Sowing The Seeds Of Spring Preparation

I may have received copies of Select Seeds catalog before (selectseeds.com), but I’ve never taken the time to take a close look. That changed as I grabbed the 2017, 30th anniversary catalog as my dinner reading one evening last week. It was a pleasant surprise, but with a few footnotes. After a quick look at the first 25 pages, I was impressed with some of their plant collections, as they are certainly interesting and in some cases unique. If you’re looking for cottage garden and antique-type plants and seeds, this may be the place to shop. Before I went too deep, I checked them out at Dave’s Garden to find that they have a very good history with customer feedback, with ample positive votes and only one bad comment, back in 2014.

Not to be confused with Johnny’s Select Seeds, who are primarily vegetable seed suppliers, Select Seed is a purveyor of numerous antique and heirloom seeds and plants that aren’t commonly available at garden centers but still have a good deal of merit in our modern garden.

My first quibble has to do with the way they use plant nomenclature: I love it when a catalog has both the genus and species of a plant listed. This catalog provides both, albeit stingily. The genus is usually included once, and if the plant has several varieties it is then noted with only the first letter.

This is common in plant literature, but in this catalog it was just confusing. Dianthus, offered more than once, shows up the second time as “D.,” followed by the species. Tagetes (marigolds) are on the same page as Tropaeolum (nasturtium), but the transition on the page isn’t clear, and if you’re following the Latin on the pages, it’s distracting and confusing. I’m a traditionalist, though, and it may not bother you at all.

Another thing I noticed was the “new” banner on several plants that are not really new. Some, in fact, have been around for hundreds of years, if not longer. In this case, “new” means it’s new to the catalog—and I wish this was clearly stated.

Worse, though, was that the plant I was looking at that had the “new” label was Malva sylvestris, var. zebrina. This is a nice plant that is often referred to as a miniature hollyhock. But it’s listed as hardy to zone 5—and, as I’ve noted a zillion times, it’s not. It’s hardy to zone 7, sometimes. It does last late into the season, but it is not perennial here. I grew it in Southampton in the late 1970s as a perennial; it never wintered over. It may return every year, though … but from seeds that are winter hardy.

Okay, enough criticism—this catalog, and company, does have some wonderful offerings, and if your goal is an old-fashioned garden, or one with historical links, you need to look here.

You’ll find there are more than 10 sweet pea offerings (seeds and plants), and that’s rare these days, and six varieties of ornamental tobacco—these are the current rage in many gardens. You can easily find one Ricinus communis, or the castor bean plant, in a catalog, but this one has three. There are 14 different varieties of cosmos, a score of tender salvias, as well as collections for bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.

There also are well over a dozen varieties of geraniums (Pelargoniums) that you won’t find at local garden centers or in catalogs—and at seven dollars or less per plant, a bargain. And if you’re handy at rooting cuttings and holding these plants over through the winter, you can amass quite a nice collection for your gardens in the years to come.

There’s much more in this catalog, and you should really take a look. They’re in Union, Connecticut, which can also be a big plus if they are shipping from there, as plants won’t spend more than a day or two in transit.

Ah … Roots and Rhizomes. Now, here’s an interesting catalog, with great selections of hostas and daylilies and over 28 varieties of Heuheras. Even the prices are right. But—and I say BUT—think twice, or thrice, before buying from R&R. One word you’ll never see in this catalog is “exclusive,” and, in fact, everything they offer is available elsewhere. You’ll also notice that they never tell you anything about the size of the plant you’re getting, or what size pot it’s grown in.

This is a great example of “you get what you pay for,” though. I’ve bought from them several times to do quality checks, and because they had something no one else had at the time (everyone else was sold out)—only to have half the plants arrive dead, and the other half so tiny I couldn’t plant them in the garden. When I called to get replacements, the woman explained that she essentially worked for a call center that took complaints for the group of nurseries that were incestuously related.

A good example of their marketing is with Alcea (hollyhock) Spotlight. This is a seed-grown plant, and what makes it interesting is that you can buy it in four separate colors instead of the usual mix that hollyhocks come in. And at $6.95 a plant it seems to be a real bargain when you compare it to Bluestone’s $11.95 for the same plant.

But the similarity is only in name. The R&R plant will arrive as a “starter,” about an inch square and an inch and a half deep. It may or may not arrive alive. The Bluestone plant, though, is 3.5 inches square, 4 inches deep, and it will arrive healthy and ready to transplant.

Bottom line, steer clear of R&R. Everything they sell is sold elsewhere, and while you may pay more elsewhere, I can pretty much guarantee the higher price is certainly worth it. R&R does seem to stand by its guarantee, but that’s of little help when dead-on-arrival plants interfere with your garden plans—or, even worse, when you’re told you’ll get a refund because they’re sold out. (And did I mention that I suspect that R&R grows few to none of the plants they sell?)

When it comes to a great stock list (plants available for sale), Lazy S’S is just tops. With over 2,000 perennials available at reasonable prices, it’s a plant connoisseur’s gold mine. No catalog, though, and a website that’s a little clunky—but once you learn to navigate it, you can spend a day or more looking at all the offerings … and afford them. I needed to confirm that they are still in business, because they’re looking to retire, and indeed they are eagerly awaiting your order for the 2017 season at lazyssfarm.com.

And if you want to spend even more money and read an outstanding (and very funny) catalog from a plant maven like no other, you need to check out Plant Delights at plantdelights.com. Pricey, but a selection of perennials and tenders that will do wonders for your garden even while emptying your wallet.

Keep growing!