Spring 2015
Combinations in 12-inch Baskets
Mother's Day is May 8th
We put it on the radar a few weeks back that Mother’s Day is May 8th. Baskets will be in demand and we’ve got a large assortment shipping now. They make great gifts and they’re also frequent impulse buys for quick color now that spring is in the air. Be sure to stock up while we still have a good selection.
Variegated Ginger
‘Zerumbet’ variegated ginger shows its bright leaves
We’ve added a new variety to our line of tropical plants for 2016: ‘Zerumbet’, a variegated ginger. Now, this is not the culinary ginger we use in stir-fries and salad dressings—it’s an ornamental type and boy, is it showy. Take a look at these giant green and yellow striped leaves; they can grow 18–24 inches long.
The Importance of Violas and Pansies
Pansies en masse
Our pansy crop is the first important mass color crop of the season. If you are in the business of providing Big Color to your clients, or you want to make money by painting the landscape with heavy color, then mastering the pansy family is important to you.
Lascar™ Verbena: New for Spring
Verbena ‘Lascar™ Black Velvet’
In the summer landscape, verbena is a sun-loving staple. It’s prized for its vivid colors but this plant is as tough as it is good-looking, standing up to heat, humidity, and drought like a trooper. Verbena is also known for its long bloom season; flowers start in mid-spring and keep going until frost, outlasting many other annual and perennial varieties. All in all, it’s an important tool in the designer’s tool box.
Calathea roseopicta: Prayer Plant
Leaves curling for a good night's rest
Easter is this weekend and that got us to thinking about the prayer plant we’re growing this year. It’s not an Easter plant—the name comes from a unique characteristic of some plants in the Marantaceae family. At night the leaves fold up slightly, resembling hands put together in prayer. In the morning they return to their normal position so that we can continue to enjoy this striking foliage.
