Seed Selection

Saturday, February 09, 2008 03:45 AM

This time of year I like going through the seed racks to see what new varieties of seeds are available. This year we have a new seed company for us but have been around since 1856 called ‘Livingston Seed Co’, and they have some different varieties of seeds along with the standard varieties. They also package and display their seeds making it easy to find certain things. For example the vegetables are packaged in yellow, herbs in brown, perennials in green, and the climbing varieties of flowers in blue.

As I was going through the ‘Climbers’ in the flowers I noticed some new varieties of Morning Glory that caught my eye and will perhaps be tried out this summer in my own yard. Livingston seeds have two ‘Picotee’ varieties of morning glory. ‘Picotee Blue’ which have double and single flowers in a deep blue color with a white edge, and ‘Picotee Red’ which is red and has a white edge. Another is the ‘Chocolate’ morning glory which has large rose, chocolate blooms and white edges. There is also a morning glory that is white with a pink star which is pretty, and it is called ‘Shiva’.

Three other varieties of morning glory found in the Livingston rack are ‘Flying Saucers’ which have purple/white striped flowers, ‘Red Star’, is a dwarf variety, and the blue flowered ‘Clark’s Heavenly Blue’. There are three other members of the morning glory (Ipomoea) family but are not under the Morning glory name. One is ‘Moonflower’ which has giant white fragrant flowers that open at night and finish in the morning. Another is ‘Cardinal Climber’ which is different because of its fern-like foliage. Cardinal climber has red trumpet shaped flowers that are a favorite for humming birds. ‘Cypress Vine’ is also a favorite among humming birds with its five pointed flowers that come in red, white and pink and the foliage is similar to that of the Cardinal climber.

Other climbing varieties of flower seeds that are available in Livingston seeds are Minalobata Spanish Flag. This variety has spikes of up to 12 blossoms that change color from scarlet to creamy yellow. Another is the ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ (Thunbergia Alata) which has yellow, cream and white flowers that have a black center. Another is the easy to grow, pretty purple flowered ‘Hyacinth Bean’ who’s flowers mature into dark purple bean pods. The last of the climbers can also be grown as a vegetable and this is the ‘Scarlet Runner Bean’ and is often found in the vegetable section of seeds. Flowers are red and are followed by long green edible beans that can be used for slicing. This is always a fun seed for children as it is easy to grow, fast and is pretty and edible.

Although it is only February it is not too early to start some seeds in the next few weeks. Some of the morning glories should be started 4-6 weeks indoors before planting them outside after risk of frost has passed. So if you plan on planting outdoors towards the end of May you should start your seed in the beginning of April or end of March. The sooner you plant the sooner you will get flowers!

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George,