Thanks for the detailed update, Marilyn. It looks like they send rooted cuttings rather than nice starter plants. It wouldn't be so bad if you were in Florida but since you have to use them as annuals, I guess you really need to start with something bigger to get a good show.

I found this thread about Pepper's/Accent's plants including pics of an order with Stachytarphetas.
http://www.network54.com/Forum...

My Dwarf Red Stachytarpheta has been pouting through this cold spring and hasn't grown much. It suddenly got hot and it and the variegated Manihot are much happier....me, not so much.

Marilyn, or anyone, have your tried the dwarf Verbena bonariensis 'Lollipop'? They have them at Lowe's and I finally succumbed today despite the price. They weren't that unusually priced for a perennial (they are here) but my mind was having issues accepting the concept of paying that much for a species that can almost be a garden weed. This one seems to be a cutting propagated and patented form, thus the price. They also had some lovely specimens of Salvia 'Heatwave Blast' but I already have that one.

I was disappointed to see that FBTS wasn't in the raffle this month. I hope they do one soon!

Danita,

I haven't tried the new Verbena bonariensis 'Lollipop', but I've read it's sterile, which is good!

Can't wait til there's a raffle with FBTS also!

Thanks for posting the link above.

I haven't been to Lowe's lately to see what's there, but maybe I can stop in next week.

I got 5 Salvia 'Heatwave Blast' (one gallon pots) there last year and planted them in the ground. Love the flowers.

We're in a raffle soon - several of them.

Marilyn, do you remember where you read that 'Lollipop' was sterile? On another website, someone said that hers reseeded but seemed to revert to the taller type. I hope it does reseed whether tall or short.

Thanks for the heads up, Kermit! Yippee!

FBTS said:We're in a raffle soon - several of them.

What is that beautiful and colorful Salvia?

Looking forward to your "raffles"!

Danita,

Can't remember right now. I was doing a google search on it after I noticed some online company was offering it.

This one has no name - just an acquisition number. Here is the story: http://www.fbts.com/salvia-sp....

Marilyn said:Flowers By The Sea (2/20/14)

shipping 4/28/14 - Recieved

1 Cuphea oreophila
1 Salvia 'Amistad'
2 Salvia coccinea 'Forest Fire' (one's for mom/dad)
1 Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'
1 Salvia microphylla 'Honey Rose'
1 Salvia oxyphora
1 Salvia x 'Mulberry Jam'
1 Salvia x jamensis 'Pat Vlasto'
1 Salvia microphylla 'San Carlos Festival'
1 Salvia miniata
2 Salvia x 'Scarlet Spires'
1 Salvia x 'Wendy's Wish'
1 Salvia x 'Elk Tomato Red'
1 Salvia x 'Elk Hot Tamale'
1 Salvia microphylla 'Elk Velvet'
1 Salvia x 'Elk Phoenician Purple'
1 Salvia x jamensis 'Tangerine Ballet'

(added later)

1 Salvia melissodora
1 Salvia 'Honey Melon'
1 Salvia 'Shell Dancer'
1 Salvia 'Dancing Dolls'
1 Salvia 'Elk Pomegranate'
2 Agastache 'Kudos Coral'
1 Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin'
1 Agastache 'Kudos Gold'

Forgot to post this pic of plants from FBTS in early May.

Orders from Garden Harvest Supply that I forgot to post from late April.

2 Gartenmeister Fuchsias
3 SunPatiens Compact Blush Pink Impatiens
6 Magellan Mix Zinnias
1 Black and Blue Salvia

1 'Lofos Wine Red' Lophospermum
3 Curly Parley

6 Gartenmeister Fuchsias
1 Black and Blue Salvia
1 Lady in Red Salvia
1 Ruby Bells Heuchera

Marilyn, did your Stachytarpheta mutablilis from Morris grow okay or did you end up ordering some bigger ones?

They're planted in two extra large nursery black "tree" tubs (one in each one by itself). I guess they're approx. 3 - 4 inches high each from the top of the soil.

Living in zone 6a in northern KY, I don't have the time during the season for plugs to grow into large plants for the Hummers. Never again. People down south that have a longer growing season might benefit from getting these "starter" plants cheap, but not for me and where I live.

I'll go back to ordering them extra early from Almost Eden. They're in small pots from them, but already established.

I see that they've 16 available right now of the Coral Porterweed. I'm not going to order any from them. I'll just have to keep my eyes on these two plants and hope they grow and bloom good for the Hummers this month.

Container Size: 3.5 inch / 16 fl.oz. / 473 ml

http://almostedenplants.com/sh...

It's very tempting to order them from Almost Eden now, but I'll just wait til next year.

I'm sorry about that, Marilyn.
It's helpful to know for the future and for the rest of us, at least. If I order one, I'll follow your advice and go with another company.

I grew some from seed once and they were kinda slow to grow to blooming size. They actually ended up croaking while wintering-over on the porch before they even bloomed but that was really my fault for not keeping a closer eye on them. They would have likely bloomed the second year had they not meet their demise.

Hmmm, I might dig out some old seeds and give them a try again....

Danita

I looked at both the plants in their containers. The first one that got planted first is now approx. 10-12 inches tall. The second one that got planted some time after the first one is approx. 8-10 inches tall.

I didn't measure, but I did take a pic of each. After DH gets all the pics I took into the computer, I'll post them.

Danita

Here's the first one I planted and the second pic is the second one.

Danita

Since we were talking about it before, I thought I'd mention that I'm getting 3 coral porterweed from Garden Harvest Supply. This is the first year that they're offering them and they're in the shrubs section. 4 varieties listed. Hopefully, they'll do great!

http://www.gardenharvestsupply...

Glad you found some! I hope they look better than those tiny plugs you got from the other company. Did those ever bloom for you?

It's nice to see more companies offering Stachytarphetas. They are so great for the butterflies and hummingbirds. Plus, they are quirky looking which is fun.

I'm starting some seeds of Coral and other Stachytarphetas. I'm not sure if I'll get much bloom this year but I got the seeds in the piggy-swap so the price was right!

They started out slower and by the end of the season, they were almost as big as the others I got from Almost Eden. If our growing season had been longer, they might have gotten larger. Good thing they cost a lot less. I looked in my plant folders to see if I'd taken any pics at the end of the season before the frost/freeze and didn't see any.

I figured GHS are already established plants, so they might grow better all season than the ones I got from Morris last year. Good thing the plants at GHS are a lot cheaper than the ones at AE too!

I'll keep you posted.