Seedman Basic Info: Seedman Basic Info:
Firethorn is a large, evergreen shrub that is cherished for its spectacular fall and winter display of scarlet fruits and ability to withstand dry and droughty conditions. Shooting long lanky stems in all directions, firethorn typically grows into a tangled mound up to 10 feet in height and 12 feet wide. It is armed with sharp thorns that hide among the dark,glossy green leaves. Clusters (corymbs) of small white flowers appear in spring. These are up to 2 inches across and are borne close together creating the appearance of nearly solid surface of flowers. In fall the 1/4 inch berries begin to ripen, their color mellowing from green to shades of red, orange, or yellow. These persist through winter and into early spring depending on climate and appetite of the local bird population. Under bright sunny conditions the berries are plentiful but expect smaller crops in shadier situations. The color of both leaves and berries tends to be darker in cooler climates. Culture: Not particular about soil and requires little or no supplemental fertilization. Landscapers love the firethorns for their fast rate of growth and ability to withstand drought and neglect. The shrubs ruggedness and disease and pest resistance makes this plant a very popular item in commercial landscapes. Seedman Basic Info: Perennial for zones 3-9, grows about 28 inches tall. Cannot ship to HI
The beautiful orange and black Monarch butterfly is one of the best known threatened butterfly species in North America. According to some of the latest surveys over 90% of the population has disappeared in the last decade mostly due to loss of habitat. Sprawling urban developments and intensive farming techniques mean fewer uncultivated margins where the milkweed species can thrive and provide habitat for the Monarch during its egg and larvae/caterpillar stages.
This mix provides five species of milkweed (Asclepias) as well as a Butterfly Mixture that provides a variety of nectar-producing flowers that supply food for adult butterflies.
Milkweed (Asclepias species) is the only food source for Monarchs in their caterpillar state, and any garden devoted to butterflies will have Milkweed in abundance. This mix offers a bit of it as well, but it supplements with greater percentages of many other nectar sources (often more difficult for Monarchs to find) for spring, summer, and fall.
This mix contains: Bishop's Flower, Black-Eyed Susan, Butterfly Milkweed, California Poppy, Candytuft, Cornflower, Dwarf Cosmos, Lance-Leaved Coreopsis, Dwarf Godetia, Indian Blanket, New England Aster, Plains Coreopsis, Gayfeather, Purple Coneflower, Perennial Lupine, Purpletop, Shasta Daisy, Siberian Wallflower, Sweet Alyssum, and Sweet William Pinks.
Viburnums offer excellent support for birds and pollinators, and serve as host plants to numerous butterflies and moths. They tend to flower profusely whether or not pollination occurs. However, poor fruiting will happen if there is only one Viburnum available, so try to grow at least two somewhat close together. The edible berries can be used to make jams and jellies.
It can grow 15 to 20 feet tall and should be spaced about 15 feet apart. Hardy for zones 2-8.
Cypress Vine plants grow well in full sun or partial shade. They are not picky about the quality of soil, but it does need to have good drainage. Once the Cypress Vine Star Glory plant is established well, it can withstand periods of drought. However, it will grow faster and have more blooms with regular water. Deadheading the spent blooms will encourage a prolonged bloom season. Blooms will usually start the first of summer and continue until fall. In some frost free areas, Cypress Vine will grow as a perennial.
Red Hot Poker, with its sweet nectar and bright orange flowers will attract bees and butterflies, and will bring in many different birds to your garden!
A perennial for zones 5-10, will grow 36-48 inches tall.
Start seeds indoors in late winter for the earliest blooms. For areas with a longer bloom season, prepare a weed free seedbed outdoors, and sow the seeds directly once frost danger has passed. Thin the seedlings to 12 inches apart. Venidium orange flowers are easy to grow and maintain. Provide full sun, regular water, fertile, well-draining soil, and these flowers will not disappoint you. Care includes deadheading the spent blooms to promote continual flowering. May grow as a perennial in zones 10 and 11.
A single plant produces myriad 1- to 2-inch trumpet-shaped blooms in all combinations of raspberry, lemon-yellow, orange-golden, and frosty-white. Grows from 12 to 36 inches tall.
From midsummer until frost, butterfly bush earns its name as hordes of winged beauties flit from flower to flower in search of nectar.
Fragrant, shades of pink, purple, white, first year flowers in summer, the cornerstone of a butterfly garden. Perennial to zone 5. Grows about 4 feet tall.
Grows about 24 to 48 inches tall, will germinate in about 20-40 days depending on soil and weather conditions, germinates best if soil temperature is in the 50-60 degree range.
Surface sow,do not cover seeds, blooms from June to September.
Hesperaloe parviflora has narrow evergreen leaves with a fringe of white threadlike hairs along their edges and grows in clumps 3–6 feet high and wide. Red or yellow tubular flowers are borne on branching flower stalks (inflorescences) up to 5 feet tall from late spring to mid-summer.
This species has become popular in xeriscape landscape design for public and private gardens in California and the Southwestern United States. The plant's qualities include drought tolerance, heat resistance, low maintenance needs, hummingbird attracting flowers, and an architectural form. It also is a spineless alternative to Agave and Yucca horticultural species.
Hardy to well below 0°F some say as low as -20°F (USDA zone 5). It is a good clean plant for desert and succulent gardens, planted in masses or used in pots.
Cattle relish the young flower stalks, and chopped trunks and leaves serve as emergency food during droughts. Indians ate the flower buds, flowers, and young flower stalks of this and other yuccas, either raw or boiled.
Yucca elata is a common, widespread and quite distinctive species, growing tall and eventually branching, forming tree-like plants up to 15 feet high, resembling the Joshua tree through generally smaller, with longer leaves and fewer branches. Ranges of the two overlap in southwest Utah and northwest Arizona, but the soaptree yucca is more common further east, in the grasslands and foothills of central and southeast Arizona, and the flat plains of New Mexico.
Leaves are pale or bright green in color, thin and flexible, up to half an inch across (slightly wider in the middle) and between 10 and 35 inches long. The edges are white, as are the short terminal spines and the long, curly filaments that grow most densely towards the center. Plants are old before they branch, hence most specimens have only one stem; the (usual) maximum number observed is seven. Dead leaves hang back against the stem and remain there for many years. Flower clusters are borne on stems rising 2 or 3 feet above the leaves. Flowers are pendant, globular or bell-shaped.
Hardy to zero degrees, also makes a great container plant when young.
Zones 6-10.
Excellent plant for borders, roadsides, xeriscapes, rock gardens.
Adaptable to a variety of garden conditions, it is drought-tolerant when established and an excellent choice for xeric gardens, natural or prairie gardens, meadows, hillsides, or hard to maintain areas. The plant often reseeds and grow in following years. You will enjoy its cheerful beauty and the way it attracts bees and butterflies.
For zones 3-10.
Grows about 12 to 18 inches tall, will germinate in about 15-45 days depending on soil and weather conditions, germinates best if soil temperature is in the 56-65°F range.
Cover seeds about 1/8" deep, blooms from May to September.
Plants are heat and drought tolerant, and blooms are used for cut and dried flower arrangements. The drug Echinacea, used to boost the immune system, comes from this genus. Divide clumps when they become overcrowded (about every 4 years). Plants usually rebloom without deadheading, however prompt removal of spent flowers improves general appearance. Freely self-seeds if at least some of the seed heads are left in place. Best suited for zones 4-9.
Low growing but prolific blooming, Texas Bluebonnet requires some patience, but little maintenance, once established. The same toughness and tenacity that makes this little Lupine the perfect representation of the Lone Star state also makes it slow to germinate and bloom--but once it does you will not be disappointed!
Bluebonnet flowers are prolific bloomers in early spring and are known for attracting butterflies and a variety of bees, including honeybees.
How To Grow Texas Bluebonnet From Seed: It is recommended to soak Texas Bluebonnet seeds in tepid water over night before sowing outdoors. After soaking, sow the Texas Bluebonnet wildflower seed directly into prepared soil that is loosened and weed free. A late fall sowing is recommended.
To keep Texas Bluebonnet wildflowers year after year, allow the seed pods to form and drop their flower seeds. Texas Bluebonnet Lupine is moderately deer resistant and the flowers attract butterflies. An annual that will grow in zones 3-10.
Schizanthus can be slow to germinate but you will be rewarded with a dazzling display of vibrant colours in reds, pinks, blues and lavenders all with a central golden eye. This strain is more compact and less lax in habit than most, and ideal for pot growing.
Butterfly Flowers are ideal for mass planting, spots of color in the flower border or in containers. Schizanthus plants are showy and exotic looking adding lots of beauty wherever they are grown.
Seed are not difficult to establish. Start the seed indoors 6 - 8 weeks before the end of frost season. Lightly cover the flower seeds with soil. It's recommended to cover the starter trays with plastic to help hold moisture in. Water from underneath. Once seedlings emerge, remove the plastic. The Schizanthus plants can be transplanted once they have their 2nd set of true leaves. They prefer a full sun to partial shade setting.
Suggested Use: Gardens, roadsides, open meadows, mixtures. Creates ribbons of color for miles along Texas highways in the spring.
The Chippewa Indians are know the use Indian Paintbrush as a medicine to treat rheumatism and as a bath rinse to make their hair glossy. Both applications are useful due to it's selenium content.
Creates plenty of drama without overpowering companion plantings and cut flower arrangements. Plants are heat tolerant and prolific, producing masses of color from late June until early frost.
Will flower at 12" when grown in pots, but becomes truly statuesque in the garden.
First red wine-colored Rudbeckia from seed.
Compact plants are outstanding in the garden or in large containers. Combine Cherry Brandy's 3–4" flowers with rudbeckia of other colors, or do a dramatic mass planting for red blooms all summer. Also known as blackeyed Susan and gloriosa daisy. Tender perennial in Zones 9–10. Ht. 20–24".
Grows perfectly in gardens, in borders and in flower beds, and it is a great summer time bloomer. Butterflies of many species are attracted to its bright blooms. It grows in all regions of North America in any soil from sand to clay, but it must have full sun. Black-eyed Susan care includes deadheading to prolong the bloom season, but the plants will re-seed themselves readily if you leave a few blooms to go to seed.
It is a spectacular tall plant great as a border backdrop or in a naturalized setting. Attracts bee's and butterflies has well known medicinal properties. Flowers early spring through late summer
Cannot ship to CO, HI, SD
Fleuroselect, Single flower, brilliant gold, butterfly attractor, fine for basket or container or tumbling over low wall, this is a very versatile plant. Annual growing 12" tall.
Perfect for growing in a cottage garden or informal herbaceous border. Its growth habit makes it particularly useful for filling in gaps in the border and linking other planting groups together. It has a long flowering season that lasts from early summer well into autumn.
Excellent plant for attracting bees. The flowers are pollen rich over a long period.
Butterflies and hummingbirds find this plant hard to resist! The abundant flowers are presented atop very well-branched stems lined with small, aromatic, grey-green leaves. The plants are very uniform and compact with a terrific upright habit.
This plant is perfect for growing in rock gardens, flower borders, cottage gardens, herb gardens, butterfly gardens, and large containers.
Pink Pop is a very tidy Agastache, staying in a rounded 18 inch mound. It has tall soft pink spikes that are very attractive to hummingbirds. It will bloom June-Oct with deadheading. The foliage has a spicy scent and the flowers are also spicy flavored, making them useful as garnish in salads.
It needs good drainage and prefers full sun, although will do well in hot areas with a bit of afternoon shade. This variety is seed grown, so dead heading early will assure that the plant doesn't self sow. It is a vigorous rebloomer if deadheaded.
Long flowering pink spikes, flowers summer first year, well branched, fragrant ( delightful old time flower garden fragrance ), for pot or garden. Flowers in 12 weeks. Grows about 14" tall. Good cutflower and potpourri plant. Perennial plant hardy to zone 6.
Also called Spotted Joe Pye Weed, it is best planted in full to almost-full sun and rich, moist soils. It will spread so should be planted with caution in small landscape situations.
A perennial best suited for zones 3-8. Needs cold stratification before germinating.
Korean Mint usually reaches 36 inches in height and it's popular with the insects with its liquorice-like scent. These flowers are also very nice for cutting and adding to fresh flower arrangements.
Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Korean Mint usually reaches 36 inches in height and it's popular with the insects with its liquorice-like scent. These flowers are also very nice for cutting and adding to fresh flower arrangements. Height: 36 inches. USDA Zones: 4-9. Deer resistant.
Birds love the fruit. They are greatly favored by Black Birds and Cedar Waxwings, which have been know to strip a tree of all its berries.
Here is a link to a great web page about Firethorn and includes a recipe for Pyracantha Jelly.
Light: Full sun preferred but will grow in partial to fairly heavy shade. Flowering and fruiting will not be as heavy.
Moisture: Moist to very dry, well drained soil. Hardiness: Zones 5 - 9.
Usage: Pyracantha is often used as an espalier. Held flat against a wall, it can be shaped quite creatively. Because of its fast growth rate, sprawling, spreading habit, and ease of care, it can be used on slopes to great advantage requiring little maintenance or care. The wide-reaching stems may be pruned back as needed during warm weather as the shrub blooms on old wood. Even consider using it as an informal hedge! This will require some trimming and shaping for the first few years but the effort will produce impressively beautiful and secure
(thorny) hedges.
Although much taller than other garden plants, this multi-branching plant is not too tall to add to the back of a bed or border in a cottage, informal, cutting, or wildlife garden, where the flowers beckon to bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and the tasty seeds bring the birds flocking.
A favorite of florists for their unique texture, Tall Teddy Bear Sunflowers are a big hit with gardeners as well! Easy to grow, these fluffy headed beauties will reach nearly 6 feet tall! Be sure to cut sunflowers in the early morning to encourage longer-lasting blooms.
The Penstemon like flowers are fragrant, pink to lavender. They appear in May and keep coming until September or frost. Likes moderate water and sun. Does best inland and in desert.
This is a great plant for a bird garden, rock garden, xeriscape or lawn specimen.
Best suited for zones 6-10.
Grows about 12 to 24 inches tall, will germinate in about 15-60 days depending on soil and weather conditions, germinates best if soil temperature is in the 60-70°F range.
Cover seeds about 1/16" deep, blooms from April to July.
Calendula flower seed produces a hardy plant. It is happy in most soil conditions. It requires well-drained soil, preferring full sun to semi-shade. Calendula is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. An annual plant growing to about 20 inches tall. For outside flower beds in zones 4-10. Deer resistant as well.
Butterflies love to visit these sweet little flowers! Chrysanthemums can be liberal self-sowers, and Creeping Daisy will drop its own flower seeds giving you brand new Creeping Daisy plants the following year. Creeping Daisy is technically a perennial, but only in frost free zones 9 and 10.
Creeping Daisy seeds can be sown directly outside in the spring after frost season is over. In a prepared seedbed that is weed free, so the flower seeds about 12 inches apart and press the Chrysanthemum seeds into the soil. Keep the seeds moist until germination occurs. Creeping Daisy care includes an application of all purpose fertilizer each month throughout the growing season and pinching back spent flowers to encourage continued blooming.
Shasta Daisy plants are ideal for a wild flower garden's edge or are attractive in butterfly gardens or combined with other perennials or annuals. For cooler climates with short growing seasons, start the Chrysanthemum Daisy seeds indoor 6 - 8 weeks before frost season is over. For warmer climates, sow the Shasta Daisy seeds directly outdoors into prepared beds in the spring after danger of frost has passed. Sow the wild flower seed on the surface and keep moist. Shasta Daisy flowers will not bloom the first year, but grow slowly to get established. It will then be a prolific bloomer in successive years. Shastas are one of the best daisies to grow from wild flower seed! Grows about 32 inches tall. A perennial for zones 3-9.
Teasel plants will perform well in sunny areas with well-drained soil. Once established they need very little care and are fairly drought tolerant. Deer do not bother the Fuller's Teasel plant. The Teasel flowers are very popular with bees, birds and hummingbirds who love the flowers and seeds.
Teasels are considered a biennial. The first year they will not produce a bloom, but the second year, tall spikes will form with flower heads that are 4 inches, cylindrical-shaped and made up of a mass of tiny flowers. The flowers are usually a lavender color and bloom in a band from the bottom of the flower head to the top, lasting about a month.
To keep a patch of Teasel plants in the garden, let a few of the flower heads go to seed. The Teasel flower seeds will drop and self-sow.
Hyssop is also considered to be a medicinal herb, with the oil obtained from the leaves used to make herbal baths and facials.
Hyssop is an excellent bee plant. Legend has it that beekeepers rubbed their hives with hyssop and other herbs to encourage bees to stay. Hyssop also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies; claims that it keeps cabbage butterflies away from crops or repels flea beetles have not been substantiated.
A perennial hardy in zones 3 to 10.
Strongly anise-scented, it is delightful for tea or as culinary seasoning.
Deer cannot stand the aromatic foliage.Beautiful, fragrant purple flowers growing 12-36" tall. Perennial. Zone 4-7.
Seed packs will contain many dormant seeds that may take until second second season to germinate, in addition to seeds that will germinate the first seaon, so be patient with them.
Plant this unusual 24 inch annual herb for its pure ornamental value, to attract much-coveted bees to your garden, and to harvest for teas and other summer drinks. When young, the cucumber flavored leaves may be added to salads. The flowers (which are excellent for cutting and have a long vase-life) are used as garnishes (in cold drinks like ice tea and lemonade) or added to salads. Cut sprays of Borage all summer long to garnish and add flavor to cold drinks and salads! Borage plants are also considered to be a great companion plant for vegetable gardens and orchards because of the attraction of bees to the blue flowers. Plant Borage seeds where pollination is needed! Borage is sometimes called Starflower or Bee Bread.
Borage is a hardy annual which means that the seeds can be sown outside in the early spring, or even in the fall and overwintered in the soil ready to come up at the first signs of spring.
Borage seeds need complete darkness to germinate. Plants grow 2-3 feet tall.
They make a lovely addition to the wild flower garden or to the back of the perennial garden as they can reach 48 inches in height.
Historically, the Boneset plant was commonly used by some North American Indian tribes and lay herbal doctors for its properties as a febrifuge, laxative, stimulant, and diaphoretic. The Boneset herb was often used to treat flu epidemics, and still today, some use the dried leaves and flowering tops to make Boneset tea or tincture to treat colds and flu. Hardy to zone 3.
It even makes a pretty patch of small ground cover. Growing thyme provides an anchor in an herb garden in areas where it is evergreen in winter. Thyme is also perfect for containers, either alone or in combination with plants that won't shade it out.
It is not only attractive in the perennial border or herb garden, but it also attracts birds, bees and butterflies to the garden as well. It is also commonly referred to as Garden Thyme or English Thyme.
This variety is often planted near vegetables to help control flea beetles and several cabbage pests.
A perennial for zones 4-9.
Very bright orange or yellow flowers. U.S. native. This plant's milky white sap may irritate skin. Its stiff, thick branches may act as treillage to support weaker neighboring plants. Attracts bees and butterflies. At any given time you may see species of Monarch, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Western Swallowtail, and many other butterfly varieties feeding on this plant.
If growing Rose Milkweed from seed, try fall planting, or if planting in spring be sure to first moist-cold stratify the seeds for a month. Large numbers of Rose Milkweed can often be seen growing in wetland settings.
Plants grow about 48 inches tall, hardy for zones 3-9. Cannot ship to HI
It is also a very attractive, evergreen perennial that produces mauve colored flowers during the blooming season. It is an excellent ground cover for edging sidewalks or garden pathways where its attractive foliage and flowers can be appreciated. Many people also dry sage for creating aromatic wreaths and dried flower arrangements. It's such a versatile plant, growing in a rock garden or bordering an herb garden and so easy to start from seeds.
Containing naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, the herb sage is best known as a culinary spice that adds flavor to poultry dishes. However, sage has been used for hundreds of years in folk medicine to treat a variety of different ailments. Most commonly drunk as a tea, sage herb is good for the nerves, digestive system and for balancing estrogen levels in women.
If you have a sunny spot, this little white Lavender herb will not disappoint! Both the silvery green foliage and the delicate white blooms have a wonderful fragrance. It is irresistible to bees and butterflies, and just wait until the scent catches on the summer breezes! With a long bloom season, and a pretty display, this is a great addition. hardy to zone 4.
It was reportedly named English lavender because of its ability to grow well in the English climate.
This "true lavender" is commercially planted for harvesting its oils for use in perfumes.
It also grown for cutflowers, and it's atrraction for bees and butterflies. Cleaned seed, treated for fast,
uniform germination, grows 16 inches tall, hardy to zone 4.
An excellent shade tree with acacia type foliage that will mature at about 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide. Normally has thorny stickers. The fragrant flowers can be smelled for hundreds of feet in spring. This is a tree that grows well in poor soil and can be an aggressive grower in good soil, so probably best suited for areas you want to dress up or hide, and do not mind the suckering growth.
The bruised foliage mixed with sugar will attract and kill flies, a useful attribute.
Cannot ship to New York state. Grows well in zones 3-9.
This is the perfect flowering plant for hummingbirds, and they visit it all day long. Chilean Glory Vine looks delicate, but it is vigorous and easy to grow and is considered a perennial in USDA Zones 9 - 10, but it will grow like an annual in colder zones. For areas with a long growing season, start the Eccremocarpus Scaber seeds directly outdoors in a prepared seedbed. In colder zones, start the flower seeds indoors 6 - 8 weeks before the end of frost season.
White Linen California Poppy will produce creamy white flowers that measure 2 or 3 inches wide in diameter. The plants will grow to a mature height of roughly 12 to 18 inches tall.
Grown as a tender perennial, they attract an array of beneficial insects to the garden, such as butterflies, bumblebees, honeybees and more.
Grows about 30-32 inches tall, usually grown as an annual, will re-seed itself.
Easy to grow, it is a perennial but might not survive above zone 7 so grow it there as an annual. Blooms prolifically first year from seed if sown the previous fall. No garden should be without this lovely plant, it looks both dainty and really exotic.
Although Chinese foxglove is not as hardy as its lookalike, digitalis, it is more versatile, growing well in shade and is even fairly drought-tolerant. Mature Height: 24-36", Spacing: 12-18". Zones 7-10.
When the females cannot find suitable habitat to lay eggs, the life cycle is interrupted and the overall population decreases. While scientists have been aware for several years of the Monarch butterfly's life threatening situation and possible extinction, promoting public, government and industry awareness of the plight of this beautiful insect is probably the only thing that can lead to saving it.
2 ounce package of seeds will cover 300 square ft.
Contains: Coneflower, Arroy Lupine, Mallow, Four-O'Clock, Nasturtium, Zinnia 'Pumila Mix', Bird's Eyes, Rocket Larkspur,
Sweet William Pinks, Spurred Snapdragon, Corn Poppy, Scarlet Sage, Catchfly, Balsam, Dwarf Columbine, Foxglove, Maltese Cross, Lemon Mint and Rocky Mountain Penstemon.
Sow seeds in February in South, April in the North.
18g package of seeds will cover 100 square ft.