If you ask at your local nurseries, the ones who get 'florist' plants from Northland growers should be able to order it for you for about $4 for a 4" pot- it's not a plant I've grown before myself, but the place I work had some in the week before last and it looked lovely and sold out very quickly. I've been idly looking ever since, and I haven't seen any in cell packs anywhere, and don't remember ever seeing it in cells before. Is it easy to start? $4 for a 4" is too rich for my blood!
Lexi

The helpmeet works for greenhouse/nursery and they always had it... not this year!

Heretofore, I've always purchased it in "6-pack"; where you break the "6 pack" into 6 plants, tearing the roots apart with abandon.

My greatest fear is being realized, I'm afraid. Most "gardeners" are too squeamish to break apart a "6 pack". They prefer the individually grown plants (and the prices they command!) for the ease of mind they accord them.

I want a "6 pack", no individual cells! just the familiar baby Browallia that I KNOW will provide my shaded windowboxes with the reliable, lovely blue flowers I've enjoyed for many years now...

:(

Gee, this is one I always grow too. And I haven't gotten mine yet either. It takes a lot of shade which is one reason I love it. Almost like a blue impatiens. It is very cold-sensitive so it just may not have arrived in nurseries yet--tho it is never common and you have to be there to pounce, as I'm sure you already know, Chelone. Also, nurseries tend these days not to put out plants til they are in bloom because so many people won't buy anything til they can see flowers.

I searched everywhere for it last year and came up zero. Now this year while at my favorite greenhouses, the Browallia was displayed in mass amounts, in the cell packs. I was rather shocked, but isn't that the way most things happen--if your not looking for something one finds it. :-)

I've only grown it once with some impatiens in my shade gardens. For me it took what seemed like a long time to get full enough to really show off the blue flowers. Of course last year we had a terrible drought and regardless of how often I watered, plants just thrive more when they receive that rain water. So maybe I should pick up some again this year and give it another try. The color is so pretty.

I just returned from a circle cruise of several nurseries/greenhouses. No browallia at any of other 5 I went to today! "Heavens, nobody asks for THAT, anymore"... no kidding!

I know it looks really puny at this time of year and it really does wait for warm weather to put on growth, but once it takes off it is simply lovely. I have found it makes an incomparable companion for Impatiens, and it flowers contentedly in partial shade/shade locations. I'm really struggling for a substitute in my north and more shaded easterly windowboxes.

I saw something that looked interesting, Torenia (I think). It was one of the Proven Winners plants, and they looked great, but I am not familiar with it and thought, "Aha! I will ask the smarties on the Annuals forum about it before forking over the major pork for it.". I'm also thinking of using the "upright" Fuschias by PW.

Anyone have insight or other suggestions? I'm still sulking about the Browallia and am not seeing possibilities... ;)

I have 4 "4 packs" waiting to be planted in my pots!...Eat your hearts out!!
Linda C

I have grown the Proven Winners Summer Wave series for about five years. I like Summer Wave Blue but also sometimes buy Amethyst. These are outstanding plants but my experience with them is in containers, not the ground. I fertilize my containers every day with 1/4 teaspoon Miracle Gro to one gallon water. They all bloom non-stop.

Re torenia, I have grown other kinds and the Proven Winners are far superior to anything else out there BUT they are also not so easy for me to find. I got a hanging basket of PW Summer Wave Blue at Mahoney's but still haven't found amethyst yet. If you try these in the ground, let us know how they do for you.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE browallia!!! I do the white impatiens/browallia combo in my planters - always looks crisp and cool!

Funny, this year is the first year I've seen browallia readily available at local nurseries. Not the cultivar I grow, but available nonetheless. I hope it is falling into favor, it is a wonderful shade plant and a great alternative to impatiens.

I grow mine from seed. I have a cart set up with flourescent lights (nothing fancy schmany, just something DH rigged up). Browallia are actually easy to grow from seed, but the trick is to start them early - about 16 weeks before plant-out date. I've never had a problem growing them from seed. Give it a try neck year!

Chelone - Lexington Gardens in Mass. has them in 6-packs, in the greenhouse with the impatiens. Not too far out of the way if you are going to the NE swap, it is right off 128.

-Wendy

Another browallia lover here, too. I find these difficult to find at the nurseries, as well. I've grown some pretty nice looking ones from seed, too, but I didn't start any this year. After all this browallia talk, I'm going to have to do one more search.

I'm in constant search of nice shade annuals, too. I've never tried the torenia, myself, but I will have to. Just when I thought my hunt for annuals was over... (I could think of worse things to do - lol.)

Thanks for the comments on Torenia and the encouragement to try Browallia from seed. Maybe I will try it over the winter. Wendy, thanks for the tip on Lexington Gardens, I was actually hoping I might be able to squeeze in a nursery cruise.

BUT! here's my good news. I came in for a drink, having mowed the lawn. There was a message on the answering machine from a friend who was in RI and found some at a nursery... she bought it for me, knowing I had been unable to find it locally! Now that's the kind of friend we all need, huh?

I used pale pink geraniums ("Beth") and trailing vinca for the eastery boxes on the second floor, and pale pink Impatiens for the first floor where it's more shaded. I plant to tuck some Torenia or some Browallia in them, too. The Northerly boxes will get the pale pink Impatiends and more Browallia, maybe Torenia (I have balked at the price of PW for several years, too). I like the pale colors, they show up well against the screens, but I like to tuck something in back that can be appreciated by those inside the house, too.

I've never tried the white Browallia, come to think of it...

Chelone, Lucky you, for getting some browallia, and esp. for having such a good friend. I would like a friend like that!

Your combinations sound just lovely. Pale pink/blue/white - I've been using stronger colours around back - reds, esp. for the benefit of 'my' hummingbirds. But, I'm going to have to try your pale pink geranium combo next year in at least a spot, or two. So, your geraniums do well with the eastern exposure - morning sun only?

I've never tried the white browallia, either.

I really struggled with the easterly facing windowboxes for the first few years. I tried New Guinea Impatiens, but they didn't really prosper. I tried regular Impatiens, but they looked a tad "sun-burned". Never bothered with petunias because it would have been to tough to deadhead them for really nice bloom, I had minimal success with Nicotiana, too. Out of desperation, I tried Geraniums and, voila! they did really well. They flower wonderfully through late August, after that the flowers tend to diminish, but they are still a "presence". The actual orientation of the house is slightly southeast; so they get good strong sun until about 1PM. And the exposure has me wanting to try tucking in some things that might appreciate the later summer shade... hence, Browallia, Torenia, maybe a Fuschia? I've found good ol' geraniums to be very forgiving plants, I usually winter over two 36" boxes of them. Nothing like geraniums in January/February. :)

Obviously, I think they'd prefer more sun than they get, but I fuss over them, deadheading and feeding with every watering. And, I make sure the soil is allowed to dry out pretty well in between waterings.

(we had "Red Coat" last year; screaming, hot red. Used Red and white Impatiens and Browallia in the shadier boxes. "Samaritan" is a very pretty, hot coral... these are Bartlett zonal geraniums from a grower in Sudbury, MA)

I love browallia too and have seen a steady decline of its availability (popularity?) over the last 10 years. I can't understand why. Last year I found some pretty pathetic looking ones but bought them anyway, and they didn't really get going till August, but it was STILL WORTH IT!! There's nothing like that lovely blueness!

Chelone, I've struggled with different spots in my yard, too. Most of it is shady, but there are some sunny pockets. In some places, there's too much sun for shade plants; but not enough sun for sun plants. It's hard to come with something for these areas. I saw a really nice geranium called Charleston this year - it's a hot coral. Really eye-catching. I should go back and get it, plus look for some browallia...

Pam, I've found when I can actually find browallia in nurseries, it's in pretty bad shape, too - usually very leggy, but I get them anyway, cut them back, and they do pretty good.

I think (may be wrong) that they show up at the nurseries later than the first boatload of annuals. It wasnt until later in June last year that I found them at Mahoney's in Wincherster MA. For me they seem to take some time to get going but then bloom through the August garden lull and then keep going until frost. That plus because they like semi-shade make them one of my favorite annuals.

Dee - have you tried heliotrope in those in-between exposure sites? Heliotrope is considered a full-sun annual and indeed does well in all-day sun, but I also grow it in part-shade. The part-shade I grow the heliotrope gets about morning sun until about noon-ish (so, say 4 hours of morning sun, maybe 5?), and it does great.

Ooh!, mxk3, I have always passed on Heliotrope based on the full sun rating. I love the scent and the color!

You have just inspired me. Thanks for the encouragement. :)

Hey, buy a plant or two of heliotrope as an experiment and see how it does, it might work out great for you, never know. That's one of the fun things about annuals - trying a new plant every year to see what I like/what does well without spending a lot of money. :)

mxk3 - yes, I have grown heliotrope - I love it, too - lol. I like to grow it in my windowbox in front of my kitchen window, and the scent comes through into the house.

The funny thing is, I thought I'd get heliotrope this year, and put some in my tray at the nursery; but by the time I filled up a couple of trays, I thought I'd better make some 'sacrifices' and put the heliotrope back...

I find they must start annuals awfully early at the nurseries I go to because some of them seem to be overgrown and blooming in full-swing at the end of May. The heliotrope was already big, and like I said previously; when I can find the browallia, it's usually big and leggy, too. I guess the way to go is growing from seed (which I don't do as much anymore), but I can't resist buying at the nursery, too.

I found one lonely little four-pack of browallia this year, so of course I snapped it up even though I might not have the right conditions for it anymore. I planted the four in the closest thing I have to shade; we'll see how it goes.

In years past, when I had lots of dappled/deep shade, that was always my go-to annual for the front of the beds, but it's suddenly vanished from my local nurseries. I hope it's not an "out of fashion" plant; we have enough of that mentality at the big box stores.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that I finally have enough sun for heliotrope! I've planted it with the prettiest nemesia I've ever seen, lilac/purple/white all on the same bloom, and the fragrance is to die for. But I do miss browallia; it was such a little workhorse in my old garden!