Last of the New Perennials

Hello again,
This is the last of the new editions! 2009 will hopefully be very good for us all. Midwest Groundcovers has decided to add all of these new plants hoping that the economy recovers in time for everyone to buy some! All in all, I've posted information for 70 new plants this winter. I can't wait to start talking about what's going on in the landscape. I have spring fever, that's for sure. It won't be long until the doldrums of winter are over. I like winter for it's anticipation effect, but I feel like I've accumulated enough anticipation for one winter that it's okay for spring to take over. So with great excitement, here are the last of the new plants for spring 2009!

Leucanthemum 'Gold Rush'

Shasta daisies are coming out in all shapes and forms. It's not quite the Echinacea boom, but there surely has been an increase in cultivars for this group. Unfortunately, it was too new to make the Chicago Botanic Gardens trials, but I'm sure anyone purchasing will be happy with this gem. Foliage is clean and flowers are fantastic. They have a very predominant yellow center where the inner most petals are yellow eventually fading to white. The outer petals, white all of the time, are of finer texture than other types of Leucanthemum. Mix this with Veronica 'Purpleicious' for a purple and white combo.

Iris siberica 'Temper Tantrum'

A few years ago, a landscape architect gave me the idea of a non-traditional kids garden with Iris 'Temper Tantrum', Geranium 'Tiny Monster' and Pennisetum 'Piglet'. We never did anything with it, but I imagine those plants would look pretty good together. Of course, the Iris would like a little more water than the others mentioned. For this plant, a picture tells a thousand words. I did not photoshop this one. It really looks that good!

Sedum 'Hab Gray'It was a Tony Avent presentation several years ago in Wisconsin that turned me onto this plant. Tony was talking about all the great new Sedum that were on the market and this one really stood out to me. I personally am a bigger fan of the plant without flowers than with, but it is nice either way. The flowers are a reddish-pink. My favorite part of this plant is its bright red stems against the blue-gray foliage which can become invisible with the flowers. When we had the heavy rains two years ago, this was one of two plants that did not flop. A highly recommended plant for the dry landscape.

Stachys grandiflora 'Rosea'
This is a Roy Diblik favorite! If you are familiar with Stachys 'Hummelo', than this isn't too much of a stretch for your plant palette. Very similar in all parts with the exception of its more pastel pink flower color. It does prefer some moisture to look its best, but it can handle many conditions. In Roy's Know MaintenanceTM approach, he uses this plant intermixed with Stachys 'Hummelo', and it creates a nice contrast of colors.

Solidago 'Little Lemon'
This is not your grandmother's Solidago! Sorry for the cliche, but I found this plant to be worthy of one. Only standing 15"-18" tall, it is often described as "cute" by passersby. In our garden we have interplanted it with Deschampsia 'Goldtau' which was quite nice if I do say so myself. It is more yellow than gold, which means you can use many different colors with it. Whites, reds, pinks, purples and blues would all look good next to Little Lemon.

Ligularia 'Britt Marie-Crawford'A superb selection of Ligularia if I've ever seen one. It is much darker than old favorites, 'Desdemona' and 'Othello'. I also believe it to be more tolerant of dry conditions. In our landscape, it was planted on top of a hill with a lot of direct sun. It has done remarkably well. It is pictured here with Stachys 'Big Ears', another indication of it's drought tolerance. A nice Ligularia for your shady spot in the garden. With moisture, it will look even better!!!

Ligularia 'Little Rocket'
A fraction of the size of 'The Rocket', this one has also displayed some drought tolerance. You can see the 'Britt Marie-Crawford' planted behind it. These were both on a hill without a lot of water for two seasons now. They have 2' flower spikes in July that can really brighten up the shady spot in the garden. Would it be bad to discontinue 'The Rocket' now that there is a more refined variety? Doesn't everyone want a smaller plant? Regardless of those answers, I believe that these two Ligularia are much different than their predecessors. These are tough plants, good for most any gardener. They can break the mold of the finicky, always wilting Ligularias of the past. Great job by the breeders on these!

Aah, the last of the new plants. Now I can spend some time outside looking for next years new plants! If you have been following since the beginning, thanks for taking the time to look at all these great new offerings, and please keep watching as new information continues to come up on a weekly basis! Thanks for reading, and until next time, have a great day!