[ROYAL=BD=]

Hi all,
has anyone grown Sapphire.
I will be attempting it as I love the stuff that I get from the beach on the east coast.
if anyone has any advice on growing sapphire, it would be much appreciated.

thanks 

[ghost61]

I tried and failed.  Not a single seed germinated.  Are you sowing seeds or have you got hold of some plants?

[tosca100]

Tried twice last year, both fails. No chance of getting any here at all

[ROYAL=BD=]

HI Ghost, growing from seed  , I have heard its hard to get going !!.
been told to spray with normal water until they germinate , then go to salted water after that .
but will give it a go, not sure what sand to use in the mix with compost

[New shoot]

I did have rock samphire grown from seed.  It germinated OK, but was painfully slow to grow.  I used a 50/50 mix of John Innes and sharp sand to get a really well drained compost.  Eventually it bulked up enough to fill a couple of pots.   I drivel on about it a bit in my diary.  Piccy of baby seedlings at the bottom of this post.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=101081.msg1124849#msg1124849

Then I made the fatal mistake of moving those pots to the back garden.  The chickens decided it was the best thing ever and decimated it one afternoon when they were out.  It was all very quiet and sneaky, but they did a total blitz attack, eating everything above compost level, then digging the plants up for good measure    They got a shouting at that afternoon and were swifty banished back into their run.

The rock samphire has a different, but still tangy, taste to the marsh one and what little I managed to eat was very good.  I'm not sure if that helps, but if you do get it going, keep it well away from chickens 

[ROYAL=BD=]

I bet the chicken Eggs tasted fantastic 

[New shoot]

I bet the chicken Eggs tasted fantastic 

Hmmmmmmmmmm 

I replanted it and it did grow back to a degree and look like it was rallying round, but over the following winter it died back and never resprouted in the spring.  The chickens will peck at most things, but every so often they go bonkers for something.  My Astrantia and alpine Dianthus went the same way.  There's no rhyme or reason to what they go for