Update: Plant all the seeds!

A little more than a month ago I planted a bunch of seeds and it looks like I've had good results with most, if not all, of them.

From the pots of mixed cacti seeds, I can see some funny little forms rising from the soil. The germination percentage is low at this point - just three little seedlings. It's quite possible that these three seedlings are just the species with the quickest germination period and others will come up over time. Hard to say for sure at this point. I wonder how long it will be before these little seedlings are recognizable.

First signs of life in the mixed cacti pots.

My native butterfly-attracting Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) seeds are beginning to sprout!

Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) seedlings

Eastern Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)

on Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

at Lake Texoma (July 2016)

My non-native (south African) butterfly-attracting Hairy Balls (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) have sprouted and are off to the races! Check out the fast growth over just 30 hours!

Gomphocarpus physocarpus 6 days after planting

Gomphocarpus physocarpus 7 days after planting

The other seeds I planted were some Bauhinia (Orchid Tree) and Dietes (Fortnight Lily/Iris) that I collected in Los Angeles in March. I have had luck germinating each of these before, so I am hopeful in both cases, but haven't seen any action yet with this batch. The Bauhinia trees that I grew from seed previously are now about 5' tall and ready to be planted outdoors in an appropriate climate (not central Oklahoma). Unfortunately my previous encounter with Dietes didn't end well. After the two seeds germinated and sprouted tiny plants, they didn't survive long. I'm hoping to do better this time and, with luck, I'll have more seedlings and can experiment a little more with lighting, humidity, and soil moisture.

Update: Native Asclepias

Last year I transplanted some native Asclepias from some family property where they were growing wild into my own flowerbed. A couple of them stayed green for the remainder of the summer, so I was hopeful that they were establishing. At least one other appeared to have dropped dead.

Asclepias amplexicaulis emerging about 9 months after the transplant

I was really surprised to see the one that looked the least likely to have survived sprung up first this Spring! It is also one of the less common species in this area, so I am really happy it survived the transplant. I have confidence I can keep it alive (even with little to no care) now, considering it is an ideal plant for our hot Oklahoma summers and cold winters.

I don't know about all of the transplants yet, but I can see that at least one other plant, Asclepias tuberosa, is beginning to emerge. I'm very excited about having these native, butterfly-attracting plants established in our flowerbed.

Plant Find: Kalanchoe humilis

Not a lot to say about this little cutie. I found him at IKEA a couple of weeks ago and he will be blooming shortly.

The plant was actually labeled "Echeveria." After some back and forth with some friends, we found the correct name for this strongly-patterned succulent.