March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Proven Winners’ durability makes gardeners victors> Ornamentals to hit seed catalogs soon

With the gardening season just put to rest and the holidays ahead, you may not be thinking of what your choices will be next May when you step into your local greenhouse. You can be sure that once the poinsettia crop has left the greenhouses, growers’ thoughts will indeed turn to next spring’s offerings.

A group of plants that are gaining popularity in the horticulture industry around the country will surely fill more than one greenhouse bench in your area.

Proven Winners, a series of plants that seem to accommodate the needs of modern gardeners and that tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, next year will have an extended line in greenhouses throughout the Northeast. These plants are propagated asexually, not by seed, and result in extremely uniform and relatively disease-free plants.

As one of three licensed propagators in the United States of the Proven Winners plant series, Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, N.H., is a primary distributor to greenhouse growers in Maine.

Carol Huntington, sales and marketing manager for Pleasant View Gardens, said in a recent interview, “The market is very hungry for new and innovative plants.

“Consumers are really thirsting for something new,” Huntington said. “Proven Winners have not only new material, but it’s really good material. One of the missions of the Proven Winners series is to have the homeowner be successful, even with little care for the plants.”

Take note that in 1999, a total of 39 plant varieties will be available within the spring and summer line of Proven Winners.

This year, look for two varieties of a brand new species addition to the Proven Winners line. Two nemesias, one originating from England, the other from South Africa, were chosen as winners among many other plants submitted to the Proven Winners trials from around the world.

“Bluebird” nemesia produces a deep purple-blue bloom with a yellow center. White-flowering “Compact Innocence,” with a sweet-smelling flower that looks like a miniature snapdragon, produces abundant flowers.

In 1999, some Proven Winners varieties will be replaced with improved varieties that produce bigger flowers and more abundant blooms. For example, with 30 percent larger flowers, “Snow Storm” becopa will replace “Snow Flake.” Growers can expect new Proven Winners varieties that add to the range of colors offered last year.

As for new ornamental offerings from seed, you’ll find many in the seed catalogs that will hit your mailbox soon after the new year begins.

New varieties of flowers from seed include “Profusion” zinnia, which provides continuous vivid scarlet or orange blooms throughout the season. This 1999 All-American Selection is perfect as a ground cover or containerized plant. “Passion Mix” African daisy produces brilliant pink, rose, purple and white daisy flowers that have azure centers. The perennial, “Flamenco” red hot poker, flowers the first year from seed and offers a mix of yellow, orange, and fiery red blooms. With long stems that are excellent for cutting, this new variety will flower in fall the first year and will peak beginning in midsummer in subsequent years. “Passion Mix” and “Flamenco” are 1999 AAS winners, as well.

Your questions

Q: Could you please tell me if autumn clematis will grow here? What soil conditions does it like? What is best for supporting the vine? — Y.L., Old Town

A: Sweet autumn clematis, C. terniflora (also sometimes listed as C. dioscoreifolia, C. maximowicsiana, or C. paniculata), is hardy to Zone 4.

This fragrant climber prefers full sun and rich, neutral or slightly alkaline soil. It will grow best with plenty of support and makes a lovely vine for covering an arbor. White flowers are borne in late summer and fall and are followed by ornamental seed heads. With support, sweet autumn clematis will grow 15 to 20 feet.

Q: Can I grow white birch from cuttings? — D.W., Millinocket

A: Yes, it is possible to grow birches from cuttings, but plants can be a little finicky.

If you’d like to try your luck, use rooting powder to encourage root development. Take cuttings in the last two weeks in August. Root the cuttings directly into garden soil, and do not try to transplant them until after their spring flush is complete.

Alternatively, birches grow readily from seed. Collect seed and sow them in garden soil in fall for spring germination. (Seeds are signaled to germinate as the days lengthen.)

If you are looking to increase the number of birches in your yard, note that birches readily transplant. If you notice small trees growing beneath parent plants, simply dig them up in the spring and transplant in a spot that is sunny, in well-drained, acidic soil.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, c/o Maine Weekend, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like