Images of three new plants for us this year that seem to have acquired a following amongst the immature crowd.

Iochroma cyanea - 'Royal Queen - Purple'
- Its growth habit seems to produce leaves...in front of the blooms... which caused a great deal of climbing...


...until I pruned back some of the foliage


Nepeta 'Blue Dragon' catmint
- Large, interesting blooms, "tender perennial". I'll be a happy camper if this one makes it through an Ohio winter.


Russelia equisetiformis- 'Firecracker Plant'
-Great container plant. Found it last week at a local nursery for 4 bucks.




Bud
Southwest Ohio
USDA Plant Zone 6a

Camera: Pentax K20D
Lens: Pentax DA*300 f/4, Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro
There's 1 or 2 more hummingbird / butterfly pics located here...
http://www.pbase.com/budohio

Bud Outstanding plants. I just ordered a small Russelia on Friday from Sweet Nectar Nursery. It arrived about 45 minutes ago and I have it potted up and hanging so it can start growing if the cloud cover ever decides to go away. I also added a Nepeta this year. Not sure which one as I got it at a plant swap. No flowers yet.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Bud, wonderful photos...as we've come to expect from you! I'm particularly impressed with the Iochroma shots, as many of the folks on our Brug Forum are unaware that hummers will feed from them. Would you mind posting those 2 pics on the Brug Forum...or give me permission to do so?

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Bud those are outstanding photos! And wow is there ever an end to wanting to try new plants...

Specially that Iochroma - looks very tempting!

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

Penny - I really like the russelia... may have to check back and see if they have any more The blooms on this nepeta are a very pleasant surprise... I wasn't expecting them to be so large and figured that it would probably be a good butterfly plant.

Patrick - I'll be happy to post these over on the Brug forum... you may have to give some directions... I don't get over there much There are a couple of the hummers that really seem to like the iochroma. We have one in the garden, that the four-lined plant bugs just about destroyed in the spring and it has been very slow to bloom. The other one is in a container on the deck, is about 3 feet tall and has loads of blooms in various stages. I imagine that it will be quite a specimen by the end of the season.

Carol - thanks! I fully endorse the iochroma... just give it plenty of space... it's a big 'un!

Here's another image from yesterday... it's a very photogenic plant




Bud
Southwest Ohio
USDA Plant Zone 6a

Camera: Pentax K20D
Lens: Pentax DA*300 f/4, Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro
There's 1 or 2 more hummingbird / butterfly pics located here...
http://www.pbase.com/budohio

Once again, you've outdone yourself! Last winter hummingbird session we stopped at one house with a nice lush Iochroma that the hummers wouldn't leave alone. I don't think they would like this 100 degree weather though.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

Bud I also like the Russelia. I really fell in love with them when we were in Florida over Easter. They were everywhere. If we had driven down instead of flying I would have bought several while we were there. Gallon pots were only $2.99. It was a hummer gardeners dream come true. I would love to be able to grow them inground like they are down there but alas pots and baskets will have to do.

I also love the Iochroma but I will probably pass on it at least as long as I am living here in NY....OH to have a heated greenhouse!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

OK, where can I find the Iochroma. I've tried a google search with not much luck.

Thank you,
Scott

Bud,

I am growing Iochroma cyanea - 'Royal Queen - Purple' this season for the first time. I thought these looked like ideal hummer plants, have you seen any adults on the blooms? My 2 plants are in a huge pot (should have seperated them) and they are 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide each I would say. Blooming profusely, but my male RTH blows right past them and hits th epotted Savlia's on either side of them???? I think I will take your idea and cut back some of the leaves to expose more of the bloom. Presently I am awaiting juvies to debut themselves and have 2-3 males but haven't seen them on Royal Queen yet. I'll have to keep my eyes open.



Pam NJ 6B

Scott, I got mine from Kartuz Greenhouses in CA, via their web site. The plants they send are small, recently rooted cuttings. Mine took awhile to get established & were a bit challenged to go thru the 1rst winter stored in the garage (as mentioned, they can be grown indoors over the winter...supposedly they prefer not to be forced into dormancy...providing you can give them a sunny window)...but now they're growing like crazy. If you order from Kartuz, be watchful for mites to appear within the first few weeks. Kartuz is a small family business and their site explains they don't start a lot of any one plant...they often sell out of what they offer, but I've placed requests for things showing Sold Out, which they were able to fulfill. They carry quite a few different Iochromas.

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Bud, your last pic is the best yet! It has a 3D quality to it & I expect to see the hummer actually move.

Pam, your Iochroma is looking great too.

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Thank you for the info on Kartuz Greenhouses. They have an interesting plant selection, in addition to a couple of plants I have been trying to find. I'll give them a try.

Thanks again,
Scott