Trying to learn more about a plant...'angelona?'

17 years ago

Hello All,

In late June, DD and I visited the Central NY Regional Market in Syracuse. I bought 2 packs of annual plants. They were in containers larger than the 6-pak cell packs, and at the time, I considered not buying them, because for annuals, they were expensive.

The flowers in one pack were white, the other purple. They have tiny little blooms, and are about 12-18" high, with a vertical habit. Considering that I planted them at the edge of my new garden, where I hadn't really gotten the soil as ready (well-cultivated, composted, etc.), they are doing GREAT! They are planted in partial sun. I really love these flowers, and would like to grow more next year. I noticed, as I walked away from the booth, that they are hybrids. I mentioned it to the vendor, and asked, "So saving the seeds from these won't do me any good??" and he smiled, and said, "Nope, they don't want you to do it yourself." Grrr. "THEY." Do hybrids make anyone else crazy??

Anyhow, I've searched the internet, without a lot of luck. One place in NH might have what I'm looking for, but no photo. Most plant databases yield zilch. Does anyone either know this plant, or have better ideas for finding them on the net?? Ultimately, I'd love to find them in non-hybrid form, so I could save seeds...never seen this seed for sale.

Thanks in advance.

Mountainsong

PS If anyone can tell me how to put pictures in my posts, I'd be happy to try to get a photo on here!

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Comments (8)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
17 years ago
Are you looking for 'angelonia', with an 'i'? Google gives several sources for hybrid seed. I didn't dig far enough to see if non-hybrid seed is out there.
mountainsong
Original Author
17 years ago
Mad Gallica,
That's it! I had tried a few variations, but not that one. I bought some seeds off e-Bay; seller says she's been propagating from seed. Will let everyone know next year! (Seems like it's a perennial in zones 9 and up, so will try some in a container, as well.)

Thanks,
Mountainsong
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Aurore
17 years ago
New to me. Saw these for the first time at Lowes this year. I like to experiment. You could always try saving some seed just to see what you get, if anything. Sometimes hybrids will produce plants that although they may not be exactly like parent are okay.

Here is a link that might be useful: my webpage
dkotchey
17 years ago
I got seeds from ebay 2 years ago and winter sowed them with great success. I harvested the seeds from them and winter sowed them again this year - again with great success. I also found some pink & white seeds from ebay and winter sowed those as well - great success also. They just started blooming for me last week. The pink & white are so cheerful. I plan to harvest those seeds too this year. I'll take some pictures and post them soon.

I've been wondering if the plants can be brought in to the basement and wintered over since they are a perennial in zone 9. Anyone know?
susanzone5 (NY)
17 years ago
dkotchey, did the seeds turn out different varieties or are they true to the parents?

I buy these plants every year at the nursery but would also like to grow them from seed. I just cut them back for more bloom. This year the plants are tiny ones...last year they were taller. Must be a few kinds out there.
garden_frog
17 years ago
Hi all! This has been one of my favorite plants since I started gardening! I tried them the first year I gardened and fell madly in love with them. So I've been looking for seeds high and low!

I finally grew them from seed for the first time this year. I didn't collect the seeds from the plants (although I may try that this year). I used a pellitized seed I ordered from Parks and had nearly 100% germination rate. The only problem I have encountered is that I started them late and my plants are still tiny. I will definitely start them super early next spring.

Glad to see more people are discovering this beautiful annual and that more nurseries are starting to carry it. It used to be so hard to find, but I even got it at Lowe's this year!

Hope I've helped!

Tara

Here is a link that might be useful: Parks Angelonia Link
mountainsong
Original Author
17 years ago
I'm really glad that I posted about this. Garden Frog, I have bookmarked the spot for Angelonia seeds. They're my big "discovery" of the year. And on Parks' site, it even says that these plants have been very expensive (as I mentioned in my first post)... the seeds should make them more available.

Mountainsong
petiolaris
17 years ago
Hi mountainsong,

It doesn't appear that anyone has addressed posting pictures on G.W. I had a forum member show me how. If you are using Photobucket, it has 3 formats underneath your picture. The one called 'Tag' is the one whose URL you want to copy and paste to the message box.

Trying to learn more about a plant...'angelona?'

Comments (8)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

mountainsong
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Trying to learn more about a plant...'angelona?'

Comments (8)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

mountainsongOriginal Author

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Aurore

dkotchey

susanzone5 (NY)

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mountainsongOriginal Author

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mountainsong
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mountainsong
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