New Petunias at Amanda's Greenhouses

The "big" greenhouse is filling up and it's always fun to try out new plants.  The Proven Winners series have come up with some good varieties over the years, and I am looking forward to seeing how 'Lemon Slice' calibrachoa performs.  It is new to the industry and has already won all kinds of awards.
(Photos courtesy 'Proven Winners')

LEMON SLICE Calibrachoa

There are several Proven Winner 'supertunias' I always grow, and this year I am adding the following to my selection:

RASPBERRY BLAST

LAVENDER SKIES

From the Danziger Company I am growing one of the Cascadias series which is also an award winner.

CASCADIAS VIOLET SKIRT

All of the above petunias are grown from cuttings, not seed.   They don't need deadheading and they stand up to poor weather better than 'seed' petunias.

New Daylilies for 2013

The first perennial I ever planted was a daylily.  Like most beginners, I didn't know about the variety of shapes, heights and colors offered.  Also, this was so long ago that most of those choices probably didn't exist.  There are now more than 60,000 registered cultivars from which to choose.

My customers are much more sophisticated now as well.  Double flowers are very popular, and folks like the off-white as well.  I tend to like anything that's different from what I already have growing.   "Moses Fire" is a new double red we will carry.  I can't resist mentioning - White Flower Farm offers this plant for $27.00 (plus shipping).  All of my daylilies are $6.99 in a gallon pot.

MOSES FIRE

I have a number of tall daylilies I like.  'Golden Chimes' has a yellow bloom and is 46 inches tall.   The smaller blooms face outward at a 90 degree angle giving the plant an airy, delicate appearance. 'Autumn Daffodil' is another fine tall yellow daylily.  'Challenger' is among the tallest with a red bloom  at 48 inches and it has been around since 1949.

I am adding 'Steeple Jackie' to my offerings of tall daylilies this year.  It is definitely a back-of-the-border plant, as it can can reach five feet.  The flowers are 2.5 inches and the plant is loaded with buds.  The color is a nice light yellow without the orange cast often seen in other yellow daylilies.  

STEEPLE JACKIE (Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens Inc.)

Probably the whitest daylily I offer is the lovely 'Gentle Shepherd.'  The problem with this bloom is the pedals are thin and delicate.  I like 'Joan Senior' and 'Sunday Gloves.'  This year I am adding 'Early Snow' to the white daylily repertoire.  The flowers are seven inches across and have more substance than other white daylilies.

EARLY SNOW (Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens Inc.)

I like 'Moonlight Masquerade' which is a cream colored daylily with a purple eye.  This year I am offering 'Blackthorne' which offers a picotee edge and ruffled pedals and a more prominent purple eye.  

BLACKTHORNE (Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens Inc.)

It is snowing outside, but we are hooking up the water to the greenhouse and seeds are sprouting in the house.  And so the 2013 growing season has begun for Amanda's Greenhouse.