HORTICULTURE COMMITTEE

This committee brings responsible matters of horticultural interest to the club, is available for questioning on subjects of gardening and seeks shares information on plants of interest to Members in an effort to promote knowledge and love of gardening and the use of valuable plants.  The committee promotes member participation in Club, GCA and NGC flower shows, provides guidance and encouragement to Members exhibiting in flower shows and assists the Flower Show Committee in the planning of all Club-sponsored flower shows.

SEEDS, SEEDS and MORE SEEDS

Seed Share is an initiative of the GCA Horticulture Committee. Sharing seeds is easy and fun! Search the database using the filter tools to find seeds you might want to propagate or offer seeds from your garden by posting a listing to share seeds. The more seeds you post to the Seed Share Database, the better!!

CLICK HERE for resources on seed collection and storage.

If you would like a supply of seed envelopes email the Horticulture Committee.

Check the assortment of articles, links to books and guides for collect and starting seeds.

Seeing Seeds: A Journey into the World of Seedheads, Pods, and Fruit – Excerpts from Seeing Seeds by Teri Dunn Chance and Robert Llewellyn. Portland OR: Timber Press, 2015. Highly photographic, this book reveals that there is much more to a seed than the plant it will someday become. Seeing Seeds will take you to strange and wonderful places. When you return, it's safe to say that you'll never look at a seed the same way again.

Saving Seeds - Bill Cullina

Propagation Tips - Seed Starting - This handbook serves as a valuable introduction to seed propagation techniques and how-to's

Propagating Plants from Seed - A slide presentation to help you improve your success growing with seeds. Starting plants from seed is one of the most economical and satisfying of all types of propagation.  Because propagation by seed is sexual propagation, this method ensures genetic diversity in the plant material - unlike asexual propagation which creates clones of the parent plant.  Genetic diversity in plants is important since it allows for a species to genetically adapt to changing environmental conditions. 

For a Large Collection of Perennial Seeds - Go to Jelitto Seed Company. This company has a large selection, including pre-treated seeds, and they provide detailed propagation requirements for each species. In addition to Jelitto.com, another good source for perennial  (and other) plants is the Hardy Plant Society. Click Here for a link to their seed list which includes a link to become a member of the society and order seeds.  You will see a list of donors, some of whom are local gardening friends.

Link to the RHS: Another good source of information. They recommend sowing directly in the garden.  If this isn't possible, just sow the seeds in a flat of or individual pots of seed starting compost (from the hardware store or garden center), cover them with protective screening and place them in a shady spot. They will germinate in the spring and you can pot them up and grow them on to plant in a final location when ready."

STRAIGHT SPECIES THAT STAND THE TEST OF TIME - Recommendations from Northcreek Nurseries, Landenburg, PA

These native plants are beautiful and perform well in the garden in their original form, who needs extra work? These beauties support local wildlife and are long lasting in a garden, providing interest year after year.

Baptisia alba var. macrophylla white wild indigo
A tall and lovely prairie native with long spikes of pure white flowers blooming from May to Mid-June. Easy and long-lived, this variety is native east of the Mississippi River. A white Baptisia is much requested by our customers and we’re very happy to provide this seed-grown native at long last!
FS | 24-48” | z 4-9

Baptisia sphaerocarpa yellow wild indigo
A very sturdy, mounding, seed-grown native garden plant with striking spikes of pea-like flowers ranging in color from butter yellow to a gleaming gold. Found along the Ozark Highland region, bush pea grows 2-3’ tall and wide that tolerates full sun, drought conditions, and poor soils once established. While Baptisia may be slow to establish, they have a very long lifespan and the flowers and seedpods are a cut flower grower’s favorite!
FS | 24-36” | z 5-8

Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii orange coneflower
It’s back! While there may be a bounty of black-eyed Susan on the market, what makes this beauty a dream come true is its ability to wrap durability with disease and pest resistance into one tidy package. RHS plant of merit!
FS | 2-3’ | z 4-9

NEWS AND INTERESTING RESOURCES FOR GARDENERS

LIST OF INVASIVE PLANTS:

Click here for a list of Invasive Plants in Delaware.

Click here for a list of Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania.

 Click here for a list of Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States.

THE PLUG: NORTH CREEK NURSERIES publishes a weekly blog about gardening, design, native plants, and garden ecology. You can subscribe to the blog by clicking this subscription link. 

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY GOLD MEDAL PLANTS : To learn more about this year’s Gold Medal Plants, or to view previous year’s winners in PHS’s online database, please visit: https://phsonline.org/for-gardeners/gold-medal-plants.https://phsonline.org/for-gardeners/gold-medal-plants. 

ORGANIC FERTILIZER: Used at Mt.Cuba, Organic Approach 9-0-4 is 100% organic slow-release fertilizer that will feed the soil biology and sustain plant health. It is suitable for use on lawns, in landscape beds, in potting mixes, and anywhere else a granular slow-release fertilizer is desired. All Organic Approach fertilizers are manure-free and have no offensive odors. Although designed for professional use, these materials are completely safe and easy to apply for homeowners who want to treat their own properties.

If you are looking for A LOW-GROWING FESCUE MIX, please visit Deer Creek Seed Company,  Low low-growing fescue mix.

 PERFECT EARTH PROJECT: In 2013, Edwina von Gal founded the Perfect Earth Project, which is dedicated to promoting toxic-free, nature-based land care practices. Browse the Perfect Earth Project website, subscribe to its newsletter, or click on PRFCT Perspectives to search for information on specific topics, including lots of information about healthy, beautiful, and well-disciplined lawns.

INTERESTING ARTICLES, HELPFUL INFORMATION AND TIPS

Terrarium Containers and Where to Find Them - American Begonia Society Judging School

Sanitizing Products for Cleaning Tools, Pots and Potting Surfaces - U of DE, College of Agriculture Fact Sheet

Tips for Growing Fruit Trees in your Backyard - U of DE, College of Agriculture Fact Sheet

Click here for Information and Tips on Controlling Spotted Lanternfly

FOR LIST OF ZONE V NATIVE PLANT NURSERIES:

INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING CLUB FLOWER SHOWS

For more information about show schedules, guidelines and to download exhibitor entry cards, please go to the Flower Show Committee’s landing page. You may print and fill out an entry card by hand OR download the file, fill it out on your computer, and then print it.

RECENT HORTICULTURE WORKSHOP AND PROGRAM HANDOUTS

Winter Flowers- Inspiration for your Garden, Charles Cresson, February 2024 - LECTURE HANDOUT

Caring for Orchids, Arthur Chadwick, Chadwick & Sons Orchids, November 2023, LECTURE HANDOUT

Saving the Coniston Woodland: an episode in the war with Invasives - January 2021, Dick Lighty - LECTURE HANDOUTS

Propagating Camellia by Seed - GCW Workshop Handout, December 15, 2021

BLOOMING BUCKS with BRENT AND BECKY’S BULBS

GCW is part of the Blooming Bucks program and 25% of your purchases will be given back to our club. Please visit www.bloominbucks.com, and select The Garden Club of Wilmington to place your order. Or your can order by phone and tell them you would like to support GCW. Or you can write us in at the bottom of your order form in their catalogue.

part of  THE GARDEN CLUB of AMERICA  since 1920