cerinthe - blue kiwi - Garden Helper, Gardening Questions and Answers

by plants 'n pots on February 10, 2004 11:46 PM

Does anyone grow this beauty? [flower]

I just picked up some seeds -
and they weren't cheap! [dunno]

I've never heard of this flower before, have you?
It looks to be pretty easy to grow from what I've been able to read online, but I'd love to hear from someone who has grown it first hand -especially in zone 6.

here is a site about them:
cerinthe

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Lynne's knitting journal

"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"

by Flower on February 10, 2004 11:58 PM

ooOOooo....those are pretty. I haven't seen them at all....mind you, they aren't likely to grow here in zone 3. Good luck with your seeds Lynne.

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by weezie13 on February 11, 2004 12:10 AM

Those have been on my wish list [flower]

for a while when I was hunting down "BLUE" flowers!!
If you grow them, let me know how they did!!! [flower]

Cerinthe major 'Purpurascens'

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

by plants 'n pots on February 11, 2004 12:35 AM

I saw that site too Weezie!
I got the seeds today at the fairly new Christmas Tree Shops.
Do you have one of those near you?
At first I thought I would never go in the store because I don't celebrate Christmas, but it has all kinds of goodies in there (I have never left the store without some purchase for the home, or gifts, etc...),
and only Christmas stuff during that season.
The seeds are 1/2 off the package price, but even with that they were $2.50 -
not too bad, but not too cheap either.
According to what I've read online, they self-sow readily - if that is the case and I am successful, hopefully I'll have seeds to share next fall.

(or, I could pick some up for you Weezie if you think that is a reasonable price.) [dunno]

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Lynne's knitting journal

"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"

by rue anemone on February 11, 2004 01:10 AM

I saw that flower for the first time last year in a catalog, aren`t they cool!

I collect blue plants too for my front entrance garden.

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by plants 'n pots on February 11, 2004 01:31 AM

I also have a "blue garden" at the end of my driveway.

So far I have in it:

blue hydrangea
centaura montana
forget-me-nots
blue lobelia
blue salvia
blue pansies
bachelor buttons

I also picked up some blue Tibeton Poppy seeds, but don't know if they will grow for me - I've heard they are difficult to establish, and won't flower the first year?

can you add any flowers that I can add to this garden in zone 6?

I'm really only interested in true blue colors... not variations of purpley-blues.

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Lynne's knitting journal

"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"

by rue anemone on February 11, 2004 02:25 AM

I`m in zone 5.

Ceratostimga plumbaginoides is a wonderful ground cover with intenese blue flowers in late summer til frost.

Are the campanulas blue enough and ajugas? I started out with just the true blue flowers but I noticed that from the street the blue does not show up so I have added all shades of blues and purples and then white.

There are some really nice blue irises tall, medium and dwarf. Iris cristata is a wild flower that is a pale blue.

Linnum perenne- blue flax
Mertensia virginica - virginnia blubells
Phlox divarticata - pale blue wild phlox
Scilla siberica - squill (a small early spring bulb)
Hyancinths grape and the fragrant
scabiosa

Indigo or Baptisia and Echinops have blue flowers.

I can`t wait till the growing season to see if these are as blue as I am remembering!!

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by Barb H. on February 11, 2004 02:57 AM

Lynne,

I really like the plant! Thanks for sharing it. I don't have anything helpful to add about growing it, as this is the first time I've seen it, but it really looks pretty. I really love learning about all of the plants out there.

Barbara

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by weezie13 on February 11, 2004 03:07 AM

Lynne,
I have the Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
They really are a nice blue, and the leaves get a red tinge in cool weather!!

And the other ones' Rue mentioned are absolutely beautiful, Siberian Squill/Scillia Siberica So delicate, and they do reseed!!!

I have tried 3 times to grow those elusive blue poppies, hasn't worked for me!! [dunno]

There's one alsoSpanish Bluebell

Weezie

There's one more, and it's a pastel blue, real light powder blue, a bulb, and I can't remember the name, and it's buried under the snow, when it thaws, pull this thread back up and ask me again!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

by plants 'n pots on February 11, 2004 04:57 AM

Thanks Rue and Weezie!
More great plants to look for!

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Lynne's knitting journal

"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"

by rue anemone on February 11, 2004 04:14 PM

Weezie is it Camassia quamash? It grows wild around here and is paler and truer blue than the picture shows, or maybe that is just another variety.

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=CAQU2

Spanish blue bells are wonderful!

Oh man, I HAVE SPRING FEVER!!

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by weezie13 on May 31, 2004 08:06 PM

OOOOhhhhhhhhhh Lynne,
How are your cerinthe - blue kiwi doing?????

I am soooooooooooooo curious???
[Smile]

Do tell

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

by plants 'n pots on June 02, 2004 04:31 AM

Hey Weezie!!! [wayey]

I'm sorry to say, that only a few of the seeds even germinated, and those that did got very spindly and died off. I'm trying to germinate the few I had left, in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag - but they don't seem to want to germinate. It's been several weeks now.
So, I have to say, that for me at least, this plant has been a bust! [tears]

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Lynne's knitting journal

"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"

by weezie13 on June 02, 2004 05:16 AM

Oh mannnnnnnnnnnn,
I was hopin' for some pictures of the blooms [tears]

Okay, did the packet give directions???

Some seeds need soaking, some need dark to germinate, some need no dirt on top, some seeds needs, some like the cooler weather to germinate~like sweetpeas and some has to have it warm~like morning glories!!!!

Keep me posted if you get some new ones.

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

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cerinthe - blue kiwi

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