Gloxinia (Sinningia Speciosa Brocade Series) - Sow Gloxinia seeds to produce a beautiful mixture of red, blue, and white blooms. These compact Gloxinia plants blossom four to six months after sowing. They will flower for about 2 months, go dormant for about 2 months, and then begin growing again and start flowering. Gloxinias make a great house plant, giving wonderful, colorful blooms! Sinningia Speciosa is often referred to as Florist's Gloxinia or Brazilian Gloxinia.

Gloxina seeds are a bit tricky to germinate and do best indoors and under lights. Do not cover the flower seeds after sowing since they need light to germinate. Sinningia Speciosa seeds should germinate in about 3 weeks at 70 - 75F degrees. Soil should be kept uniformly moist, but do not keep it saturated. Florist's Gloxinia care includes avoiding watering the crown of the plant as this might cause the plant to rot, and use water that is at room temperature for watering. The Brazilian Gloxinia plant needs lots of light, but no direct light. Gloxinias do best in temperatures around 65 - 75F degrees, especially when they are blooming. After blooming, keep watering to a minimum and don't fertilize.

Chinese Foxglove (Rehmannia Angulata Rosy Purple) - Rehmannia Angulata seeds can be grown as annuals in all climates and as perennials in USDA zones 7 - 11. Commonly referred to as Chinese Foxglove, this beauty does well in full sun or partial shade, and the Chinese Foxglove plants continuously produce large, foxglove-like flowers from late spring through fall. The flowers can measure 2 - 3 inches across and are rosy purple with spotted throats. Chinese Foxglove is great in the flower border, and the flowers are nice for cutting. A synonymous botanical name is Rehmannia elata.

How To Grow Chinese Foxglove From Seeds: Sow the Rehmannia Angulata seeds indoors in the late winter. In a starter tray using quality soil, press the flower seeds gently into the soil. Keep the Chinese Foxglove seeds consistently moist until germination occurs. Transplant the Chinese Foxglove seedlings into 3 inch pots and let them grow on indoors until all danger of frost has passed. Harden the Chinese Foxglove plants off for 10 days or more before planting outdoors. Provide winter mulch for extra protection in zones 7 and 8.

Pinkhead Smartweed (Polygonum Capitatum Punching Balls) - Polygonum Capitatum seeds can be grown to form a low-growing, spreading ground cover. A synonymous botanical name is Persicaria Capitata, and it has many common names: Pinkhead Smartweed, Pink Knotweed, Pink Clover, and Pink Fleece Flower. Pink Knotweed uses include containers, baskets, edging the front of the border or as ground cover plants. It looks especially lovely in raised beds or containers where it can spill over the edges. Pinkhead Smartweed is praised for its burgundy tinted foliage and small coral-pink round flower heads. It is a tough, easy-to-grow ground cover for sun or shade with a long bloom season.

Start Polygonum Capitatum seeds indoors in late winter for areas with a short growing season. Use quality seed starting soil and small pots. Press the ground cover seeds into the moistened soil and lightly cover. Maintain moisture until germination occurs. After danger of frost has passed, transplant the Pink Knotweeds seedlings outdoors after hardening the ground cover plants for 10 days or more. For areas with a long growing season, start the Knotweed ground cover seeds directly outdoors after danger of frost has passed. Prepare a weed-free seedbed and lightly cover the seeds with soil after broadcasting.

 

Scarlet Runner Bean Mix (Phaseolus Coccineus Mix) - Every gardener should try growing Scarlet Runner Beans seeds. This unique plant is a decorative runner beans mix with colorful beans, three flower colors and edible young pods. Here are some very interesting facts about Phaseolus Coccineus Scarlet Runner:

• They are nutritious, good and healthy to eat
• Have a more distinctive flavor than French beans
• You can eat the fresh pods after cooking, or harvest seeds from older pods to cook as haricot beans
• They are often prolific croppers - with a freezer you can grow enough to last many months
• They easily grow in odd spaces amongst flowers, etc...
• Scarlet Runner Beans also have attractive flowers
• Flat runner beans are not stocked fresh in small fruit and vegetable shops, or in tins or frozen packs
• Like other plants of the pea family this crop leaves your soil enriched in nitrogen

Scarlet Runner Beans have brilliant red flowers that last throughout the summer. This wonderful mix has brown, purple, and red flamed beans as well as white. Flowers are scarlet, white, and bi-color red and white. The blossoms are less than an inch across and grow in clusters. The edible beans grow up to a foot long and are especially good when picked young. Pick them often to promote continued flowering. The Scarlet Runner Bean vine will quickly and brilliantly cover fences, trellises and other garden structures and will climb 10 - 12 feet.

Sow Scarlet Runner Beans seeds outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Plant Phaseolus Coccineus seed 1 inch deep and 3 inches apart. Germination takes 7 - 14 days. Keep the soil moderately moist during germination. Thin 4 - 6 inches apart when plants are 2 - 3 inches tall.

Runner beans are a favorite with hummingbirds and butterflies. Plant some on a back fence or a trellis and enjoy the flowers and the hummingbirds year after year! Plants need full sun and plenty of water. Growing Scarlet Runner Beans is fun and rewarding!

Ornamental Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea) - Start Ornamental Cabbage seeds to create a colorful bed that is cold tolerant and easy-to-maintain. Ornamental Cabbage uses include edging the flower border or planting in containers for fall and winter interest. These Ornamental Brassica plants contain all pink, all white, or all purple centers with green outer leaves. Nothing looks more elegant or stands out more beautifully in the fall than Ornamental Brassicas.

Just start Ornamental Brassica seeds indoors, covering the flower seeds very lightly. Ornamental Cabbage seeds germinate quickly and the young plants can be transplanted. Ornamental Cabbage plants will start out green, and with time, they will begin to develop color. About 12 weeks after sowing the Ornamental Cabbage seeds, there will be a perfectly round, colorful rosette 10 inches high and 12 inches wide. These cabbages gain color quickly and are late to bolt.

Firecracker Vine (Mina Lobata) - Start Mina Lobata seeds for this impressive vine that will attract lots of attention. Mina Lobata vine is a tender perennial that is typically grown as an annual. Mina Lobata has many common names: Firecracker Vine, Fire Vine, Spanish Flag Vine, and Exotic Love Vine. This plant also has a synonymous botanical name of Ipomoea Lobata. The early Spanish Flag flower is reddish-orange, fading to orange, yellow, and white flowers in mid-summer to fall. This member of the morning glory family produces masses of dazzling 1 - 2 inch tubular flowers that mature and grow on this climbing vine that can reach 10 feet tall. Firecracker Vine has twining stems which are best grown on wire or lattice frames, and when it is in full bloom, it will never be forgotten! Exotic Love Vine Mina Lobata is incredibly showy, and it deserves to be the focal point of your flower garden.

Growing Mina Lobata seed is very rewarding! Soak the seed overnight in warm water or nick the flower seed with a knife to break the outer coat of the seed. For the earliest blooms, start the flower seed indoors. Cover the Spanish Flag plant seeds with 1/4 inch of soil and keep moist. Transplant Mina Lobata seedlings outside after frost danger has passed. Firecracker Vine seeds can also be started directly outdoors in a prepared seed bed once temperatures have warmed in the spring.