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Annuals/Salpiglossis (paintedtongue)

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Expert: - 11/6/2003


Question
Do you know how to get seeds for this plant? Know anything about how they like to grow?

Answer
Salpiglossis are great looking but not the easiest to grow.  (There is a reason you don't see them for sale at most garden centers!)  The seeds are difficult to germinate - they need temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees and DARKNESS (but as soon as they germinate they need light).  Start the seeds about 8 weeks before time to plant outside, and start in small pots instead of 6 packs because they don't like having roots disturbed.

Salpiglossis is killed by summer heat - a good plant to grow if you live in Alaska, but very short-lived in areas where the summer gets hot.  Pinch young plants to encourage branching and deadhead regularly.

The following seed companies sell Salpiglossis seed:
J.L. Hudson Seeds
Star Route2 Box 337
La Honda CA 94020
NO PHONE - catalog $1

Select Seeds
www.selectseeds.com

Chiltern Seeds
Bortree Stile
Ulverston
Cumbria LA12  7PB
England
free catalog - lots of types of seeds

I hope this helps!
C.L. Fornari

Annuals

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C.L. Fornari

Expertise

Annuals suggested for specific situations (sun, shade, windowboxes etc) New or unusual annuals are a particular interest of mine, and I grow many of these from seed. I am happy to help problem solve, answer questions about maintenance, and guide you to sources of unusual plants.

Experience

I am a garden writer/speaker/consultant and host of a weekly gardening radio program in the Northeast. I have been gardening all my life for my own pleasure, and started as a professional gardener and garden communicator 15 years ago. I work part-time at a garden center, selling and tending shrubs/trees/annuals/perennials...and doing some propagation and design work. I often think that all these professional activities serve to put a somewhat legitimate framework around a serious case of plant-lust.

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