Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

Dear Candysnapple, for somebody from New Jersey, you ask a lot of stupid
questions.

You should never have said you were going to send them seeds in the first
place. They should be sending you seeds of plant you can grow as houseplants
instead.

Obviously, none of the plants you grow outdoors in New Jersey are adapted
for growing in the tropics.

Send them seeds of plants that you can grow outdoors in peninsular Florida
instead.

"Applecandy" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

The previous post was particularly unhelpful. The climate you describe is
much like our zone 10, which includes a lot of coastal southern California,
except for the rain. Many of the plants we grow as annuals are subtropical
in origin and should germinate and do well in that climate, specially in
containers. Impatiens should work, as would morning glories (Ipomoea), seed
dahlias, brugmansia or daturas, heliotrope, pentas and even more common
things like petunias and nasturtiums. Some of these may grow naturally
there, but you could get some more specific cultivars that would be less
common. Avoid sending seeds of our more common perennials - most will
require a period of dormancy that will be non-existant in that climate.

pam - gardengal


"Applecandy" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

(Applecandy) wrote in message om...
Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

Sorry if it's considered bad protocol to reply to my own question,
but...

Let's say I want to send my friends some marigolds. I know that in my
own climate (in central NJ), marigolds can be planted outside after
the last frost, will last one season, and will go to seed before the
first frost in autumn. For my friends in Antigua, what would I tell
them about planting marigolds in their climate, where there is no
frost to consider, and where the year-round temperature basically
never goes below 60F and rarely above 80F? When should I tell them to
plant the seeds, and what should they expect from the plants from
their growing season? How do annuals work in a climate like this?
And what about perennials, which would regenerate after a cold winter
of dormancy here?

Another question--should I look at the tropical seeds that are
available from some online catalogs? I would think of them as
something more suitable for a climate where the temperature is
regularly above the average high that occurs in Antigua, but I really
have no idea.

Please forgive my ignorance about matters of gardening, which is
pretty pathetic considering that my mom is a pretty accomplished
gardener. If I don't receive any replies to this question I'll give
her a call to see if she knows what I should do, although never having
lived in a frost-free environment she might not be all that sure
herself.

Any advice, guidance, or suggestions are highly appreciated. Thank
you!

Applecandy

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message om...
Dear Candysnapple, for somebody from New Jersey, you ask a lot of stupid
questions.

You should never have said you were going to send them seeds in the first
place. They should be sending you seeds of plant you can grow as houseplants
instead.

Obviously, none of the plants you grow outdoors in New Jersey are adapted
for growing in the tropics.

Send them seeds of plants that you can grow outdoors in peninsular Florida
instead.


OK, I feel well-chastised...

Having let me know what a moron I am, would you be able to suggest any
specific plant seeds I might send that would grow well there? My
friends aren't big gardeners--most of the plants in their place were
bought already in pots, which is what's available to them locally (and
is fairly expensive by local standards)--and neither am I. But they
were very hospitable to me while I was there, and I would like to send
them some seeds that would actually grow for them, even if only to
give them some pretty flowers for one season.

When you say that nothing that grows in NJ will grow in Antigua, does
that mean that the seeds would not even germinate at all, or that they
would do poorly in the different (probably more uniform) lengths of
day and night down there, or something else? For example, if I were
to send them some seeds for marigolds or asters or something else that
blooms in the summer in NJ, could they at least get a few weeks or
months' worth of pretty flowers, or would the poor things never bloom
at all?

Thank you to anybody who replies,

Applecandy





"Applecandy" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message news:pV3Uc.19980$mD.2669@attbi_s02...
The previous post was particularly unhelpful. The climate you describe is
much like our zone 10, which includes a lot of coastal southern California,
except for the rain. Many of the plants we grow as annuals are subtropical
in origin and should germinate and do well in that climate, specially in
containers. Impatiens should work, as would morning glories (Ipomoea), seed
dahlias, brugmansia or daturas, heliotrope, pentas and even more common
things like petunias and nasturtiums. Some of these may grow naturally
there, but you could get some more specific cultivars that would be less
common. Avoid sending seeds of our more common perennials - most will
require a period of dormancy that will be non-existant in that climate.

pam - gardengal


Thanks for your advice, Pam, I will look into those varieties as
possibilities.

You are right that the previous post wasn't especially helpful to me,
but the poster seems fairly knowledgeable and I'm hoping that maybe
s/he will be posting a bit more detailed information in response to my
reply.

Thanks for your help,

Applecandy

You are saying New Jersey has the same climate as southern California?

Are you on crack?

You surely could not have visited both places because their climates are
extremely different.

Neither is even close to the tropical climate of Guatemala, which is nothing
like that of zone 10 in the US and certainly not even remotely close to the
Mediterranean climate of southern California.

The plant seeds you suggest are not even those native to the US anyway. None
of them grow naturally in Guatemala either. Most wouldn't survive very long
in the tropical climate of Guatemala. Most of the plants that grow in
Guatemala would need to be grown in a botanical garden in the US and that
should give you some idea what would be better suited for growing there.


"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
newsV3Uc.19980$mD.2669@attbi_s02...
The previous post was particularly unhelpful. The climate you describe is
much like our zone 10, which includes a lot of coastal southern
California,
except for the rain. Many of the plants we grow as annuals are subtropical
in origin and should germinate and do well in that climate, specially in
containers. Impatiens should work, as would morning glories (Ipomoea),
seed
dahlias, brugmansia or daturas, heliotrope, pentas and even more common
things like petunias and nasturtiums. Some of these may grow naturally
there, but you could get some more specific cultivars that would be less
common. Avoid sending seeds of our more common perennials - most will
require a period of dormancy that will be non-existant in that climate.

pam - gardengal


"Applecandy" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Guatemala, and the people in the guest
house I stayed in asked me to send them some flower seeds. However,
since I live in New Jersey, I have no idea what kinds of seeds would
work in Antigua, Guatemala, where the year-round temperature is
basically 60 - 80 degrees with a rainy season and a dry season. I'm
mostly looking for plants that can be grown in a container, and that
would grow well in the climate of Antigua.

How would I go about ascertaining this information? Is there a
website that I could go to, or do I need to have more detailed
information before I can order the proper seeds? The reason I want to
know is because a previous guest once sent these people a few bulbs
from Holland, and none of them ever grew, and I'd like to make sure
that I don't send plants that either won't germinate or will grow
poorly in the local climate.

Any information from some of the experts in this group would be
greatly appreciated!

Applecandy

There's one big factor that I don't think you're considering... sending
seeds to many countries (or receiving them from another country) often
requires a phytosanitary certificate. This is to help protect local
crops from accidentally imported pests and diseases, which could be
potentially devastating (e.g., Dutch Elm Disease, SOD, Asian Longhorn
Beetle in US). Other countries are equally concerned about US diseases
being imported into their country. If you're still interested, have
your friends find out what the rules are in their country for receiving
imported seeds.

Here, for instance, is some information on phytosanitary requirements
for plant materials brought into the USA:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/f...phnursery.html
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/seeds/seedweb.html
Other countries may have similar rules.

Sorry to rain on the parade... it's often easier to give your friends
a gift certificate for a seed company that has the permits in place.

Kay Lancaster

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message om...
You are saying New Jersey has the same climate as southern California?

Are you on crack?

You surely could not have visited both places because their climates are
extremely different.

Neither is even close to the tropical climate of Guatemala, which is nothing
like that of zone 10 in the US and certainly not even remotely close to the
Mediterranean climate of southern California.

SNIP!

Actually, there are several very distinct climates in Guatemala,
because it has both a Carribean and a Pacific coastline, and quite an
array of mountain ranges. The area that includes the capital and
Antigua is at an elevation that means that the temperature rarely goes
above 80F, and at a latitudinal position that means that the
temperature rarely goes below 60F. When I think about "tropical"
climates I think of much higher temperatures and also generally higher
rainfall than occurs in Antigua.

The problem that I am having is that the situation I encountered in
Antigua doesn't seem like anything I've been able to read about on the
Internet, because as you said the situation in Guatemala is rather
remote from the conditions in USA zone 10. I was hoping to find some
suggestions about plants that would at least provide a season's worth
of flowers down there, and thank you to pam for your suggestion of
Impatiens, Ipomoea {morning glories}, dahlias, brugmansia/daturas,
heliotrope, pentas, & petunias and nasturtiums. If I don't get any
more concrete information I'll probably look into getting a few packs
of the varieties you suggested.

Hopefully someone else can provide either some more suggestions or a
commentary on the above-listed plants. I appreciate any and all
advice.

Applecandy

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message om...
You are saying New Jersey has the same climate as southern California?

Are you on crack?

You surely could not have visited both places because their climates are
extremely different.

Neither is even close to the tropical climate of Guatemala, which is nothing
like that of zone 10 in the US and certainly not even remotely close to the
Mediterranean climate of southern California.

SNIP!

Actually, there are several very distinct climates in Guatemala,
because it has both a Carribean and a Pacific coastline, and quite an
array of mountain ranges. The area that includes the capital and
Antigua is at an elevation that means that the temperature rarely goes
above 80F, and at a latitudinal position that means that the
temperature rarely goes below 60F. When I think about "tropical"
climates I think of much higher temperatures and also generally higher
rainfall than occurs in Antigua.

The problem that I am having is that the situation I encountered in
Antigua doesn't seem like anything I've been able to read about on the
Internet, because as you said the situation in Guatemala is rather
remote from the conditions in USA zone 10. I was hoping to find some
suggestions about plants that would at least provide a season's worth
of flowers down there, and thank you to pam for your suggestion of
Impatiens, Ipomoea {morning glories}, dahlias, brugmansia/daturas,
heliotrope, pentas, & petunias and nasturtiums. If I don't get any
more concrete information I'll probably look into getting a few packs
of the varieties you suggested.

Hopefully someone else can provide either some more suggestions or a
commentary on the above-listed plants. I appreciate any and all
advice.

Applecandy

Kay Lancaster wrote in message ...
There's one big factor that I don't think you're considering... sending
seeds to many countries (or receiving them from another country) often
requires a phytosanitary certificate. This is to help protect local
crops from accidentally imported pests and diseases, which could be
potentially devastating (e.g., Dutch Elm Disease, SOD, Asian Longhorn
Beetle in US). Other countries are equally concerned about US diseases
being imported into their country. If you're still interested, have
your friends find out what the rules are in their country for receiving
imported seeds.

Here, for instance, is some information on phytosanitary requirements
for plant materials brought into the USA:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/f...phnursery.html
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/seeds/seedweb.html
Other countries may have similar rules.

Sorry to rain on the parade... it's often easier to give your friends
a gift certificate for a seed company that has the permits in place.

Kay Lancaster

Actually, I'm pretty sure I can send packages of seeds from places
like Park's or Burpee, which are well-sealed, but I'll look into the
phytosanitary requirements for Guatemala just to be sure. Thanks for
the advice.

I've seen a few places with the final dregs of this year's flower
seeds on super-duper clearance, would it make sense for me to send a
few of these with the advice that the plants would bloom for a year
only if they germinated at all? Even in the very unchanging and
temperate climate of Antigua, wouldn't these at least bloom once? Or
are the blooming cycles affected by the different lengths of day &
night, something that certainly doesn't occur in Antigua the way it
does in North America?

Again, I appreciate any replies and/or advice. Thanks!

Applecandy

On 17 Aug 2004 18:40:33 -0700, Applecandy wrote:

Actually, I'm pretty sure I can send packages of seeds from places
like Park's or Burpee, which are well-sealed, but I'll look into the
phytosanitary requirements for Guatemala just to be sure. Thanks for
the advice.

Well-sealed isn't the issue... because there are a fairly large number
of seed-borne diseases that can survive quite nicely in a packet,
sealed or otherwise. What matters is if the seed lot has been tested
for the specific pathogens that they're trying to exclude.

Kay

"Cereus-validus" wrote in message
m...
You are saying New Jersey has the same climate as southern California?

Are you on crack?

You surely could not have visited both places because their climates are
extremely different.

Neither is even close to the tropical climate of Guatemala, which is
nothing
like that of zone 10 in the US and certainly not even remotely close to
the
Mediterranean climate of southern California.

The plant seeds you suggest are not even those native to the US anyway.
None
of them grow naturally in Guatemala either. Most wouldn't survive very
long
in the tropical climate of Guatemala. Most of the plants that grow in
Guatemala would need to be grown in a botanical garden in the US and that
should give you some idea what would be better suited for growing there.

Without resorting to any similar ad hominid attacks, it is quite apparent
you need to do a bit more homework. Guatemala has a range of climatic
conditions ranging from tropical rainforests to subtropical areas in which
the climate is virtually unchangeable year round except for rainy and dry
seasons, as well as higher altitude pine and grassland savanahs in which the
climate resembles large parts of our own southern midwest. As to Guatemalan
plants needing to be grown in a botancial garden here in the US, lets look
at a few of these Guatemalan natives:

Selected species of:
mimosas and acacias
maidenhair ferns
fuchsias
heliotrope
bidens
cuphea (aka Mexican Heather, bat plant)
cleome
dahlias
Ipomoea - morning glories
capiscum - peppers
solanums
oaks and pines
bald cypress
various ornamental grasses
ageratum
scutellaeria
selaginella
lisianthus
gaultheria
passionflower

I find a fair amount of these sold as annuals or veggies at my local nursery
and some of course are extremely hardy (and relatively common) in many parts
of our country.

Not to mention that Guatemala is a huge exporter of melons, avocodo,
broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, snap peas and a whole host of common
flowers for the florist trade. Sounds a bit like the ag biz of Southern
California, doesn't it? A good portion of the produce you find in your
supermarket during the winter months was grown in central America. So to
make a statement that plants grown here can't or won't grow in in Guatemala
or vice versa is just plain silly and very uninformed.

And I didn't notice where the OP specified that the plants she intended to
provide had to be natives - she merely requested ones that would provide a
long season of color and that would grow easily from seed in a container .

pam - gardengal