response 2 of 57:

Nov 13 21:33 UTC 1994

Valerie, Steffi says that Coleus is very hard to grow from seeds.
She's never tried and doesn't know what the seeds should look like.
She uses Burpee all the time, and they're very reliable.
The fact that the second seed pack came in looking just like the first
makes me suspicious that you may be looking at viable Coleus seeds.

Steffi says the way to test for viability is to use a double layer
of paper towels - damp but not leaking, put 5 seeds in the middle,
fold it over so you know have 2 layers of towel, 1 layer of 5 seeds,
and two more layers of damp towel. Now leave that in the proper
conditions for germination for at least as long as they say you should
allow for germination. You should see some sprouting when you open it
up and examine it after that period.

(Remember, I have a black thumb. In this conf only believe what I say
if it starts with "Steffi says" :-)

response 4 of 57:

Jan 11 23:29 UTC 1995

ok:  i'm just a beginning gardener, what's coleus?

response 8 of 57:

Feb 8 00:55 UTC 1995

anyone hav esuggestions for plants that are easy to grow and wont die in
a dorm room.  no pothos, i have so mcuh of that.  thanks  :)

response 10 of 57:

Feb 9 06:09 UTC 1995

Yeah, spider plants are good.  Cacti are good, too (I have two
that have grown quite large, about 3' high and I'll be darned how
they grew so much--I ignore them so often).  I haven't had much
luck at all with potted palms, though...

response 12 of 57:

Feb 9 17:31 UTC 1995

Any offers of free plants wont be refused. I have prob;ems with cacti, 
but I think it is just me, I have never had luck wiht them. Thanks for the 
suggestions

response 14 of 57:

Feb 10 04:47 UTC 1995

Heh.  val, be sure to get popcorn to bring you both the variegated
and plain green varieties of spider plant :)  Seriously, a big
hanging pot of both kinds of spider plant makes for an interesting
display, once they take off and start putting out lots of leaves and
those little shoots.  When I was an undergrad, living in the dorms,
our room had numerous plants (mostly spider plants) and I think if
three black thumb males could get them to flourish, anyone could!

response 16 of 57:

Feb 24 05:14 UTC 1995

spider plants are like that.  that's why i love them!!!!

response 18 of 57:

Mar 19 19:12 UTC 1995

i wanna adopt one!!!  

quick hint...don't ever plant a century plant indoors...we have one that's
decided to ake over the world...:)

response 20 of 57:

Mar 20 03:54 UTC 1995

well, this hasn't bloomed...it's only about 3 years old...but for being in a
pot with a diameter of about 5 inches...wel, the actual plant now has a 
diameter of about 4 feet!!!