Perennials in Late Summer

Hello again,
It's been a while since I've posted a blog. My apologies. Hopefully I can make up for it here. There is a mixture of plants that we either grow and will have as new 2011 and some that are still in the trials stage. There are also some nice tried and true plants that were too stunning to pass up. This edition will be the perennials. Shrubs will be coming next week.
Euphorbia 'First Blush'
This is a plant that I've been watching for a couple years now. Two years ago they were planted as small plugs, and now I have some really nice plants in the landscape. Euphorbia in general is not always hardy for this area. Sure there are some like the native E. corrolata that are hardy, and there are some weeds like E. esula that you can't get rid of. But this one shows promise for the garden. Nicely variegated with more pink in spring than now. It grows to 12" tall in a shady location. Interested? Post comments. I'd like to see us do this, but we need some interest first!
Gentiana andewsii
The native Gentiana that we used to carry was such a nice plant. The problem is that it is very difficult to grow. We have a solution for you. While what you see is in fact the native, we are now carrying a variety called Gentiana 'True Blue' which is very close to start blooming in the pots. It shows an incredible amount of potential in the containers, and if you are interested in this type of plant, I highly recommend it. It is available now, and will be new in our catalog for 2011!
Geranium Rozanne
I was always a 'Jolly Bee' backer, but now I'll get with the program and back up Rozanne. Truthfully, she is a non-stop bloomer as well. I've tried planting her with Geranium 'Biokovo' to see how the combination will work. 'Biokovo' has a much shorter bloom time, but I think the fall colors of 'Biokovo' are going to really compliment the blue-purple flowers of Rozanne. Stay tuned!
Parthenium integrifolium
This is a very underutilized native plant. When I first saw this at the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park I fell in love. Bright white flowers act like beacons to bees in the daytime. This image was taken in the morning before the bees were awake. We have this in combination with Liatris spicata and Eryngium yuccifolium and they make a great combination together. These plants can handle the drought, so it offers up something nice for those difficult areas.
Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'
I've always loved the large panicle flowers of 'Autumn Bride'. Every year when I see this plant, I wonder why it isn't used more often. This is pictured in an area that is half day sun and they are very successful. Also at the Lurie garden in a similar location, this can brighten up a semi-shady spot and look great in combination with Anemone 'September Charm' or for Spring blooms, Geranium 'Bevan's Variety'.

Allium senescens glaucum
One of the last Allium to bloom in the landscape here at Midwest. Allium 'Ozawa' being the last. I've tried a planting of this with Stachys minima. The Stachys will begin to bloom in late June early July. They are spent now, but the seed heads are very attractive. The flowers of the Allium float above the twisted foliage and in this image aren't fully open yet. When they are, they are a site to see.

Pennisetum 'Piglet'
This is one of the best Fountain Grasses on the market. Reliably hardy, it blooms fairly early and looks great long into the fall. While some Pennisetum are known to be seedy, this one has not shown to be so. I have not seen any seedlings anywhere near the plant. Hopefully it remains this way. There are several types that are supposed to be dwarf in the industry, but not all of them are reliably hardy. Try this and be satisfied!
Sorghastrum 'Indian Steel'
We used to carry an Indian Grass named 'Sioux Blue'. That became increasingly difficult to produce and find liners for. Therefore, we have switched over to the very similar 'Indian Steel'. In my opinion, the foliage of 'Indian Steel' is more blue overall. The flowers are now just starting to emerge, and this grass, is in a bit of shade. Therefore, with complete confidence, I can recommend this for a part shaded location. It still gets a majority of the day in full sun, but mornings are completely shaded.

Phlox arendsii 'Babyface'
We are always searching for good Phlox cultivars that are mildew resistant. This variety, being from a different species than P. paniculata seems to fit the bill. I have not seen any mildew on this plant this year even though it is surrounded by varieties loaded with mildew. This one only grows to 24" tall and also has the opportunity to rebloom. This flowered all the way back in June and the deer ate all the flowers off. Now they are back for another show. This will be new in the catalog for 2011, but we do have some available to you now in 2010!
Phlox paniculata 'David's Lavender'
Here is a P. paniculata that has seriously outperformed expectations. This has been in our catalog, but I don't think it has really caught on yet. The color of the blooms in morning is magical. Of all the cultivars in the landscape, this one demands attention. They have grown to 3' tall, but are completely free of mildew. Others nearby are covered in mildew. The flowers of this mixed with Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' is stunning. That combination in the back of a border with Sesleria autumnalis up front could be a real show stopper!

Thanks again for taking the time to read. You will be seeing a lot more from this blog in the near future. Until next time, have a great day!

Green Walls

Hello again,
Midwest Groundcovers is always trying to be in the front of the newest trends. Made with Sedum sexangular and Sedum album, this is one of our newest projects. Green Walls! With a concentration on detail, these two made a very nice display that we now have hanging at our location.

Summer Is Perfect For American Beauties Native Plants!

Right now our Midwestern prairies come into one of their most beautiful seasons! The purple / pinks of the Echinaceas fade and the warm yellows and oranges of summer pop up as the prairie grows in height and complexity. Look for Heliopsis, Asclepias tuberosa and the soon to be bobbing tall yellow flowerheads on Silphium species.

For summer Garden Center sales, bring a fresh crop of these lovely summer American Beauties into your store. It's not too late to plant, and American Beauties are the perfect solution. Listen to what young gardener, Christian Keller, has to say about American Beauties:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hty0HWBn32A

Featured in the video:

• Amorpha canescens - Lead Plant (full sun, dry soils, 2-3' tall, attracts butterflies)
• Eupatorium dubium 'Little Joe' - Little Joe Dwarf Joe Pye Weed (full-part sun, consistently moist soils, 3-4' tall, attracts butterflies)
• Silphium perfoliatum - Cup Plant (full sun, moist-wet soils, 6-8' tall, leaf base forms cup which holds water)
• Dalea purpurea - Purple Prairie Clover (full sun, dry soils, 2-3' tall, attracts butterflies)
• Echinacea paradoxa - Yellow Coneflower (full sun, dry soils, 2-3' tall, bright yellow)
• Geranium maculatum - Wild Geranium (full-part sun, consistently moist soils, 1.5-2' tall, lavendar pink flowers)

Learn more about the American Beauties Native Plants Program here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rxgkIhj6RM&NR=1

NEW! Ground cover in Ellepots

By: Christa Orum-Keller

At Midwest, we are always looking for the next new thing which can be useful to our customers and improve our green industry practices. And we are constantly looking for your feedback from the field - especially when we present something new.

Over the last year, we have been trialing the growing of ground covers in Ellepots. If you're not familiar with Ellepots, they are a biodegradable unit into which we can plant; the Ellepot sits in a plastic tray, but it eliminates the tray insert plastic and you can plant it without having to remove it from the tray insert. It could save time and $$ on ground cover planting projects and it saves the insert layer of plastic.

We've trialed soil mixes, various sizes of Ellepots and different species and now we're ready to share Ellepot ground covers with you!

This is still a trial program, but we have some inventory available currently, both items for sale and also some trial samples. Check with your sales representative for complete information.

First - the Ellepots we've grown in are the 30, 50 and 65 millemeter sizes. The 50 mm is close to Midwest traditional 3" size. Here's a photo of the three sizes side by side:












The plants we have for open sales are:

• Ajuga reptans 'Bronze Beauty' in the 50mm Ellepot
• Hedera h. 'Thorndale' in the 65 mm Ellepot
• Pachysandra t. 'Green Carpet' in the 65 mm Ellepot
• Vinca minor 'Darts Blue' in the 50 mm Ellepot

In addition we have a mixed assortment of various Sedum species in all three sizes in different soils. These are available as trial samples for small or larger jobs. We have 2-300 flats of each size available of mixed Sedum sp. Please check with your sales or customer service representative if you are interested in trying any of the Ellepots ground covers on a purchase or trial basis.

We are interested in your feedback on these topics:

• How do the plants root in if you are planting them in a mass planting in the ground?
• Do the Ellepot ground cover overwinter any differently than usual 3" material?
• If you use the Sedum in a green roof planting, how do they root in, perform and overwinter?
• What size do you prefer? 30, 50 or 65 mm?
• Should we grow more and add them to our regular line? If so, what ground cover should be part of the line?
• Could you see Ellepot ground cover replacing our 3" ground cover line?

100th Blog!

Hello again,

We've had a lot of great people post their favorite plants thus far. And a couple other blogs in between. There has been a request that I do my favorite plant. And I thought I'd save it for the 100th blog. I've been preparing and preparing, and then the shocker! The patent police are claiming Geranium 'Jolly Bee' invalid. DNA says it's too close to Geranium Rozanne. Most would think that I could easily make the switch. But my loyalties are to 'Jolly Bee', the first plant I've ever been able to definitively say was my favorite. So instead of giving you just one, I have to give you my top ten for sun. The top ten for shade will be seen in a future Landscape Contractor article. So my top ten sun plants in no particular order.

Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'Such a great overall plant. Very little maintenance is ever required. It makes a stunning perennial hedge, and is the perennial meatball without any pruning for the meatball lover. Plants can be pruned back after flowering to encourage new floral growth.

Amsonia x 'Blue Ice'This is one that always attracts attention when in bloom. It has multiple uses like the Geranium above in that it can also be used as a perennial hedge. In our landscape it is planted with Geranium 'Jolly Bee' and that crawls over the top of Amsonia when it is not in bloom. This extends the time of beauty and usefulness of this plant.

Penstemon digitalisThis is a great native with so many uses as well. The seed heads are so attractive that I've placed those here instead of the flowers. I am very smitten with the flowers as well. Late June these will be blooming their hearts out in front of our nursery. They line IL Route 25 and create clouds of white in early summer.

Allium 'Summer Beauty'I've talked about this a few times in the three years of the blog. Here it is pictured with Festival® Burgundy in a container last year. The combination of these two plants was quite nice. The tropical Festival® Burgundy highlighted the bright green foliage of the Allium. Look at past posts if you would like more information on Allium 'Summer Beauty'.

Campanula 'Samantha'This is one of those plants I thought would be an instant hit. It is a much easier plant to deal with than other Campanula. Namely better than 'Blue Clips'. This flowers for a very extended bloom time and is a great combination with Dianthus 'Firewitch' for early season bloom.

Asclepias incarnata This is the plant that should assume the name of "Butterfly Weed". I see more insects fluttering around this plant than any other plant in the garden. The array of butterflies it attracts is quite impressive. A great plant for the rain garden or any location where it may be moist. Monarch butterflies use the foliage for their larvae. An amazing plant!

Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'This is a non-aggressive Solidago. Flowers that explode in late summer last for quite some time. They make a remarkable combination with Panicum 'Dewey Blue' or Rosa Flower Carpet® Scarlet. In early spring, the foliage is also attractive with reddish tints dominating the look.

Echinacea 'Pica Bella'The Echinacea trend continues to pour out new varieties left and right. This one is one that has a lot of staying power. My mother does not particularly care for coneflowers. She finds the drooping petals depressing. 'Pica Bella' solves that by having very straight rays of petals. The color is fantastic and it also has nice dark stems. Goldfinches enjoy the seeds throughout the winter as well!

Eupatorium dubium 'Little Joe' I have to admit that I wasn't that fond of Joy Pye Weed until I met 'Little Joe' He was a little shorter and could stand up straight. Others would lean over and just didn't command the attention of the upright 'Little Joe'. Butterflies, especially Painted Ladies, seem to love this plant. Seed heads remain attractive into winter.

Calamintha nepeta ssp nepetaCalamintha is one of my favorite plants for many reasons. First and foremost is the bloom time. From late June all the way to frost, the tiny white flowers can be seen in abundance. When temperatures are low at night, the flowers transform to a light lavender. Another reason I love this plant is that it attracts all sorts of bees. The honeybee population is quite outstanding and can be heard from afar on a quiet night once we've closed.

These are some of my favorite plants. Of course like I said, there will be an article in the Landscape Contractor that covers my favorite shade perennials. And neither of these lists has my favorite shrubs or trees. I have a lot of favorites. What are some of yours? Please let me know and I'll post them here. Thanks again for reading, and until next time, have a great day!