Seed sources

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GordonJ

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Seed sources
« on: February 22, 2015, 11:54:38 AM »
Can any member of MGS suggest a source for viable seeds of Crepis incana and Scilla madeiriensis. I have received Crepis from several seed exchanges
and unfortunately all have been wispy infertile seeds whereas viable seed has substance.Gordon in Tasmania, having temps in low 30's C and almost
Mediterranian conditions over the last week .

David Dickinson

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Re: Seed sources
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2017, 11:28:02 AM »
A late comment on GordonJ's posting.

I too had tried with Crepis incana seeds a few years ago but only one germinated and didn't live for very long. Last year I bought 4 plants in the UK and brought them back to Rome. None of them flowered and only one of them managed to hang on through the summer but was so weak it didn't make it through the autumn. Too hot it would seem in a Mediterranean lowland area.

This year I thought I would give Crepis rubra a try, an annual which I saw in Puglia, southern Italy, a couple of years ago. A little more success this time with the first flowers opening. Paler than I remember them from Puglia and one of them white! Hope the display will be more impressive as more flowers open. I have dotted seeds all around. Next time I think I will try with an autumn sowing too as In Puglia the flowers were out in early April.
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.