Transatlantic Plantsman

Odd new polyanthus

New primulas of one kind or another just keep on coming and in garden centres around the country at the moment are two polyanthus varieties which really are different – whether they have anything else going for them I’m not so sure.

The Royal Oakleaf Series have two distinctly unusual features. Firstly, the leaves are strikingly lobed… which is fine: interesting, not dramatic, but an intriguing departure. Secondly, each flower is slit into six slender lobes… interesting, but significantly reducing the impact. There are two forms.: ‘Glamis’ is a red and yellow bicolour – the shade of red varies noticeably- while ‘Balmoral’ is a bright yellow version.

The trouble is that these are more interesting oddities for primula fanatics than significant new garden plants. But they seem to be in quite a few British garden centres just now, so see what you think.

These plants come from BrilliantGardens.com – where you can find other new primulas and also new begonias.

Transtlantic sweet pea plants

I think this is a first! Plants of a recently introduced sweet pea in the old-fashioned style are now available - on both sides of the Atlantic. In North America in particular it can be hard to find sweet peas available as plants by mail order so this is a welcome development.

'Fire and Ice' is a recent introduction, an heirloom Grandiflora type, it's a red and white bicolour with a powerful fragrance. The wings feature an intriguing colour change: they start white with a blue edge and the blue colour slowly expands. It's great to see plants available by mail order on both sides of the Atlantic.

It turned up by chance as a mutation in a row of plants of a maroon and violet bicolour on Mark Rowland's trials at Owl's Acre Sweet Peas in Lincolnshire in eastern England. He selected it out, trialled it to be sure it was stable and introduced it on a limited scale in 2005. It made its debut at the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Flower Show where the picture was taken.

Plants are now available in North America from Heronswood.

Plants are now available in Britain from Simply Sweet Peas.

A blue impatiens!

I keep forgetting to bring this to your attention and now that spring is approaching for many (excluding, of course, those of us still battling with ice-rink driveways) I’ve remembered… a BLUE impatiens. Really? Well, yes. It goes by the tongue-twisting name of Impatiens namchabarwensis and in Britain there’s an improved form called ‘Blue Sky’.

This is a classic plant hunting discovery, the species was found for the first time by two botanists who trekked 100km from the nearest road to a gorge in Tibet which is almost the length of the whole of Britain and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. This was as recently as 2003, it was named in 2005 (after the gorge where it was found). You can find out more about its discovery here.

Seed went to the British National Collection of Impatiens, then to the plant breeding station at Thompson and Morgan Seeds in England where plant breeder Charles Valin set about transforming the tall and lanky plant – with spectacular blue flowers – into something more gardenworthy. ‘Blue Sky’ (previously called ‘Blue Moon’) is the result.

Although the striking blue flowers were clearly dramatic, the plant was tall and lanky, did not branch well and flowered sparsely. In just a few generations of careful breeding and selection, Charles has improved the plants enormously and selected ‘Blue Sky’ which reaches only about 45cm/18in in height, branches well and is more prolific in flower than the wild species. It grows well in shade or in partial shade if the soil is moist and on cool morning the blue flowers will sparkle at their best, becoming more purplish as the day warms up.

‘Blue Sky’ is not yet available in the US, but the wild species is. And by the way, when you see the name Blue Diamond attached to it this is not the name of a special selection, it’s a “common name” give to it by, well, someone who didn’t fancy making a stab at pronouncing the botanical name!

Plants of Impatiens namchabarwensis ‘Blue Sky’ are available by mail order in Britain here.

Plants of the wild form of Impatiens namchabarwensis are available by mail order in the US here

Sweet peas - where to buy seed in Britain and North America

Sweet peas are favorite flowers on both sides of the Atlantic and I'm often asked where to buy seed. So here are some lists of seed companies who only sell sweet peas and other seed companies with a good range - for both sides of the Atlantic - with some wholesalers at the end.

I hope I've not missed out anyone, or made any slips - if I have, please post a comment below and I'll update this page.

Can I also remind me about my book on sweet peas - The Sweet Pea Book - which is packed with beautiful pictures and great information, including a guide to growing them in different parts of the United States as well as in Britain.

Order it in North America here

Order it in Britain here

And you can find out even more about sweet peas at my sweet peas website.

IN NORTH AMERICA
Specialist sweet pea stockists
Enchanting Sweet Peas 244 Florence Avenue, Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Fragrant Garden Nursery P.O. Box 4246, Brookings, OR 97415.
Sweet Pea Gardens 614 Surry Road, Surry, ME 04684.

Other stockists with a good range of sweet peas
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 2278 Baker Creek Rd. Mansfield, MI 65704.
Florabunda Seeds Box 3, Indian River, ON Canada. K0L 2B0, Canada
Hume Seeds PO Box 1450, Kent, WA 98035.
Renee's Garden (Online only)
Select Seeds 180 Stickney Hill Rd., Union, CT 06076. .
Swallowtail Garden Seeds 122 Calistoga Road, #178 Santa Rosa, CA 95409.
Thompson & Morgan Seeds PO Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527.

IN BRITAIN
Specialist sweet pea stockists
Cooltonagh Irish Sweet Peas (Online only)
Eagle Sweet Peas Broadmoor Lane, Stowe-by-Chartley, Stafford, ST18 0LD.
Peter Grayson 34 Glenthorne Close, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 3AR (No website. Tel: 01246 278503)
King's Seeds Monks Farm, Kelvedon, Colchester, Essex, CO5 9PG
Kerton Sweet Peas North Farm Cottage, 14 Bristol Road, Pawlett, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 4RT.
Matthewman's Sweet Peas 14 Chariot Way, Thorpe Audlin, Pomntefract, West Yorkshire, WF8 3EZ
Owls Acre Sweet Peas Owl's Acre, Kellett Gate, Low Fulney, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 6EJ.
The Plantsmiths  Midway Nurseries, Penybont, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales, LD1 5SY
Roger Parsons Sweet Peas, Primrose Cottage, Clayton Lane, Bracklesham Bay, Chichester, PO20 8JQ
Seeds-by-Size 45 Crouchfield, Boxmoor. Hemel Hempstead. Hertfordshire, HP1 1PA.
Simply Sweet Peas (online only) Sweet pea plants only.
The Sweet Pea Company, Gazeley Road, Newmarket, CB8 7QB (No website. Tel: 0845 166 2511)
Unwins Seeds Alconbury Hill, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE28 4HY.
F. A. Woodcock Lawn Road Nurseries, Walmer, Deal, Kent, CT14 7ND

Other stockists with a good range of sweet peas
Chiltern Seeds Bortee Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7PB.
Dobies Seeds Long Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7SX.
DT Brown Bury Road, Newmarket, CB8 7PQ
Mr Fothergill's Seeds, Gazeley Road, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7QB.
Nicky's Seeds (Online only)
Plants of Distinction Abacus House, Station Yard, Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8AS.
Suttons Seeds Woodview Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7NG.
Thompson & Morgan Seeds Poplar Lane, Ipswich, IP8 3BU.

WHOLESALERS
For the benefit of nurseries and retail seed companies wishing to buy sweet pea seed in large quantities, these seed breeders and wholesalers specialize in sweet peas.
Flower Seed World Malindi, Wood Norton Road, Stibbard, Norfolk, NR21 0EX, UK
Bodger, Inc 1800 Tyler Avenue, South El Monte, CA 91733-3618 USA
Owls Acre Sweet Peas Owl's Acre, Kellett Gate, Low Fulney, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 6EJ., UK
Lake Valley Seed 5717 Arapahoe, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
Evironmental Seed Producers P.O. Box 2709, Lompoc CA 93438-2709

Winter flowering pansies

This is just to day that you can read my article on winter flowering pansies (winter flowering in Britain, and zone 7 and 8 in North America, that is) in today's Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph is one of Britain's best-selling daily newspapers. Read it here.

You can also read my earlier piece for them, on growing your own mistletoe, here.

A super silver

It’s been chilly here in England this last week (well, -5C/23F… not cold by our Pennsylvania standards I know) but it’s clear that some supposedly tender annuals are taking it in their stride. In a local front garden I spotted a silver leaved Senecio cinerarea ‘Silverdust’ which had clearly been there for some years. I know that last winter in England was the mildest ever recorded but still…

Making a dramatic silver-leaved shrub over 60cm/2ft high, it’s turned itself into a super specimen while everything else is looking ragged and tired. The soil in this area is well drained but fertile and the garden faces south and is slightly protected – but it’s the drainage which is crucial. back in PA there was a plant of this in the garden when arrived. It survived the first winter with a few ragged stems - frozen solid for months – but it never really grew away well in spring.

So in milder, well-drained areas don’t tear it out in the autumn… just leave it and see what happens.

Sparkling new geranium from T&M

There are few companies which are familiar to gardeners on both sides of the Atlantic – in fact Thompson & Morgan Seeds is about the only one which sells such an extensive range in both North America and Britain.

One of the highlights of their introductions for the new season is Geranium ‘Horizon Orange Ice’. This is a seed-raised annual geranium (correctly Pelargonium of course and probably hardy in zone 9) which I saw at T&M’s trials in the summer and it really is special. Its unique combination of white and orange in every flower sparkles brightly and it’s impressively prolific – it’s a superb patio plant.

Raised in Norfolk, England, by Floranova, one of the world’s leading breeders of annuals, its colouring is reminiscent of the wonderful ‘Sensation Picotee’ from some years ago. Also originally from Floranova, this was rarely available as seed proved so difficult to produce in sufficient quantities.

‘Horizon Orange Ice’ is ideal in containers with the yellow leaves of Helichrysum petiolare (licorice plant) ‘Limelight’ or ‘Friolina’ trailing violas. For a foliage partner try one of the superb trailing ipomoeas, the purple-bronze ‘Blackie’ or the new ‘Sweet Caroline Purple’ with its sharply divided, red-tinted bronze leaves.

Two new colours in this style, a red and a pink. are on the way (in the picture with ‘Horizon Orange Ice’), so look out for them in retail seed catalogues next year.

Geranium ‘Horizon Orange Ice’ is available in North America here
Geranium ‘Horizon Orange Ice’ is available in Britain here
Floranova does not sell seed or plants to home gardeners

Tucked up cosy - Frost protection with bedsheets

We had our first proper frost this week, down to 30F (-1C) with a good solid crust on the birdbath. Fortunately, we were warned and were able to take precautions – so out came all the old bedsheets.

The cannas, bananas, coleus, plectranthus, impatiens, begonias and the rest – in containers as you can see on the deck and out in the garden –they all got the bedsheet treatment. And it worked just great.

OK... it looks a bit weird. But who cares? You can see in the second and third pictures the difference between the white impatiens which were covered and those that escaped. Those which were exposed to the frost are reduced to a soggy mess.

The bedsheets then went briefly into the drier and are now ready for the next frosty forecast on Sunday night. But it’s looking good, and that one night of cover should give us colour for the rest of the week.

Dahlia ‘Ragged Robin’ – have you seen a healthy one?

Back in the spring I asked you to look out for a healthy virus-free plant of this wonderful dahlia, Dahlia 'Ragged Robin' – it was bred in Britain at Avon Bulbs and sold by Heronswood in the US (but no longer). All the plants everywhere now seem to be virused and the breeder is looking for a healthy plant from which to propagate clean stock. You can find out more in the original post. Leave a comment on this page or email the nursery if you have news of healthy plants of Dahlia ‘Ragged Robin’.

Petunia trial

The most colourful trial at the RHS garden at Wisley this year is the trial of multiflora petunias. Well, let me re-phrase that: ...sometimes the most colourful trial...

The first time I looked at the trial was following an absolute deluge… and out of 202 entries to the trial only a very few were looking good – the low, spreading, ground-hugging types in the Opera Supreme and Shock Wave series. The rest were just battered by the rain and had not recovered – the very worst affected were probably those with white edges to the petals.

Two weeks later, the trial was transformed – a sparkling vision of colour - even though there’d been a shower the day before which had left the flowers of many entries spotted. The veined types, by the way, seemed to resist spotting most effectively. Again the Opera Supreme and Shock Wave series were outstanding.

Over the two visits these were the most colourful varieties, the most uniform, and came back after rain or resisted the rain most effectively; ‘Opera Supreme Purple’ stood out above them all for resisting the deluge and coming back well and for not spotting after the shower, other exceptional ones were: ‘Celebrity Pink’, ‘Celebrity Mid Blue’, ‘Hurrah Salmon’, ‘Hurrah Coral Fire’, ‘Frenzy Pink Morn’, ‘Frenzy Light Blue’, ‘Prime Time Pink’, ‘Prime Time Lavender’, ‘Horizon Bright Rose’, ‘Horizon Lavender’, ‘Baby Duck’, ‘Pink Lady’ plus, in the Opera Supreme Series, Pink Morn, Lilac Ice, and Blue, as well as ‘Shock Wave Pink Vein’ and ‘Shock Wave Purple’.

The summer still has a lot to throw at them – heat, as well as rain, I expect – but already this trial proves that there are some varieties that deal with the worst weather outstandingly well.