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Penny Carnathan
Penny’s a Nurture And Hold (NAH): Nah, I won’t pull that out yet, it’s still got a green shoot. She likes dragonflies, lady bugs and new stuff only after weeding, pruning and fertilizing.
Kim Franke-Folstad
Kim’s a Want It Now (WIN): Everything pretty, everything now. She will resort to full-spectrum insecticides in desperate situations, and believes it’s her duty and right to buy new plants every weekend.
Both advocate Plant Choice (SOMEthing besides crotons. Please!), lots of color and low maintenance. We don’t agree on everything, but we’re smart enough to learn from each other - and from you.
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More proof is in the sunshine—our Proven Winners trials, Part 2
Posted Mar 23, 2011 by Penny Carnathan
Updated Jun 28, 2011 at 10:06 AM
I finally got my Proven Winners trial plants planted on March 20, the first day of spring and the day I spotted my first lubber grasshopper hatchlings. (I hope there’s no karmic connection there!)
My favorite for looks alone is Superbells Blackberry Punch, pictured above. And as luck would have it, Proven Winners sent a good-sized plant – a 6- to 8-inch container. That pot it’s in is about 14 inches across.
Blackberry Punch is a petunia cousin – a Calibrachoa—that’s new on the market this year. It’s supposed to handle full sun from spring to frost, require no dead-heading (I like that!). It doesn’t like to be overwatered, water only when the soil is dry to the touch. That means it should be fine where I’ve got it, out in the open, until the summer rains start.
A couple years ago, Farmer Rick (Riverview Flower Farms) mentioned that Calibrachoa start to turn brown if given a steady diet of tap water as opposed to rain water. Since my rain barrel is dry, I’ll be watching to see how this one reacts to the tap.
First runner-up for beauty is Supertunia Sangria Charm, also new on the market this year. Kim and I were both charmed by the unusual 1960s-seductress-lipstick-colored blooms, so we each snagged one. The blooms are smaller than they appear here – about 1½ inches across when open, and the plant gets only 8 to 12 inches tall.
I put this one in the ground, in front of my little pond. It’s billed as a full-sun, heat-tolerant plant, but it won’t get the full glare of my sunny back yard for another month or two. By then, little Sangria should be well dug in.
This is another that’s supposed to require no dead-heading (yay!).
I got two of these Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunias, which have been around for a few years. They didn’t wow me initially, but I’ll fall in love if they live up to the hype: They’re supposed to be heat- and drought-tolerant, require no dead-heading, and grow up to 2 feet tall with a 2-foot spread.
I planted them to the rear of the pond. With their good-sized blossoms, about 3 inches across, they should make quite a display – if they grow!
Proven Winners’ plant profiles all recommend regular fertilizer for these annuals, and for a couple of them, there’s detailed monthly instructions for fertilizing and trimming. (It’s on the links I included.) But Penny’s garden ain’t no country club, kids, so you’ll get the same random lovin’ the rest of my plants live on.
How did Proven Winners know? I had Snow Princess Alyssum on my shopping list when we got our big box o’ plants. No trials needed for this plant – it’s fantastic.
I’ve been growing Snow Princess for a couple years (since Farmer Rick tipped me off about its amazing powers.) Unlike other alyssums, it sails along well into the warm months, requires no special care, and it smells like a dream. It was named a Florida Garden Select Plant by the Florida nursery growers association, which is a huge endorsement all by itself.
My other two plants are Sunsatia Cranberry Nemesia, which got a little airsick on the flight to Florida. Kim has Nemesia, and she promised they’d perk up once I got them planted. She was right! They’re not quite ready for glamour shots, but they’ve greened up and gotten buds since I tucked it into the huge pot with the tea olive tree (they’re full sun/part shade, which I always translate to mean part shade.)
These earned an “excellent” rating last year in trials at the Disney World nurseries in Orlando. They’re supposed to be low- to no-maintenance, and possibly perennial in zone 9.
And just one more photo – a lower-case proven winner. Back when I posted about Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival, I promised a Part 2 post. Then I wrote about it for the Tampa Tribune and then, yeah, I never got around to Part 2.
But I had promised Part 2 would include a surprise butterfly plant in Bambi’s Butterfly House, and FOD Kay commented that she was looking forward to seeing that. No way will I be the one to disappoint such a nice person as Nana Kay, so here’s the surprise: Deodar cedar. The one in Bambi’s house was covered with butterflies, and not just the monarchs you see here, but several varieties. Most looked like Dorothy and her friends asleep in the poppies in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Before you go running off to buy a deodar, keep in mind, this is a BIG butterfly attractor – up to 150 feet tall.
We’ll keep you posted on our trials. In the meantime, hope to see you at GreenFest this weekend!
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Reader Comments
Posted by (kgardens) on March 23, 2011
I rather like that bubble-gum pink petunia. The Snow Princess Alyssum is one I need to get as I have regular alyssum grown from randomly scattered seeds. Love the scent. I’ll be watching these trials with a close eye. And thanks for the cedar update. If I lose any of these giant oaks I have around here I’ll check it out. 100 feet tall is a bit scary though. Hoping to see you guys at GreenFest.
Posted by (kgardens) on March 23, 2011
Of course you can recruit me.
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 23, 2011
I really love the Snow Princess Alyssum, it’s beautiful. Thanks for telling us about these new Proven Winners.
Today I rescued a trunk-load of bromeliad plants from the garbage can of a house I passed by. I thought they liked complete shade, but I’ve researched a little and it seems that they like at least part-sun. I’ll have to figure out where to put them.
Today we planted a Big Flower Paw Paw plant that we bought at bok Tower Gardens. It has two white bloom buds on it. We got it because it is a host plant for the zebra swallowtail butterfly. I have no experience with this plant, hope it works out okay for us.
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 24, 2011
Thanks, Penny. I’ll take some pics and upload them. I didn’t know it was in the Jungle Book!
I have researched the Paw Paw a little bit, and found that it is a very ancient American tree, which is not pollinated by bees because it predates the creation of the bee. It is pollinated by some kind of fly or insect. It was first documented by DeSoto in Florida where he found that Native Americans were propagating them for the fruit.
We saw this Big Flower Paw Paw growing wild on the Ridge trail at Bok Tower. A zebra Swallowtail was flying around it. It was a bush about 4-ft. tall. Bok Tower had several of them for sale for $16. We don’t know if our Big Flower Paw Paw is a tree or a bush. Time will tell, I guess.
Posted by (Janna) on March 24, 2011
I like the Blackberry Punch. It figures, since it’s a petunia cousin. I do love the abundant blooms and colors of petunias!Anxious to hear how the Bubblegum stands up to the heat.
How are your zinnias doing, Penny? I’ve had some come up from last year’s plants self-seeding and I planted about a gazillion new seeds in pots and beds around the yard. They’re popping up all over the place.
Looking forward to Greenfest and more gardening this weekend!
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 24, 2011
My zinnia sprouts are also about an inch tall and I’m hoping to see a growth spurt soon.
Penny, that Jungle Book song is great! I love it! I DO remember the tune but didn’t remember the words about the Paw Paw tree until you posted them. Our little tree is only 2 feet tall, so your lyrics are longer than our tree is tall.
Does anyone have experience tying bromeliad plants on the branches of an oak tree? The plants I have “rescued” are used to being in the ground. I’m not sure how they would do on the tree.
I took photos and will post them a little later.
Posted by (Janna) on March 24, 2011
Dip and Penny, the zinnias will grow pretty quickly. I have some bromeliads under an oak tree but haven’t had much luck trying to tie them to branches - then again, maybe I just didn’t do it right. I HAVE put some in nooks and crannies of the trunk and branches which works pretty well as long as they stay put long enough for the roots to attach.
Posted by (Janna) on March 24, 2011
Glad you have an up-and-coming sunflower, Penny. Keep watching for them, I’ve had several pop up over the past three weeks or so. But what is UP with the datura? Last year, I had so many sprouts that I just left them until I had a giant datura jungle. So far this year, I’ve only spotted 4 baby ones which I needed reading glasses to see. Maybe more will come….
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 24, 2011
Thank you Janna! I’m going to try that with my bromeliads. How did you attach them to the tree, did you tie them on your tree nook and crannies, or did you glue or nail them on? I’m thinking of using a dab of wood glue (I read it wouldn’t hurt them).
Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on March 24, 2011
Penny, I have seen bromeliads growing on trees in Seminole Heights.
Leigh send me the link to Hillsborough’s garden spot.http://video.tbo.com/v/38070933/the-garden-today-hillsborough-high-school.htm?q=hillsborough+garden
I am going to hold an Open Garden next week and have been going crazy getting it ready and have not take any pictures yet. I promise to do it this weekend. Oh, I got two Cream Brulee petunias from Home Depot, very pretty. Pumpkin
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 24, 2011
I posted three photos of our little BigFlower Paw Paw plant. If you look closely you might be able to see the two buds on it, the flowers are bright white and fairly large when they bloom.
The Paw Paw is the host plant for the Zebra Swallowtail, and today I had two sightings of the Zebra Swallowtail in our yard. I don’t know if I saw the same butterfly twice, or two different ones.
I posted three photos of the bromiliads, but they haven’t shown up yet.
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 24, 2011
My bromiliad photos have now posted too, I’m sorry that I appear to have double-posted one of the pics.
Last night I got two wagon loads of broms out of a garbage can of a house I drove by. Exactly one week ago the same house had put eight broms in their garbage can which I retrieved and planted under our oak tree (pictured above in the bench photo).
I hope they all like their home in our garden better than the land fill they were destined for.
Posted by (kgardens) on March 25, 2011
Penny, I’m so glad you’re lovin’ Belinda’s Dream. I think she and Louis Philippe are my kinda’ roses. My baby LP, which has only bloomed one or two blooms at a time, is full of buds now. I can’t wait for them to open.
Gardendipity - I love your wagon load of broms. Lucky you!
Janna - You are the seed starting queen! I got a seedling hollyhock from you last year (that was actually originally from Pumpkin) and it re-seeded one (1) plant that I have babied through winter and is now in bud! I haven’t had a lot of luck with many other of my seeds. But, the zinnias are doing well.
Posted by (kgardens) on March 25, 2011
Hey Pumpkin, I think the spotlight of your garden was great. It really looks nice. How you keep up with all those extra gardens is amazing. Leigh came to visit my garden yesterday. YIKES. I don’t know if there will be a link, but it should air next Friday AM. She and cameraman, Moe were so nice I forgot to be nervous. I have no idea what I said or did though.
Posted by (Janna) on March 25, 2011
Good brom rescue, Dipity. I think they will be very happy in their new home. (Love the “tree face” btw!) I had some pretty deep nooks especially around the base, so I just tucked and they stayed. A vendor at the bromeliad festival at USF told me that wood glue works really well - I just haven’t tried that. I’ve also heard the panty hose thing that Penny mentioned works too.
Glad you got another hollyhock, Kay. I can’t wait to see the segment on your garden!
Pumpkin, the Positive Park piece was really good. Thanks for the link!
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 25, 2011
Thank you! “rescued” plants are my all-time favorites in my garden. They come with a story to tell.
Penny, the Big Flower Paw Paw that was growing on the ridge at Bok Tower Gardens had huge white blooms all over it, it was covered in them. Our little Paw Paw will take a while to mature. The bed we put it in has a lot of white flowers so I think a theme is developing, there is a big gardenia that’s just about to bloom and a big jasmine too.
Janna, thanks for your comment about the wood glow, that really reassured me. The next couple of days may find me hanging off a ladder with wood glue in one hand and a bromiliad in the other.
Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on March 25, 2011
Kay, This makes Meems you and I alumni of Hillsborough and Leigh Spann!
Dipity, I hope to see you tomorrow at Greenfest.
Chip and Dianne, I miss you guys.
Penny, You are next in line for Leigh to go to your garden. Have a great evening all. Pumpkin
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 26, 2011
Hi Pumpkin! I’ll be at Greenfest today but we have to come later in the afternoon due to a morning retreat. We’re also going tomorrow with our daughter and little grandboys. We’ll babysit while she shops for plants.
I watched the link you posted and really enjoyed it. You’re like the Gardening Godmother! I’m so impressed!! Wow, it is a beautiful garden that you created for those lucky kids.
I counted at least 25 bromiliads, plus the eight I got the week before makes 33 broms rescued from the garbage can.
Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on March 27, 2011
Penny, Thank you and I am very proud of Hillsborough’s garden. PUmpkin