Great! Where do we get seeds?

J.L. Hudson has seeds. Here's a link:

Here is a link that might be useful: J.L, Hudson

A gardening friend of mine grew Amsonia Hubrichtii and all it did was sprawl. The beautiful fall color lay in a wet heap on the ground. After 3 years she was still not impressed. I've lost touch with her, so I don't know if she ever figured out how to grow it upright or not...I do know that Amsonias in general prefer a slightly acidic soil and my Amsonia Montana shows a moderate amount of chlorosis at times in my unamended alkaline soil (7.3). This is not to disparage Amsonia. My A. Montana will always have a spot in my garden even if it's wilder cousin has been picked for special attention by the plant association.

Maryl, I would venture to guess your friend's soil may have been too rich for it. Amsonias generally require, and articles on A. hubrictii specifically state, that this causes them to sprawl. This is typical of most natives. They just don't perform well in rich, amended soil that we want to give them when they are widely adapted to growing in their native habitat in soils that are very lean. I grow a number of perennial native plants that I never fertilize or add compost to at all and they grow very well for me. The ones I do fertilize are most often those that are found in shady woods where the soil is naturally enriched by composted forest materials. Of course this is a broad rule of thumb, and there are always those native plants that veer from the norm, but you can usually look at their native habitat and determine how they should be grown in the average home garden.

Susan

I saw this thread and thought I'd through in my two cents worth. I haven't had much luck with the hubrichtii, but have had Amsonia montana for several years. Mine does not seem to sprawl, but has become a large low shrub during the summer. The flowers are incredible in the spring, and one of the first nectar sources available. I have lots of seeds that can be shared if anyone is interested. Just drop me an email. If I can locate the file with pictures from last spring, I'll post. The fall color is incredible. It rivals the Little Henry Itea.

Sandy

Sandy, I'd love some seed. E-mail to follow.......and thanks!

Susan

The picture below is the fall color of A. Montana 'short stack' (Plants Delight). It is a beautiful medium yellow color. The flowers in spring are what I would call Steel Blue and with the right spring plants around it to compliment the blue, they are also attractive. An easy care plant and never floppy.
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Gorgeous, Maryl! I've always thought that the Amsonias have brilliant fall foliage.

I love looking thru Tony Avent's catalog, but they are soooo expensive. He has a very nice selection of Salvias, too.

Susan

I found my photo of Amsonia tabernaemontana taken this past spring.

sandy

Sandy that's a pretty good color on your picture. My A. Montana "Short Stack", is planted close to some magenta pink Dianthus. The two colors together, the cool blue and passionate deep pink, look good together.
Susan: Plants Delight (Tony Avant) is expensive in more ways then one. (A) they have the much hated (by me at least) plant $$ minimum, and then there is the shipping costs. They were always higher then some (for instance Santa Rosa Gardens in Florida where the shipping for the same size plant is much lower). I want one more Shortstack, but that's all I want, and the way Plants Delight has it arranged with minimums and shipping charges, it was going to run me $60.00 or so. Too rich for my blood right now.

Maryl, while I appreciate all the research and development Tony has done, they are much too expensive for my tastes. I did order from them one year at the same time I ordered from Heronswood (pre-George Ball, when Dan Hinkley still owned it), to do a comparison. The plant I ordered was a Meadow Rue, Thalictrum flavum 'Illuminator'. The Heronswood plant was much nicer and is still growing in my garden, while the PD plant is......not.

I don't order much from these trendy plant nurseries anymore, sticking more to the lesser known, but highly rated native plant nurseries, and Steve Owen at Bustani Plant Farm - wow! talk about really big, healthy plants!

When it comes to shipping costs, I prefer to order bare root plants that keep the cost down, and I order plants that are hard, if not impossible, to find locally. As a butterfly gardener, and Sandy knows this, it is extremely difficult to find native milkweeds and other natives that are host plants for butterflies on a local basis. I have gotten a few from Marilyn at Wild Things, but she only sells at Farmer's Markets around central and eastern parts of the state, which is okay for me, but I sometimes can't get to those sales. A Nearly Native Nursery is one of the best. Amy doesn't have a huge inventory, but she is reasonable, and her S&H costs are reasonable, too. She is ranked No. 1 on the top 30 list at you-know-where. Mostly I order seeds, which is the most cost-effective way to acquire plants. I use both Everwilde Farm and Prairie Moon, and a few eBay sources. I use an eBay source for plants as well. He is located in Arkansas.

So, there are ways to do end-runs around the big commercial nurseries like PD. I have to admit, I do enjoy their catalog! :)

Sandy, you don't find many flowers in that unique dusky blue color, and I love it! Gorgeous pics! Have you posted any of your new photos at Pbase yet?

Susan

Susan,

I have my photos posted. I didn't get as many photos, nor as good of photos due to falling and damaging my telephoto lens early on.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: SE Asia

Sandy, love the butterflies, the colors (wow!), and the grandsons! Are they really that big now?

When I saw the photo of a beautiful red flower, I open it up and it wasn't a flower at all, but a stunning bright red dragonfly!

You were in Puket?? Where the Tsunami hit? Has the country recovered some? That was quite a tragedy.

Your photos are fantastic! Thanks for sharing !

Susan

Thanks, Susan. The grandsons are 5 and almost 2. Yes, I was in Phuket. It has recovered. I was amazed at how the main roads are one business establishment after another. It's not until you get away from this road that you get a glimpse of the beauty of the coastline and beaches. I wished we could have spent more time there.

Sandy