Bold and Beautiful Zinnias for Container Gardening!

While zinnias are considered a home garden staple, they're often overlooked for patio container gardening. A number of the more dwarf zinnia varieties lend themselves well for patio planters, adding both texture and brilliant color to your outdoor living space for the entire summer.

Profusion Double Deep Salmon (right) - If you're looking for a little more subtle color scheme, then this garden award winner is for you. Attractive medium to deep salmon double flowers cover 16-24" wide plants, ensuring you a full blooming container that will last well into fall. For a combo planter, combine it with pastel petunias, dichondra, or euphobia for a soothing color palette and additional texture.

 
Magellan Mix (left) - This spectacular mix of 8 different colors offers you ample opportunity to grow multiple plants together in large planters, or one or two plants in smaller containers. Clear bright 4" double flowers bloom on 12-14" bushy well-branched plants that grow to 10-12" wide. Try pairing a few plants together with trailing foliage such as Carnival (Ipomoea) or asparagus fern for a nicely balanced planter.


   
 Zahara Double Fire (right) - This beauty is guaranteed to add colorful zest to any container! Highly branched plants result in a beautifully symmetrical plant habit loaded first with buds, then with consistently double fiery orange-red flowers. Plant it on its own, or pair it up with other annuals in yellow or blue shades, depending on how "hot" you want your planter to be!

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Posted by Harris Seeds Ornamentals at 12:01 PM

Capture Summer with This Cut Flower Marigold

When we consider what garden flowers to cut for the indoors, marigolds typically don't immediately come to mind. But marigolds make an excellent home cut flower, especially the African types. Keys to a good cut flower marigold are appropriate height, a nice size flower head, and many flowers. Garland Orange brings you all those attributes, and more. Featuring plenty of large 3½ to 4½" fully double dark orange blooms, it reaches 28 to 48", giving you ample stem length to cut and arrange in a diversity of vase sizes.

Another fun tidbit: Garland Orange makes a fun and fragrant garland necklace- a great activity for children! I used to make marigold garlands for family and friends when I was a kid. They gamely played along and got into the spirit of the fun. If you're looking for a summer activity to do with your family, have your children sow their own marigold seed, transplant and tend them in the garden, watch them grow, cut them and ultimately fashion them into garlands!

Best yet, all African marigolds are fragrant, and Garland Orange is no exception - it exudes the fragrance of summer!

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Posted by Harris Seeds Ornamentals at 11:00 AM

Quick Turn Flowers

Last Minute Products for "Fill In" Sales!

Spring has sprung and it's time to fill those holes in your production where you have extra greenhouse space. There's still time- but barely. We call this part of the season "quick turn" because any product ordered now needs to finish FAST.

Quick Turn from Seed
 
Look at zinnias as your first "go to" for a quick turn crop. They are quick, easy germinators and rapidly reach a transplantable stage. Grow in flowering jumbo packs of 4" pots, and expect to move them out within 10 weeks! Bedding-type series Magellan and Dreamland are the most popular, followed by the Zahara and Profusion series.  Double Strawberry Zinnia Zahara pictured left.

Other seed annuals that move quickly at this time of year include dwarf pot sunflowers such as Sunny Smile or Rio Carnival. For quick sales, Thunbergia Spanish Eyes, Alata Mix (pictured right), and Blushing Susie finish fast even when grown in a trellised pot.

Quick Turn from Plugs & Liners

Although we don't recommend this for your entire production, placing last-minute orders using our plug & liner grower specialists' availability lists is an excellent option to fill in your production. Quick turn products are grown in larger cells, allowing you to transplant them into pots and baskets just prior to retail sales.

• Raker- 18 Strip Quick Turn annuals, perennials, herbs, succulents and grasses can be ordered directly from their availability website. Choose Harris Seeds as your broker, and we take it from there! (If you need assistance with the process, give us call. We're happy to help!)
• Four Star- SuperNova^® 28 annuals and 42 annuals. Check availability.
• Pleasant View Gardens- Fast Tracks^™ annuals. Browse available trays.
• Barone Gardens- Grow and finish combination baskets and containers quickly and efficiently with KwikKombo^® multi-liners grown in our newest supplier's economical 17 Strip Tray! View availability.

 

Welcome Back Spring Kwik Combo

Be sure to check each supplier's ship week availability, then call Harris Seeds at 800-544-7938 to place an order.

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Posted by Harris Seeds Ornamentals at 1:00 PM

Boost Cut Flower Sales with Dahlias, Lilies, and Gladiolus!

While sunflowers and zinnias are cut flower staples from seed, dahlia and lilies should be considered by any serious cut flower grower. Opportunity abounds for growers to market these beauties throughout the summer via wholesalers, CSA's, farmers' markets, roadside stands, and even retail garden centers. For 2016, Harris Seeds is delighted to offer product from Ednie Flower Bulb, Inc., a highly reputable bulb producer.

Dahlias are one of the most spectacular garden flowers. They add an outstandingly exotic and vibrant touch to flower bouquets and gardens. This old-fashioned favorite provides superb, long lasting cut flowers until the fall frost. Decorative dahlia types have symmetrically arranged petals with no visible center. Dinnerplate dahlia types offer the   largest sized blossoms. The Karma Series is particularly well-suited for summer field production, producing many flowers. Dahlias can be stored cool (50-60°F) for a few weeks prior to planting if necessary. Dahlia Growing Instructions (Ednie)

Lilies are ideal for both container and cut flower sales. Most have strong stems that supply 4-6 flowers. They are stunning in mass and also look fantastic individually as an accent plant. Lilies make marvelous statements in mixed bouquets and other floral work. They dependably offer great outdoor performance and flowering ability. LA-Hybrids and Asi-Florum lilies are available in a wide variety of colors, sometimes spotted, and not very fragrant. The flowers of the Asi-Florum lilies are larger than the LA-Hybrids, while the LA-Hybrids produce more flowers. Lilies from our program should be planted upon arrival, but may be stored in a cooler for a few days. Lily Growing Instructions (Ednie)

Gladiolus Velvet Eyes and Fun Time are two new gorgeous varieties to consider for cut flower or spring bulb sales. Gladiolus make an exceptionally colorful display  at roadside stands and are a cut flower staple at farmers' markets. Corms are shipped to you directly from our grower, ready to plant in the field, or sell directly to your customers.  Gladiolus Culture

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Posted by Harris Seeds Ornamentals at 11:30 AM

Proud Mari Marigolds

In a world of limited choices for high performance African marigolds, new Proud Mari is a refreshing addition to the species. Large fully double flowers bloom uniformly across the series, with dwarf compact plants that need little to no plant growth regulators (PGR's). Thick sturdy stems provide extra support for the large blooms that carry them from the greenhouse to the retail bench, and the plants continue to hold up beautifully both for retail displays and in gardens and containers. Try growing Proud Mari yellow, orange and mixture this season along with your other African marigolds and you make the choice. You won't be disappointed! Height: 10-12", 10-12" spread. 

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Posted by Harris Seeds Ornamentals at 10:00 AM