Aquilegia

[Hyacinth]

A friend saved some seeds for me last year. When will I be sowing them please?

[Hyacinth]

[daisymay]

get them in quick. Mine self seeded from last year and have just started to grow.

I guess you could sow direct??!!

[jeanaustin]

Why not sow some of your seeds direct and some in a seed tray to increase your chances of getting seedlings?   
My Aquilegias self seed freely - usually in the wrong places! - so when large enough to handle I pot these up, grow them on and then plant where I need them.

[Hyacinth]

Many thanks both.Like you, I've self-seeding aquilegias & they seem to be so prolific I have to weed them out sometimes.....but the colour of this one I fell in love with last year.....sod's law that I'll struggle to germinate them? ::) I'm pleased, Jean, that you've moved yours around a bit - think I'm going to need to sow these in pots initially.

Cheers! Lishka

[Rosa_Mundi]

Recommended time is May, although I find they do rather well in autumn :)

[Palustris]

They germinate better if you put the seeds between two pieces of fine sandpaper and gently abrade the surface. It lets moisture get into the seed.

[gunnerbee]

i just bung em straight in the ground, tough as old boots they are!!!

[aquilegia]

It's best to sow them in the autumn, when they would do naturally. But I've sown them in spring before - they can take months to germinate then, though, so don't be too impatient with them!

[Hyacinth]

Many thanks, Aqui - if the expert doesn't know, who does? 8)  ;D

[Sheona]

Quick question about these bl***y plants! I bought some as bedding plants last year, got ate by slugs, grew again, got eaten (again and again and again.... Used loads of pellets too, so the slugs and snails up my way must be hardy little blighters :-|) They seem to be doing really well so far and coming on lovely, my only concern is that they didn't have a chance to flower last year.  Will they just grow foliage again this year (provided they don'y get munched on)? Just to clarify, it's the same plants as last year but with new growth...

Thanks for any advice!

[aquilegia]

Sheona - it's not slugs that munch them - they leave them well alone - it's catepillars.

If you got one-year-old plants last year, they wouldn't flower anyway. They start flowering from the second year. They should flower this year, hopefully. I've had some with no leaves at all that have still been in flower.

[froglets]

icky little green ones in my case - I get into the habit of rubbing them off a couple of times a week in the summer, or picking them off & feeding to the frogs.  The plants do still flower, but if the leaves are decimated, it must put the plant under stress and reduce it's lifespan.....

[Sheona]

Thanks for the replies, I think now would be the time to spray them with some derris powder?? Been out and had a look this morning and they all seem to be healthy so prevention rather than cure might be the way to go...  8)