A few years ago I requested a catalog from Burpee but I never got it. My zip code is probably not seen as very desirable to people in the gardening business so I pretty much stick to buying retail. That's the case with Burpee, I couldn't tell you what is in their catalog but I can tick off what I like that they're offering in retail settings. I really enjoying growing my own plants from seeds and I buy from whoever is selling them. This year though the Burpee seeds at Home Depot seem to be uninspired and there isn't much for an ornamentalist like myself to choose from.
I wanted to buy the Burpee 'Cypress Vine' seed pack I saw at Home Depot but didn't because it looked to be mislabeled to me. The name of the seed pack says 'Cypress Vine' but if you look at the photo of the plant is isn't what is commonly called 'Cypress Vine'-it is 'Cardinal Climber.' I already grow a mix of pink, red and white Cypress Vine and posted pictures of it in the post "When I collected Cypress Vine Seeds". You can look at the photos in that entry and compare them to the photos of the packet at Home Depot. I also have pictures of a pink and white Cypress Vine flower.They're in the same family and very similar looking except 'Cypress Vine' has the prettier shaped flowers (they look like 5 point stars) and nicer foliage than 'Cardinal Climber'. If I'm not mistaken I believe Burpee is also selling the mix of 'Cypress Vine' I already grow but I didn't bother to check the labeling and didn't notice this "mistake" until I was uploading the photo to this entry.
The other vine I think you should try is Thunbergia Spanish Eyes. I don't grow this one but I do grow the more common Black-Eyed Susan Vine and will be buying Spanish Eyes. It produces great foliage that grows quickly up a fence to create a privacy screen for your garden-also looks great as a trailing plant in containers. I was looking through a houseplant book from the '50s recently and was surprised to see Black-Eyed Susan vine listed as an indoor plant. I'll have to remember to grow mine in a pot and try it out as a houseplant. Two years ago I saw Black-Eyed Suan Vine for sale in a garden center and they were going for $15.00 and were pretty small plants. I'm glad I like to grow plants from seeds as much as I do.
If you're new to growing plants from seeds here are some tutorials to help you get started:
Seed starting in plastic soda bottles
Seed starting in plastic baggies
Seed starter pots from news paper
Home made seed pots
Paper tube seed pot holders
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12.2.09
7 comments:
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I didn't find any Burpee varieties desirable this year. The wife yells at me because even though I have my entire garden started for the year, I still have to look at the seed racks at home depot.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the seed starting guides.
If you really like Burpee seeds you can order them online from their website. There are quite a few companies that I order from online. High Country Gardens is another favorite for me for plants. Rugged, tough plants that will take the cold & the heat. I keep thinking I will try the black eyed susan vine but haven't done it yet.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Interesting. The packet of Burpee Cypree I bought at Lowe's looks completly different than your's and DOES look like cypress, though, the white variety.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I have a good link for you to add to google:
http://www.robsplants.com/plantlinks/
Red, I know what you mean. Usually I look forward to their seed rack because I'll be able to buy something that was "cool" a year or so ago in their catalog. But this year it just seems like a lackluster offering from Burpee.
ReplyDeleteTina, if you get a chance to post your pic somewhere online let me know so I can look at it. Now I'm wondering how many version of the seed pack are out there and if the seeds inside were screwed up too.
TexasDaisy, Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteI usually find a few things in the Burpee catalog that I want to try...but find their seed prices and shipping to be very expensive. Then found them at Walmart for 99 cents! Such as my Brandy-Boy tomato seeds, which I will be growing again this year.
ReplyDeleteBurpee I can't get them to quit sending me e mail with promotions. We've been growing cypress vine for years, but Meg gets the seeds and I'm not sure from where.
ReplyDelete