Your All Things Plants weekly news

for January 30, 2016

The Vote is In - The Top 10 Hand Tools Every Gardener Needs!!

ToolsOver the past couple weeks, we put the question to our members: what's your favorite hand tools? They responded with all their favorites, and after combing through all the nominations we have presented the list of the top hand tools from the ATP members! Weeding tools, pruners, rakes, hoes, and more. Click here to see the list.

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

Photo of Mexican Giant Cardon (Pachycereus pringlei)
By Baja_Costero:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Mardi Gras Ball')
By ARUBA1334:

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Greenland Shark')
By JenniferPatterson:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Wildcat Madness')
By KentPfeiffer:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Wings at Dawn')
By KentPfeiffer:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Fancy Gal')
By coboro:

Photo of Lily Of The Valley (Convallaria majalis)
By bonitin:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Mohican Tears')
By crowrita1:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Wild Vision')
By KentPfeiffer:

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week:

Photo by froggiesgirl:
Photo by froggiesgirl:
Photo by ge1836:
Photo by ge1836:
Photo by Paul2032:
Photo by ge1836:
Photo by ge1836:
Photo by ge1836:
Photo by ge1836:

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

3 people gave for a photo of Chakoro (Licuala ramsayi) by Dutchlady1

3 people gave for post #1044898 in "Does Anyone Have or Know of Diploids That Rebloom?" by admmad

2 people gave for post #1046055 in "Recognizing the Hybridizers work." by grannysgarden

2 people gave for post #1044750 in "Banner for January 28, 2016 by Paul2032" by Paul2032

2 people gave for a photo of Lily Of The Valley (Convallaria majalis) by bonitin

2 people gave for post #1042453 in "Mutiny at DG" by ssgardener

2 people gave for post #1044332 in "Daylily of the Day: Jungle Beauty" by DogsNDaylilies

2 people gave for post #1042562 in "Bird Photos - January 2016" by JulieB

2 people gave for a photo of Lindley's Silverpuffs (Microseris lindleyi) by Kelli

2 people gave for post #1043905 in "Banner for January 27, 2016 by Dinu" by Dinu

The most active threads this week:

Subject OP Area Replies
Looking forward to bloomtime 2016ZencatIrises forum239
Does anyone rescue reduced or clearance plants?keithp2012All Things Gardening forum49
Seeds ReceivedKarenHoltDnD's All Seeds Swap44
Florida Garden - Winter and Spring 2016Dutchlady1Florida Gardening forum30
Rollers - Sempervivum globiferum and all it's subspeciesvalleylynnSempervivum and Jovibarba forum27
Anyone with new garden projects 2016?ge1836Perennials forum26
Coleus, by farpurpleinoppTell us your Favorite Shade Plants25
Buying a new KING SIZED mattress, need some suggestionsMarilynneSSandbox forum24
Canna Seed Germination ExperimentDavidLMOSeeds forum24

Some new reviews from the ATP Green Pages:

Kabby recommended TulipWorld and wrote:

I was looking for fall bulbs on sale and I found TulipWorld on a search engine. The sale prices were great, the bulbs firm, and the service was very prompt. I went back for another order 6 weeks later after researching tulips that would do well in the south. No shriveled-up small bulbs this time either. I'm looking forward to my spring bloomers courtesy of TulipWorld.

steve_mass recommended Cornovium Snowdrops and wrote:

If you are interested in the genus Galanthus (Snowdrops) you probably have found that there are only a handful of sellers in the United States. Typically the bulbs available to us are the common nivalis single and double. However, in the UK the variety of bulbs available is in the thousands. Plants with yellow markings, with green outer petals, larger plants with upright shapes and beautiful curves are available across the pond. Cornovium Snowdrops are one of the very few who make these rare plants available to gardeners in the U.S. Orders to the U.S. can be placed between January 1 and March 30th. Bulbs are dug when dormant and shipped in the summer for planting while dormant. The size of these bulbs is like nothing you have seen in the U.S. Some of them look like small tulip bulbs in size and their performance is outstanding. Shipping is unsurprisingly expensive due to the CITES and phytosanitary certificates needed, but the prices per bulb are more reasonable than any other sources available to American gardeners. Give these bulbs a try and you'll be explaining to your gardening friends where they too can get such beautiful Snowdrops.

Myles recommended Restless Natives Nursery and wrote:

I purchased "hard to find" seed for some native plants for my butterfly garden from this nursery. The owners provided a quick and personal response and they have unique seed at very reasonable prices with reasonable mailing costs. Highly recommended.

kniphofia recommended Chiltern Seeds and wrote:

I recommend this company without reservation. When I lived in Maine I ordered from them, and now that I'm back home in the UK I have also used them. They really do offer a superb selection of seeds, and some very unusual and hard to find varieties. Great service! http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/

We keep growing, because ATP is where all the excitement is these days! Check out these numbers from last week: