Viewing comments posted by BookerC1

Blooms on both old and new wood. Supposedly, the bloom color is not affected by soil pH, and each plant will bear a mixture of pink, lavender, and blue blossoms. Prune after blooming, generally July or August, to avoid pruning off next year's blooms on the old wood.

The tag states:
"If the plant is leggy when you purchased it, shear the plant back hard by 1/3 to 1/2 its original size. Once it puts on an inch or two of growth, pinch the branch tips to remove just the growing tip. This tip controls branching. Once it is removed the buds below it will turn into stems. Once these new branches grow an inch or two, pinch the tip out again. You can repeat this throughout the first growing season as you are tending your garden. This technique results in a well branched, full bodied plant that will have more flowers in subsequent years. The second season in the ground, repeat the pinching practice (or lightly shear) up until mid-August. Cease pruning and pinching to allow the flower buds to set."

Wonderful plant to grow with children. They will be intrigued by the smooth, fleshy leaves, and thankful for the soothing properties if they get burned. The juice should be used with adult supervision! This plant multiplies rapidly, so it is a good plant for sharing. A teacher friend of mine gives a start to each of her students every single year, teaching them about repotting plants and caring for them. By the following spring, her plant has reproduced enough to provide starts for her next classroom full. She gave me a start two years ago, and it has multiplied happily in a pot on my enclosed porch.

No support is needed for this bush-type bean. They have withstood both high winds and rain, and long dry periods. Very productive.

The tag lists "High yields of heavily netted fruits with juicy, sweet flesh. Fruit size: 4-5 lb. Days to maturity: 82"

Excellent for forcing, for color and fragrance during the winter months. Fragrance can be overpowering in a small room. Spent forced bulbs can be planted outdoors when soil warms, and will reliably return for 2-3 years.

Will return for 2-3 years, but gradually loses vigor and becomes more scraggly. Beautiful, intense blue color is a great foil for daffodils and other light-colored early spring bulbs. Fragrance is incredible! For cut flower, cut when first blooms open and place immediately in water. Even one will scent an entire room.

Very petite little hosta, with attractive bi-color leaves and twisted form. Slow to multiply. Seems to be highly attractive to insect pests, as it is chewed up when the other miniature hostas in the area are untouched.

Attractive planted with yellow flowers that will pick up the yellow throat and contrast with the purplish petals. Rudbeckia or heliopsis are two options. Also works well with softer lavender colors, like astilbe.

Very striking blooms, with high contrast between the cream and the dark purple eyes and edges. This plant draws a lot of comments and questions in my garden. It has multiplied well, so I'll be dividing and adding it to other areas of my garden this fall!

Returns reliably and slowly increases. Very bright, attractive blooms are eye-catching, even from a distance, and attract bees and butterflies. Benefits from pinching back to promote a bushy shape, or tends to get leggy.

Very pretty, both with the blooms closed, when the outer purple color shows, and fully open, when you see the inner side of the petals, which are white with delicate blue-purple veining.

Very attractive single-flower form, with reddish-purple blooms and bright yellow stamens. Mine has stayed about 4' tall over the course of 5 years, and blooms prolifically over about a 3 week period. If dead-headed, it will usually produce a second, smaller flush of flowers late in the summer.

Very attractive planted with dark-colored foliage plants, such as heuchera, or 'Huskers Red' penstemon. The contrast really makes this pale-colored clematis glow!

Peppers are chocolate-brown when ripe, and are of the pasilla type. They are traditionally used to make the Mexican molé sauce, but are also good for stuffing and grilling. Peppers can be eaten green, but develop fuller flavor and become hotter as they ripen. Peppers should be mature between 75-85 days after sowing.

Disease resistance to Potato virus Y and Tobacco Mosaic Virus Strains 0, 1 and 2

In 2007, was selected for an All-America Selections award for its flavor, vigor, disease resistance, and yield.

I love this bright little plant, but have terrible problems with aphids on them. I never see aphids in my garden unless I plant butterfly weed, and then the stems are entirely covered with the little buggers. I don't want to use chemical controls because I planted it in a butterfly and bee garden, so I usually resort to spraying with a hard blast of water from my hose. I'm glad they are nowhere near my roses!

These blooms open in the morning when the sun rises, and shine brightly all day. When the sun goes down, the petals close up for the night.

I planted this daylily in memory of a dear friend of mine who died suddenly in a car accident. I looked for flowers with her name, but when I stumbled across this bloom, I knew it was perfect for my memory garden. Her brilliant smile was one of her most memorable features.

This little beauty is difficult to capture adequately in a picture. The glowing golden areas just turn out looking beige. It is much prettier in person, and has increased rapidly in my Central Illinois garden. It is one of the earliest to bloom for me, and blooms prolifically!

This is one of my favorite zinnia mixes. So many bright colors and variations in size and form. Great for cutting for bouquets. Very strong, sturdy stems. I suggest pinching the plants back when they are small to promote bushy growth. Cut blooms for bouquets and deadhead often, as the more you cut, the more they bloom! Zinnias are also excellent candidates for seed-saving. At the end of the season, allow blooms to mature and dry, and cut off to collect the seeds.