The seed catalogs are filling mailboxes. It's time to dream and decide what plants we will grow this year. In frigid January anything growing, even potatoes sprouting in the vegetable bin, looks inviting.
Most gardeners have a dual personality concerning plant selection.
We have a passionate love of the new and a loyal love for the old tried and true varieties. The seed industry has tried to take out some of the guess work in selecting new varieties. Each new variety is grown under diverse growing conditions along side their closest competitor currently on the market. The varieties selected as winners each year must perform well or at least average in each trial garden. New variety characteristics may include insect or disease resistance, a new color, more compact growth, longer bloom period, earlier blooming or a different size.