Trial Garden Update

Every picture tells a story, so today's post is photographic journal of what is looking good in our trial garden. Our test garden is a fantastic resource for our nursery. It is a big investment to maintain such a large garden, but It allows us to test new plants and compare them to older cultivars.

It is here that we learn about a plants traits, both the good and bad, and determine if a plant is good enough to be introduced. Here is a sampling of plants that caught my eye over the last few weeks. What do you like and why?  

Calycanthus 'Aphrodite'

Festivus Gold a new compact ninebark from the Netherlands with bright gold foliage

Black Lace Elderberry is at its best when you let it grow big

Golden Glitter new variegated selection of Halward's Silver dwarf spirea. Every inch is covered with flowers.

Summer Wine Ninebark is wide, cascading shrub that flowers all along the stems.

Spilled Wine Weigela continues to impress visitors.  

Happy Face White Potentilla flowers earlier and heavier than other selections

Oso happy Smoothie is thornless shrub rose. It's a personal favorite. Very hardy. Very floriferous.   

Glow Girl Spirea is as neat as a pin without pruning. Great flowers, foliage, form and fall color.

The JC Raulston Arboretum - A Plant Lovers Candy Store

In my last post I featured Lo & Behold 'Blue Chip', a new dwarf buddleia developed by Dr. Dennis Werner. I should have noted that Dr. Werner is the Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum, which is run by NC State University.

If you love plants and if you have plans to visit Raleigh, North Carolina, then a visit to the JCRA is essential. It is one of my favoite places to visit because I always come across many new plants that I never seen before.

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed garden with the most diverse collection of cold hardy temperate zone plants in the southeastern United States. As a part of the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, the Arboretum is primarily a working research and teaching garden that focuses on the evaluation, selection and display of plant material gathered from around the world. Plants especially adapted to Piedmont North Carolina conditions are identified in an effort to find better plants for southern landscapes.
The Arboretum is an 8-acre jewel that has been largely built and maintained by NC State University students, faculty, volunteers, and staff. The Arboretum is named in honor of its late director and founder, J. C. Raulston, Ph.D., who founded it in 1976.

Plant collections include over 5,000 total taxa (species and/or cultivars) of annuals, perennials, bulbs, vines, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees from over 50 different countries, which are displayed in a beautiful garden setting.

Plant breeding has been, and continues to be, a part of the arboretums function. While Lo & behold Buddleia ‘Blue Chip’ is the newest plant to be released from the arboretum, many of you have also heard of Sinocalycanthus ‘Hartlage Wine’, which was also developed at the JCRA. This remarkable plant was the first hybrid between Calycanthus and Sinocalycanthus.

Two excellent ways to stay in touch with what is happening at the JCRA is through the frequent e-mail postings from the Cuttings from the JC Raulston Arboretum listserv and the JCRA e-Updates. Cuttings from the JC Raulston Arboretum features current events and developments at the Arboretum. The monthly JCRA e-Updates offer another great way to read about current and upcoming happenings at the Arboretum.

Have you every visited the JC Raulston Arboretum? Please post a comment let us what you think.