Tough to grow seedlings this year

Seedlings from Wagner's greenhouse

I've got to appreciate the beautifully-grown seedlings that a professional greenhouse sends me. The trays are perfectly uniform with a lovely plant in each cell, every cell filled and growing. Now it is up to me to take this beautiful plant material and grow it on to size. Wagner's Greenhouse in Minnesota is one cell-tray grower that shipped me beautiful stuff. To the left are pansies, gerbera and silver heart cyclamen. My idea of growing something for the Valentine's Day holiday has slipped out the window but I'll have these as potted plants for late winter or early spring. Timing is so critical in the nursery business - I'll eventually get my timing right.

Silver Heart Cyclamen

To the right is a lovely tray of Silver Heart Cyclamen. They are supposed to be mixed colors, rose, red and white - so I'll see once they begin to bloom. Each leaf is a definite gray-silver with a green picotee edge. Gorgeous. I have never grown cyclamen in pots before - but there's a first time for everything isn't there? I'm putting these in 4" round pots - some are heavy and nice for tabletop display. I've also started looking for squares of florist foil to ultimately put around the finished plants.

Delphinium seedlings

Meanwhile the seedlings from the big greenhouse go limping along. To the left is a tray of teeny delphinium seedlings started in early December. My other delphiniums have been sown in moist soil and are sitting in the crisper drawer in the fridge. Am told they germinate better when they go through a cold period of about four weeks. I'll take them out mid-February and sow them then. 

Trays of seedlings in my greenhouse

 Took nine trays of seedlings from the Oakland County Greenhouse to see if the warmth from my new seedling mat will pop them into sprouting. Some success, I have seen a few more green sprouts. Waiting on new hoses to arrive as my big hose outdoors is frozen solid. Have to fill the watering can in the kitchen sink and take it out to the greenhouse. So far, not a bad chore, since the greenhouse is only half full.

Seedlings with frost cloth

The seedlings in the Oakland County greenhouse are currently swaddled with frost cloth and a couple flats are sporting clear propagation domes to increase humidity. The only problem about the frost cloth is - it's pulling off labels from the seed trays and I am starting to have a few anonymous trays. It's tough to tell what a seedling is when it is so tiny - I hate to think I'll have to wait until they grow up to figure out what it is!