New yearly plant catalogs; new claims

Every year plant enthusiasts and gardeners are inundated with new catalogs. With that, there are so many new choices, and the pictures are so colorful and striking along with their descriptions. After all, they are in the business of selling you products.

How do you cut through on all the embellishing descriptions? First, read the description carefully. If any other catalog offers the same new introduction, read its description as well. Take a look at this example quoted below from Garden Veg Blog by Jeremy Dore. Watch out for the colorful embellishments.

“By way of example, here’s the description of a commonly grown pea variety ‘Hurst Green Shaft’ from two different suppliers here in the UK:

“Catalog 1: Medium green pointed pods in pairs, each containing 9-11 peas. Resistant to downy mildew and Fusarium Wilt; recommended for exhibition. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Recommended by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. Second-Early/Maincrop Variety. Height 75cm (30”).

“Catalog 2: Outstanding pod length - 4 to 4½ inches, with 9-11 peas in a pod. Double podded too; Pea ‘Hurst Green Shaft’ is a super heavy-yielding variety. Only 28 -30 inches tall, with all the pods in the top 10-12 inches - no more backache. An early, wrinkle seeded variety, which matures in 100 days from sowing. Pea ‘Hurst Green Shaft’ resists downy mildew and fusarium wilt. And the taste! Has to be eaten to be believed.

“The differences are clear with one sticking just to basic facts and helpfully mentioning independent awards while the other elaborates ‘super heavy-yielding ... no more backache ... has to be eaten to be believed’.”

Unfortunately, neither of these descriptions tells you the shortcomings of this variety. Every variety has some type of shortcoming such as disease tendency, insect problem or only grows in sandy soil. Some catalogs lead you to discover that on your own.

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