01 April 2014

Exciting breakthroughs in blue flower varieties



Blue is the rarest of colours in the flower world, which is probably why true-blue flowers like gentians cause people like me to gasp and lose my mind, and collect them wherever I can find them. The spring gentian, Gentiana acaulis, shows off each May with breathtaking, gentian-blue flowers, and will cause me to stop what I'm doing, sit down, stare and the flowers and just smile. 



I don't grow a lot of morning glories, but I always, always have to have the perfectly named 'Heavenly Blue', with its huge blue flowers. I especially love the brilliant yellow eye and the hint of lavender in the star radiating out from the centre of each petal. 


 There have been some colour breakthroughs this year, introducing shades of blue to annuals, perennials and an exciting rose announcement. First up is Lantana "Bandana WannaBlue", where as with other cultivars, the florets start out one shade and change to lighter hues as they mature. I believe they introduced Neon Blue lungwort into the genes for this one.

 When the Itoh peonies became widely available and more affordable, we were all excited because it meant we could have long-blooming yellow peonies instead of just the short flourish of Paeonia mlokosewitschii (aka Molly the Witch). Recently, Professor Itoh announced the launch of "Bartzella Blushing Blue", and we are sure this will be in high demand.
 Of course everyone knows that plant breeders have been working very hard on developing floriferous new colours and forms of coneflowers, so I'm sure you're as excited as I am to see the delightful echinacea 'BlueSky Black n Blue'!
 And last but never least, finally a blue rose we can enjoy: Bred right here in Nova Scotia by subjecting a delicate hybrid tea to frigid temperatures then crossing it with a more robust rugosa, we have the well named Rosa "BlueNose".  Blooms early, starting on April 1st every year!

13 comments:

  1. Heavens... you really sucked me in for a while there! Though the lack of a real blue peony is disappointing, thanks for inspiring dreams of the wonderful blue blooms we will see out there.

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  2. Blue roses to grow beside the purple ones you told us about a few years back. Since then, I've always hoped there would be a hybrid with flowers purple and bright orange mixed, either within the same bloom or on the same bush. It's a combination that always makes me smile.

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  3. I got half-way through before I thought, hmmm, what is the date of this post??? Seriously, while I love blue flowers (and leaves) I'm not sure I'd like a blue peony or rose. But I reserve the right to change my mind.

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  4. Oh gosh. You got me !

    BTW, I think this horrid weather is a very cruel April Fool's joke on us !

    Time for spring.

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  5. You got me too! But I have to admit after I read the whole post without even a glimmer of a joke, I was thinking that maybe we don't want so many blue flowers.... Thanks for the joke - I was thinking yesterday, since my son left for college, that no one had April fooled me. But you did!

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  6. oh clever.... happy April fools

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  7. Heh heh! Even though I got about 1/3 way through before catching on, I do appreciate the gentian and morning glories! I think I will make room for the Heavenly Blue morning glory in my garden. Time to plan for that rock garden I've been wanting.

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  8. It's been awhile since I caught up with reading garden blogs, so it took me awhile to catch on here. Suddenly, I remembered "Aha, April Fool's day was not that long ago!" So I looked back at the date and finally got the joke!

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  9. I thought this a most excellent post. Too often people take themselves too seriously, I like to see a sense of humor in gardening and blogging. The transitioning is flawless. Yes, I have the morning glory blooming, too. But, wait a minute, lantanas aren't blooming yet. And what a yucky color. The light bulb comes on: What day is this? I loved it. I linked to it from my Foliage Follow-Up posting on blue leaves. http://janestrong.blogspot.com/ I hope you don't mind.

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  10. Just beautiful! Greetings from Montreal, and Happy Easter.

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  11. Oh, Jodi, you got me, too! Maybe because it's past April 1 now. I'm still laughing. P. x

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  12. Hi Jodi! 'memba me? I'm checking back into my old GHT account and thought to pop in to say Hello! So glad that I did - OMG, that blue lantana takes my breath away! Leave it to YOU to introduce us to some delicious blue flowers! I've been missing your blog and must find a way to link to you, or something, in my new blog. Oh, that addy is http://debibradford.wordpress.com where you are always invited to tea! XO

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