Hello From Ireland (Cork City)

[edam4]

I'm a complete amateur where gardening is concerned! I'm more a tech guy but I love the idea of having a nice garden especially a colourful one with nice trees and flowers etc.

Thing is I'm getting more interested every year and would love to start planting soon.

Can anyone help me, I basically want to grow my own stuff from trees to plants to flowers, instead of buying the finished article st expensive garden centres I want to start from scratch and grow my own.

Can I but seeds for the trees I want? I know I can with flowers. But not sure where to buy online.

I can't afford to but trees and plant I want to buy the seeds and start from there. Is there some way I can just snip a piece of a tree from my parents garden and plant that or how does it work? As in can you take a piece from a tree or plant and just grow as my own?

How is this done?

Thanks for any help or info ye can provide me.

Regards,
C.

 

[splinx]

Welcome, edam4!

As for your questions I can not answer most of them, but I am sure there are many people here that is able to help you. But growing trees from seed will take some time.

I do not know how is it there, but you can buy baby trees for a low cost here (most under $15). Of course, it depends what kind of tree you want.

As in can you take a piece from a tree or plant and just grow as my own?

I believe that is possible, but you have to do it properly I think. I do not know how to do it.


Thank you for joining!

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[Beverly]

A warm welcome to you @edam4 Growing from seed can be such a rewarding experience. Actually i prefer it because if you want to go organic you can be assured that your trees or plants have not been treated with pesticides or insectcides. There is a vendor in the UK at
http://www.treeseedonline.com
who has a wonderful assortment of tree seeds. I ordered seeds from him (by the name of Michael Ashby) and was very pleased with the product and response time. Of course there are dozens of sites on the internet to purchase seeds of all kinds, and many excellent seed vendors in the UK. I never purchase seeds from sites such as ebay, amazon, alibaba, etc because the vendors can be here today and gone tomorrow and you can never be sure of your product. So i recommend you select some established seed vendor businesses. In the UK, i often purchase from Chiltern Seeds because they are reliable and have an established business ethic. I have been ordering from them for approx. 7 years. Again this is one example of many excellent online seed vendors near to where you live.
@splinx makes a good point about purchasing very young trees (say around one meter in height) at a low price at local garden centers and also online from some location within the UK. Good luck and happy gardening

 

[Tetters]

Hello edam4 and welcome to the forum. Haven`t got time to write a whole chapter, but if you stay on here, and take one step at a time - with the ''luck of the Oirish'' you will end up with a gorgeous green garden
Silver Birch is the first tree to grow from seed. You need to find one firstly, then wait until it forms its catkins - late in the year....make sure they are dry enough, and scatter the seeds on some compost to germinate.
I did exactly this with one catkin. The following year I had 106 good sturdy seedlings, and pricked them out into 7cm pots. They grow quickly,and are suitable to provide dappled shade for smallish gardens. I planted a few out and sold the rest. Bought some other plants with the money - that was about 20 years ago...I`ll see if I can find a picture.

Those tall ones behind the purple leafed plum - amazing how fast they grow

 

[Verdun]

Welcome edam4

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Hi edam4, glad you've joined us

 

[Sheal]

Welcome edam4.

 

[Beverly]

and welcome back @Sheal...it seems like ages since i last saw you.

 

[Sheal]

Thank you @Beverly, I apologise for not being around. I've been busy doing other things and also contending with the issues that Microsoft's latest, very long updates have created on my computer yet again. The saying....'if it ain't broke don't fix it' comes to mind often.

 

[Beverly]

I was hoping you were on a Mediterranean vacation @Sheal. That doesn't sound like much of a vacation, but it is a little bit better than jail

 

[Sheal]

I should be so lucky @Beverly! I'm house hunting and it's surprising how much time that takes up. Currently renting since moving to Scotland and looking to buy, but the sort of property I want is slow coming to the market, very slow! It also means I'm in between gardens, unfortunately the place I'm in hasn't got one and I'm slowly going stir crazy!

 

[Beverly]

I understand the stir crazy, gardeners need even a small garden to see the magic, but indoor plants don't really work for many of us. I hope you find something really soon.

 

[Sheal]

Thank you Beverly. I'm hopeless with houseplants, I never seem to be able to keep them alive.