Auricula Primroses
WEB EXCLUSIVE!

This just in! It gives me great pleasure to introduce our very own collection of Auricula Primroses! Consider this as their "debut" - it has been a long time coming and well worth the wait! Over the last two years we have painstakingly and carefully built up our stock to be able to offer these lovely, choice plants to our online customers. They are all unique and charming in their own way, and each has show-quality parentage somewhere in their family tree. Here at Annie's we've always considered Auriculas to be more like pets than plants, and we're always thrilled when something new and different comes up in our seed-grown crops, but these plants were so extra special that we had to find a way to get them to you! Long lived, easy to grow, fragrant and charming. What more can you ask? By the Bay, our cool, damp summers prolong their bloom season by months, and sometimes flowering will continue through the Winter. We top-dress our plants with compost a few times a year, and dead-head our plants to keep the blooms coming. Terracotta or plastic pots that are small but not too small (2 gallon size) are a good size, but you can start smaller if you want, so long as you take care to pot them into larger containers when they get crowded. It seems to us that the more consistent the feeding, water, and exposure are the better and fuller the blooms will be. That's enough on cultural requirements - go check out the plants!

Shade. Avg/Reg. water. Perennial.
USDA zones 9-11 (maybe lower)

Dicliptera suberecta

This is the first time we've offered this deservedly popular & reliable
perennial! By late Summer hummingbirds & butterflies are buzzing all around the clusters of orangey-red flowers of this plant. The blue grey
leaves & stems are splendidly covered in fuzz, & very touchable. Dies
back to the ground in Winter (sometimes) & returns a little late in the Spring – it seems to really like the heat! In fact, it is reported to
thrive in Texas & through much of the south, where the Summers are really hot & humid. Does great here in the Bay Area, too! Spreads over time, but is easily controlled\ & grows about 2’ high. Drought tolerant too! Such a catch.

Full Sun/Pt.Shade. Low/Avg. Water.Perennial.
USDA Zones 8b-11

Lobelia excelsa

'Excelsa' is Latin for 'tall' or 'exceptional' and this species is
certainly both! This great big beautiful plant from Chile is a sky-scraping marvel. Very vertical flower spikes of carmine red bloom on and off throughout the year, but most heavily in Spring, and are often
visited by many hummingbird admirers. Tough and evergreen, it grows from 6-8' tall and just about as wide.Once established it needs very little water to keep going and can be left almost to it's own devices.
Occasional light pruning, occasional deep water and occasional feeding are all that is required. Thrives in both full sun and light shade! Amend for drainage if your soil tends to be on the clay side.

Full Sun/Pt.Shade. Low/Avg. Water. Perennial.
USDA Zones 8b-11