Linaria - a flowering annual for winter colour.

The spreading petunias at the nursery had lasted about 8 months but they were looking straggly and tired. So we pulled the all out ! My dilemma now was what to put in their place. The usual replacement would have been pansies or violas, but that's what we did last year and it felt like time for a change. Pansies can also lack flower power in the dearth of winter and don't pack them on until spring. We want something flowering now and something that will hang down like a trailing lobelia. That was when we thought, lets try linaria.

Linaria was once available as seedlings in punnets. You could only get it as a five colour mix, with no separate colours available. It is not grown as much now although we have been able to get some in colourpots. You can also get it as a packet seed variety. You would sow it in late summer or autumn. It germinates very easily. The seedlings are grown clumped, so it is ok to put 10 seeds in the one hole.

The flowers are a bit like mini snapdragons and look wonderful in mixed pots or baskets. The weight of the flowers cause the entire plants to hang, although some plants can grow quite upright. We have grown our plants in the Gardensmart hydroponic self watering system. I was a bit worried about the system being too wet for these plants, but out of 200, we have only lost 3 or 4 to dieback. The rest seem to be doing well.

Jim Fah from the hydroponics shop here at Gardneworld is now farming 4 varieties of fish, including barramundi and even freshwater prawns ! Some of the wastewater from these aquaponic systems have been watering the linaria and they seem to be loving it. Checkout Jimmy's website here.

So if you get down to gardenworld in the next couple of months, be sure to check out the hydroponically grown linaria and then go and see the hydroponics shop with the barramundi, perch, prawns and of course a wonderful selection of plants.

Related Link: Autopot Hydroponics

Comments

[sunflower arrangements]

Definitely cute and adorable mini flowers.Planning to put it outside of my window near in my room,so that when the air start to blow the fragrance of the flower will carry in my room.

-Aubrey