Thursday, February 24, 2011

Five To Tempt You!

Visit Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday!

I subscribe to a magazine out of Canada, which I may have mentioned in a past postGARDENMAKING.

I have barely gotten past the first several pages when I see a title "5 To Tempt You." These are the plants that were trialed at Ontario's University of Guelph and on the grounds of Landscape Ontario.  Roger Tschanz was at the head of this project and trialed 569 new varities and was asked to pick only five for this publication

I thought you would like to know what he selected:

Mecardonia Goldust
(From Proven Winners)
Can be used in containters or bedding, sun, a good spiller in a container

Spring Celebrities Hollyhock
(From Sahin)
Blooms the first year from seed

Dianthus Venti Parfait Crimson Eye
(From Goldsmith)
Flower size was twice the size of other dianthus
The University of Illinois also trialed this plant in 2010 and the results were marginal, however, my dianthus Firewitch performed very poorly because of the heat we had last summer.

Verbena Temari Cherry Red
(From Suntory)
This is a trailing verbena that did very well in the summer heat.

New Guinea Impatiens Magnum
(From Dummen)
Several colors with 4" blooms in partial shade

I will have a list a mile long when I go to the nursery!  I may not purchase these plants that have received accolades but I am interested in seeing what they look like.

32 comments:

Larry said...

I've had very good luck with verbena Temeri collection as well... Larry

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting! I need to check out that mag, can't read enough this time of year. My favorite is the Mecardonia, I'm a sucker for yellow blooms.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Eileen girl KUDOS !!! Thank you for mentioning one of our garden magazines .. I too subscribe to that one and Canadian Gardening .. they can have excellent information on what plants work well for each area of Canada .. and you already know the heat and humidity factor is huge where I am since I complain about it all the time in summer ? LOL
Having plants that stand up to that is priceless information right ? LOL ..
Loved reading this girl : )
Joy

Gloria Bonde said...

Hi Eileen - Thanks for this post. The Verbena Temari looks very inviting. Maybe I can try it. I need plants for very hot and dry.

Anonymous said...

Dear Eileen, What an interesting plant selection. As you say, it is so helpful when one has a sensible garden publication which can give good advice about one's own particular gardening conditions. I would not mind betting [although I am not usually a betting girl]that you will be trying them all!!

Lona said...

Well as usual I am easy and love them all. LOL!The verbena and dianthus look beautiful. Hollyhocks that bloom the first year will be a big hit.

Darla said...

It is always nice to see the plants in person and mentally compare them to what the magazines show.

Diana LaMarre said...

On first glance, I thought the Mecardonia Goldust was not all that tempting. Then I read that it was a spiller--now as a spiller I think it would be great! How many yellow spillers do you see?

I love the other 4.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Larry, I will look for it at the nursery this year. If it can take the heat, I am all for it.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Larry, I will look for it at the nursery this year. If it can take the heat, I am all for it.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi ONG,

I like the yellow mecardonia also. It's a Proven Winners product so we should be able to find it.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Joy,

Allan Becker, another Canadian blogger turned me on to GARDENMAKING. They had a free introductory issue and I loved it. It's a little pricey to have it sent to the US but so far worth it.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Gloria,

More and more, I am also looking for plants that can take the summer heat. I will also be looking for this one.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Edith,

There's too much on my list already. Hollyhocks will definitely not be in my garden again, couldn't handle the rust and mildew.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Darla,

I hope I can find a few of these at the nursery.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Lona,

I like dianthus also but mine kind of fizzled last year in the heat.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Zoey, we should be able to find the mecardonia, Proven Winners is everywhere even Home Depot.

Eileen

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

They are all really pretty, but I love the Hollyhock and Dianthus. Thanks for sharing!

garden girl said...

Very pretty Eileen! Have a great weekend!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Catherine,

I have better luck with dianthus, but my hollyhocks have always looked so bad with mildew.

Eileen

Mumzie said...

Gorgeous colors and thank for sharing. I'll be looking for some of these soon to plant. Mumzie

Tootsie said...

they are all beatuiful! I love the dianthus photo...perfect!
have a great weekend my friend...thanks for linking in again!

Paula said...

very awesome pix! thanks for sharing, Paula from Idaho

Sissy said...

I am surprised to see the reaction to the verbena..it did NOT do well for me as an edger. It was lauded as a heat tolerant verbena, so I jumped at it and bought a flat of 4 1/2" pots, but mine was brown and dying out by mid-July!
I guess I was kinda brown and thirsty by then, too!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Thanks for visiting Mumzie. I hope that we will have some warmth soon.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Thanks Tootsie,

I am sure both of us are hoping for a warm up soon.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Thanks for stopping by Paula.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Thanks for the info Sissy. Winners are not always winners for everyone. I have had several plants of the year that have not performed for me. We had such a hot summer last year I found that only the zinnias, phlox, marigolds and impatiens did not let me down. Even some petunias did much better than others.

Eileen

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

Hi Eileen, I am embarrassed to admit that I don't know this Canadian publication. Of the five temptations those Hollyhocks blew me away. They are so pretty and they bloom the first year. Wow! I'd love some!

joey said...

Wow, Spring Celebrities Hollyhock is stunning! Wish I had room :(

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Jennifer,

Gardenmaking has not been around long, about a year. I sent for an inrtoductory copy and loved the fact that they had minimal advertising and great articles.

Eileen

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Joey,

The Hollyhocks are stunning almost tempting me to try them again. I wonder if this new variety will escape the mildew?

Eileen