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Online Perennial Database?

Posted by swedish_miss z5 southern NH (My Page) on
Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 11:58

Has anyone found a really good online perennial database? I use the photos and plant info to search for plants in designing my garden, and I have visited many sites, but I find most nursery sites to be inadequate. They generally only show what they sell, so if you search "achillea", you might get 5, or maybe 10, but I would like to see many more, so I could learn if there were a deep purple one, or a short pink one, etc., for the spot I am trying to fill.

Ideally, it would:
- be searchable by common/latin name
- have good pictures for each plant & cultivar (preferably that show up in the search results, not that you have to click through each name to get to, which is really time consuming)
- provide, if not full info, at least basic data on each type, such as size, zone, light requirements, etc. so I could quickly decide if the plant might be a good fit
- Oh - and be free!

(It would be REALLY great if it would show not only a closeup of the flower, but a middle distance shot of the plant fully grown - sometimes it's very hard to get an idea of what the mature plant will be shaped like from the pictures you usually see.)

Any thoughts?


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Online Perennial Database?

This one might not supply all the info you are looking for but it's pretty good.

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Heritage Perennials


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

MOBOT is terrific/ my fav.

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantinfo.shtml

but remember, GOOGLE is your best friend. Type in the latin or common name, look through the various sites and find the ones that please you. same with Google Image; that's how i found MOBOT.
also, various plant types have their own best web sites (like the Clematis Society for clems.)including specialty nurseries . Ex.: Plant Delights for rare perennials; Broken Arrow for woodies; Forest Farm for trees and shrubs and conifers; Buchholz and Buchholz for J Maples etc.
I usually find the best info and the best photos- at different sites.
best,
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: univ of missouri botanical/MOBOT


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

I love perennials.com and MOBOT too. They were basically the first two databases I used for many searches.

The USDA plants database is great for scientific information on plants.

For North American natives, I often check the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower database.

Because I live in New England (as I noticed you do too), I often search the Connecticut Botanical Society database, which focuses on plants in Connecticut, but there is a lot of overlap.


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

I agree. There's not 1 site that does it all. The Hortiplex here on GW is often helpful to me. You can add your own pics & comments, too.


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

Thanks for the ideas. Would love to hear of others people like! @arbo return, you're right - most of my searching is all about google.

Meanwhile, I found another place, which has both a plant database (just pictures however, not cultivar info) as well as some of the most jaw-dropping garden picture collections I've seen.

http://www.gapphotos.com/plantdatabasesearch.asp (the database)

http://www.gapphotos.com/visualfeaturesearch.asp (garden photos) For a real knock out featuring Piet Oudolf, click on "Themed Gardens" and then scroll down and click on "Pensthorpe". WOW WOW WOW.


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

another good reason to start off with google is that it will help you spell it as you type (LOVE that) and also show you species and cultivars to pick from to finalize your search term.

After doing it enough, the sites that rise to the top of the search results will become familiar enough to you, that you will know which ones to go to.

Do you know you can create your own custom google search engine to limit your search to a specific set of domains? I have one in my iGoogle home page.

Do you know that if you simply add "site:.edu" to your search term, you will not get any commercial sites. Also site:.org is usually good for picking up society sites.


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RE: Online Perennial Database?

I have found this one to be helpful. Check out:
http://www.perennialresource.com/search/?searchterm=perennial+plant+fi nder&searchtype=all
and
http://www.perennialresource.com/encyclopedia/

It may not be complete, but I have run into it quite a bit when searching for information on a plant in question.


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