Tiny & True

First true leaf on columbine

It's like the old saying for the bride goes: You need something borrowed and something blue, something tiny and something true. Or maybe that's not quite right? The columbine seeds were harvested from a white flowering plant while working with Mike in the plant family collection at Brooklyn Botanic and I hadn't checked whether they came from a hybrid or not, so I didn't know if they'd come true from seed. The directions for Columbine sowing we found recommended stratifying for new seeds, but not for old and we weren't sure if we should just sow them straight into the garden for the best results. (The plant usually self sows, but we might end up weeding them out in the spring.) So we just experimented. No stratifying, although the seeds had already been stored in the fridge. Just the seeds soaked for a few days. When a few looked like they were germinating into the potting medium they went. I'm not sure it's worth starting perennials from seed in a small studio apartment and garden plot, but we'll see what happens.





















White Columbine, Plant Family Collection, Brooklyn Botanic