jg0613 said:Well here's what I am or have already purchased this year:

Kaw Valley greenhouses (local stand every year)-
2 Cuphea Vermillionaire
1 Salvia Wendy's Wish
2 Salvia Rockin Deep Purple
2 Salvia Splendens Saucy Red

Moffett Nursery (local)-
1 Agastache Kudos Red
1 Phlox Paniculata Double Hitter
1 Phlox Paniculata Starfire

Lowe's-
1 Hesperaloe Parviflora

All the above are pint size or 4 inch containers except both Phlox are gallon and the Hesparaloe is a whopping 3.74 gal pot

Online orders:

04/25 Butterfly Gardens to go-
2 Spigelia Marilandica

04/25 Select Seeds- deliv 05/15-
2 S Guaranitica (blue flowered species)
2 S Amante

04/25 Almost Eden-delivered 05/15-
1 Coral Porterweed
1 Henlea's Hummingbird Heaven Porterweed
1 S Margie Griffith
1 S Guaranitica Argentine Skies

05/01 Annie's -(delivered 05/15)-
1 Cuphea Strybing Sunset
1 Cuphea Starfire Pink
1 S Amistad
1 Blue Honeywort

05/01 Prairie Nursery-
1 Aquilegia Canadensis (wild columbine)
1 Delphinium Exaltatum (native tall blue larkspur)
1 Conoclinium Coelestium (hardy ageratum)
1 Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
1 Geum Triflorum (prairie smoke)

05/01 FBTS-
2 S Guaranitica Purple Haze
1 S Pseudococcinea
1 S greggi Cherry Chief

05/06 Select Seeds (arrived 05/16)-
1 pk Ipomopsis Rubra (standing cypress) seeds

05/10 Salvia seeds ordered from oRolando Uría-
1 pk each of
S Alegria
S Exserta (also known as S Praeclara
S Guaranitica Congestiflora
S Guaranitica Santa Maria
S Haenkei
S Splendens Sao Borja
S Splendens Yvonne

05/12 Select Seeds (Salvia Ssle)-
1 S Guaranitica (blue flowered species)
1 S Amante
1 S Soendens Van Houttei (burgundy flowers)

05/13 FBTS (second order but should ship with first order week of June 3)-
1 S Purple Majesty
2 S Darcyi x Splendens Roman Red

05/17 Almost Eden second order-
1 Iochroma Ashcott Red
1 Iochroma Indigo
2 Spigelia Marilandica

05/18 Annie's Annuals 2nd order-
2 Ipomopsis Rubra Skyrocket plants
I

Judy,

I know you like purple and purple salvias. Have you thought of planting Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'? Salvia (Salvia leucantha 'Midnight')

It's one of my husband and my favorites and I make sure to get it each year.

While I was at our local Kroger's today, I spotted



and "had" to take one of the two hanging pots home with me. It's a new SunPatiens this year and I've been wanting it since I saw pics of it.

Here's a link that shows two pics. (click the link and wait a few seconds and the other will appear)

https://www.ballseed.com/Plant...

I'm thinking about taking it out of the plastic hanging pot and potting it up in a container. Love all the colors together.

You have a pretty nice krogers. Here the grocery stores have little annuals. Nothing out of the ordinary. I will be looking for a blue flowered agastache and yellow one in a few months.

I just read tutti frutti can grow 5 feet. How good does anyone think it will do in a 3 gallon pot?

@Miamiu Eric,

Usually the Kroger's and Meijer's close to my home has just the regular and ordinary type of plants, but once in awhile, I spot a great find. That's why I have to order online.

I haven't grown Tutti Frutti for a lot of years. I always planted it in the ground, but this year, I'm going to pot it up into a container. I haven't decided what size yet. Either a 16 inch, 20 inch or a round tub (those tubs in stores that have white ropes for handles). I don't know about a 3 gallon tub, as I don't own one.

Bluestone Perennials in OH has their Agastaches (as well as other plants) on sale. https://www.bluestoneperennial...

Since you're interested in a blue and a yellow Agastache....

https://www.bluestoneperennial...

https://www.bluestoneperennial...

Any particular reason why you want to put the tutti frutti in a container?

The flowerbeds that I would plant it in either have weeds (that I haven't gotten control of) or have wood mulch on top of the soil. It's just faster and easier to pot it up into a container and remember to add pea gravel as the mulch.

Don't want to add wood mulch, as I accidentally did last year, as I lost 2 Agastache 'Morello' plants. Agastaches, not only do they like well drained (or very well draining) soil, they like to have their feet (roots) dry in the winter. The Morello's didn't even last til our winter. They had enough water long before that.

Do you think agastache do better as container plants since the soil dries out faster? I've put my Arizona sandstone in a 3 gallon pot, and I have been watering everyday and it looks like it is doing ok. Do they not like being wet during cold temps, or having non-stop rain multiple days in a row without sun?

My order came and have to say I would never buy from hirts garden again. The tutti fruit i top was bent in half and the leaves were smooshed to fit the box. I had 4 branches break off it. It was said to be in a quart po t. The red kudos was two inches high with a few stems growing out. Is this how all the companies ship their plants. A two inch plant... Also I did not see a nursery inspection sticker on the package. Any recommendations on how I should plant the red kudos? I stuck the broken branches in water to see if they will root. On a positive note I went to a local nursery and got a deal on a Coral poterweed and a bright purple porterweed.

Hirt's doesn't have a great reputation.

If you are new to mail ordering, it really pays to get advice from other gardeners. Either ask in the forums or do some online research on the company.

Depending on the specific company, mail order plants can vary from wonderful plants to rotten garbage. It's good to know which company sends garbage before ordering!

We have the Green Pages here. Be aware that it only includes positive reviews and recommendations.
https://garden.org/greenpages/

For both positive and negative reviews, Garden Watchdog is very helpful.

Sorry about the disappointing order.

Wow I had no idea they had so many neg reviews. I guess I'm lucky that both look alive. For the two inch one is putting it in a 3 gallon pot too big, or do these grow fast?

Can you post a photo of Kudos with something for size comparison?

How does the rootball look?

My guess is that you'd want to keep it in a smaller pot until the plant puts on some growth. If they basically sent you a plug, then it might get root rot if put in too large of a pot.

I took another look at the little one and it looks better to me than I though t at first. Think I was just mad a lot of branches broke off the larger one. I am having problems uploading a pic because I am on 2g. It came in a 3 inch pot. I have 4 inch pots I could put it in, or one gallon.

I planted them both each in a quart size short pot. As I took the 2 inch one out the dirt around it crumbled so I'm assuming it's a plug. The root ball was like an inch by an inch.

Miamiu said:Do you think agastache do better as container plants since the soil dries out faster? I've put my Arizona sandstone in a 3 gallon pot, and I have been watering everyday and it looks like it is doing ok. Do they not like being wet during cold temps, or having non-stop rain multiple days in a row without sun?

Eric,

For me in KY, when I have new Agastache plants potted up and/or in the ground, I make sure it doesn't get dried out and then when it gets established, I water only once in awhile.

You may need to water them more when they're in containers (versus plants in the ground).

Here in Northern KY, we get and have snow during the winters. Agastaches don't like their feet (meaning roots) wet, so I try and make sure they have well drained (or very well draining) soil and no wood mulch. I go to Lowe's and get bags of their all-purpose sand (found inside the store in the masonry isle) and add it to the soil when I plant in the ground. When I plant in containers, I make sure the potting mix is well draining.

For mulching them, I use crushed pea gravel, or if I can't find that, then I use regular pea gravel. I stop deadheading the Agastaches around August to insure hardiness. I don't cut the previous year's stems until spring to insure hardiness. If the plant is hardy for my zone and and I give it what I mentioned above, the cold shouldn't be a problem.

You shouldn't have to worry about the cold, being that you're zone 9a. If the plants get multi days of rain, hopefully they'll be well draining of the water. Don't use any wood mulch.

I am going to try just using my mist setting on the water when I water them so they do not stay too wet. Can these plants handle mid to high 90 weather little, or will they flatten out from the heat?

I have ordered from both HCG and Almost Eden. HCG's plants are almost always small, some are well rooted some are not. Almost Eden almost always sends large well rooted plants. I ordered from HCG this year a purple Sunkisser Salvia (it was actually decent size) and a few Desert Willows that I can't find anywhere else, and two of their Agastache's that I can't find anywhere else. Once their plants get established I have had good luck with them, it just takes longer as the plants tend to be quite small.

I picked up a few plants from Almost Eden this year as well... 3 Amante Salvias and other hummingbird attracting plants as well (mostly Lonicera's that I can't find anywhere else, a porterweed and a Turks Cap).

I did pick up a few other Salvia's from Select seeds, a couple more Amante's, Costa Rican Blue, and a few more Amistads. They had a good sale going on, the plants were about half the size of what Flowers by the Sea sends out.

I picked up a few Plant Select Penstemon's and Salvias. Wanting to try a few Windwalker Royal Red from a different nursery, I have had a difficult time overwintering this variety. I am hoping that getting stock from a different nursery with a more similar growing environment and climate helps me overwinter them. I don't have a difficult time wintering over most greggii's and jamensis that are cold hardy for my zone, but have a difficult time with Windwalker Royal Red and any "Blue" flowering guaranitica (Blue Ensign, Argentine Skies). I would love to add more Blue to my garden as I have tons of reds, pinks, oranges and purples.

Anyone know if these little plants can withstand 100 degree temps?

Thank you @utahxericman for your comment and comparison between HCG and Almost Eden. Good to know.

Yes, @Miamiu, but make sure the agastaches have their needs met.

I've have had agastaches survive 90's and 100's days here. We get enough of those type of days here, but not a month or summer worth every year.

The only time I lost any agastaches during the spring to fall season was last year when I planted two agastache 'Morello' plants in a container and mistakenly added wood mulch on top. I still can't believe I did that.

I think I am going to limit the time the seedlings are in the sun. The tutti frutti is looking real flimsy in the sun all day. The red kudos is handling the high temps better. Maybe put it out somewhere in the morning where it will get sun and by 12 put it in the shade.