So what are you growing new in 2008?

I'm trying several things new this year but this one is not only pretty, but nutritional. It grows 5-6 feet tall , produces beautiful yellow flowers and the leaves are great in a salad. You know it as a Hibiscus, which it is, or a type of Okra. Here is some info I found on it that is very interesting.

" Aibika Hibiscus (Abelmoschus) manihot, Aibika also known as, Bele (Fiji) Pele (Polynesia) and Ailan kapis (Vanuatu)
A perennial in the tropics or an annual in cooler climates Aibika bears edible leaves on plants reaching 6 feet in height. Pale yellow flowers 6 inches across with dark centers make Aibika another attractive background plant. The leaves have a high level of leaf protein, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. They are eaten raw as salad, or mixed with other vegetable in a stew or as a cooked green vegetable. Aibika should not be cooked longer than 5 minutes and turned only once. The flavor is sweet and mucilaginous. Flower buds are consumed either raw or cooked.
Give aibika a sunny location and moist soil, and it will be happy. As summer heats up, aibika will flourish. "

I was given some seeds, planted only 4 and all 4 have sprouted. It seems easy enough to start from seed and grows fairly quickly. I like the fact that it has vitiams and minerals in the leaves and they can be eaten raw. I was going to use them in my salad in place of baby spinach....or maybe combined with the BS!

This message was edited Mar 17, 2008 10:06 AM

This is one of the baby's which I started from seed.

Also new to me this year is Salvia Rose. Never tried to grow it from seed but the seedlings are looking good.

Also new is this Campanula I picked up at the supermarket. It makes me smile every morning...no matter what the weather is outside!

That is very interesting stuff about the hibiscus. Pretty and nutritious, nice. Your supermarket find looks really nice, I can see why you had to adopt it, no way you could walk by that beauty.
Most of the new plants here are different forms of plants I already grow like echinacea, columbine, delphs and roses. I do have some seeds, some very generously donated by Pixie, that will be new as well as some annual and a few perennial seeds that I have not grown before. Some wildflowers, aquilegia Nora Barlowe columbine, batchelor buttons, cleome, ammi, dill, feverfew and alyssum. Also will be planting a lot of new shrubs which I have already listed. I don't usually do seeds so all that is new.

ngam, I've never done as many seeds as I have this year...at least not flowers. I usually grow mostly veggies from seeds as I have a good sized garden to fill. This year I decided to grow most of my annuals and some perennials from seed. So far so good, I have had a pretty good germination rate. The seeds that take 30-40 days to germinate are the ones im having the hardest time with. It's not the seeds, it's me! No patience!!
Another new one to me is "Yellow Bells" http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/89729/
it's more of a tropical for me as it is only hardy to z7. I'm curious to see if I can get it to flower before fall!

So you've started the annuals already, Celeste? Seems early.

I like plants that make food. Let us know what it tastes like.

Yeah but 'mucilaginous' doesn't exactly sound appetizing!!

Oh quit being a sissy Victor! LOL
I started some early as they take 30-40 days to germinate. I also want them to be well established when I leave for Florida...less chance they'll die if they forget about them for a day. But of course i'll be calling home daily..."Feed the dogs, cat, fish, water the plants' ect....
Yank, the part about the leaves having iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium is what sold me on growing it. Of course the pretty flower didn't hurt! I let ya know what it taste like, hopeful sweet like it claims!

What other foods sound awful, but taste great?

Good idea for a thread Celeste. So far, I haven't started anything, but when I do, I'll be growing a lot of things I've never done before. The biggest thing I'm doing is a vegetable garden. Never grew that before. Wish me luck!

Harper, thats the easiest for me to grow, but i've been doing it for over 20 years.....
Pepper plants like a heat mat....trust me on this. I had the hardest time with them until I got a heat mat....no problem now. I'd have to say squash, corn, and swiss chard are the easiest, but you direct sow in the ground.

Urgh. I was hoping to avoid the heat mat, but I LOVE peppers. Mmmm, love swiss chard. Squash and corn are already on my list. This is gonna be fun! Well, except I have to excavate my lawn first. I'm not looking forward to that part.

Is there a farm close by where you could by a pick-up truck full of cow manure? It's the best and easiest and cheapest way to fertilize your garden. We get one or two truck loads a year and stick the rototiller to it. I grew a 9lb. cauliflower one year!

A 9lb. cauliflower?!! Wow, that's what my son weighed at birth! I don't know of any farms, but I'm sure they're here. I have to figure out how to find them. Thanks for the info!

Raintree is sending me a free Hargo Apricot for the one that was DOA. So that is new for me in 2008.

I'm adding 3 JM's. I think that's all so far.

This is one of my new JM's.

http://www.paghat.com/floatingcloud.html

Another cryptomeria.

http://www.tinytreasuresnursery.com/Plant%20Pages/Crypto%20j%20Spiraliter%20Falcata.htm

Victor, that is a beautiful JM, never saw one like it. And I love the cryptomeria. I know our zones match, but it is very very hot here for long periods in the summer...would it grow in such heat?

I like the Floating Cloud JM, very pretty!
I also noticed while browsing through that site they have a delphinium they call ''Blue Butterfly' Chinese Larkspur which looks exactly like my 'Blue Pygmy' Dwarf delphinium. It even has the hot pink/red-purple tips on the petals.

Some do have a problem with the heat, Sharon.

Well, so much for that new and wondrous idea......

I would not give up on it. Just double-check the specific one you have in mind. See if they are growing in your area or check with your extension service. Can't always trust descriptions and sellers.

OMG...I think every tropical that I'm planting this year are new. I've planted Elephant ears before, but not the varieties I have coming to me in the next 2-3 weeks. I have never grown Daturas or Brugs before, I have 1 brug that has lasted through the winter here (I bought it at Logee's at the RU)...and Datura seeds that I will be transplanting soon. I have never planted any Peruvian Lilies before, this year will be the first. The Cryptomeria that I'm buying, again-Thanks Victor!-is a new conifer species I was not even aware of.
I joined/signed up for the full DG package at the end of the summer last year. So, ordering for me was done. With this being my first "order" time with DG, and everyone being so kind (enabling) as to list their favorite places to order from, telling us about the lilyauction, etc...my narrow scope of where/what to buy broadened greatly. So, this year, is a new, new year for me.
All of the JI's that I've ordered, thanks to input from Pixie and Pirl, the JI's are new.
All of the coleus that I've ordered, new.
Most of the other annuals, new.
Almost every Dahlia is...new. I didn't know that there were specific growers for Dahlias. Until this year, I had no idea.
I am like a kid in a candy shop...except I have a credit card, and disposable income...lol. DINK

You're welcome, Thom. I think you have pretty much disposed of most of your income!

Beautiful JM, Victor!

Thanks Pirl. I'm looking forward to it.

Wow--the JM looks like a tropical bird's feathers---had no idea they could look so ethereal. The only new things I'm planting are what I find germinating in Pixie's blue flower mixture. The rest of my purchases are just different varieties--Pix---I bought an annual hibiscus at our friend's farm in Plainfield, NH. It was pale yellow, with maroon markings--it has self-seeded for the last 4? years--it would be pesty except it doesn't bloom until Aug--& it's short. Hope yours doesn't become a pest, but in Maine, probably not.

Victor, regarding your cryptomeria - are you sure it's a cedar and not a can of worms?

I'll let you know when I 'open' it. See if it responds to fish emulsion.

New stuff this year . . .

Digitalis obscura, Sunset

Digitalis trojana

I tried Snow-on-the-Mountain last year, but it didn't germinate. So, I'm trying it again this year via winter sowing. Same with Bells of Ireland.

I'm trying some primula from seed this year - candelabra, and Viennese Waltz.

love that foxglove sunset

I W.S. the Bells of Ireland too, beautiful foxglove!

I will be interested to hear how you like the obscura foxglove. I have that one on my 'I think I need this someday" list. Pics always interest me then the description of tan and brown makes me hesitate. A real life report just may push me over the edge,it won't take much of a shove. :)

Yes, I agree, the purchasing power of Thom is almost at an end...until that check I get in May arrives!!! I'll probably be buying more rocks with that check. Victor, is that JM anything like the 'Wet Heron' JM? I've had my eye on that for about 2 seasons now from Mountain Maples. I just wish I could take a risk and place some JM's in this new bed that I'm creating...the reason for my hesitation, it's full, glaring, all day sun. There really isn't going to be any respite from the sun. I would hate like all h e double hockey sticks, to purchase a great and beautiful JM like that one, and have it toast in the middle of the new bed. I know some JM's can take full sun better than others, but I like to baby my JM's a wee bit.

Not familiar with Wet Heron, Thom, but this one definitely cannot take much sun at all. Did you order the Cryptomeria already? The place whose photo I linked to now is up and running. I had planned to order from them but never heard back. Turns out the guy had a serious injury and is only back now. They were cheaper then where I ended up ordering from.

Thom, you actually BUY rocks? I'm glad they're free on my property!

By the way, Thom, will you be eating crackers and water all year to make up for the plants your money went to?