August Meeting

Tuesday 18th August 2015

Topic - Perennials

Presenter - Judy Morrison

(Mistydowns Nursery)

Our speaker this month was Judy Morrison from Mistydowns Nursery which is located 5 kilometres from Creswick, and which has been run by Judy and her husband for 26 years. Judy gave us a wonderful talk on growing and raising perennials from seed. She brought along seeds as well as seed beds and trays for sale which the members were delighted with. Judy gave us a great deal of information and helpful hints as well as a demonstration of seed sowing. Different seeds have different needs, some needing to be sown deeper and others just on the surface. Most seeds will germinate in spring but the seeds can be tricked into thinking it's spring by the use of heat beds. Ventilation is important but at night you need to keep them a bit warmer. Some seeds need to experience a cold spell before they'll germinate and need to be refrigerated for 4 weeks. Judy gave us tips on how to get good root development and told us that seeds will keep for 2 years but will lose quality, so they are best sown in the first year. She says seed raising is fun and doesn't require a lot of space. Thank you Judy for sharing your time and expertise with us. It was greatly appreciated.

This month we also had the added bonus of a wonderfully detailed talk on the plant, Daphne, by our Secretary, Bob Yeomans. It had been requested by several members and was very well received - thank you Bob!

The Betty Knox Award (Best Exhibit)

The award for the best exhibit this month was won by Ron Lewis for his very unusual and captivating display of a Scadoxus - Puniceus. This striking looking potted plant grabbed everyone's attention and had us all talking. Well done Ron!

Popular Vote Award

Yet again Ron wowed us with something out of the ordinary, so it was no surprise that his pot of Scadoxus - Puniceus has taken out both awards this month. The members were thrilled with this exhibit - Congratulations Ron!