Once again, thank for some of the inquiries and advice over the past few months. I have been a bit remiss in posting new updates, but here is the latest!
The purchased plants have recovered from the insect attacks fairly well. There has been another casualty. It was one of the Male Seaberry / Seabuckthorn plants. Thanks again for the advice to plant at least 2 males in the event one perishes.
The seedling plants which survived ( about 7 ) are healthy and were never targeted by any insects. They were planted in a very different part of the property and, I believe their smallness and the infestation of June bugs emerging from the surrounding turf helped them. Lessons learned: I lost dozens of seedlings while I was away for a week and watering became critical and not provided. Also, while Seaberry pests may be few in underdeveloped areas of the world and on dedicated, larger farms, the proximity of turf and deciduous trees(with non-native pests) urban environment controlled lawns and shrubs may provide excellent habitat for the breeding of otherwise naturally controlled populations of other bugs.
This is a photo taken yesterday and is a representive of all the surviving plants. In another post I will be specific regarding the varieties and their unique performance.
The purchased plants have recovered from the insect attacks fairly well. There has been another casualty. It was one of the Male Seaberry / Seabuckthorn plants. Thanks again for the advice to plant at least 2 males in the event one perishes.
The seedling plants which survived ( about 7 ) are healthy and were never targeted by any insects. They were planted in a very different part of the property and, I believe their smallness and the infestation of June bugs emerging from the surrounding turf helped them. Lessons learned: I lost dozens of seedlings while I was away for a week and watering became critical and not provided. Also, while Seaberry pests may be few in underdeveloped areas of the world and on dedicated, larger farms, the proximity of turf and deciduous trees(with non-native pests) urban environment controlled lawns and shrubs may provide excellent habitat for the breeding of otherwise naturally controlled populations of other bugs.
These are a couple of photos of the seedlings taken yesterday as well. I still have no idea the variety (although the same can be said for the purchased male plants). The sex is unknown as well. I have a few more seeds and will try a small fall seeding outdoors and another in the spring. Propagation will be likely best accomplished by rooted cuttings.
I can' resist posting a few photos of the gardens in my world. I hope you enjoy them.
Oh yes, and one of the Maine property.....
More news soon!
Hey, there! Just an update from Pennsylvania. All my plants are dead. The bottom line is that all the seeds that germinated did well enough for a couple month and then crapped out on me. I think the shock from moving from the indoors to the outdoors was just too much for the new plants. I think I will just buy my plants in the future.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the demise of your seedlings. I have a few left and still think that if the drought they experienced while I was away would have resulted in more surviving. The literature suggests propagation by cuttings off of more mature plants is the best method to multiply the number of plants. I was planning on trying that a bit this year, but due to the insect stresses though better of it. Hopefully next year I will be able to anticipate the insect problems and the plants may be less tasty in a more mature state. I have reserved a few seeds and am going to try to direct seed a few this fall and some more next spring.....the experiment continues.
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