COMPOSITAE. Showy, tuberous rooted perennials from the mountains of México to Columbia. They range from small epiphytes to gigantic plants 20 feet tall. Easy in most soils. Named varieties are grown from tubers, but many interesting types call be raised from seed, and new forms developed. Start seed as early as February indoors for bloom the same year. When developing new varieties, do not discard weak seedlings as they often produce the best flowers. Garden types germinate in 5 - 10 days; the species come up irregularly, giving sprouts from 10 - 110 days; hold pot several months for stragglers. Seed half-life 3 - 6 years or more.
—Dahlia Bishop's Children. (25) DAHL-15B. Packet: $2.50
Rich single-flowered mix in shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple 3 - 5" blooms, some semi-double. To 3 - 5 feet, with dark blue-green leaves. Descended from the Bishop of Llandaff's dahlia.
—Dahlia Red Road. (25) DAHL-15H. Packet: $2.50
10 grams: $9.00, 25 grams: $18.00
Deep dark bronzy foliage inspired the name. Dwarf plants to 2 feet, with semi-double flowers in a wide range of colors from deep red to pastel lilac, 2 - 4" wide. Nice! This old favorite was originally named 'Redskin', but since many American Indians take exception to this, I've renamed it, even though this isn't an approved practice. Tough luck, purists!
DALEA (DAY-lee-a or DA-lee-a)
LEGUMINOSAE. Attractive, mostly arid-region herbs, shrubs and trees from the Americas, Canada to Argentina. Good desert landscaping.
NEW—Dalea spinosa. (d,h) DALE-76. Packet: $2.50
1/4 Oz: $7.50
Click for photo »
Flower: 
Seedling: 
Seed has been treated with Sevin, then washed.
'SMOKE TREE'. Striking ashy-grey, leafless, intricately-branched spiny tree to 6 - 30 feet. Very fragrant dark blue to violet flowers in dense 1 - 2" racemes in June and July. Sandy washes of Southwestern deserts. Good desert tree, striking in bloom. Soak, nick hard ones, germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
DASYLIRION (da-si-LIR-ee-on)
AGAVACEAE. Spectacular odd desert plants with a caudex or short trunk, topped with narrow, Yucca-like leaves, and tall, unbranched spikes of male or female flowers. Easily grown; cultivate like Yucca. Stands some frost if kept dry. Zone 7. "Highly ornamental plants."—W. Trelease.
—Dasylirion texanum. (e,g) DASY-23. Packet: $2.50
'TEXAS SOTOL'. Large round heads of narrow glossy green 3 foot leaves from a short, often underground trunk. Tall flower spike reaches 15 feet. Texas and N. México. The central bud was roasted and eaten by the Indians, and was made into a drink called 'sotol'. A neat plant. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
—Dasylirion Wheeleri. (c,g) DASY-26. Packet: $2.50
'DESERT SPOON'. Dramatic spikes of flowers 15 feet tall, above a 6 foot ball of narrow, sword-like leaves, each ending in a brush-like tuft of fibers. Trunk to 3 feet. Texas to Arizona. The hearts of the plant have been roasted for food and making the fermented drink 'sotol'. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks with a few stragglers up to 16 weeks.
"It is possible to hoe potatoes and to hear the birds sing at the same time, although our teaching has not much developed this completeness in the minds of the people."—L. H. Bailey.
DATURA (da-TOO-ra)
SOLANACEAE. 'ANGEL'S TRUMPETS'. All have large, beautiful trumpet-shaped fragrant flowers. They are the largest and most beautiful easily grown flowers known. Robust bushy annuals and perennials. Give them plenty of sun, space, and a deep, rich soil. The annuals are easy from seed, and the perennials with tuberous roots can be lifted and stored over winter in the North. They are all bold plants, best in the back of the border.
All Daturas are poisonous and produce alarming symptoms if accidentally consumed. Though they are rarely fatal to adults, children should be warned against them. Like many poisons they have been used since pre-history for their valuable medicinal properties against skin diseases, ulcers, insanity, asthma, as a surgical anesthetic, and as an antidote to pufferfish, nerve gas, and organophosphate pesticide poisoning. A remarkable group of plants.
—Datura ceratocaula GA-3. (e,h) DATU-4G. Packet: $3.00
5 grams: $10.00
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily.
'TORNA LOCO'. Large white 4 - 7" fragrant trumpets with 5 rosy stripes in the throat and a pale lavender edge. Peculiar fleshy annual to 3 feet, with narrow leaves, silvery on the underside, thick forking often purple stems, and smooth egg-shaped 2" pods. México. Often semi-aquatic, growing in shallow water. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks with GA-3.
—Datura discolor GA-3. (d,g) DATU-6G. Packet: $3.00
10 grams: $7.50
Click for photos »
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily.
'DESERT THORNAPPLE'. White 4 - 6" trumpets flushed purple or indigo in the throat. Upright annual to 1 1/2 feet, with greyish foliage and nodding spiny pods. Colorado Desert of California and south. An unusual species, the large flowers contrasting with the small stature of the plant. Germinates in 1 - 6 weeks.
—Datura ferox GA-3. (e,h) DATU-10G. Packet: $3.00
10 grams: $7.50, 100 grams: $60.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily.
'LONG SPINED THORNAPPLE'. White trumpets 4 - 5" long and 2 - 3" wide, followed by highly ornamental pods with long stout spines. Quick growing hardy annual to about 3 feet, with grey-green, angled foliage. Old World warm regions. The large-spined pods are dramatic in dried arrangements. Germinates in 3 - 4 weeks warm.
—Datura inoxia. (e,l) DATU-9. Packet: $2.50
Click for photos »
—Datura inoxia GA-3. (d,h) DATU-9G. Packet: $4.00
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily in 1 - 4 weeks warm.
Large showy white 6 - 8" trumpets with green veins, followed by spiny pods. Spreading perennial to 3 feet, with downy, grey-green leaves. Southwest. Part of the whole inoxia/meteloides/wrightii complex.
NEW—Datura inoxia Belle Blanche. (25) DATU-9B. Packet: $2.50
5 grams: $15.00
Click for photos »
Large, pure white, upright 6 - 8" trumpets, very fragrant at night. Half hardy perennial forming a 3 foot mound of grey-green foliage. Said to be perennial with protection in Zone 6. "Stunning Plant that I must always have in my garden."—N.A., Wisconsin. Often called a D. Metel variety, but the characters of the flowers, leaves, pods, and seeds are of D. inoxia.
—Datura leichhardtii GA-3. (10) DATU-11G. Packet: $4.00
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily.
White 2 - 3" trumpets with 5 lavender spots on the veins in the throat. Hardy annual or short-lived perennial to 1 - 5 feet tall. Round spiny nodding pods. Central and southern México, naturalized in Australia and often called 'Australian Thornapple'. Germinates in 3 - 6 weeks warm.
Datura Metel Varieties:
'HINDU DATURA', 'KALA-DHATURA'. Large 4 - 8" double yellow and double purple trumpets. Fast growing handsome annual to 3 - 6 feet, with large, dark green leaves and round knobby or spiny pods. India. Best in deep, well manured soil, heat and full sun. Easy from seed, needs warmth to sprout, 20 to 90 days. Start indoors for early bloom. Sometimes can be held over winter in the greenhouse. An important medicinal and religious plant in the Old World, sacred to Buddhists, Taoists and Hindus.
—Datura Metel Double Purple GA-3. (c,g) DATU-12DPG. Packet: $3.00 Click for photos »
Large dark purple red, fully double, sometimes triple or quadruple trumpets. "Beautiful pot plant."—G. Howard, 1992. Germinates in 2 - 5 weeks.
—Datura Stramonium True White GA-3. (b,h) DATU-18WG. Packet: $3.00
10 grams: $14.00
Click for photo »
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily in 1 - 8 weeks warm.
'JIMSONWEED', 'THORNAPPLE', 'ANGEL'S TRUMPET'. White, upright trumpets to 4" long. Hardy fast-growing annual to 3 - 6 feet, with 4 - 8" leaves. Prickly seedpods. Worldwide. This is the species most commonly grown for medicinal purposes. Used for millennia by witches and herbalists, it is now a major medicinal crop. This is the rarely seen true pure white form described by Linnaeus; most Stramonium offered is lavender.
—Datura Wrightii GA-3. (c,h) DATU-42G. Packet: $4.00
Oz: $18.00
Pre-primed with GA-3, germinates readily.
'TOLOACHE', 'ANGEL'S TRUMPET'. Large white fragrant 8" flowers open at dusk. Sprawling perennial to 3 feet or so. SW U.S. and Mexico. Like meteloides, but without the lilac blush.
"Animals may constantly be seen to pause, deliberate, and resolve."—Charles Darwin.
DELONIX (DE-lo-nix)
LEGUMINOSAE. Spectacular African trees with showy orange or scarlet flowers in large clusters. Widely grown for ornament in frost-free regions or in the greenhouse. Fast growing from seed, and transplants easily, even when large. Thrives in good soil and dry regions, seacoasts, etc. Nick and soak seed till swollen, keep warm, to germinate in 1 - 4 weeks. Grow like Caesalpinia or Poinciana.
—Delonix regia (=Poinciana regia). (e,h) DELO-1. Packet: $2.50
Oz: $6.00, 1/4 lb: $12.00
Click for photo »
'ROYAL POINCIANA, 'FLAMBOYANT', 'PEACOCK FLOWER', 'FLAME TREE'. Famous for its dazzling display of vivid scarlet 3 - 4" wide, 5 petaled flowers in foot-long racemes in summer. Umbrella-crowned tree to 30 - 40 feet high, and spreading 60 feet. Large feathery 2 foot long leaves, and woody 2 foot long pods. Discovered in Madagascar in 1824. Flower color ranges from deep crimson through orange to a rare yellow. Very rare and endangered in its native Madagascar, now safe from extinction through naturalization elsewhere! "Beautiful for the fern-like foliage alone, which gives an airy tropical appearance. Mine are planted in large pots, with Schizanthus 'Angel's Wings' beneath. The Schizanthus resemble tiny phalaenopsis orchids, with fern-green foliage somewhat like the Poinciana. The effect is lush and unbelievable, a good option for those who primarily 'container' garden."—C. Malanowski, South Carolina, 6/2001.
DELPHINIUM (del-FIN-ee-um)
RANUNCULACEAE. 'LARKSPUR'. Showy-flowered annuals, biennials and perennials, most hardy in the North, and valued in the border and wild garden. Best in rich soil and full sun, but are not too particular. Sow annual kinds in early spring, perennials any time from early spring to late August or September, up to 2 months before frost. May germinate best at cool temperatures (50 - 60°F) and darkness, germinating in 1 - 2 weeks or up to a month or two. Some species need up to 13 - 19 weeks cold treatment; sow in fall. Seed half-life 3 - 4 years.
NEW—Delphinium Geyeri. DELP-45. Packet: $2.50
Gram: $5.00, 5 grams: $15.00
Brilliant blue spurred inch-wide flowers in spikes in spring and summer. Hardy perennial to 1 1/2 - 3 feet. Sunny dry meadows of foothills, Utah to Nebraska. Give seed 2 - 3 months cold treatment, or GA-3 to germinate in 2 - 10 weeks.
DESMANTHUS (des-MAN-thus)
LEGUMINOSAE. 'BUNDLE FLOWER'. Mimosa-like perennials or shrubs grown for their attractive feathery pinnate leaves, clustered flowers and usefulness. Hard shelled seed, may need scarification.
—Desmanthus illinoensis. (b,h) DESA-12. Packet: $2.50
Oz: $7.50, lb: $40.00
'ILLINOIS BUNDLEFLOWER'. Numerous clusters of fluffy, silky white flowers from May to September, followed by persistent, clustered, decorative pods. Feathery bipinnate foliage. Hardy perennial to 3 - 5 feet. Central U.S. prairies. Hardy to Zone 4 or 5. One of the best native range plants, nitrogen fixing, and producing abundant, nutritious hay. Soak seed, nick unswollen, germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.