With the exception of bringing a child into the world, there is nothing in life so rewarding as growing a plant from seed. The emergence of a single vulnerable seedling from a tough, dry husk is nothing short of miraculous, a tiny incident of creation, evolution and the continuation of life on Earth.
The flowering of Canarina canariensis has given me special cause for celebration. I first encountered this pretty, scrambling, Canary Island native at the Chelsea Physic Garden in spring 2015. I promised then to update you on my efforts to cultivate this sub-tropical beauty. Two out of ten seeds germinated, one of which perished due to my own clumsiness. The other flourished. My fledgling climber died down in April, as it would in its natural habitat, and found itself stashed in a dry corner of the greenhouse. In late September I spied glaucous blue-green foliage beginning to emerge from the surface of the compost and commenced watering again. Throughout October, lush, 5ft long shoots were rapidly produced, most terminated by a tapered bud. Pictured above is the first, now carefully cossetted in the bathroom, coming into bloom.
The thought that I might miss this moment was giving me palpitations, but I have been lucky enough to watch that tapered bud transform into a campanulesque bell through the course of today. Canarina’s fiery flower, hopefully the first of many, is sufficient to warm the cockles of my heart and restore my rather maudlin mood. Perhaps in a couple of years I might enjoy a display like the one pictured below. Only by growing from seed could I have achieved this spectacle (as far as I am aware no nursery offers Canarina canariensis plants in the UK), hence I’m as proud as a new father. With seed catalogues beginning to drop through the letter box, now’s the time to plan your own little miracle for 2017.
The Frustrated Gardener 
Enjoy your well-deserved reward. And sing praises you don’t have to send it to college.
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Congratulations Dad. Your latest offspring is indeed beautiful.
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Fabulous! Well done!
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Well done! That’s an amazing and beautiful plant.
I was good at growing things from seed when I was a small child but lost the knack as I got older, alas.
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You never lose the knack Val. Bet you can still do it, if you put your mind to it!
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Maybe. 🙂
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A valiant seed indeed to survive to give you hope for a future display as Pictured in yr blog. Look forward to seeing this special seed’s progress!!!
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This is encouraging – I have two seed-grown plants. They may just produce a flower this year, as they are four years old, and growing well (from the very rainy west coast of Canada).
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I hope so. My plant grew right through the first summer and only died down for the first time this year. It has re-emerged looking particularly vigorous.
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Love the news flowers and have experienced the thrill of growing from seed many times as I live in a sub tropical climate in Australia. Mostly I grow native trees from seed but have grown a lot of Plumeria and other exotics from seed as well. Great growing.
Margaret
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Thank you Margaret. How wonderful to be able to grow Plumeria from seed and to see them flourish.
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Now that’ s a result. Well done, what a beauty.
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Thank you. She looks even more lovely today!
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Fantastic. Can we see it when it is fully open too?
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I’ll add another snap into the post shortly!
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Congratulations. That is special. (I’m always astonished when seeds germinate, just because there is so much that can go wrong while they’re still in the packet.) As it happens, I’m happy-dancing a little too; I’ve got three phals putting up bloom stalks–through no fault or intervention of my own, I assure you–but it is nice to see grocery-store orchids rebloom.
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Well done. I do occasionally get mine to rebloom, but having kept almost fifteen I got rather tired of their leathery, dusty greenness and chucked all but two out over the summer. Hope yours give you lots of pleasure over Christmas!
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As soon as I saw that flower, I Googled it to see if it would grow in my climate, but no such luck. What a beauty!! Lucky, lucky you!
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Congrats! You should have a belated “baby shower”: how about a few drops of water for the baby and a few more drops of something stronger for proud dad… Not exactly the traditional way but surely welcome to both! 🙂
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What a little beauty! Not one that I know, but pleased that do I now. Can I share yours please? 😉
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