Off the A-List
Some flowers just didn't mesh well with the new farm. I don't want to give up on them entirely, forever -- but they are going to be pushed aside to make more room for the ones that do really well here.
Off the A-List:
Bells of Ireland - They just did not do well for me. I think things were too wet. My Bells of Ireland developed a fungus and faded early on. (I am also one of those people who is really offended by the smell.)
Ruby Silk Grass - It is beautiful en-masse. But it takes forever to harvest a "mass." I'm going to grow some larger grasses and millet next year. It just took so much time to harvest it.
Zinderella Zinnas - They are so beautiful in the photos, but in reality, very few of them actually "zinder" - at least that is my experience. I've had great luck with zinnias in loamy soil in the past. I just don't have that on our new farm. I'm not ordering any white varieties, either-- they turned out more singles than doubles, and I found them difficult to use in market bouquets and event work. I'll cut back on zinnia numbers on the whole and keep the ones that have proven themselves here- namely Queen Red Lime and the Benary's Giants series.
Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime'
Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Salmon-Rose'
Pampas Plume Celosia - I'm trading this variety for some specialty varieties. Overall celosia numbers will go up. I think the new options will become fast favorites with customers and prove more useful in design work.
More/New Space Granted To:
Amaranth - There are so many different kinds and it produces so much seed. And it's beautiful, exotic, and very much in demand.
Nicotiana - Flowering tobacco puts out tons of long stems. It is a little annoying to harvest, because it is sticky, but it was probably my most dependable flower this season. It is easy to grow, too. We'll go from 1 to 3 varieties next year.
Snapdragons - Snapdragons love cool temps. That makes them well-suited to the Adirondack summer. We typically have only a few days in the high 80s. They come back in the fall, so I hold them over the warmer weeks and harvest again later on. For me, the Rocket and Chantilly series were the best performers, even in this off-year when there was little spring sunshine. We'll add the Potomac series next year. I saw few Madam Butterflies this past summer (sadly) - so I'm going to hold off on them for a season.
Grasses - Next year, I'm adding a few different kinds of millet, wheat, and other grasses.
Asters - My aster seedlings died in an over-heating incident in the greenhouse space I was using last winter. I'm going to try again and this time with more seeds.
Mums - With our short dahlia season, it makes sense to hop on the heirloom mum bandwagon for some more fall color. I can't wait to pick out some spidery beauties!
Lisianthus - You asked for it, we're doing it! I've ordered plugs (because it is so difficult to grow from seed) for a full 85-ft row of lisianthus next year. Yay!
Scabiosa - We're also going to try some of the larger series of scabiosas that are bred vegetatively and available to flower farmers as plugs. They are from the "Scoop" series, and they'll go right into the beds with our already popular ivory Fata Morgana and Starflower varieties.
Sweet Peas - Due to the high demand last summer, we are doubling our sweet pea offerings and enhancing our growing method to produce larger flowers on longer stems. I can smell them already. This year's seeds are coming straight from sweet pea motherland, England.
Thanks for following along. Which varieties are you trading out/trading in? Please share in the comments. We're curious!
