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Catching up—new and new possibilities for plant shopping

Posted Jun 27, 2009 by Loren Omoto

Updated Jun 27, 2009 at 04:21 PM

Those of you who read the Dig This garden column in The Tampa Tribune know that it usually includes profiles of good plant choices for your Tampa Bay area garden. Last week’s Dig This included profiles of three plants Riverview Flower Farms owner Rick Brown has tested and is either selling now or plans to introduce in the spring at Home Depot stores.

In tomorrow’s Tribune, I profile four more of his plants.

For those of you who don’t get the Trib (for reasons I can’t possibly imagine), I’m re-publishing all of the profiles here. Rick has owned his farms for 27 years and, since he’s testing locally, I’m betting his best bets are good bets. (I bought and planted a few of these after visiting his farm a couple weeks ago.) So they’re definitely worth sharing.

If you scroll down, you’ll see my post about visiting one of the 60-acre flower farms. I went with F(riend) O(f) (the) D(irt)—FOD—Susan Gillespie. The two of us were just a-ga-ga. It was better than a theme park! Several people commented that they’d like to visit as well. Rick says he would be happy to host a group, if FOD Janice Vogt brings him a pound cake.

He says August, to see the end of the summer plant trials (what made it, what didn’t), or October to see the abundance being grown for spring. We’re talking a Saturday. Let me know your preference. I’m sure we can’t pick a day that’s good for all—that would be too much to ask in Florida—but we can try. In the meantime, he sent this link to a video about Riverview Flower Farms. 

And now ... plants. First up, my favorite. Brand-new for spring!

Maraca Portulaca

Portulaca molokiniensis

A drought-tolerant succulent for full sun to part shade, Maraca grows 12 to 18 inches tall. Look for it, possibly, in stores for the first time in May. It requires regular fertilizing, but otherwise is an “easy care” annual.

Snow Princess

Lobularia hybrid

Fragrant sweet alyssum is a popular winter plant, but it can’t take the heat. Snow Princess, a hybrid developed by a German breeder, extends the growing season into the summer, which should make it a perennial in the Tampa Bay area. Look for it in stores in the spring. Plant in full to part sun in the landscape or containers.

Pazazz Purslane

Portulaca oleracea

This patented new variety of an old summer favorite has been available for about a year. It stays open all day long, even if it’s cloudy or rainy, Rick says. “You don’t have to water it as much when you plant it [to establish] and it spreads like crazy. It’s the customers’ favorite.”

Pazazz is a perennial (despite what the label says), likes the sun and well-draining soil. There are several color options, including a blinding yellow. It’s a nice option for a cascading plant in a container. Costs $3.49.

Voltage Yellow Osteospermum

Osteospermum hybrid

A new African daisy variety getting checked out in trials has bright yellow blooms and is said to flower longer than any other Osteospermum. But what makes Voltage really special is its supple stems. To demonstrate, Rick crushed a 1-gallon plant in his hands and even whacked it — hard — on the ground a few times. Voltage Yellow bounced back happy as a, you guessed it, daisy.

It flowers spring through fall, and is a compact bush that grows about 16 inches tall and likes the sun. It’s not a sure bet, yet, for spring sales, but probably, Rick says. He wants to see how it does through this summer and winter.

Bulbine ‘Hallmark’ 

Bulbine frutescens

“You can plant it today and never water it,” Rick says. Surely that’s a plant for our times. A sun lover, it’s available at Home Depot stores but may be labeled Bulbine Orange. It’s also called burn jelly plant because the sap in its leaves is used like aloe. The original Yellow African Bulbine has yellow flowers; Hallmark offers soft flames of orange and yellow nearly year-round. It’s fine in poor dry soil and clumps can grow to 4 feet across. It was a Florida nursery growers Plant of the Year in 2006.

Blueprint Scaevola

Scaevola hybrid

Shoppers will likely see this sun-loving Australian immigrant in the spring. It’s a new hybrid that produces lots of lavender fan-shaped blooms from spring through fall. It has a nice rounded shape and a trailing habit, so it should be a good choice for containers. Rick’s not sure whether it’s a perennial here.

Crossandra ‘Orange Marmalade’

  Crossandra infundibuliformis

Rick loves this plant, which carries his own label, Florida Friendly Plants. He says it’s one of the best he’s developed in the past three years, and it’s available in Home Depot stores now. A perennial in sunny or part-shade gardens, it blooms prolifically throughout the warm months. It’s sterile, so there are no messy seed pods to deal with, and it’s moderately drought-tolerant once established. Protect from cold temperatures in the 40s.

He suggests planting in a container with something like blue daze in the fall — when his favorite Florida football team is playing.

P.S. I saw this one in containers all over Sea World this week.