Lovely Garden with White and Pink Ladies

Conversation Piece Azalea is a rebloomer with large, wavy single flowers that can be solid deep pink or white with deep pink splotches.

• Scientific Name: Rhododendron 'Conversation Piece' 
•   Common Name: Conversation Piece Azalea 
• Plant Type: Evergreen 
• Leaf Type: Broadleaf
•  Height: 2- 5 feet 
• pread: 3 -5 feet 
• Bloom time: Spring 
•  Flower color: White, Pink 
• Light Exposure: Part Sun, Filtered Shade, Morning sun 
• Drainage: Well drained 
• Rate of Growth: Moderate 
• Water Requirement: Medium Maintenance Level: Low

Flowering Plant Revived After 30,000 Years in Russian

The plant in this picture dates from the Pleistocene Age, 30,000 years ago, before agriculture, before writing, before the end of the last Ice Age. And while it’s not accurate to say the plant itself is that old, scientists in Russia say they regenerated it from frozen cells they found beneath 125 feet of permafrost in what is now northeastern Siberia. 

 It was cultivated in the lab, with help from some “clonal micropropagation,” say the scientists, from seeds and leaves probably collected by some long-ago species of squirrel. The researchers, publishing their find today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the squirrel’s burrow was probably frozen over quickly, and stayed that way until they discovered it.

“The squirrels dug the frozen ground to build their burrows, which are about the size of a soccer ball, putting in hay first and then animal fur for a perfect storage chamber,” said Stanislav Gubin, one of the authors of the study, who spent years rummaging through the area for squirrel burrows. “It’s a natural cryobank.”

The plant is of the species Silene stenophylla, and radiocarbon dating says it is 31,800 years old, plus or minus 300 years. The Russian scientists report they were able to grow 36 plants in the lab, and after a year of tender loving care, they say the plants blossomed, bore fruit, and dropped seeds. They lived, in other words, as if there had never been a 30,000-year interruption.

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Spring Flowering Plants - Helianthus maximilliani

Strong, 4-7' tall stems are covered with 2-3" yellow blooms from midsummer to frost. A favorite of birds and butterflies! Long-lived plants thrive in heat, drought and even poor soil. Prefers full sun. #1 field-grown plants. Helianthus maximilliani.

Zones: 3-9
 Light: Full Sun
 Height: 4-7’
dth: 3-4’ Bloom
Time: Midsummer to Frost Deer tend to avoid.
This item ships only in the spring. If our spring shipping season is closed, your order will be shipped the following spring.

Spring Flowering Plants for your Garden

Spring, the very word invokes the thought of rebirth, rapidly lengthening days, emerging blossoms and greenery, and the smell of freshness. In the spring season of the human life cycle, we undertake new beginnings.

We may begin a new job, career, pastime, or relationship. We may start a new lifestyle or alter the old one. Spring is a time for overcoming the inertia of winter rest and springing into action, to sow the seeds of our winter planning which, with careful husbandry, will provide a rewarding harvest come autumn.

Choose plants that flower at different times of the year, rather than all of them flowering at once. Below is a list of popular spring flowering plants.

Plants that flower in the spring...
Allium
Aquilegia
Camellia
Cercidiphyllum
Chionodoxa
Corydalis
Daphne
Erythronium
Euphorbia
Fritillaria
Helleborus
Hepatica
Magnolia
Muscari
Narcissus
Primula
Pulmonaria
Pulsatill
Rhododendron
Trillium
Tulipa
View more plants in detail

Spring Gardening with Vegetable Plants

In early spring, nearly two weeks prior to the last average frost date in your area, it’s safe to plant lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, dill, cilantro, cabbage, broccoli, celery, kale and potatoes outdoors. Both lettuce and celery seeds need light to germinate. Be careful to only cover these varieties of seeds lightly with soil during the planting process. Directly sow carrot, radish, dill and cilantro seeds. Transplanting is not recommended for these types of vegetables and herbs. Vegetable plants for spring gardening at home.

• Arugula
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Collards
• English Peas
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Radish
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Turnip