Over the past 10 years botanists and garderners have brought to the U.S. many ‘exotic’ plants. From South Africa we now have Phygelius, Diascia, Arcotis, Felicia, Osteospermum and Melianthus major. The popular annual daisy (Argyranthemum) and the brightly flowered Lotus plants hail from the Canary Islands. Most of the woody Salvias were brought north from Mexico along with Verbenas and Bidens. All these introductions have changed the view in Horsford’s greenhouse.

These new introductions bring differant flower colors, leaf color and texture and flower shape. Working them into the landscape and container gardens is a rewarding challenge. These plants adapt to their new environments but don’t always perform the way we think annuals should. The bloom times may differ from annuals that you are use to growing. For instance, the Osteospermum blooms during the cooler months of May, June and July then goes dormant in the heat of August. September’s weather triggers a second round of flowers that last through October. The woody Salvias seem to grow forever before enlivening the landscape with rich reds and sky blues. Verbenas, Bidens and Diascias perform best if they are sheared. Otherwise they become leggy and sparsely flowered.

Truthfully, the best way to learn about these new annuals is to ask greenhouse growers and gardeners. Over the past several years we at Horsford’s have been experimenting with plantings both in the ground and in containers. This gives us first hand knowledge of how plants native to South Africa will perform in Vermont. Unlike marigolds and petunias and other bedding plants that are bred to be in bloom by mid- May, our unusual imports are rarely in bloom when you are ready to plant. Our catalog has great descriptions and our website has photos of most of them. Still in doubt? Ask Eileen or Matt. Matt Wood is the head greenhouse grower. Eileen, a 23 year gardening veteran spearheaded the annual program 10 years ago. She has experience growing everything we sell. And she has an opinion about them!