mmqchdygg,

I buy most of my seeds from seed catalogs, either paper or online. Here are Burpee's new 2008 annual flowers.

MM

mmqchdygg,

The Park Seeds site lists several pages on new, to them, new Park's flowers for 2008.

MM

mmqchdygg,

Thompson & Morgan list 8 pages of new products, including many new annuals.

MM

Mary, I usually do the bulk of my seed-buying through mail-order also. This year, I'm pretty much sticking to the tried-and-true (for me) which of course doesn't mean the flowers aren't beautiful or unusual, but new...?

One thing off the top of my head that was definitely an impulse, ooh-gotta-have purchase, was morning glory Carnevale di Venezia, from Select Seeds. I usually prefer the deeper, darker colors on MGs, but this really caught my eye!

:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Carnevale di Venezia @ Select Seed

double bloom cosmos called double click. I can't wait!

I have found that seed racks in retail stores are the very last ones to carry anything new. The ones in our area don't even carry Profusion zinnias, for heaven sakes. Not that I don't religiously look through them anyway. :)

Cosmos Sulphureus is a new one for me (Thompson & Morgan). It's a one foot high bush Cosmos that is pure yellow. I am hoping it's as great as it sounds.

Also, I ordered Zinnia 'Highlight' from Burpee seed. It's an 18 inch daisy type zinnia with bright yellow blooms. It's difficult to find yellow (not gold, not orange) flowers that bloom all summer in our heat. I am hoping that one or both of these will fill the bill.

In addition, I found Larkspur seeds that are all of one color in a package from Nichols Seed. They have white, pink, dark blue, and light blue. I have never seen that before and was very excited about it. I am big on color themed beds and don't love color mixes. I'm always the one at the garden center pulling plants out of mixed flats to make my own six packs.

I do hope others will share their finds too. There are just so many different seed companies out there! But hurry, y'all! It will be time to start seeds here in just another month or so.

I saw a great big shaggy full double sunflower in a catalog. I want to try it but something in my neighborhood girdles sunflower stems just below the soil surface and they die suddenly and fall over.

Albert, have you ever tried wrapping your sunflower stems with newspaper like you do tomatoes to protect them from cut worms? I have not tried, but it might be a way to save them.

Albert, you can put a cardboard "collar" around the stems It need not be more than about 6 inches high and place it in the soil about two inches deep. The damage starts from below the soil line and they crawl up the plant stems at night. They can't do that if they can't get to the stem! Also, you might place a bit of potato slices around here and there and give them something else to pay attention to! Then you can throw the potato bits away in the next day or so.

Agree with Donnabaskets - the local seed racks are the last place to look for "new and exciting", but they are a great (and often VERY inexpensive) soure for good 'ol favorties, especially vegetables.

The only new to me thing I ordered was the Victory series of vinca. I love vinca and they are very easy to grow from seed, but my beloved "Blue Pearl" is no longer available to had to find a substitute. Hopefully this new series will perfom as well as the Blue Pearl or the Heatwave series.

I'd like to try more stuff from seed, I used to try at least one new-to-me variety of annual every year and found some winners that way, but I'm just overwhelmed with school and work right now, I just have time for the basic few things I'll need for the season.

I miss Patrick Studio here in Canada. They don't do mail order seed anymore and they had some really neat unusual stuff. 'sigh'

I'm very impressed with T&M this year.

Anything "New" is basically in the catalogues in its first years. I'll be trying those new Shock Waves for sure.

Sharon

Hi MXK3, I se that you are upset that Blue Pearl is no longer available, www.germaniaseed.com states that it had a crop failue and suggests Stardust Series, Orchid as a replacement

Sabina,

Burpee lists Blue Pearl vinca as an "exclusive", and the first hybrid vinca. Actually, I think mxk3 became aware of that in another message thread. I see that Burpee has cut the price from $3.95 to $2.75 per 50-seed packet.

MM

{{gwi:1219}}

Thanks, guys! Glad to know I can still get the seeds from Burpee, for now anyway.

I received the Vesey's catalogue in the mail today. Their seeds are pretty good, but living on the opposite end of the continent from them I have not had the best luck with their live stuff. Anyway I noticed a new(to them) heirloom phlox called 'Isabellina'. I had a baby girl who didn't make it called Isabelle so I circled that one and put stars near it to make sure I order it. Actually I saw a few things that may well do damage to my Visa before it expires.

For one order, one household, once this year, VESEYS has a promo of free shipping. For the plants too!! It's in the catalogue. That saves a bundle especially for the live stuff. (I went ahead and ordered some seeds. I'M SO WEAK! >sob

I like the Vesey's catalog, too, and I usually send them a small seed order. However, I don't order plants from anybody, because there are much higher risk factors in shipping live plants.

MM

yes if you can find the plant 'locally' (within a day's drive and you want it enough to make the drive for it) then you are much better off.

I requested a new TM (Thompson-Morgan) catalog. It announced that any size order (no minimum) gets $10 off. So I placed my order and my seeds have arrived. I also opted for their ' germination guide" as the one we all share on the web is actually their out-of -date version.

The seeds arrived with a coupon for free shipping on my next order! Yeah!

I also ordered common seeds from Value seeds. Which arrived promptly.

I've never order from a seed co. before. So first time for me-

Guess what... our small garden group had a meeting that was a potluck and seed/plant exchange. Everyone brought their dish to pass, no one brought anything to trade but me. I was so dissapointed! :( Does this sound like the garden bunch you're in?

Karen

Value Seeds does not ship to Canada and I am fresh out of American contacts to do the deed for me. Or I would be in there like a dirty shirt. A local plant place has a small display of Burpees and they are very basic, nothing that blew my hair back. That was the firts time I have even SEEN Burpees in Canada period. They would not send to Canada, not even a catalogue to torture us with. Has that changed?

triple_b,

"That was the first time I have even SEEN Burpees in Canada period. They would not send to Canada, not even a catalogue to torture us with. Has that changed?"

Burpee states that they cannot ship plants outside the U.S. They didn't say anything specifically about seeds. You might want to contact Burpee and ask them about seed shipments to Canada.

Incidentally, Thompson & Morgan carries everything that Value Seeds does, and much more as well. Thompson & Morgan sells to Canada as well as the US, but their prices are higher than Value Seeds. The central part of their printed catalog has a "Last Chance Sale" with prices comparable to Value Seeds.

MM

Just got my T&M catalog this morning, don't ya know. The Burpees website will not even allow you to REQUEST a catalog out of the States and all her 'belongings'. (I tried last night.)

triple_b,

Too bad Burpee doesn't want to do business with you. Anyhow, check the "Last Chance Sale" bargain section in the center of your T&M catalog.

Incidentally, Stokes Seeds is one of my top four favorite seed catalogs and, like Vesey's, they are Canadian. If you don't have a Stokes catalog, you should request one. Their website doesn't have many pictures, but their paper catalog is well illustrated.

MM

Got it. Thanks. I am just a catalogue glutton that is all. Probably the only reason why I want the Burpees catalog is because I can't have it.

At a garden talk recently i heard about a new petunia called Bubblegum.....pink of course.....supposed to be more florific than the waves .....very nice i hear.....so keeping my eye out for it.....

carol

were those wave petunias a bit of a disappointment? I don't grow them but I heard something to that tune.

triple_b,

The Purple Wave that I grew last year was probably the best petunia plant I ever grew. It spread over six feet and had hundreds of blooms and didn't seem to need deadheading either.

The Waves have definitely raised the bar for petunias. I think there are further improved petunias available that were bred by the same new techniques that produced the Waves. But my experience with the Waves was far from disappointing.

MM

I have to be more diligent with my care of petunias in general, but I found the Cascade Series to be equally as nice as the Waves. That having been said, I really want to see if I can create the mass display of "Easy Wave" variety or "Tidal" variety that they show in pix. Love the look of the clump styles.

OK so I guess whomever I caught wind of this rumor from maybe was missing part of the equation, you think?