Last time around I was full of excitement at several of the eryngium root cuttings having rooted. My parting comment was something along the lines of “now I just have to avoid killing them”. I have to tell you, it has been a pretty close run thing.
When I potted them up last time, I used a potting mix I had amped up with some extra fertiliser. This seemed like a great idea at the time, but as with the tomatoes and other seedlings, these young eryngium plants became quite sickly quite soon, to the point of imminent death by overeating. I was able to intervene, just in time, repotting them in new, unadulterated compost. They sat there for a while, unimpressed, but then some new green growth began to appear. Phew!
A month or two later they are good little plants. They have been hardening off in the cold frame for a few weeks.
I’ve planted them out, so that concludes this propagation journey!
I also planted out the parent plant, convalescing in a pot since digging it up last September. It seems quite happy too.
A happy ending after all.
I’ll be back soon with more propagation shenanigans.
Just to say, that I grew Eryngium from seed this year for the first time and they were so easy and successful that I have been giving them away. Maybe that is a better way than root cuttings?
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It’s funny. I’ve tried half a dozen times to grow from seed. Fail every time.
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Now, isn’t this easier than ceanothus?
Those are actually very happy babies! I grew them (or what was available in 1986), and they did not look anything like that when we plugged them. I think that if you can grow them that well (and now know to not give them too much to eat) keeping them alive will not be too much more work. As you know, they can be difficult for some of us who lack sanitation, but that does not seem to be a problem there. If I remember correctly, ours got fertilized quite a while after growing on in the field. They must have gotten some light duty fertilizer when they got plugged, but I really do not remember. The real stuff was added later. They are related to weeds! That can not be all too demanding.
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Yes a lot easier than ceanothus!
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A great result. Having followed this propagation journey, I tried to do the same after I accidentally dug up a piece of my eryngium, but I have to confess to total failure.
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Oh dear. I’ve had a good few of those myself. More than the successes I suspect…
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Thank you for your writeups of your propagating ventures – I look forward to hearing more of your Eryngium.
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Welcome. Glad youre finding them interesting.
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Well done! I look forward to seeing them in bloom later in the year.
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