Forsythia cuttings. Update. 6.4.2021

 These are some of the forsythia cuttings I took April 25th, so about 6 weeks ago.  The goal is 10 plants for a forsythia privacy hedge.  I'm pretty sure the parent shrub is Lynwood Gold.  I grew that shrub about 15 years ago from a found cutting, a discarded pruning found on the street.   

There are lots of internet articles that state how easy it is to grow forsythia from cuttings.  It's difficult to locate articles that show actual progress.  Here are mine so far.

About 6 weeks ago, I took prunings of wood from the forsythia bush.  This was just after blooming.  The prunings were a bit thinner than a pencil.  Pencils are the devices that people used to use to jot things down, before there were cellphones.  Similar in size and shape to chopsticks. 

I made an about 1 inch long, vertical incision in the lower couple of inches of the cuttings.  I dipped the cuttings in Dip'n'Grow, 5 seconds.  Six of these went into water.  Nine of the smaller ones went into seed starting medium, which I made into tiny greenhouses using bread bag size plastic bags.

I kept these in a shady east window. I changed the water a few times, when it was starting to look cloudy. I didn't think much was happening, but a few days ago I changed the water again and saw some roots.

Today is mild, so I decided to plant the most vigorously rooting cutting in potting soil. I watered well, and placed the planted cutting in a location that is fully sheltered from the sun.

If this survives for a week or two, I'll think about potting the other three that are showing a little bit of root growth. Meanwhile, they are in fresh water and back in the East window. I don't know if the cuttings in seed starting soil have roots. They wilt if uncovered for two hours. Their growth is kind of puny. There are also three ground-layered starts. No way to know if those have roots - top growth is vigorous but they are still connected to the parent plant. I may be able to obtain one or two divisions from that plant this fall. Somehow, if there are two divisions that make it, three ground layered plants, and five cuttings, that gives me the ten I want. If other cuttings also grow, that's a bonus. So far, the most obvious and quickest rooting result is in water. And that appears to be quite variable.

Kenmore Sewing Machine is Brighter Now. 6.3.2021

 It's a minor thing, but a nice change.  I replaced the old, incandescent light bulb on the Kenmore sewing machine, with new LED bulb.  The LED bulb is an upgrade.  I imagine no one even imagined them when this machine was new.

This is the sewing area, lit via the old incandescent bulb.  Photo taken with I-phone, which is affected by light source. However, the comparison is about right.

Here is is, illuminated via the new LED bulb. Quite a difference.

This will be easier on my old eyes.

Dwarf Tomato Plants. Progress Notes. 6.3.2021

 Here are most of the dwarf tomato plants about one month after planting outside.   The plants in containers seem to he healthier and more vigorous than the ones in the ground.  That may be variety more than location, since they are not the same ones.

 For comparison, one of the open pollinated Romas, which is determinate, is in a similar size range.

Most of the others are 2 to three times taller now.  

I curious about what this volunteer yellow cherry will be like.  It grew next to a dahlia last year and really never got water.  It was only about 4 feet tall but was in such adverse conditions.  The seedling from that looks more vigorous this year.  I imagine this is descended from Sungold. From what I read, descendants of Sungold are not as sweet. Even so, I liked last year's tomatoes, so maybe this year's will be OK.

The Purple Russian has upturned leaf margins, similar to those of Extreme Bush.  However, the leaves themselves are narrrower and not rugose, unlike Extreme Bush.

Sisyrinchium striatum Flowers. 6.2.2021

 These "satin flowers", Sisyrinchium striatum, were difficult to find.  Two years I located sone and p,anted them here.  Establishment was slow, then all of a sudden they settled in with a big burst of growth.  Now they are blooming.  Not the most photogenic flower.  I think they are nicer in person.

Up-potting Chinese Chives. 6.2.2021

 Chinese chives are not usually in regular grocery stores.  They are the main and essential ingredient in Chinese dumplings, so we grow our own.  Chinese Chives are a grassy looking perennial, and grass often invades them, which is a mess.  So then it's time to grow new ones from seeds.  It takes two growing seasons to be ready to harvest.  Growing in containers raised beds is good, it keeps them a lot cleaner.

These seedlings are ready to transplant into larger containers, so I did.  I grew them from seeds that I saved last summer/fall.   I've been meaning to transplant the  for a few weeks now.