CRASSULACEAE. Succulent perennials from tuberous roots. Some fairly hardy. Goes dormant after blooming. Likes moist soil, but rest dry.
NEW—Umbilicus rupestris. (b,h) UMBI-21. Packet: $2.00
'PENNY-PIES'. Round, rubbery 1 - 3" wide succulent leaves and small yellow-green flowers marked with reddish dots in long drooping 12" spikes in spring. Forms a small caudex. England to the Mediterranean. Fairly hardy. Use GA-3 to germinate in 2 - 3 weeks.
URTICA (UR-ti-ka)
URTICACEAE. Widespread genus of valuable perennials and annuals with stinging hairs. Easily grown in rich moist soil in sun or part shade.
—Urtica dioica. (a!,g) URTl-3. Packet: $2.00
'STINGING NETTLE'. Hardy perennial to 4 - 6 feet, with large oval leaves and clustered tiny green flowers. N. Hemisphere. Young tops are a delicious potherb, and are made into wine and beer. Stem fibers provide strong cordage, and were made into cloth and paper. Leaves, seeds, and roots are valuable medicinals. Good butterfly plant, and valuable poultry and stock feed. Used as a rennet, and roots for yellow dye. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
VACCINIUM (vac-SIN-ee-um)
ERICACEAE. Mostly hardy shrubs and trees grown for ornament and their edible berries. Evergreen or deciduous, with bell or urn-shaped flowers, ranging from the arctic to mountains in the tropics. Good in the shrubbery, border & wild garden. Bright autumn foliage. Sow on the surface. Some germinate readily, others need 2 weeks to 3 months cold. Begins to germinate in a month, and some come up for a year. Fall sowing is good.
—Vaccinium Myrtillus. (b,h) VACC-17. Packet: $2.50
'WHORTLEBERRY', 'BILBERRY'. Tiny shrub rarely over 1 - 2 feet, with leathery myrtle-like leaves. White or pink 1/4" flowers in short racemes. Black edible 1/3" berries. North Eurasia. The berries are much eaten in Scotland and are fine for preserves. A fine flavored wine has been made from them. Used medicinally like Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, for cystitis, etc. The leaves and berries are used to improve the eyesight and against macular degeneration. Seed germinates in 3 - 4 weeks, best in light, surface sow.
—Vaccinium ovatum. (b,v) VACC-20. Packet: $2.00
'BOX BLUEBERRY', 'EVERGREEN HUCKLEBERRY'. Abundant black 1/3" berries on a spreading evergreen shrub to 3 - 8 feet. Pink and white waxen bell-shaped flowers and leathery dark green shining leaves. B.C. to Calif. The berries are juicy and delicious, excellent for pies. The foliage is popular winter decoration. Give 3 months cold.
VALERIANA (va-le-ree-A-na)
VALERIANACEAE. Perennials and shrubs native to all continents except Australia & Antarctica. Easily grown medicinal & ornamental hardy perennials.
—Valeriana Officinalis. (b,h) VAL-12. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 58% Tested: 12/07, 5 grams: $6.00, 10 grams: $10.00
'VALERIAN', 'GARDEN HELIOTROPE'. Large clusters of tiny white flowers with a spicy scent, June to September. Hardy perennial to 3 - 5 feet, with handsome pinnate foliage. Europe. Best in damp areas. Forms nice colonies with age. Cats are attracted to the plant. The strong-scented rhizomes are an ancient medicine, affecting the nervous system and commonly used as a sedative and anti-anxiety remedy; the original 'valium'. Germinates in 1 - 4 weeks, may be irregular. GA-3 often helps.
"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." —A. France.
VERATRUM (VER-a-trum)
LILIACEAE. 'FALSE HELLEBORE'. Robust hardy thick-rooted perennials grown in the border for the bold effect of the shining, pleated, parallel-veined leaves, and large sprays of flowers. Easily grown and hardy, best in part shade and moist soil. Give seed cold treatment or sow in fall, to germinate in 3 - 12 months. Some are poisonous & insecticidal.
—Veratrum nigrum. (c,h) VERA-17. Packet: $3.00
'BLACK FALSE HELLEBORE'. Unusual blackish-purple flowers in panicles. Hardy perennial to 4 feet with whorls of bold, foot-long, 8" wide leaves with striking veins. Europe. Interesting hardy plant. Seed dormant when fresh. Germinates best when a year or two old, coming up in 5 - 8 weeks.
—Veratrum tenuipetalum. (b,g) VERA-23. Packet: $2.00
'COLORADO FALSE HELLEBORE', 'CORN LILY'. Long spikes of white and green flowers. Tall hardy perennial to 3 - 6 feet, with bold pleated leaves. Moist sub-alpine meadows, Rocky Mountains. Germinates in 2 - 8 months warm, prechill helps.
VERBASCUM (ver-BASK-um)
SCROPHULARIACEAE. Showy tall hardy Eurasian biennials and perennials, valued in the border and wild garden. Most do well in any soils except cold wet ones. Full sun. Most are easy from seed which germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at warm temperatures. Some need light.
—Verbascum atroviolaceum. (b,h) VERS-4. Packet: $2.50 Click for photo »
(With Hosta Sunpower)Nice even purple flowers in dense compact spikes to 18". Hardy perennial from the Russian Caucasus. Best in light shade. In the phoeniceum complex, but "Nicer than any phoeniceum cultivar I've ever seen. It's the real thing." —Bertrand. Germinates at warm temperatures.
NEW—Verbascum Blattaria. (a!,f-h) VERS-5. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 92% Tested: 12/07, 5 grams: $5.00, 10 grams: $7.50, 50 grams: $25.00
'MOTH MULLIEN'. Bright yellow (sometimes white) inch-wide five-petaled flowers with violet throats, in long, graceful spikes. Hardy biennial to 4 - 6 feet, with rosettes of dark green, glossy leaves. Eurasia. Makes long lasting cut-flowers. Attracts bees and moths, and repels cockroaches. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks.
NEW—Verbascum Chaixii f. album Wedding Candles. (a,h) VERS-7 A. Packet: $2.00
Pure white inch-wide flowers with violet stamens, in dense, multi-branched spikes in summer. Hardy perennial to 3 feet, with grey-green downy leaves.
S. Europe. Zone 4. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks warm.
—Verbascum olympicum. (a!,h) VERS-34. Packet: $2.50
Germination: 84% Tested: 9/07, 5 grams: $6.00, 10 grams: $10.00
Magnificent, densely white-woolly biennial or perennial to 5 - 6 feet, with inch-wide bright yellow flowers in long spikes in June to August. Greece. Zone 6 - 8, sometimes grown as an annual. Full sun.
—Verbascum phoeniceum Hybrids. (a!,h) VERS-36H. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 88% Tested: 12/07, Gram: $6.00, 5 grams: $10.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
'PURPLE MULLIEN'. Mixed shades of white, pink, salmon, and purple. Hardy perennial to 3 feet. Europe. Excellent in the border & moist spots. "Magnificent plants that have survived in my zone 3 garden and at the Anchorage Botanical Gardens through the last 3 years, one of those the worst on record. Mine had no snow cover or mulch that year and we recorded frost to a depth of 6 feet! I did not lose one plant!" —Rhonda Williams, Alaska, 1/97.
—Verbascum phoeniceum Violetta. (a,g) VERS-36V. Packet: $2.00
A lovely variety with dark purple-violet flowers in long spikes in May to August. Will rebloom after deadheading. To 3 feet. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
—Verbascum roripifolium. (a!,f) VERS-40. Packet: $2.00
Abundant yellow flowers on a hardy biennial to 3 feet, with deeply serrated feathery foliage. Bulgaria. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks warm.
—Verbascum Thapsus. (a!,h) VERS-45. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 66% Tested: 10/07, 1/4 Oz: $5.00
'GREAT MULLIEN', 'JUPITER'S STAFF', 'ADAM'S FLANNEL'. Sulfur-yellow inch-wide flowers in dense cylindrical spikes to 6 - 8 feet tall. Hardy biennial forming handsome ground-hugging velvety rosettes of soft foot-long leaves. Eurasia, naturalized widely. Full sun to part shade, dry poor soil. The downy leaves have been used as tinder, the stalks, dipped in tallow, as torches since ancient times. Throughout its range it is highly valued medicinally and believed to drive away evil spirits—it was used by Ulysses for protection against Circe. The seeds were used as a fish poison, the leaves and flowers highly valued for respiratory diseases, ear infections, as an anodyne, anti-fungal, etc. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
NEW—Verbascum virgatum. (a!,f) VERS-56. Packet: $2.00
5 grams: $5.00
Yellow to white inch-wide violet-centered flowers with purple-woolly stamens, in long graceful spikes. Biennial to 3 - 4 feet, with rosettes of foot-long leaves. Europe. An attractive species. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
VERBENA (ver-BEE-na)
VERBENACEAE. 'VERVAIN'. Annuals and perennials prized for their showy, often fragrant clustered flowers, and some for medicine. Good in the border and wild garden. Good cut flowers. Sun and heat promotes bloom and they are drought resistant. Ordinary to dry, rocky soil suits them. Good on walls and banks. Space 12 - 18". Sow indoors in February & March and set out in May, or sow perennials where they are to stand. Germinates in 10 - 25 days at 65°, and some up to 90 days. Perennials may need 2 - 4 weeks cold treatment. Some need dark, others light. Seed half life ranges from 1 to 7 years.
—Verbena bonariensis. (a,h) VERB-3. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 54% Tested: 12/07, 5 grams: $10.00
Purple flowers in dense 1 1/2" spikes. Perennial to 3 - 4 feet with an open, airy habit. South America. Popular in the South, good landscaping plant. Pinch when young for good form. Germinates in 1 - 4 weeks.
—Verbena hastata. (a,h) VERB-16. Packet: $2.00
'SIMPLER'S JOY', 'BLUE VERVAIN'. Narrow spikes of tiny blue flowers held above the narrow, lance-shaped 6" leaves. Tall hardy perennial to 6 feet. North America. Hardy to -35°. Likes moist areas. Easy from seed; some will sprout if sown anytime, but best if fall sown and kept moist. "Candelabra-like spikes of tiny blue flowers in late summer that look like a blue mist over the marsh." —Goldman. The seeds were eaten as pinole by the Concow Indians of California. Formerly highly valued medicinally by the Indians and early American herbalists. Give 8 weeks cold to germinate in about 2 months.
—Verbena officinalis. (b,v) VERB-26. Packet: $2.00
'TRUE VERVAIN', 'HERB-OF-GRACE'. Small lilac-blue flowers in spikes, on a hardy perennial to 2 - 3 feet, with divided leaves. Europe. An important medicinal plant since ancient times, it has a remarkable folk-lore surrounding it, and was held sacred by the Egyptians, Romans, druids, and witches. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks warm, often dormant.
—Verbena rigida (=venosa) (a,g) VERB-40. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 60% Tested: 12/07, Gram: $5.00, 5 grams: $15.00
Deep lilac-blue or purple flowers in dense, often branched 2" spikes, from July to October. Half hardy perennial with dark green foliage to 1 - 2 feet from tuberous roots. S. America. Hardy to Zone 8. Stands drought well, blooms in 4 months. Lift tubers in cold climates. Germinates in 2 - 24 weeks.
—Verbena rigida Polaris. (b,g) VERB-40P. Packet: $2.00
Germination: 54% Tested: 1/07, Gram: $6.00, 5 grams: $18.00
Light porcelain-blue flowers in dense branched spikes. To 12". A nice variety. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
—Verbena tenuisecta. (a,h) VERB-50. Packet: $2.00
'MOSS VERBENA'. Dense spikes of blue, lilac, or purple flowers. Sprawling annual or perennial to a foot or so, with 1 1/2" three-lobed leaves, and aromatic stems. S. America. Zone 9. Germination: 1 - 2 weeks.
"If you're going to get old, you might as well get as old as you can get." —Wallace Stegner.
VERONICA (ve-RO-ni-ka)
SCROPHULARIACEAE. 'SPEEDWELL'. Popular annuals and perennials grown in the rockery or border. Easily grown in ordinary soil. Hardy and free flowering. Thrives in a bright sunny spot. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at warm temperatures. Some are eaten or used as tea or medicinally.
—Veronica longifolia. (a!,g) VERO-46. Packet: $2.00
Lavender flowers in dense 6 - 10" spikes, June to August. Hardy perennial to 3 - 4 feet, with lance-shaped, serrated 3 - 4" leaves. Europe, Zone 4. Much loved by bees. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
VERONICASTRUM (ve-ro-ni-KAS-trum)
SCROPHULARIACEAE. A single species related to Veronica. (=Veronica & Leptandra virginica)
—Veronicastrum virginicum. (a!!,g) VERU-4. Packet: $2.00
'CULVER'S ROOT'. White flowers in long dense 9" racemes in summer. Stately hardy perennial to 3 - 7 feet. E. U.S. The acrid root used medicinally. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks warm.
VIBURNUM (vi-BUR-num)
CAPRIFOLIACEAE. Ornamental shrubs and small trees grown for their showy clustered blooms and attractive fruits. Excellent for wildlife plantings, and valuable wild bird food. Good to naturalize at the edge of woods. "The viburnums rank among the most valuable ornamental shrubs." —Rehder. Many need warm then cold to germinate.
—Viburnum trilobum. (b,v) VIB-69. Packet: $2.00
Oz: $5.00, 1/4 lb: $15.00
'AMERICAN CRANBERRY BUSH', 'HIGH CRANBERRY'. White flowers in 4" clusters in May & June, followed by scarlet berries. Hardy shrub to 12 feet. Northern N. America. The attractive berries remain on the bush till the following spring. They were eaten by the Indians, & made into jelly. Harvest after hard frost is best. (=americanum)
VIGNA aconitifolia: see Moth Bean in Vegetable List.
VINCETOXICUM (vin-se-TOX-i-cum)
ASCLEPIADACEAE. Twining perennials sometimes classed as Cynanchum. Wheel or bell-shaped flowers. Easily grown. Name means 'to conquer poison', alluding to its supposed virtue as an antidote.
—Vincetoxicum hirundinaria. (e,h) VINCE-18. Packet: $3.00
Yellow-white flowers in clusters in June to August. Twining perennial to 1 - 4 feet. Europe. Zone 3. About 1/3 germinate without treatment, or use GA-3 or a prechill for high germination in 3 weeks.
VIOLA (vee-O-la or vye-O-la)
VIOLACEAE. 'VIOLET'. A large genus of many attractive annuals & perennials. Most are best in a rich moist soil and part shade. The perennials may be sown any time, spring to fall, and some do best with overwintering or 2 weeks cold treatment. Germinates best in darkness, in 10 - 20 days. Seed half-life ranges from 1 - 6 years. GA-3 helps.
—Viola cornuta Bowles Black. (b,h) VIOL-27B. Packet: $3.00
Small velvety black-violet flowers with yellow eyes, abundantly produced May to September. Compact 6" plants. Self-sows. Also called V. nigra, and V. tricolor E. A. Bowles. Rich soil & part shade best. Germinates readily in 1 - 2 weeks.
NEW—Viola labradorica Purpurea. (c,v) VIOL-68P. Packet: $3.00
'LABRADOR VIOLET'. Porcelain-blue 3/4" flowers in April to June. Tiny hardy perennial to 6", with attractive dark purplish foliage. Northern N. America and Greenland. Zone 2. Choice! Very hardy. Germination is irregular, 1 - 40 weeks, cold may help.
—Viola odorata Wild Form. (c,f) VIOL-83W. Packet: $3.00
'SWEET VIOLET'. Deep purple-violet sweet-scented flowers in March & April. Perennial to 6" with heart-shaped leaves. The original wild form. Flowers good in salads, and have been candied. The scent is used in perfumery, 200 pounds of flowers giving an ounce of essential oil. Give seed 2 weeks warm, then 4 - 6 weeks cold, to germinate at cool temperatures.
—Viola pedatifida. (c,g) VIOL-95. Packet: $3.00
'LARKSPUR VIOLET'. Blue-lavender flowers, held above the palmately divided leaves. Low plant. Plains states. Give cold to germinate in up to 4 months, or GA-3 to germinate in 3 - 6 weeks.
—Viola tricolor Sawyer's Black. (b,l) VIOL-132SB. Packet: $2.00
Velvety purple-black flowers with a yellow eye, on 6" plants. Comes into bloom early, and flowers for a long period. Nice. Germinates in 1 - 8 weeks.
VITEX (VYE-tex or VEE-tex)
VERBENACEAE. Ornamental trees & shrubs valued for their attractive spikes of showy colorful flowers. Almost any soil. Prefers full sun. Easy from seed in spring, and up to 90 days cold may help some. Germinates best with gibberellic acid.
NEW—Vitex Agnus-castus. (b,h) VITE-1. Packet: $1.50
Oz: $6.00
'CHASTE TREE', 'MONK'S PEPPER'. Fragrant lilac flowers in dense 5 - 7" spikes at the branch-tips, from July to September. Strongly aromatic shrub or small tree to 10 - 25 feet, with divided leaves, dark green above & greyish below. Mediterranean region. Hardy to Zone 6. Cultivated since at least 1570. Branches used in basket-work. The seeds were used as a pepper substitute by monks, as they were said to lessen sexual desire. Give GA-3 or 6 weeks cold to germinate in 1 - 3 weeks.
—Vitex Negundo. (a,v) VITE-17. Packet: $1.50
Oz: $6.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
'CHASTE TREE', 'WU-CHI-KAN'. Fragrant lavender 1/4" flowers in loose 8" panicles in late summer & early autumn. Graceful shrub or small tree to 15 - 25 feet, with 4" palmate leaves. China, India, Madagascar & SE Africa. Germinates in 1 - 8 weeks. Roots & leaves made into a tea in China, and the seeds are used as a condiment. Semi-hardy, & good in the greenhouse. Said to be an excellent bee plant.
VITIS (VEE-tis or VYE-tis)
VITACEAE. Tendril-climbing woody vines of the North Hemisphere, grown for their clustered berries and for ornament. Valued for wine making since ancient times. Cold usually helps germination.
—Vitis arizonica. (c,l) VITI-4. Packet: $2.00
'CANYON GRAPE'. Sweet black 3/8" grapes in 2 - 4" clusters. Shrubby or scarcely climbing, with small 2 - 4" leaves. SW US. Zone 8. Grapes eaten fresh or dried by Indians. Germinates in 4 - 8 weeks.