary.Although..it makes sense to do it then after the anuals have died off.Can they hack the winter.
The thing is, i`ve cut away the top of the packet,only leaving the words easy to grow. :rolleyes: Are they a forever plant or one of those that flower 2nd yr then thats it.I know theres a word for this type,... benial????
Do you know what i mean? Sometimes they say ,half hardy perenial, sometimes hardy.

 

I think they are short lived perennials. I was given mine by some friends about five years ago and they are still going. But I am aware I should be replacing them, as they must be close to the end of their lives. I am pretty sure mine are the originals and not seedlings, as I weed out the seedlings, which are much smaller, and pass them on to other people.

They don't like root disturbance when they are bigger, but they are perfectly hardy. Planting from a pot into the ground is OK, as you don't disturb the roots. I see no problems planting them later this year. I am sure they would survive being planted out as soon as they are big enough, except for the fact that they could get crowded out by everything else growing around them.

 

Thankyou PeterS.I think my biggest problem is gonna be finding somewhere to put them.

 

One of mine has seeded itself- there are loads of seedlings over an area of abot 2-3 squ. ft. and you can see all colours of foliage from lime yellow to dark purple. I'll wait till they are bigger then select any I think look pretty. Like PeterS I have some that I am sure are the originals, they keep the same colour and grow into quite big plants.
They can get quite invasive, like Love-in-a-Mist, and are hardy, although they die back in winter.
I have a large blue and white one which is now into it's 3rd year. The size is quite spectacular, it's called a Mckana hybrid.
If you keep them in pots for now you'll have more time to decide where you want them!

 

As soon as they are big enough to handle I plant mine into trays and when the roots are filling those I plant them into 1 litre pots. I try to keep them growing fast as I want to sell them after 12 months....I would be moving them into a 2 litre pot in the spring but thats because i am selling. Some would not be suitable for keeping in the greenhouse in winter cause they need a period of cold to stimulate flower bud development, though i know some growers keep some F1 hybrids undercover but cold over the first winter to keep them from winter wet.

 

Thankyou kindly everyone.