LADYBUG SAYS...NEW YEAR BRINGS PLANS FOR TRYING NEW VARIETIES

No longer is the mailbox filled with Christmas greetings from friends far and near. Now come the Christmas bills, increased advertisements and catalogs offering new plants and seeds.

Each year the pictures of the new introductions become more and more enticing and the catalogs are more beautiful. Here are a few of our favorite armchair reading, looking and wishing books: Wayside Gardens of Hodges, S.C., W. Atlee Burpee & Co. of Warminster, Pa.; Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S.C.; W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Randolph, Wis.; Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Co., Shenandoah, Iowa; and Hastings, Atlanta, Ga.

It would be remiss if Stark Brother's Nursery of Louisiana, Mo. was not mentioned, for they feature Stark Blushing Golden Apple, which was developed by our cousin, the late Claud Boyd of Cobden, Ill. This apple got its start in Southern Illinois, and in their new catalog it states: "The same smooth flavor of the Golden Delicious with a little more tang. It keeps longer into the season and has a waxy skin that is bruise resistant, and will not shrivel even in storage." They are the most delicious eating apple ever.

Each year gardeners await the announcement of All-America Selection Winners. Seeds of these winners are available from catalogs and local garden centers and retailers. This year a herb, a vegetable and five flowers share the honors.

Thumbelina, the new, round carrot, is unique not only in its shape, but its versatility in growth. It can be grown in a window box or patio container, as well as in the garden. It produces well in heavy clay soil and can be harvested in 60 days after sowing. Children should love growing this new introduction into the carrot world, as well as its name.

Fernleaf dill is a versatile plant with an abundance of dark green foliage that branches from the base of the plant. It is shorter (18 inches) than the old dill, which can be tall and floppy. Flowers, foliage and seed can be used in cooking or pickling.

Flower winners are Peaches and Cream verbena, Ideal Violet dianthus, Lady in Red salvia, Tropical Rose canna and Pretty in White vinca.

Peaches and Cream verbena offers gardeners a new combination of colors for garden verbena. The tubular florets are a delicate blend of apricot and salmon colors, the first verbena with these pastel colors.

This verbena needs full sun and well-draining soil. All verbena perform best when planted a distance from a wall or other barrier that restricts air circulation. Authorities warn gardeners to take care to water the soil rather than the foliage. Peaches and Cream needs little garden maintenance, spreading about 12 inches.

Ideal Violet dianthus is a strong plant, tolerant of both heat and cold. Blooms are a concentrated purple-grape color. Little garden care is needed as they require little water. It grows about 10 inches in height. The new, deep violet color has single blooms that flower earlier than most of its family.

Lady in Red is a refined form of the native wildflower scarlet sage. A compact salvia, it grows only 12 to 15 inches, has tubular flowers that hummingbird's love, and flowers 12 to 14 weeks from seed. If given adequate moisture and fertilizer, Lady in Red can reach three feet tall and wide.

Tropical Rose canna is the fist canna grown from seed that has typical canna flowers, about three or four inches across. The soft rose blooms are produced on a spike held above the wide lush foliage. As the first flower spike matures, another flower spike will be initiated and fresh, new blooms will open soon.

Tropical Rose continues to produce flower spikes all summer for reliable color in the garden. It performs best under warm to hot conditions and in full sun. A mature plant reaches about 2 feet in height.

Those who tried Pretty in Pink and Pretty in Rose, last year's AAS winners, will be delighted with the newcomer, Pretty in White. A strong plant with the very desirable trait of continuing to bloom all season, this annual produces crisp, white blooms abundantly. Old vinca blooms drop off or are covered by foliage so that the plant always looks fresh.

Pretty in White, like other vinca, is most heat tolerant. It performs best in full sun, when planted in well-drained soil and provided with proper nutrients.

All of these AAS winners grow and produced well in the All-America Display Garden on the campus of SEMO University.