Marsh Marigolds Something a Little Different

 Growing Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) From Seed

 

Native Black-eyed Susan's - Granby, CT

  Everyone is familiar with Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) the annual, that Kindergartners start in paper Dixie Cups for Mother's Day. Although, not native to the state of Ohio, USA, it is still by far one of my all time favorite plants. It is not very particular; blooming most of the growing season, adapting well to a wide range of soil, water and sun light conditions.

  On the other hand, the perennial, Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), a native Ohio species which belongs in the Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) Family, has very little is common with traditional Marigold, found in the Aster (Asteraceae) Family. Although, both have unique and personal interpretation of the color gold, you can hardly call them cousins. Each year, I choose a native wildflower that I know very little about to raise from seed, Marsh Marigolds was one of my choices for 2014. Since the germination rate from one seed package was higher than I expected, I decided to get busy and start learning to care for them.

 

Marsh Marigolds: Where Will You Find Them?

 

Along the Riverbank

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

  

   The first thing I wondered was, "Where do they grow naturally?" It turns out, like: Skunk Cabbage, Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia and Turtlehead it is happiest growing along a riverbank or in a moist area. If you are out hiking during the months of April and May, keep your eyes open you may be fortunate to discover this member of the Buttercup family blooming! 

  Marsh Marigolds can handle part shade but flower profusely in full sun. Evidently, flowering their second or sometimes third season. Considering how impatient I can be, I do hope it is their second!

  Who is Doing the Pollinating?

 

   Mention native plants that attract pollinators and work horses like: Coneflowers, Joe-pye-weed and Wild Bergamot come to mind. We need to be conscious of the fact that some native pollinator plants "get in, get the job done, and get out!" This is the case with Marsh Marigolds, providing either spring nectar or pollen or both for numerous insects: including: ants, Giant Bee Fly, Syrphid Fly, Halictid bees, honey bees, mining bees and other small native bees. 

 

Marsh Marigold Growing in water

  Once their blooming season is completed, and other native plant recruit's arrive (blossom), these sturdy spring wildflowers simply "ride off into the sunset"... that is until next spring. 

  I highly recommend, the Illinois Wildflowers website if you are interested in learning more about specific insects that visit our native plants.

 

 

 

 

Propagating Marsh Marigolds (Cowslip) From Seed

Seedlings March 5, 2014 - 3 weeks old

Obtaining Seed

Last fall, I purchase one $2.00 package of seed from Prairie Moon Nursery, located in Winona, Minnesota, USA. Learning to propagate native plants isn't as complicated as you might think, duplicating winter like storage conditions is the secret. The fancy term for breaking seed dormancy is stratification.

Seed Stratification

 

After 60 days of cold/moist storage, seed was planted in a sterile potting mix but not covered. Some native plant seeds need to be exposed to light before they will germinate, I suspect this is one of those seeds.
  

Date Seeds Planted -  February 11, 2014 

Dated Seed Sprouted - February 17, 2014

Transplanting Marsh Marigold Seedlings

 

Ready to transplant

   Seedling spent their first 21 days under florescent lighting, one cool and one warm bulb. You can see they are already leaning a bit towards the light.

   The germination rate was much higher than I expected. Unfortunately, I didn't count the seeds in the pacakage, therefore I am not able to provide a germination percentage. However, I currently have 120 seedlings! In his book, Understanding Perennials: An Owners Manual, William Cullina mentions, seedlings are easy to transplant as their long strong white roots are designed to secure young plants to the sides of stream banks. His observations were well founded as this was a very simple task.

Newly transplanted seedlings need to remain moist!

 Fertilizing Seedlings

  After seedlings were transplanted, I placed them in a window that faces east. We had a few sunny days but not many. To be on the safe side, I am alternating between raising the seedlings in natural light and artificial florescent light.

    As you can tell I love to experiment, it keeps life fun and exciting! I recently purchased a pint of  Neptune's Harvest Organic Fish & Seaweed Fertilize, it has an  N-P-K (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) ratio of 3:2:1. I have been using compost and fish fertilizer on my mature outdoor plants for several years but, never on seedlings. If anyone has experience with fish fertilizer, I would appreciate hearing from you.

  My plans are to follow recommendations from Nancy Bubel’s book, Seed Starters Handbook. She suggests 1 1/2 teaspoon/gal (half strength) for the first three weeks then continue dilute feedings twice a week until plants are transplanted either into larger pots or the garden. Once your plants have been transplanted into a more nutrient rich soil feeding every ten days is sufficient. The ultimate goal is applying applications of well decomposed compost made in your own backyard.

  Fertilize seedlings requires skills similar to those my grandmother used when making soup, "hum just right." Learning to trust your judgment is one of the most important skills that you will acquire while gardening and growing seedlings.

*It is always a wise idea to Check the USDA Natural Resource site to determine if a plant is native to your state.  

  Notes to Myself

3/13/14 - Dilute  Fertilization - 3/4 tsp fish Neptune's per 2qt water

3/17/2014 - Not the results I was looking for -  looks like mold growing. Wasn't sure if Fish Fertilizer was the culprit. Took suggestions from Humble Kitchen on caring for seedlings. Added fan, increase air circulation, added pinch of cinnamon on seed trays then took seedling out bit of water they were sitting in. 

Scratch the coffee grounds - I don't think that was a good idea. to moist to acid - seedlings are not looking great at this point. May transplant them into new potting soil without coffee grounds. Reminder experiment in small increments.

 References

Books

Brumback, William, Garden in the Woods Cultivation Guide. New England wildflower Society. Inc.,1986. Print

Bubel, Nancy. The Seed Starters Handbook .Emmaus, PA. Rodale Press Inc.,1978 Print

Cullina, William. The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.

Cullina, William. Understanding Perennials: An Owners Manual. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.

Holm, Heather. Pollinators of Native Plants Attrqact, Observe and Identify, Pollinatorsa and Benificial Insects with Native Plants. Portland, Or.: Timber, 2007. Print.