Blue flowers blooming now, Part 3

Tammy - I love the seeded phlox! It has come back steadily for us every year. I think the purple-pink has fewer problems with powdery mildew. I even have a couple white "David" phlox that seeded into my yard from my neighbor's. I love free plants!

Most of the self-seeded ones I have get that mildew :-( Even David has
self-seeded into mildow - prone purpley ones. But they are pretty, the
butterflies love 'em and the price is certainly right! :-)
Tam

I think these Lisianthus are just annuals by definition. I've had a few winter over, but they never did anything spectacular the next year, and they never seem to reseed. Luckily, though, they're sold at the price of annuals, so I just buy a few 6-packs every year.

I love your picture, Tammy, of the Phlox and that beautiful butterfly hovering there. Really nice.

Thanks Zuzu. I wasn't sure if lisianthus was just grown as an annual here due
to hardiness or was truly an annual.
Tam

Lisianthus is hard to find in my area and then it is sold in individual pots for $2 to $4. If you want to grow it from seed you have to start it in January because it takes a very long time (6 months I think) to reach blooming stage. I usually place an order with Green Mountain Transplants each year and they offer plugs of lisianthus for $0.55 each. This year they had 12 different varieties/colors available.

Twelve? Wow and double wow. How many plugs of each do you have to buy from Green Mountain to get that price? That sounds like a great deal, unless you have to buy half a flat of each or something like that.

I remember when all you could find were the single blue and single white, and even those were irresistible. Now they have all of the doubles and the pinks and the bi-colored ones. They really are wonderful plants, like roses without the thorns.

A nearby farm opened up a really nice little produce store w/attached
greenhouse last year. They were selling those little lizzies for $10ea!

Does Green Mountain require that you be a whole saler?

Tam

GMT sells a large assortment of vegetables, herbs, perennials and annuals in 2 different flat sizes - 32 or 72. The 72 size flats are small plugs with excellent root development and the prices are usually 55 or 65 cents each. The 32 size flat has larger plants that are mostly under $2 but they do carry some plants for up to $9 (tree peonies) depending on the plant. They offer hundreds of varieties of plants plus some lily, dahlia, canna, calla and caladium bulbs. You can buy partial flats but you pay more. Their packing is excellent.

If you look them up in the Garden Watchdog you will see excellent reviews pre-2004. Then the reviews went downhill fast. They were in the process of moving their nursery to a different state and had a lot of unexpected complications during the move which greatly delayed their shipments. Unfortunately the owner/operator of GMT seems to be an excellent gardener with poor communication skills. He didn't notify people who had placed orders about what was going on and didn't respond to emails and phone messages. Many people didn't get their orders until late June or July by which time they had given up and bought plants elsewhere. This year they seem to be back to normal.

If you go to their website you can get a good idea of the great variety they offer. I am hoping they improve the website for ordering purposes because it doesn't automatically total up the items checked or the $ amounts which can be frustrating (you will see what I mean if you look at the website). Nevertheless, I have ordered from them for years and have always been very pleased. Also, if you don't want an entire flat, you can order with a friend to split a flat. I think there was even a DG co-op done with GMT once.

I have always wanted Lisianthus but was afraid they would be finicky, or worse, rampant. We have horrible weed buttercups everywhere in our yard every year no matter how you pull them out. Maybe I'll try next year. They are so beautiful. Someone on another thread said the blue ones are the best for people just starting out, because they are the strongest growers.

In addition to the blues I have solid pinks that are doing beautifully, as well as lavenders and blue picotees and pink picotees. They are all breathtakingly beautiful, not finicky, and certainly not rampant. I wish they were rampant, I would love a whole yard of them. The blooms last and last on the plant and as cut flowers and even the 100+ heat indexes we have been having don't bother them.

Wow! I should've gotten them this year, with all this heat! I will definitely have to get some next year. We don't see them at the garden centers here, so I will have to order them.

Well, Green Mountain sounds wonderful, but I'll probably pass. The shipping to California is $18.50 per 72 flat and $23.50 per 32 flat.

Look at this great rose. It's almost blue, isn't it? It's Reine des Violettes.

That thumbnail has definitely been digging in the dirt. Sorry.

Here's my bluest rose-Angel Face.

I love Angel Face and it absolutely refuses to grow in my garden. I've tried three regular, one climber, and all of them croaked. Actually, it refuses to grow anywhere in my neighborhood. The neighbors and I are very upset by this because it's such an irresistible rose.

Here's my bluest rose. It's Lady X. The blooms are gorgeous, but the limbs are horribly weak. Of course, it is growing under a big oak tree and a wisteria.

That's bluer than AF, Zuzu! Weird about how it won't grow there!

Aaaaahhhhh, blue flower people--just who I need to ask a question:Have you grown Meconopsis -blue poppy-and did you do any special anything to it to keep it happy?
dd

Meconopsis are fussy about where they grow. They do well here in Southcentral Alaska. I have several in my beds, and most were purchased from a grower in the Matsu Valley north of Anchorage. They grow like weeds on his hillside. I don't think they like the heat of most peoples' summers. They like warm faces and cooler soil, I guess... also plenty of moisture.

Edited for typo.

This message was edited Aug 18, 2005 10:17 AM

I've got blue poppies underneath my birch tree. They have a very rich soil, but good drainage, and plenty of water. They get a little bit of sun in the middle of the day, but only a couple of hours during the summer. Less in the spring. I'd call it 'light shade' up here. I think they like our cool, moist springs. Interestingly, I have two plants and only one has bloomed, though the other one is healthy and grows.
Weezingreens is correct that you would have to protect it from your hot summers, perhaps create a cool and moist microclimate for it. Again, she is correct that they are fussy. Around here the common wisdom among gardeners is that they have to 'like' your garden in just the right way to grow willingly. But the blue is stunning and worth the effort!

Okay, I'm up to the challenge...now where can I find seed resources.? Are Mecenopsis low count seed dispensers ?I've looked at my catalogues here at home and have not found narry a blue poppy...

thanks to Weezingreens and Pixydish for your info...
dd

dd, contact me later in the fall. I should have seeds from M. betonicifolia and 'Lingholm'. The pods are still green.

Weezingreens, until fall then...thanks,dd

Here is Salvia 'black and blue' received in trade from a fellow DGer! What a blue!

I love that Salvia, Pixy. The blue is so intense, and the foliage is a great color too.

Here's a nice blue Campanula. I don't know which one it is. The plant was rescued from the garden of a house that was being torn down to make room for a real estate agency.

Very pretty!!!

OOH that IS pretty!

Hi,

I've been lurking.

mgarr, that percallis is AMAZING! Will you have seeds?

My blue daze is still going strong.

Leslie

I love the blue salvias, too. I was looking at Black and Blue at a nursery yesterday, and it was all I could do not to buy it. This picture is Salvia 'Kobalt'. I have trouble taking pics of Salvia flowers with the camera I have right now because it usually wants to focus on the background, and it doesn't have a manual override, so I apologize for the blur. My 'Argentine Sky' should be blooming in a week or so, and hopefully I can put a picture of that up on this forum.

I think I could become a collector of blue salvia! That one is lovely!

Here are some blue (ish) flowers currently blooming at Mt. St. Helens in Washington!

Wow, Pixy. Those are pretty. Some kind of Penstemon, huh?

I don't know yet. I need to look it up. The leaves were not like a penstemon, but the flower was a bit. The leaves were all low to the ground in clusters. The pictured plant was at a fair distance. All the closer ones had gone to seed.

I don't know yet. I need to look it up. The leaves were not like the penstemon I'm familiar with, but the flower was a bit. The leaves were mostly low to the ground in clusters with a few going up the stalk. The pictured plant was at a fair distance. All the closer ones had gone to seed.

Oh, yes. I see that now. The whole plant, leaves and flowers, looks more like a Campanula or a Lobelia or something. Interesting.

Here are the window boxes on my front porch, with blue clown flower and a hungry swallowtail..

I love this picture, Janet. Have you thought of posting it in the Photos Forum too? The angle from which you shot it adds such a dramatic dimension to the scene. It's just beautiful, and the flowers are a heavenly shade of blue.

Beautiful shot! I love it!
Do you know the latin name for the clown flower? I am not familiar with this flower and it is very striking!

It's Torenia, Pixy. Isn't it fabulous? It blooms late, just when you need more color in your garden. I think it's an annual. It's an annual at my house, at any rate. I love Janet's picture.

It's lovely! I'll have to look into it for next year.

What an absolutely beautiful photo!!!!! I just love the way you've captured that
butterfly. WOW!
Tam

So Janet, after looking again at your photo, I have to ask if you used a digital camera to take this shot and, if so, what kind. I love the way you've been able to 'stop' the butterfly action and yet all of the photo is in focus. What's the secret? It's a great photograph.