Back in the spring when I was still excited about gardening and not beaten down by the constraints of pests, weather, time and bad luck I introduced you to some of the new varieties I was going to grow this year. DID the Cosmic Cherry Petunias taste like cherries?
Cosmic Cherry petunias, from Baker Creek Seeds, are advertised as not only being beautiful, but tasting like cherry with a strong scent. That was the only reason I grew them. The cherry taste.
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Cosmic Cherry Petunia
So do Cosmic Cherry petunias taste like cherry??
NOT AT ALL.
None. There is no cherry flavour at all. They taste mildly like ... a flower.
Do they have a strong scent?
No.
They did however have the unique ability to enrage me, which few flowers have ever attained.
When you think you are going to eat a cherry flavoured flower and DO NOT GET THAT it's upsetting. And false advertising.
PROS:
The flowers are fairly large with very ruffled petals and the dark colour is nice.
CONS:
Slow to grow, needs a lot of pinching to fill out, no cherry favour at all
DROPSHOT
You won't get pretty flowers with it, but the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.
Giant Rose Petunia
Similar to the Cosmic Cherry this petunia was also supposed to have a strong scent and flavour.
NOPE.
PROS
Makes a great cut flower. These very large, ruffled blooms last several days in a vase. I'd consider growing them again in large quantities, just for flower arrangements.
CONS
Slower growing than other petunias I've grown, no flavour or scent to speak of.
Beuna Mulata Peppers
This plant did exactly as advertised. It grew plenty of hot peppers that start out purple, and gradually turn red when ripe.
PROS
Prolific little plant that was spitting out peppers before anything else. Grows well in a small planter so you can always have a hot pepper on hand plus looks very ornamental because of the colours.
CONS
None so far.
Red Torch Tomato (AAS winner)
Pretty striped oblong tomato that produces early and often. Upside down it does look like a torch flame.
PROS
It looks good, and the tomato plant is still alive with is pretty impressive for my area that's riddled with blight. Flavour is good, you know, it ... tastes like a tomato.
CONS
I'm not sure how the judges overlooked the very tough skin. The thickness of the skin on the Red Torch was enough to prevent me from growing it again. Skin like a Costco hot dog.
Sun Coral Candy Coleus (AAS winner)
I tried over and over again to get a photo that accurately depicts the colour of this coleus. It changes with the light. At dusk it looks almost fluorescent. Each coral leaf is edged with a lime green that fades as the leaf gets older.
I loved this one.
PROS
The colour truly is a showstopper, it's growing happily in the base of a potted tomato in my backyard. To propagate it all you have to do is pinch the top off of the plant and stick it in soil. I've done this a few times to fill in some bare spots in the planter.
CONS
None so far.
As I was creating the pergola cover a couple of weeks ago I finishing winding my potted tomato up its string and pinched off the top.
You can see the coleus at the base of it.
IN SUMMARY
Would I recommend it?
- Cosmic Cherry Petunia - No
- Giant Rose Petunia - Yes
- Buena Mulata Pepper - Yes
- Red Torch tomato - No
- Sun Coral Candy Coleus - Yes
Closer to the end of the season I'll review more of the new varieties I grew this year including greens that are supposed to taste just like Wasabi, Black from Tula tomato, Apricotta cosmos, and Sweet Jade kabocha squash.
If you grew any of these and have the same OR opposite reaction that I did, lemme everyone know in the comment section!
I strongly disagree about the Cosmic Cherry Petunia. While it doesn't really smell like cherries, and I didn't try tasting it, the blooms are amazing. Mine kept blooming and blooming, and the flowers are huge. Each one looked a little differen from the last. But they were really beautiful and ruffly, with a robin's egg blue pistil that contrasted with the purple of the flower. I will definitely grow this one every year.
where did u get rudabaga to plant?
big ask
have you considered a listing of what you tried and whether it was worth it?im not sure of my gardening zone
right on the edge of the lake erie
Hi Susan! That sounds maybe like a winter post. I've grown a LOT of different things and it would take me that long just to remember what I've grown, lol. But it is a good idea. ~ karen!
Thank you for this post. I too ordered the cherry petunia seeds. They are a beautiful flower, but zilch as far as fragrance and taste. I thought I was going crazy thinking that I couldn't taste or smell anything. They are supposed to make a good dye and I grew them in my dye garden and thought that the taste and smell would be a bonus!
They probably do make a good dye (you have a dye garden?!!) but eating them like cherries would have been more fun. :/ ~ karen!
Omg the blight this year suuuuuuuuucks! Wtf! All the work for this crap. At least I got some but nothing like I should have. I need more pan con tomate in my life lol
OH NOOOOOO! I ordered the seeds for the 'cherry' petunias and was way late getting them planted so ours are just now beginning to show signs of flowering. I was so looking forward to tasting them - rats. Oh well, now I know not to bother. Hopefully they still have time to bloom! BTW - this is a GREAT post! Signed, late sower in Milwaukee, WI.
Ooooh, can't wait to hear about that kabocha!
I planted Apricotta cosmos, both from starts and direct seeding. The seedlings died and the seeds didn’t sprout. However the old-fashioned pink cosmos flourished. I won’t try them again.
Not able to comment on things I've grown this year (for lack of things grown), but need to say that your photos are so well done. You've got the eye and skill to capture the looks.
Thanks Deb! Now I'm going to have to go back and look at the photos, lol. More garden photos (45 of them!) coming up next week of my entire community plot vegetable garden. ~ karen!
I'm done with Baker Creek Seeds. Their catalog is amazing but I've grown too many varieties from them that just are not what they said they would be.
This, and their poor germination has me given up on them.
I grew the Cosmic Cherry petunias, too, and I was so disappointed when they didn't taste or smell as advertised! I was really looking forward to using them in tea, baking, etc. as the catalog advertised. They are big and beautiful - one was enough to make a lovely hat for my dog - so there is that.
Now that you've said that we can probably expect to see Baker Creek advertise them as "grow your own dog Halloween costume" in next year's catalogue. ~ karen!
Hello Karen, I absolutely love your garden trials and tribulations. I am growing the apricotta cosmos from Baker Creek Seeds and the colour is a lovely apricot/ pinky mix. The plants are now about 4-5 feet tall and very bushy! I did pinch them out as Monty from Gardener’s World suggested. I can also recommend Barry’s crazy cherry from Baker Creek Seeds. Lots of sweet yellow cherry tomatoes…it’s crazy!
Happy gardening from Montreal!
Hi Linda! Thanks! My apricotta cosmos haven't bloomed yet. I got a slow start seeding them. So I'm really excited to see what they look like. ~ karen!
Karen, your "report" was super useful. So sorry about the cherry flavoured petunias. Stupid sales pitch! >:-/ I didn't grow any of the plants you listed but I'm looking to get some more colour on my west facing deck next year. Your coleus looks like a fire in a pot!
Our deck is shaded by black elderberry. Yeah, not the brightest idea we had, planting those so they over hang the deck, but they do the main job of keeping keep the west facing deck much cooler. Also the birds love berries.
They really do look like they're on fire at night. They get a fair amount of sun in that spot, but not all day. ~ karen!
I also grew the cosmic cherry petunia. Lovely blooms but very disappointed with the lack of cherry flavour. I wouldn’t make the large investment into a packet of seeds but I have some leftover so will use them up next year.
Black from Tula tomatoes were also on my list as well as the Txorixero peppers which are both just ripening now.
The tomatoes seem to have a more dense fruit than other tomatoes but the flavour is lovely. I have used them in salads rather than as a stand alone beefsteak in a tomato sandwich which is pretty much all we eat these days - maybe I should just stop growing everything else but beefsteak tomatoes.
The peppers I haven’t tasted yet but they are beautiful and the plants are prolific.
So far, I’m a no for the cosmic cherry petunia, and yes for the other two.
I'm at least relieved to know it wasn't just me and everyone had the same experience with the petunias. ~ karen!
With all the rain we’ve had this year in Vermont, I might as well have grown flowers to ea. I usually grown so many zucchini that people avoid me; I finished up last year’s frozen bounty in July. I have had ONE zuch so far. No ripe tomatoes so far.
I may just quit.
" Misery loves company". I'm in same situation from central Vermont and I may never see a ripe tomato since blight has set in.
Nonsense. You're not a quitter. ~ karen!
We grew the Buena mulattas! Love them.
They are impressive. ~ karen!
Interesting.
Pity that false advertising has extended to seed packets.
I grew the giant rose petunia and they are beautiful but same results as you. Very slow to bulk up and flower. However,
would grow again just for the gorgeous flowers. Totally forgot that they were supposed to be fragrant. Will give them a sniff and see.
It was definitely a disappointment. There are OTHER varieties that they claimed would taste like certain things that do however, so I'm happy at least about that. ~ karen!
Which ones are those, may I ask? Would love a round-up of your experiences with Baker Seeds (or any other seed places you'd care to share) in one place. Let's suffer and/or rejoice together!