GrowLog
Transplanted

Bee and Hummingbird Flower Seedlings from AeroGarden to Patio

Grow log by lynnee · Original thread

16 visual updates26 photos33 replies
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CropOrnamental flowers, sunflower, fennel
VarietyScented Jasmine Alata, Vanilla Berry Nasturtium, Pinwheel Zinnia, Persian Carpet Zinnia, Starfire Marigold, Giant Alba Petunia, Celosia, Vanilla Cosmos, Hummingbird Salvia, Agrostemma, Hummingbird Fennel
Methodhydroponic seed starting, outdoor container growing
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm 12XL, AeroGarden Bounty Elite, outdoor pots and display rack
Plants-
AudienceExperimental

What you can learnBroad seed-starting comparison showing which pollinator flowers tolerate AeroGarden culture, how quickly they outgrow units, and how they perform after transplant.

Actions:4 Transplant1 Planting1 Equipment1 Watering1 Training
Useful practices
  • splitting seedlings between two gardens
  • transplanting vigorous seedlings before roots overwhelmed the deck
  • watering transplants thoroughly
  • using AeroGardens as seed starters for outdoor containers
  • supporting a heavy sunflower head
Problems encountered
  • seedlings shaded one another in a fully planted Farm
  • fragile marigold and jasmine seedlings broke during transplant
  • warm indoor conditions after moving to the Bounty
  • possible roots interfering with the Farm pump
  • some varieties became too tall for AeroGarden display
  • outdoor flower and leaf damage

*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 73
UPDATE#16
Grower update

Update #16

Actions taken

TrainingAdded support around the heavy main sunflower flower.

L By lynnee

The Hummingbird Salvia has been blooming for several weeks, and is looking ratty now. The blooms never open up any more than this. Definitely not suitable for an AG display because of the height and lack of showiness.The Agrostemma is finally blooming, but the flowers look like thistles and haven't fully opened. Way too tall for an AG display. The Hummingbird fennel behind it, looking like a cloud of smoke, hasn't bloomed.Sue the sunflower is healthy, but isn't so pretty now. I added some support around the main flower. The stem was bending so much from the flower's weight that I was afraid it would bend in half and cut off the water supply for seed formation. Was this right, or necessary?Sue has also produced three additional, much smaller flowers. Two are on suckers, and one is on the main stem beside the big flower.
Day 72
UPDATE#15
Grower update

Update #15

L By lynnee

The Bee & Hummingbird plants seem to be attracting a few butterflies. Sadly, we don't see anything like the numbers of bees and butterflies that we used to.Here is a photo of the plants in the front patio display box. They are, left to right and top to bottom: giant alba petunia, miniature marigolds, celosia; nicotiana, vanilla cosmos; nasturtiums, persian carpet zinnias, pinwheel zinnias. The second photo is a closeup of the marigolds.The cosmos, nicotiana, and pinwheel zinnias are a little too tall to be grown comfortably in a Bounty. It could be done, but you get more leaves than flowers. The pinwheel zinnia flowers very quickly--well in advance of all the others--but the flower colors bleach when exposed to full sun every afternoon.The nasturtium flowers are being eaten by something not human that prefers them to everything else.
Conversation
U
Unknown

Very pretty flowerbed, lynnee! Do you have any hummingbirds where you live? I planted a wall of honeysuckle about 5 years ago in hopes of attracting hummingbirds.. A couple of years ago, I had a few for a short time but haven't seen any lately.

L
lynnee

Yes, we have a few hummingbirds that are mostly dark green. They were around a lot in June and July, but I haven't seen them recently. One of them perched briefly on a tomato cage of ours. I was thrilled, because I'd never seen a hummingbird at rest before!

Day 59
UPDATE#14
Grower update

Update #14

L By lynnee

Main flower is open now. Sue has skinny petals!
Conversation
S
slw

Beautiful sunflower, Lynnee. I have wondered why certain plants are designed such that they can't bear their own weight... like mature sunflowers, gladiolus, etc. If left to their own devices they always fall over under the weight of the blossom. Another pointless pondering, haha. I have seen fields of sunflowers in the Texas Hill Country and they are stunning to see... just rows and rows of tall, beautiful flowers.

L
lynnee

slw, in my ponderings, plants like Sue always evoke a sense of wonderment--all it takes is patience, and eventually your plant will produce a gorgeous, impossibly showy bloom.

S
Shawn

They all look wonderful! I always say I want to plant sunflowers but with Piper I am afraid she will get stung

L
lynnee

Sunflowers grow tall--Sue is at 5-1/2 feet. Do you think that Piper would be jumping high enough to bother bees visiting the flowers?

S
Shawn

I dont think she would jump but if they fly around she wil try to sniff and that is not safe LOL

Day 58
UPDATE#13
Grower update

Update #13

L By lynnee

Sue's main flower is continuing to open.
Day 57
UPDATE#12
Grower update

Update #12

L By lynnee

56 days. Sue the Sunflower is almost as high as the 5-foot patio fence, and the bloom is starting to open!
Day 57
UPDATE#11
Grower update

Update #11

L By lynnee

The Scented Jasmine Alata is finally in bloom, and it smells heavenly! The flowers close up during the day, so I wonder how they attract pollinators?
Day 44
UPDATE#10
Grower update

Update #10

L By lynnee

8/11. Sue the Sunflower is about 3 feet tall, and is starting to develop a flower! The bud takes up most of the right-hand panel.
Conversation
S
slw

Everything looks beautiful, Lynnee.

U
Unknown

Can't wait for Sue to bloom for us!

Day 36
UPDATE#9
Grower update

Update #9

Actions taken

TransplantTransplanted the second half of the project from the Bounty into outdoor containers.
WateringWatered the newly transplanted flowers thoroughly.

L By lynnee

Today I ended the second half of this project by transplanting the flowers that were previously moved to a Bounty. In the Bounty:Outdoors immediately after transplanting into full sun:I watered them thoroughly, and they are raising their heads now. I'll water them again when the sun moves to the other side of the building.
Conversation
S
Shawn

Pretty Flowers

L
lynnee

There will be more flowers! This morning the plants are all standing upright, including the fennel!

Day 35
UPDATE#8
Grower update

Update #8

Actions taken

TransplantEnded the Farm half and transplanted its flowers to the outdoor display rack.
EquipmentRemoved the grow deck to verify that the pump worked and suspected root interference.

L By lynnee

Day 35. Ended the Farm 12XL half of this project, and transplanted the denizens (Jasmine Alata, Vanilla Berry nasturtiums, Pinwheel Zinnias, Persian Carpet zinnias, Starfire marigolds) to the outdoor display rack.Don't know how they'll do, because I waited too long for the transplanting. The Alata (middle tray) and marigolds (top tray) were very fragile and suffered a lot of breakage. The nasturtiums and PC zinnias (bottom tray) were already behaving like spreading plants. Perhaps that is okay for zinnias with "carpet" in their name?The Giant Alba petunia (top tray) is near the end of its lifespan, but I couldn't bear to throw away all of those giant blooms! The Celosia (top tray) still looks healthy and happy, as does the Vanilla Cosmos (middle tray).Had a scare with the Farm pump, which seemed to have stopped working. However, it worked fine once I removed the grow deck and plants. Probably there were roots interfering with the pump. Had to have been working, because the plants showed no signs of growing in stagnant water.
Day 32
UPDATE#7
Grower update

Update #7

L By lynnee

All of these were started at the same time in a Farm 12XL. They're now at 32 days. Several will have to go outdoors soon. The zinnia that is starting to bloom is a prime candidate! Also the fennel at the back right of the Bounty Elite. Nasturtium, zinnias in front, marigolds partly hidden in back. Miscellaneous others doing well.Dahlia, fennel in back. Miscellaneous others doing well.Sunflower doing well outdoors.
Day 23
UPDATE#6
Grower update

Update #6

L By lynnee

Sue is lifting her leaves this morning. I love the way that plants grow overnight! They like their privacy.
Day 22
UPDATE#5
Grower update

Update #5

Actions taken

TransplantTransplanted the sunflower outdoors before its roots overwhelmed the deck.

L By lynnee

@fsullom got me to thinking about that sunflower, which isn't a dwarf or container variety. Songbird/Pollinator FlowersThe Birds & Bees Sunflowers(Helianthus annuus)EXCLUSIVE – Enhance your garden’s eco-system with these sturdy, 6 to 8 foot tall sunflowers whose golden-yellow petals and chocolate discs seem to literally follow the sun. Decided that I'd better get it transplanted outdoors while (1) I could still get the roots out of the deck, and (2) before the roots overwhelmed the jasmine alata, nasturtium, zinnas, and marigolds.Ta da! Here is Sue in her new surroundings.
Conversation
U
Unknown

She looks happy there!

Day 22
UPDATE#4
Grower update

Update #4

Actions taken

TransplantMoved part of the seedling collection from the Farm to a Bounty Elite.

L By lynnee

The Bee & Hummingbird Garden is now spread between the original Farm 12XL and a Bounty Elite. The marigold (front row Farm, second from left) suffered some damage. I had no idea that marigold seedlings were fragile. The xfers to the Bounty may not do well. The room gets fairly warm in the afternoons (81 degrees F. right now), and they are no longer at the cooler floor level.The nasturtium (left of marigold) has a weak stem, and wants to flop, even though it wasn't moved.
Day 20
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

L By lynnee

Day 19 All of the pods have growing seedlings, but the sunflower and something else are shading the inner pods. Later today I'm going to move the smaller seedlings to a vacant Bounty.
Conversation
U
Unknown

Wow! lynnee, that's a healthy lookin' farm!

U
Unknown

Hey, lynnee, ... How big is that sunflower gonna be? The leaves are really big. I just planted a dwarf sunflower (called dwarf sunspot). I used all nine pods of a bounty but looking at yours, I think I may be way too dense. It's only suppose to grow to 2 feet tall but I'm concerned about the spread of the leaves. Should I drop down to like just 2 or 3 pods?

L
lynnee

Container sunflowers vary a lot in size. I grew a Bambino (dwarf) on one side of a Bounty, and I think that the garden could easily handle a couple more. Bambino Plant Sharing AGBlooming Bambino Sharing AGI wouldn't think that you would want to fill every pod in a Bounty with sunflowers, unless you were using the Bounty as a seed starter, and planning to transplant the sunflowers outdoors.This garden is intended for early transplanting, which is why I filled every pod.

Day 5
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

L By lynnee

On Day 5, almost all of the pods have sprouts! The fennel, bergamo, and vanilla nasturiums still need to show enough activity to lose their covers.I guess that everyone knows that the pod covers get drops of moisture when seeds are germinating? Not always, but most of the time.
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

Actions taken

PlantingStarted a hydroponic flower garden for bees and hummingbirds.

L By lynnee

Today (6/29/23) I started a flower garden aimed at pleasing the local bees and hummingbirds. Renee's Seeds had a great sale on this type of seeds, so I bought 15 different kinds! These plants will go outdoors, to pots in the back patio, when they're old enough. Right now there are a lot of bees visiting the blooms on our privet hedge, but the blooms are fading fast. We don't have nearly as many bees as we used to, for a fact, so I want to help them out.There are a couple of hummingbirds that visit the hedge, too. One of them occasionally perches on a tomato cage, which is a treat because you don't usually see hummingbirds when they're not in motion.I seriously considered @fsullom 's suggestion about planting wildflower mix in the Farm and seeing what comes up. Another time, yes, but for now I need plants for patio pots and the display stand by the front gate.
Conversation
S
slw

Ooooh, I can't wait to see how this turns out!

S
swimmom500

Those seeds all look amazing. I will have to check them out! Keep us posted.

S
Shawn

This is going to be amazing. I need to get some new flower seeds to plant on the deck. Humming Bird flowers for sure. We have one that came her a few years ago.

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