off the subject of brugs here. I know most of us grow many types of plant and flowers so I was wondering if anyone has seen the new parks seed catalog for 2005? They are offering for the first time a new cone flower and it is orange. Really pretty but the price was HIGH!!!
If I remember correctly it was $17 for a 3inch pot.
just a little
Shoot, it came in the mail and I threw it in the trash without even looking...shame on me. I must've been in a mood yesterday...There is no way I'd pay $17 for any rudbeckia or echnicea (sp?) though!
I saw it but did not check out the price. It seems pretty high to me even though I think it would be a nice addition to any pot or garden area. I wonder if it performs as well as the lavender one. I like flowers that bloom 9 months out of the year.....hmmm...maybe it is worth $17 if it has all the characteristics of the lavender one and is trouble free. With so much care going into brugs, I really enjoy flowers and plants that require no care yet put out hundreds of blooms during the course of their blooming season.
Parks is always high even if you go there. maybe i shouldnt say i live so close to them. they are always trying new things that bloom here in our wacky wacky weather then they sale to everyone..
if you look on the web this one is around and is sold at like wholesale nurseries (moravia ). its also sold at thompson and morgan in the uk catalog .
This was my first season for cone flowers, I really like the two I had, lots of staying power of one, but the other faded too quickly. $17 bucks sounds pricey to me, but if I had good luck and wanted it, I'd go for it. Let us know if you buy one and how it does...
This message was edited Jan 4, 2005 10:33 PM
guys, my turn to do a good deed. The lovely TXgarden told me earlier today they were being offered on special for $14.95 or $14.99 so I placed an order immediately. The phone rep. first quoted me $17.99 then I told her I had heard they were on special for $14.99 and sure enough that was correct. Guys HURRY, maybe you can get some too!
Edited to add: Where is my head? Vendor was Park Seeds. apparently they sent an email around advertising this deal.
This message was edited Jan 4, 2005 9:30 PM
I just received a catalog for a new place (new to me) which had both orange and mango (was noticeably lighter and smaller flower than the orange - said it was a sport of the orange) colored cone flowers. I didn't look at the prices and don't remember the nursery. I'll have to check it tonight and let you know.
edited to correct my info and to add: Just remembered who it was. White Flower Farm:
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/perennials-spring-e-to-h.html
$19.95 each (yikes!)
This message was edited Jan 5, 2005 8:25 AM
I just checked that site, and I like the flower but sure not going to pay $19.99 for one.
I also found a really nice orange one at wayside gardens. It is a little more than the one at parks,price wise.
I have grown purple and white coneflowers for many years and agree wtih Frannie(Brugnanny) about how they perform. The wayside description sounds like it performs very well.
I know 17-20 bucks for one is alot of money but with the number of seeds the plant will produce in the first season and the germiantion rate that they have will make it worth it. And the seedlings bloom the following spring.
David, have you ever tried pentas??? If so, (since we are zone 8ers) did they make it over winter?? If not, do you happen to know where I might find some to put in my GH for an early start?? They bloomed here from spring until frost, Dec 15. Nice little flower...
Sherry
I know what pentas are but have to say i've never grown them. The landscapers use them a lot around teh building tah I wor in but with every season change they get yanked up so I cant say if they would survive teh winter here or not.
I try and grow mostly perennial type plants so I dont have to deal with replacing them every year. I do throw in one or two annuals for some extra color but for whatever reason have never tried pentas. Maybe this spring I will throw some in a few of the beds and see how they do for me.
Well i've been looking and looking at all of these new varieties of coneflowers that are coming out this year and have found several oranges. The one that I personaly like the most is one called sunset. I don't know who all is offering it for sale but I found it at Wayside Gardens. I can't believe the prices on them though.
I really like the coneflowers and will always grow them in my garden because they are excellent performers ,not only because they multiply rapidly but because once they start blooming they go all summer long and the flowers last for quite a while. They also reseed themselves and when I say reseed I mean they go bananas. You can plant just one plant in the spring and have a hundred or more come next spring. I have a bed that has just one purple CF in it and each spring I have to pull what seems like a thousand seedlings out and transplant them.
Wow, David, I surely hope that is the case with my two coneflowers - did I say that they are PINK, ha! So, was my penta, that did much better than the coneflowers, but they are perennials, which I would much prefer too, except the penta is really pretty too and bloomed her little heart out with absolutely zero care. If my coneflowers come back like yours did, I'll be in the market for more too. Maybe they won't cost as much in Arky - but likely they will cost more, whew!
David -- unless things have changed, Park Seed Company owns Wayside Gardens.
RE: Penta, I've had a variegated plant w/ red flowers for two years and it survived last winter (in houston) but looks pretty bad this year. I will be heartbroken if I lose it because it was a beautiful perform. Have been looking for more and never have found any. Great plant, blooms a lot, sort of slow grower (overall plant, that is)
Sherry,
We share the same zone, I believe, and pentas do not come back here. They are plentiful and the spring at local garden centers and are usually pretty inexpensive so I don't mind buying them every year as annuals.
Terrie
Hi, all - I bought the "Razmatazz" coneflower from Park last year - for an outrageous price of course! It grew well, but because it was the first year I only got about 5 flowers out of it - next year should be great. Here is a pic of it from around August- pretty snazzy, eh?
Diane Krny
Diane, snazzy, I'd say, that is beautiful, mine had a black center (I think/thought) and I only had 4 flowers. Home mine comes back like yours.
Terrie, I'm close, zone 8a, but the penta LOVED it her, did I say PINK, and perfect, bloomed her heart out and I will plant more this year. I'd give anything if it comes back, I doubled mulched it, just in case.
vossner, that sounds super, I'd love some of those. Are they seeds or plants??? If plants, do they root them?? I love variegated and red, wow!!! Pentas are one of my new favs, last year was the first year I tried them, whew, wonder where I've been....
Diane,
I also looked at that one(razmatazz). Knd of like it as well.
I broke down this afternoon and bought one of the sunset coneflowers from Wayside. After the purchase was finalized I sat and thought to myself -for what I just paid for that plant I obviously have more money than good sense. But the sales person told me that the plants are already one year old so they should perform very well the first season.
And as I said above in an earlier posting,they make lots and lots of seeds and have a very high germination rate and they grow quite fast. So if all goes well with the new plant then by late summer I am guessing that I will have many new plants of the sunset variety.
Good luck with your new purchase, David. I hope it brings you many blooms and much pleasure :) Gretchen
I had read somewhere on another thread that the orange ones would not come true from seed because they were genetically engineered. I don't exactly know what that means, but I sure hope that is wrong! Catsmeow do let us know later on the success of your seeds.
Sherrylike, the penta I was talking about was one I purchased in a qt container. I've never seen any seeds. Sure looks like it might be a gonner, but the PF says it is a tender perennial. I'll post here of its progress/demise later on.
Krnysgirl that razzmatazz is pretty fine!
I think it is just beutiful and I can't wait to get my hands on some my self. Endless no fuss blooms that can take the heat with almost no care is just the ticket while I fuss with all these brugs and morning glories.
The pentas and salvas fit right in the same catagory to they will go and go and go in this Texas heat and drought or wet what ever we have and keep on blooming there fool heads off.
I hope Lowes has a ton of them this year and I can mop up
*o0
Dee
Salvias don't like me, it's the location, I guess. I LOVE them, the purple is beautiful with the pink pentas.
Vossner,
That would be just my luck after paying a fortune for the stupid thing that the seeds will produce every color flower but an orange one!! Now that you've brought that up i'll see if I can find out anything about it being genetically engineered and if the seeds bloom true to the parent.
As that old saying goes if it weren't for bad luck i'd have no luck at all!
I'm going to order both the sunrise and sunset since both together can be purchased for about $25. That one of Diane's is gorgeous too. Can't get a deal on it, but I'm going to go for it anyway.
David, vossnor, beat me to it as I think I also read somewhere that the E. Orange Meadowbrite does not come true from seed, but maybe that is not correct. Anyway enjoy your plant and we will hope that it does come at least a few do, true color from seed. It has snowed all night and is st9ll snowing, about 6 or 7 inches total on the ground. i was supposed to take my Blue to get her 6 weeks trim today, but that is about 30 miles away and I am not driving out in this weather for that so will have to cancel and set up another date. Must go soon and shovel out my 200 feet of paths. Donna
Shirley,
Don't tell me that. Where did you find them both for that money. I paid $28 icluding SH for the sunset alone from Wayside Gardens. As I said in an earlier posting I guess I have more money than sense!!
David, you better call them. It is Wayside that has them at the price I mentioned. I'll go get my catalog. Okay, on page two, it says in a block.....Cone Crazy Echinacea Collection. $24.95....save 38%. Same thing on page 71.
See I didn't get a catalog. I just went online and placed the order. I guess whe you do taht they see you coming and don't happen to mention any kind of specials. I will check the online catalog right now and if that special is ther I will request that my order be changed to that.
Thanks for the info Shirley.
After reading in an earlier posting that these new coneflowers may not bloom true to the parent when raised from seed i decided to send Wayside an email.
I asked if there was anyone there who could tell me about this and if the plants are in fact gentically engineered.
This is the response that I just got from the chief horticulturist at Wayside. Since I don't know how to attach a copy of the original emai to this thread i'll just type it word for word as it was sent to me.
Hi David,
These plants are not genetically engineered but they are hybrids (the result of cross pollination between two or more unlike varieties) and hybrids do not come true to what the parents are. This would apply to any hybrid,not just Echinaceas.
thanks
Bob
Staff Horticulturist
Wayside Gardens
So it looks like my plans for having lots of little orange sunset coneflower seedlings by summers end just got shot out of the water!!!
You may get lucky and get something nice anyway.
I called wayside about 10 minutes ago and changed my order to get the same collection that you are getting Shirley. For just about $3 more than my original $28 order for just one plant, I can now get both.
Good for you. I wonder if these can be propagated by cuttings? Might have to give that a shot sometime.
PS. I'll trade bills with you. Mine came to over $70 because I bought a couple of collections and the one that Diane posted above. Add postage to that and they really look expensive. LOL!
This message was edited Jan 7, 2005 4:06 PM
Shirley ,
I did ask when I had the sales rep on the phone about root divisions of the plant. Coneflowers do multiply quite well that way and she told me that they do bloom true to the parent when you divide them that way.
I'm confused; big surprise; NO comment!! David, did both you and Shirley buy plants (for spring planting?) and, if so, why did you buy them so early? Because they are popular and there might be a shortage??? Will you keep them in a GR?? I ask because I'd like to get an early get go on pentas. Do you think pentas would work the same way as coneflowers???? TIA!!
I am placing an early order because of supply and demand. Talk is that these new coneflowers are gonna be the hot item this year as they will be going public with them this spring at nurseries. The nursery that Shirley and I ordered ours from doesnt even have them in stock yet and won't until at least mid March or thats what I was told anyway.
Had they been in stock right now and shipped I would be keeping them in my greenhouse until proper planting time.
Just to add.........they will ship at the appropriate planting time for your area. If interested, I would get an order in. Each coneflower that I ordered today, she would check to verify that they still had them. Actually what that means is that she can't take orders for more than they have ordered.
Brugie and David...........you both got some beautiful flowering plants coming. I also love the one Diane has shown. Even they do not come true to seed, it would still be interesting to see what one would get from the seeds. They do multiply quickly and in no time at all with thinning, one can have many plants.
I have to keep telling myself.........NO, you don't need to go to Wayside Gardens web site..........lol. I have been getting many catalogs in the mail and I must say there is so much that I would like to order from each of them.
Mother planted cone flowers in a corner of her yard in Charlotte, NC some 20 years ago and they have bloomed and also behaved themselves faithfully ever since.
I think if these new ones are as hardy as the old ones you've all spent your money well.
I too have only seen the (drool) pink one above because I am afraid to go looking at catalogs lol.
I can only maintain so many obsessions at a time.
Sidney
I sent out a pile of cuttings all over .. a fellow in I think IL sent me some seeds for the orange coneflower... along with whatever else the trade was [ love thoes traders ] ... and an article about it's development... hypeing it for this years growers.. I think it was a colaboration of the university there and one of the major gowers.. It didnt seem to be a engineered thing but more of developmental one.. like the grower was footing the bill at the schoool ...and the kids were developing it .. it should grow true from seed as it was what they weretrying to sell to the growers. I looked about here for the info sheet or the seeds and I can't seem to find therm anywhere.. it's a bit early for me to start seeds as by the time they can go out they are too big to have inside and have started becomming leggy or bent..
No wonder I can't find anything .. plants galore ... rooting.. stored.. flowering..
and the rare one that's dormant.. and that's inside the apartment.. [and in the hallwway ] I'm told it's like the childerns story of farmer Mc Greggor's Apartment house.. He was a building super .. and as folks moved out he'd convert their space to growing plants.. till his building was like a truck farm.. and he didn't have to bother with the pesky tennants.. just more and more plants.. but unlike the story.. I still live here ... where inside watering is about a 35 gallon proposition.. Gordon
I'm thinking if it doesn't grow true from seed, how could they keep up with the demand for the plant? I'll sure share seed if anyone wants to try...that is if the plants will grow well for me and bloom. Don't laugh, but I insured them for two years. It was only 5 bucks and I would rather pay that out than to have to replace at those prices. That $5 insurance covers everything in my order and that is 7 cone flowers. If they live, then at the least I saved myself some worry time.