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How to Grow Pride of Barbados from Seeds

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Store your seeds in a cool, dark place until you are ready to germinate them. There's a little trick to getting these seeds to sprout quickly. The technique involves soaking the seeds for at least 48 hours in water. I’ve personally had success with adding water at tea-steeping range (195° F). I’ve known other gardeners to pour in fully boiled water (212° F). It is also perfectly fine to plant the seeds directly in soil without following the numbered steps below. Sprouting may take longer, but they will germinate once the soil temperature regularly reaches 75-80° F. 1. Add your seeds to a heat-safe container such as a glass jar, coffee mug or thermos.  2. Fill your container with the heated water.  3. After 24 hours, pour off the water and refill with fresh, heated water for the second 24-hour period of soaking. The seeds are ready when they have approximately doubled in size and the seed walls are no longer rock hard. A second soaking is not necessary if the seeds have already ex
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How to Propagate Ivy

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I recently had someone ask me how to propagate Ivy (of the Hedera genus). Now, I do run a business where plant propagation is about 4/5ths of the job, but am I going to gatekeep? HECK NO!  So let me tell you how to propagate Ivy! Propagation of ivy (as well as many other plants) is more successful during their time of active growth. Spring is a great time to take cuttings! Step 0:  Mise en place! (Gather your materials) nursery container(s) or a tray, with or without drainage (See: Step 1) potting media of choice (See: Step 1) sanitized cutting implement , be it scissors, shears or blade (See: Step 2) a shallow container of water rooting hormone powder  or equivalent (See: Step 3) a hole-poking implement , such as a chop stick or pencil a spray bottle  or plant mister filled with water Step 1: Prepare your propagation container Prepare sm
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Sweet Potato Vine, Ornamental, "Blackie" variety (Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie')

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  They say that black is the sum of all colors . . . "Blackie" Sweet Potato Vine is an excellent example of this concept. Describing this foliage is "black" does not do it justice. These leaves are a carnival of deep purple, dusty teal, burgundy, magenta, army green and new leaf green all at once. They are STUNNING. I came across this photo again today while assembling my write-up on the care and feeding of "Blackie" Sweet Potato Vine: https://solaciousseeds.blogspot.com/.../sweet-potato-vine... The colors in this photo are too good not to share.
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Red Yucca: Neither Red, Nor a Yucca

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When I first discovered seed collecting, one of the very first seeds I tried to harvest was that of the Red Yucca. I was attracted to the ease with which they could be identified and plucked from their flower spikes. The sheer number of seeds that can be found in just one pod is quite rewarding.  After doing a quick internet search on how to sow the seeds, I settled on the technique of
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