LADY BUG...CATALOGS INTRODUCE NEW VARIETIES FOR 1994

Two columns ago some new varieties of flowers for 1994 were listed with a promise for continuation the following week of others, as well as vegetable introductions. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our week's holiday in Georgia was extended into three weeks.

While we were away many catalogs arrived in our mail here, including Burpees, Wayside Gardens, The White Flower Farm, Gurney's, Henry Fields, Shepherd's, Stark Brothers, Lake County Nursery, and many more.

Each of these wish books have their own introductions for the new year, besides those which have been selected by the National Garden Bureau, following their poll of garden writers and editors.

Sakata Seeds of Japan has introduced a new hibiscus called Disco Belle Pink, a separate color selected from Disco Belle Mix. The huge 9-inch flower opens as a pale pink, but as the day advances the entire flower turns bright pink with a contrasting red center. It produces in mid-summer when other flowers seem to take a vacation.

Riviera is a new lobelia series that flowers up to 15 days earlier than standard varieties. The series combines new colors with vigorous, bushy growth habits. Riviera Lilac is a color new to compact lobelia, while Sky Blue is the deepest blue. These are introductions of Waller Flowerseed Co.

Ringo 2000 is the perfect geranium choice for landscape planting. Six bright colors are introduced in this series and show excellent vigor to withstand stressful garden conditions.

Gnome White is an extra dwarf and compact growing plant with small white flowers that cover the entire plant. This gomphrena grows extremely well under hot, arid condition. It is great for low borders. A Sakata introduction.

Sundial Yellow is a new hybrid yellow portulaca. This introduction brings the total colors in the series to nine. Its bloom remains open and colorful longer than any other portulaca.

Sunrich Orange is a non-branching sunflower that is radiant as a cut flower. The medium large sized golden yellow flowers have clear black centers. This variety is sterile and produces no pollen. Its semi-dwarf habit (2 1/2 feet) flowers within 70 days.

The Jewel Series is the first F1 hybrid viola. Plants are compact, growing to only four inches in height. Early blooming, they have excellent heat tolerance. Super flower production on this series is in yellow, blue, purple and white.

According to the recent addition of catalogs, there are as many new vegetable introductions for the 1994 season as there are flowers. Here are some of them.

Corn producers offer five new varieties which are outstanding according to the results of a survey conducted by the National Garden Bureau. These included: Argent, a white version of the old variety Incredible, which has excellent eating qualities, and is noted for its good vigor in cold soils and high tolerance to wilt.

Delectable, a mid-season, bicolor with well-filled ears and dark green husks.

Kandy King has nine-inch long ears filled to the tip with 14 to 16 rows of sweet, tender yellow kernels.

Lyric, a yellow, earlier than Sugar Buns, has 7 1/2 inch ears. Silver Choice, a new white corn that boasts being 20% sweeter and two weeks earlier than silver Queen.

Cucumbers offer an Earl May Seed Co. introduction, Fanfare F1, All-America Award Winner for 1994, which produces early and keeps producing when other varieties have quit. Plants are compact and stay close to the ground. Excellent for container and small spaces.

This year has four outstanding peppers.

Banana Supreme is a sweet banana-type that produces large fruit, averaging 8-inches in length. It is ready for use in 65 days, as a yellow pepper and turns red at maturity.

Big Dipper (a Burpee introduction) has colossal fruits with great flavor. Compact plants produce an abundance of four-lobed dark green peppers that mature to red.

Garden Salsa is a hot hybrid pepper, perfect for Mexican sauces. It provides enough heat without being too hot, yet it gives a kick to homemade picante sauce and salsa.

Matador produces elongated, smooth, shiny peppers that mature from green to bright yellow in 75 days. Good leaf cover provides resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus.

Every year hundreds of tomato varieties are offered among the many mail order suppliers. This year there are five top ones listed by the NGB. One is a 1994 All-America Selections Award, Big Beef. It offers large fruit size, old fashioned flavor, improved disease resistance, more vigorous plants and high yields. What else is there?

Northern Exposure is the perfect all-around tomato variety for cool, short seasons. It combines earliness with disease resistance, tolerant to low temperatures and abundant fruits. Santiago is one that offers flavor and acidity, and outstanding color due to the crimson genes. Merced features smooth, deep globe shaped fruits in about 69 days after transplanting. Spitfire has a deep color after the fruits are harvested.

All vegetables listed are worth giving a try this season.