If you are looking for ways to stretch your limited dollars this year, you may want to consider learning the potential of a simple packet of flower seeds. One packet can supply bucket loads of high-quality cut flowers to grace your family home and provide friends with unexpected surprises all summer long.
Renee Shepherd has been running the specialty seed company Renee’s Gardens since 1997. I have long admired their cut flower offering and the beautiful illustrations on the seed packets as seen in area garden centers. As you can imagine, Shepherd reviews many new introductions before offering in her catalog. This season two of the most exciting are new varieties of classic cut flowers.
‘Apricot Blush’ zinnias sport gorgeous quality cut flowers in soft hues of apricot- rose through salmon-blush. Their densely petaled flowers make beautiful and long-lasting bouquets when they are continually cut through the season. Apricot Blush is a selection of the famous Benary's Giant zinnias, known for superb garden performance in tough summer conditions. The multi-branched, 31⁄2 foot tall plants yield armfuls of long-stemmed flowers perfect for eye-catching garden displays all season long. Renee says “the soft and subtle color changes as the flowers unfold making them especially beautiful for bouquets."
Ever since I saw them waving in the opening frames of “The Color Purple", I have been intrigued how such a delicate flower can appear on such a rigorous growing plant. June Dancing Petticoats Specialty Cosmos takes this simple daisy and creates a new level of the load days ago and I name the new think you a mud bulletin boards at 99 and is known for it's about to get those pictures of the mall sophistication for this old-fashioned favorite.
Renee’s Garden’s custom blend of special cosmos dance and sway above lacy foliage. We've combined "Seashells," with dainty tubular petals, "Psyche," whose semidouble frilled blossoms are like softly ruffled crowns, and "Versailles," the aristocratic florist cosmos with perfect form and rich color. Dancing Petticoats paint a color collage of apple blossom pink, deep magenta, soft rose and pure white, some with deeper colored centers. These easy-care, 3 ½ - 4 feet tall flowers bloom nonstop throughout the summer. I love them for casual but romantic, country bouquet."
The last recommendation from Renee’s Garden is an outstanding new Monardo named ‘Bergamo.’ This plant has intense, rose-purple flower spikes whose blossoms whirl in clusters around the stems. Bergamo flowers earlier and longer than any other Monarda varieties. Plants are compact, 2 1/2 feet tall, heat-tolerant and mildew resistant. Renee says "These lovely flowers are true butterfly magnets, bloom abundantly for several months and make wonderful bouquets. ‘Bergamo’ is a beautiful new cultivar of old-fashioned cottage garden flowers."
Closer to home, Alan Stevens of Kansas State University highly recommends
Cramer’s Burgundy Crested Celosia. "This impressive plant exhibits excellent vigor, great stem length and strength; with large, bright burgundy colored, deeply textured flowers." The fresh stems have a 7-10 day vase life and excellent dried flower qualities. The center bloom reaches 4-5 inches across with many more versatile side stems. With approximately 15 to 20 stems, this variety is a strong work horse in the cutting garden.
Stevens surprisingly recommends Rocket Cherry Snapdragon. Stereotypically a cooler season annual, "this is one of the most heat tolerant snapdragons we have tested in our K-State trials. We have planted them out in May and had them bloom all summer. The stems must be harvested or cut back a little more than just deadheading to keep them productive. At 32 inches tall by 16 inches wide, the 8-12 inch cherry red flower spikes sit on top of high quality, strong stems with excellent vase life.
Frequent, light applications of nitrogen fertilizer are required for all these annual cut flowers to keep them producing new flowering stems and for the stems to grow to an optimal length. And come late July when you have some great specimens, you may consider exhibiting at area flower shows or even the Missouri State to, if you're feeling kind of cocky.. Just bring your entry and a clear tall vase to the show and organizers will help you prepare your flower for exhibition. A word of warning, after you enter your first show your competitiveness may bloom into a wonderful new obsession.
Showing posts with label Patrick's Picks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patrick's Picks. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Patrick's Picks: Take a Closer Look at Poinsettias
Poinsettias now seem synonymous with the holidays, but we owe their existence as we know it to one man: Paul Ecke. Ecke, founder of the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, CA, was single-handedly responsible for hybridizing what had been a large gangly Mexican shrub into today’s potted poinsettia. Poinsettias are now the best-selling flowering plant in the world, and Ecke Ranch remains the industry’s heavyweight. Seventy percent of all rooted cuttings ordered by U.S. greenhouses come from Ecke; the company has 50 percent market share worldwide.
One of the highlights of my career was providing marketing communication consultation services to Ecke’s company—an experience that completely changed my perception of poinsettias. I always thought of them as mangled plants in plastic sleeves sold at local big box retailers, but Ecke showcased a stunning plant in many colors and forms with a broad range of decorating possibilities. So my family began a new Christmas tradition after my visit by going to a garden center to select plants for gifts and home. My recent mission was to find the most exciting colors and forms at Kansas City area garden centers for this holiday season.
Family Tree Nursery greenhouses in Kansas City, KS grow 44 varieties in eight pot sizes, totaling more than 22,000 plants for their three retail locations. Holly Ingle, the nursery’s head grower is a big fan of an early variety series with large, oak leaf-shaped bracts and foliage named Christmas Carol. In red, pink and white cultivars, it's a dark green-leaved variety, so the bracts are really set off against it. She says “I think it's very showy."
For those of you interested in something more unusual, Holly also likes Jester. "Traditionally, it has always been an interesting red, with its pointy, serrated bracts. It looks like it's off to a party!” she says, adding that there’s now a pink, too.
The manager of operations for the Heartland Nursery and Garden Center in Lee’s Summit, MO, Kevin Keilig says his favorites include a strong, heavily branched variety named Cortez Burgundy. The flowers (bracts) may not be as large as some varieties, but there are plenty of them, they last a long time and the dark burgundy makes for a dramatic impact. Kevin’s next choice falls in the “love it or leave it” category. The Winter Rose series is known for ruffled, semi-double bracts that look something like a rose bloom. The first cultivar, ‘Dark Red,’ generated a lot of excitement at its introduction because it retains colorful bracts for up to six months. Winter Rose Peppermint has the ruffled flower form with red and white speckled bracts. Any in this series could be an intriguing choice, good as a party conversation starter or a distinctive gift.
Heartland is also following the recent trend of combining poinsettias with euphorbia Diamond Frost. Proven Winners branded this combination of two plants in one pot as DiamondPoint™, and Kevin says both will flower well past the holidays. You can also bring in your Diamond Frost from the garden next season, shear it back and enjoy a beautiful houseplant all winter.
One of the highlights of my career was providing marketing communication consultation services to Ecke’s company—an experience that completely changed my perception of poinsettias. I always thought of them as mangled plants in plastic sleeves sold at local big box retailers, but Ecke showcased a stunning plant in many colors and forms with a broad range of decorating possibilities. So my family began a new Christmas tradition after my visit by going to a garden center to select plants for gifts and home. My recent mission was to find the most exciting colors and forms at Kansas City area garden centers for this holiday season.
Family Tree Nursery greenhouses in Kansas City, KS grow 44 varieties in eight pot sizes, totaling more than 22,000 plants for their three retail locations. Holly Ingle, the nursery’s head grower is a big fan of an early variety series with large, oak leaf-shaped bracts and foliage named Christmas Carol. In red, pink and white cultivars, it's a dark green-leaved variety, so the bracts are really set off against it. She says “I think it's very showy."
For those of you interested in something more unusual, Holly also likes Jester. "Traditionally, it has always been an interesting red, with its pointy, serrated bracts. It looks like it's off to a party!” she says, adding that there’s now a pink, too.
The manager of operations for the Heartland Nursery and Garden Center in Lee’s Summit, MO, Kevin Keilig says his favorites include a strong, heavily branched variety named Cortez Burgundy. The flowers (bracts) may not be as large as some varieties, but there are plenty of them, they last a long time and the dark burgundy makes for a dramatic impact. Kevin’s next choice falls in the “love it or leave it” category. The Winter Rose series is known for ruffled, semi-double bracts that look something like a rose bloom. The first cultivar, ‘Dark Red,’ generated a lot of excitement at its introduction because it retains colorful bracts for up to six months. Winter Rose Peppermint has the ruffled flower form with red and white speckled bracts. Any in this series could be an intriguing choice, good as a party conversation starter or a distinctive gift.
Heartland is also following the recent trend of combining poinsettias with euphorbia Diamond Frost. Proven Winners branded this combination of two plants in one pot as DiamondPoint™, and Kevin says both will flower well past the holidays. You can also bring in your Diamond Frost from the garden next season, shear it back and enjoy a beautiful houseplant all winter.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Patrick's Picks: Powell Gardens’ Flowering Trees
Gardeners first consider flowering tree varieties for their spring bloom display but have you thought about the shade potential in the average sized lot? Everybody would love to have a beautiful ‘Autumn Blaze’ Maple but 20 years later it can overwhelm even the average sized lot with a 50 foot tree. The biggest challenge for a gardener becomes the dense canopy which restricts your garden to the limits of dry shade plant options. The following varieties from Alan Branhagen of Powell Gardens can create a more graceful shade while providing spring and fall impact
Like myself, Alan hates to recommend brand new, untested trees or promote ones that are really hard to find! Here’s some new or underutilized trees generating the most comments at Powell Gardens that have thrived through the past decade of KC’s manic depressive weather of extreme heat, drought, flood, late freeze and arctic cold snaps:
Cherokee Brave Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida ‘Comco No. 1’
Many horticulturists have declared the flowering dogwood dead. They are falling over themselves trying to promote others while the dogwoods continue to defy their death sentence and outperform the newbies. The trademarked ‘Cherokee Brave’ Flowering Dogwood is a relatively new cultivar that has quickly gained popularity with proven disease resistance. The flower bracts emerge in mid-spring with an almost flat red color but quickly age to a coral pink and finally to a soft, apple blossom pink. This floral dance of butterflies (lasts 10 days on a warm, windy year as opposed to Amelanchier lasting one day) is always a knockout at Powell Gardens on “the first impression” curve of the Weir Memorial Dogwood walk just outside the Visitor Center. I always remind visitors to also take a whiff of the delightful heliotrope scent to the flowers! The foliage is mildew resistant (we rarely have conditions for dogwood anthracnose out here) and the trunks age to an interesting pebbled appearance. The 20 foot (tall and wide) tree has long-lasting red fall color and brilliant red berries for the birds in fall. The graceful, sympodial branching and the showy flower bud tipped twigs in winter complete the 4 seasons of ornamental interest. Plant dogwood in wind sheltered or woodland locations in rich, well-drained soil. Transplant balled and burlapped whenever possible (from trees dug in the spring).
Butterflies Magnolia Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ (hybrid origin)
There are too many awesome new hybrids of magnolia to mention and none have been trialed long enough to really get to know them. ‘Butterflies’ magnolia with its yellow, waterlily-like flowers before any leaves emerge is always a knockout at Powell Gardens. It blooms only for a short time in spring but it is a sight that attracts all visitors. Our tree grows on the east side of the Visitor Center trolley stop. The foliage is large and rich green all through summer and turns burnt gold and tan in the fall. The winter twigs are tipped with light gray furry buds for next spring’s bloom and the bark is smooth and light gray. The mature height of this tree will probably be around 30 feet with a narrower spread. Plant Butterflies Magnolia into rich, well-drained soil in full sun or part shade in a site where it will be shaded from morning sun or otherwise away from a frost pocket where a late frost won’t damage the flowers. Its only drawback is that small trees are shy to flower; it took our tree about 6 years to begin flowering en masse and it has done so every year since! It does not bloom as early as typical saucer magnolia so is less likely to suffer late frost damage (Powell Gardens’ tree has never had its flowers frozen – because I wrote this it will probably be doomed this spring!)
Fringetree Chionanthus virginicus
When the Missouri native Fringetrees bloom at Powell Gardens they get many questions and comments. This is really more of a large shrub but can keep slowly growing until small tree size in the 15-20ft. range of height and equal or greater spread. The pristine white flowers emerge after the main hurrah of spring as the new leaves emerge; and they act as lacey white flounces to the whorl of young leaves that crown over them. The flowers have a light, fresh fragrance. Trees are mainly male or female and female trees produce dark blue, olive-like fruit. The leaves are largish and relatively coarse but held in an informal pattern to fit in well with a woodland garden. Fall color is lemony to limey, yellow green, pleasant but not spectacular. Several fringetrees grace the Rock & Waterfall Garden where they have never failed to bloom. They thrive in well-drained soil and afternoon shade is best. We do have some in full sun in the parking lot to full shade under the canopy of native oak and hickory trees and all are doing well. This small flowering tree is a plant of Merit and promoted through Missouri’s Grow Native! program. This plants only pest for us is when stressed (just like its cousin the lilac) it is susceptible to the lilac-ash borer.
A big thanks to Alan for this detailed information and the exact locations to find specimens at Powell Gardens.
Like myself, Alan hates to recommend brand new, untested trees or promote ones that are really hard to find! Here’s some new or underutilized trees generating the most comments at Powell Gardens that have thrived through the past decade of KC’s manic depressive weather of extreme heat, drought, flood, late freeze and arctic cold snaps:
Cherokee Brave Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida ‘Comco No. 1’
Many horticulturists have declared the flowering dogwood dead. They are falling over themselves trying to promote others while the dogwoods continue to defy their death sentence and outperform the newbies. The trademarked ‘Cherokee Brave’ Flowering Dogwood is a relatively new cultivar that has quickly gained popularity with proven disease resistance. The flower bracts emerge in mid-spring with an almost flat red color but quickly age to a coral pink and finally to a soft, apple blossom pink. This floral dance of butterflies (lasts 10 days on a warm, windy year as opposed to Amelanchier lasting one day) is always a knockout at Powell Gardens on “the first impression” curve of the Weir Memorial Dogwood walk just outside the Visitor Center. I always remind visitors to also take a whiff of the delightful heliotrope scent to the flowers! The foliage is mildew resistant (we rarely have conditions for dogwood anthracnose out here) and the trunks age to an interesting pebbled appearance. The 20 foot (tall and wide) tree has long-lasting red fall color and brilliant red berries for the birds in fall. The graceful, sympodial branching and the showy flower bud tipped twigs in winter complete the 4 seasons of ornamental interest. Plant dogwood in wind sheltered or woodland locations in rich, well-drained soil. Transplant balled and burlapped whenever possible (from trees dug in the spring).
Butterflies Magnolia Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ (hybrid origin)
There are too many awesome new hybrids of magnolia to mention and none have been trialed long enough to really get to know them. ‘Butterflies’ magnolia with its yellow, waterlily-like flowers before any leaves emerge is always a knockout at Powell Gardens. It blooms only for a short time in spring but it is a sight that attracts all visitors. Our tree grows on the east side of the Visitor Center trolley stop. The foliage is large and rich green all through summer and turns burnt gold and tan in the fall. The winter twigs are tipped with light gray furry buds for next spring’s bloom and the bark is smooth and light gray. The mature height of this tree will probably be around 30 feet with a narrower spread. Plant Butterflies Magnolia into rich, well-drained soil in full sun or part shade in a site where it will be shaded from morning sun or otherwise away from a frost pocket where a late frost won’t damage the flowers. Its only drawback is that small trees are shy to flower; it took our tree about 6 years to begin flowering en masse and it has done so every year since! It does not bloom as early as typical saucer magnolia so is less likely to suffer late frost damage (Powell Gardens’ tree has never had its flowers frozen – because I wrote this it will probably be doomed this spring!)
Fringetree Chionanthus virginicus
When the Missouri native Fringetrees bloom at Powell Gardens they get many questions and comments. This is really more of a large shrub but can keep slowly growing until small tree size in the 15-20ft. range of height and equal or greater spread. The pristine white flowers emerge after the main hurrah of spring as the new leaves emerge; and they act as lacey white flounces to the whorl of young leaves that crown over them. The flowers have a light, fresh fragrance. Trees are mainly male or female and female trees produce dark blue, olive-like fruit. The leaves are largish and relatively coarse but held in an informal pattern to fit in well with a woodland garden. Fall color is lemony to limey, yellow green, pleasant but not spectacular. Several fringetrees grace the Rock & Waterfall Garden where they have never failed to bloom. They thrive in well-drained soil and afternoon shade is best. We do have some in full sun in the parking lot to full shade under the canopy of native oak and hickory trees and all are doing well. This small flowering tree is a plant of Merit and promoted through Missouri’s Grow Native! program. This plants only pest for us is when stressed (just like its cousin the lilac) it is susceptible to the lilac-ash borer.
A big thanks to Alan for this detailed information and the exact locations to find specimens at Powell Gardens.
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