Green Thumb award winner

In the Garden
Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

     Last week, I mentioned that the AAS winning colocasia Royal Hawaii Waikiki had garnered high praise in other plant trials as well.  One of the other awards was its recognition by the National Garden Bureau as a Green Thumb Award winner.  Actually, this beautiful compact elephant ear tied in the annual plant category.  Although perennial in tropical climates, the plant is treated as an annual in Indiana.  Like other colocasias, the bulb may be lifted and stored for re-planting the next year, or the plant may be grown indoors during the cold months.
     The other plant tying for the annual Green Thumb award was a starflower dubbed Paper Moon.  This scabiosa, introduced by Sahin Home Garden Takii-Europe, sports small pale blue flowers on wiry stems.  However, it is noted as much for its papery star-shaped seed pods as for the flowers.  The pods are coveted for use in both fresh and dried bouquets.
     Monrovia Nursery has become well-known for outstanding new plant introductions, and a new rose has been recognized by the National Garden Bureau as the flowering shrub of the year.  Eau de Parfum Bubbly is a part of a series of pink roses.  It has champagne-colored blooms, with a very high petal count.  This rose also has excellent disease resistance, and will continue to bloom until frost. Other roses in the Eau de Parfum series include Berry, Bling and Blush.  I am sure that many will want to try all four in a sunny rose garden.
     The Garden Bureau Perennial of the Year is astilbe Dark Side of the Moon.  A product of Walters Gardens, Inc., it is the first dark-foliaged astilbe with purple blooms.  Like all astilbes, this new cultivar requires a lot of water, and will do best in partial shade.  If cut back after blooming, it may reward you with a second bloom season, but that later bloom is not generally as spectacular as the first bloom.
     The award-winning new houseplant is Spiderwort Pistachio White, a tradescantia from Green Fuse Botanicals, Inc.  This vining plant has heavy growth and broad white bands on bright green leaves.  It will grow almost anywhere with bright light, and is a great plant for a hanging basket.  The variegated foliage makes a wonderful spiller in mixed planters. It also does outside in the summer months.
     The edible plant of the year is a tomato from Pan American Seeds.  Sun Dipper has small elongated fruits on indeterminate vines.  That means it will continue to produce until frost.  The vines, however, do not get as long as most indeterminate tomatoes, so it is a good candidate for growing in a pot or hanging basket.  The orange fruits are perfect for dipping, with a mild, slightly tart taste.  The plants also have shown good disease resistance.
     It is time to begin thinking about planting seeds if you want to raise your own bedding plants.  Do some research and find out how long your flowers or vegetables need to reach transplanting stage.  Out frost –free date is around May 10, so you may count back from then to determine your planting dates.  Until then, you may want to get things ready.  Clean the container you will be using.  I recommend using a 10% bleach solution to kill any pathogens that may be in the pots.  Pathogens may also live in used soil, so I recommend using fresh seed-starting planting medium for starting transplants.  Such media are often coir or peat-based, so I like to stir in some water to get the soil moist before planting.  It will be important to keep the pots watered when germinating seeds.  If you are growing your plants in the house, you will need to make sure there is plenty of light.  You may want to invest in some grow lights to keep the young starts growing straight and strong.
     Until planting time, I suggest curling up with a good garden book or nursery catalogue.  You can dream about the perfect garden you will have this year.

 

Category:

Please Login for Premium Content

Site Login Help

For current subscribers to The Salem Leader and The Salem Democrat, you can login to the site using the following information:

Username: Please use your full email address associated with your account
Password: Please use your last name. Passwords are case sensitive, so please capitalize your last name (eg: Smith)