Growing Fall Decor

October 22nd, 2006

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Chinese lantern and crates displayOne of the things I have never grown well before, until this year, are chinese lanterns. I had plantd them from seed, and they didn’t do well at all. They grew, but only about six or eight inches high, and they had few lanterns on them. They were in full sun and allowed to grow at will.

Then I transplanted them. They are now in a bed that gets about six hours a day of direct sunlight, and just as many hours in light shade. The bed was full of compost (which they appear to like A LOT!). This year, they grew two feet tall with bright orange lanterns down the whole stem. To say I was “thrilled” would be a real understatement.

There is, however, a “challenge”. Chinese lanterns are invasive (who knew? Prior to this year, you could have never proved it by me!). If they like where they are, they will spread, and spread, and spread – which is what they did – throughout all my mums and summer flowers.

So, after cutting all the stems and de-leafing them for the display you see at the beginning of this blog entry (click on both pictures to get a better view), I dug them all up. I put them all in pots until I can decide where to put them where they can be as invasive as they want, and not crowd out their neighbors. I’ll let you know when I figure out where that is!

Chinese lantern and crates display 

Your Frugal Decorating Diva,

Nancy

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Posted in Crates, Fall Decor, Garden Ideas | 2 Comments »

2 Comments to ‘Growing Fall Decor’:

  1. Tova on 14 Mar 2009 at 1:37 pm: 1

    Any tips for starting from seeds? I have been trying to get then to grow but they wont even sprout. I had other seed varieties that sprouted but the whole back of the Chinese lanterns where duds. (I started them with a little Jiffy greenhouse starter kit)

  2. nancy on 16 Mar 2009 at 2:30 pm: 2

    Here’s what I found online about germination:

    Chinese Lantern flower seed can be planted indoors in trays and lightly cover with soil. Will take anywhere from 14-30 days to germ. Or you can sow directly outdoors, leaving 2 feet between plants. Make sure the soil has warmed and all danger of frost has passed.

    Maybe either the seeds didnt sit long enough or weren’t warm enough? (just a guess)

    I would ask on Craig’s List in your area to see if anyone has plants that they can share with you. Most people would REALLY want to. They are invasive so be sure to put them in a place that they can take over with no problem.

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