Sunday, September 6, 2015

Coleus 'Henna' & Review of Breck's order

This is the second time I have planted coleus 'Henna' in my urns flanking my garage.  I love this coleus with the bright red leaf underside.  I would plant it every  year, but I can't always find it in my small town.

 Here is the other urn where the top of the leaves is more prominent than the underside:
 I like the sawtooth edges of 'Henna's' leaves.
 
I am still giddy over the Japanese Bottle Brush shrub blooms (even though they look nothing like the "fuzzy caterpillar" pic Breck's showed). I  also had no idea the plant would be this tall as their description says up to 3 feet high) and mine is well over 6 ft.


Following are some pictures from the Breck's order I received this spring. I am linking to the order url should any of you want to order your own.  BTW, I get nothing, zero, zip, nada to talk about Breck's.  About 50% of the time I am not happy with them, so they certainly would not be paying me to post about their product. I am just linking as a convenience to my readers.

This is 'Little Blue Wonder', a dwarf sea holly.  I love it --  but I ordered 5 of these from Breck's and this in the only one that came up. 
I had planted them all across the front edge of  my small dahlia garden under the living room window.

 I am so sad that I don't have a sea of blue under the pink 'Park Princess' dahlias as I had planned.  Yikes, I just looked at my order form and realized that I paid $14.99 each for the dwarf sea hollies! Since only one survived,   it cost me $79.95 for one plant.  I better write to Breck's and request a refund.  Breck's has a great refund policy. If something is not right, they refund or replace the item.  That is why I continue to order their products.

I am loving the bold paintbrush splashes of dark red/purple in this  dahlia called 'Tropical'
 
The yellow color at the petal base looks like the sun is shining through. I am totally happy with this purchase. I planted two of these, but so far I have only seen one that has bloomed.  I am not sure if the other died or if it's just a late bloomer. 
 
I was eagerly awaiting the bloom from this dahlia called 'Que Sera'. This is what I expected it to look like (pic is from Breck's website):
 
This is what I got.

It is nothing like what I ordered! Very disappointing! Another refund request will be sent for this dud.
 
Talk about disappointing.....remember this 'White Feather' hosta?
 
I planted it in a container so I could give it special attention.
 
This is what came up:
I paid $19.99 for this!!! I almost tossed it in the compost pile.  The only positive thing I can say about it is that it did, indeed, come up white.
 
I hid the pot behind some other containers on the deck and kept it watered.  It surprised me by putting out many new leaves.  Here it is today:
 
 So it's alive and much bigger, but it's a totally blah hosta once the leaves fill with chlorophyll. I knew it would only be white as it emerged and then it was supposed to have white streaked leaves.  I guess there is a bit of white streaking, but, honestly, I would not waste the money to buy this hosta. I won't ask for a refund, because it did survive and I knew that it would only have white leaves as it emerged. If it survives the winter, I think I will be much happier next spring.
 
I still have one  dahlia that I received from Breck's that I have not yet seen a bloom.  It's called American Dawn.  I can't remember which container I planted it in, but if it  blooms, I will show you the pictures.
 
 
This post is getting way too long and taking me way too long to create so I will end it now.  I hope you are enjoying your late summer garden! 
 

12 comments:

  1. Hi Zoey---you crack me up with your "sort of review" of Brecks. I had trouble with them on Dahlias as well---the ones I ordered and the ones I got were definately not the same, but unlike you, I never complained. I'll have to remember to say something next time!

    You always do the BEST job on containers--you have such talent for that. Where on earth are you getting some of these plants? Certainly not the Home Depot! I've been so disgusted with their lousy selections the past couple of years. They used to get unusual things, now it's just the plain same-old stuff.

    Hope your holiday weekend is wonderful

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    1. LOL, Sue. I am getting them from Breck's....even though more than 50% of the time, I get DUDS! You really need to let them know when they do not provide the plant you paid for!! I nearly fell over when I looked up my receipt for this post and realized that I paid over $80 with shipping for that one tiny sea holly! :) I used to get unique plants from Home Depot, too. But the last couple of years I have not been able to find anything different there.

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  2. Hi Zoey, I have always loved your creative containers. I agree about Breck's. One great investment I made with them was when I purchased lots of daffodils - years ago. They have flourished, to the point where I've dug many for other people and still have several hundred in my gardens. My most recent purchase from them is an Asiatic lily 'Graffity' and two hardy hibiscus. Hope they do well!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Beth,

      I just ordered some pink/white daffs to plant this fall. Is Graffity yellow and dark purple? If I remember correctly, it's very similar to my Lionhart, which I love. I hope you love yours, too!

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  3. Wow your flowers are still looking very nice Zoey. Most of mine are looking sad like the end of the season is here for them. I am ready to clean them all up.
    Such a pretty coleus..I don't remember seeing that one before.

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    1. Hi Betty,

      Lots of mine are done for the year, too. I cut down two wheelbarrow loads from the perennial gardens yesterday. I am guessing another 4 weeks before the containers get hit with a hard frost. It seems like summer goes by faster each year!

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  4. I always just love your posts, Zoey! I have been gone all summer but will be back full time soon (blogging). I have really had pretty good luck with Breck's and their replacement policy/refund policy is wonderful. You sure do a good job with everything!!!! xo Diana

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    1. Thanks, Diana. So nice to see you! Glad you will be back soon!!

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  5. I've been admiring your planters, they look great! The coleus are wonderful, but the calla and canna combos really stand out for me and your whole deck looks great. I might need to be a little more generous with the feeding and care since I think Pennsylvania is a little too far to be included in your husband's watering rounds!
    Frank

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    1. LOL, Frank. He has been doing a great job with the watering and fertilizing for the past two years.

      Thanks for stopping by and happy gardening!

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  6. Your post are never too long when you keep showing all your beautiful flowers. I'm sure both your thumbs are green!

    I am going to hate to see frost come to your house.

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  7. Thanks, Patti. It's going to dip down in the 40's at night this week, so it won't be long until the first frost.

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