Award Winning New Plants at Plantarium

Every year plant breeders from around the world bring their best new plants to the Plantarium in the Netherlands. The best of the best win either bronze, silver or gold medals. With over 150 new plants being introduced, winning an award is very difficult so even those plants that receive a bronze medal are very fortunate. Here are a few of the best new plants of 2014-2015. What's your favorite?

The yellow flowered Sunny Anniversary wins a silver medal

Denny Werner's Buddleia Lo & Behold Pink Micro Chip wins a silver

Caluna 'Silvia' wins a bronze

Campsus Orangeade wins a bronze

Campsus Summer Jazz Fire wins gold

Echinacea lMooodz Shiny wins a bronze

Helenium Fuego wins a bronze

Hydrangea Miss Saori wins a bronze

Nepeta Purssian Blue wins a bronze

Tiny Wine dwarf Physocarpus wins a silver medal

Lemony Lace Sambucus wins a bronze medal to go along with it's two Far-West awards 

Bert Verhoef's All Summer Red Weigela wins a silver

Lemony Lace™ Sambucus

As many of you know I have a fondness for Sambucus (elder or elderberry). Here is a new variety that should be a great garden companion to Black Lace™ Sambucus. This one is called Lemony Lace™ elder and is the result of a cross between Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold', a gold leaf selection from Les Kerr, and Sambucus racemosa 'Dropmore Fernleaf', a finely cut, green leaf plant that came from Canadian plant breeder Frank Skinner.  Lemon Lace elder combines the best characteristics of each parent giving us a compact plant, with extremely fine cut, lemon-lime foliage.  

This is one rugged plant. The seedlings that come out of the initial cross were planted out in full sun to cull out the weaker, more burn susceptible plants. After four years and a lot of dead and tattered seedlings, Lemony Lace elder emerged the survivor of the fittest.

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Much like 'Sutherland Gold', the foliage emermges an attractive dark red, then changes to yellow as the foliage matures. Unlike Black Lace™ and Black Beauty™  which are cultivars of the European species Sambucus nigra, Sambucus racemosa does not have showy flowers. And instead of edible, black fruit, this species has bright red fruit that should never be eaten. 

Hardy in zones 3-7, Lemony Lace™ elder is adaptable most climates and to most well drained soils. In northern regions it will do best in full sun and will require some dappled shade in warmer southern climates. It appears that this selection is lower and wider in stature compared 'Southerland Gold'. It is most certainly smaller in stature than Black Beauty and Black Lace elderberries. If you love yellow leafed plants or if you like fine textured plants Sambucus Black Lace then this may be a plant for you.  

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 Czech Republic: A Plant Hunter Pictorial

Traveling to the Czech Republic to look for plants has been on my radar for a number of years.  It has a temperate continental climate not all that different from that of the Mid-West United States. In addition they have a long history and appreciation for ornamental gardening.  Yet every time I had planned a trip in the past, I had to cancel it. This summer it finally happened, and here is a visual summary of our trip.

Our first stop was Prague, the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic.  Prague is a beautiful mid-evil town and as it turns out the home of an old college friend. So after a tour of the famous Charles Bridge we met my friend in the town center for a cold Pils beer. 

Beer is another reason to get to the Czech Republic. As many of you well know I appreciate a good brew, so traveling to Bohemia, the home of the Pilsner, is like traveling to Mecca only better.      

It took me a bit of time and effort, but I did it. I found the best beer in Bohemia. This unfiltered, unpasteurized Gambrinus was mighty tasty. I highly recommend it to anyone that does not appreciate the high fructose corn syrup beverages so cleverly marketed as beer State-side.

As far as finding new plants, we found a few. The Czech Republic is well known for it's conifer collectors and conifer nurseries and we visited quite a few. 

This particular grower was well known for sowing and growing witches broom seed, so just about every plant in his garden was a unique individual.    

The Czech Republic is a beautiful and picturesque country and the people are very friendly. After one of our nursery visits our host took us to a scared monastery a top this small mountain. My understanding is that Pilgrims climb the mountain to better appreciate the suffering of Christ. We took a van.

It's also my upstanding that the Czech people are allowed to ferment and distill a certain amount of plum brandy. And while I can attest that it's very strong, I was told it keeps you very healthy. The man that shared this bottle with us told us his mom drank it every day and lived to the ripe old age of 52. (Just kidding) She lived a very happy life to 100. 

As I said before everyone was so friendly. Everyone we met shared their plum wine and wished us a long and healthy life. 

There also appears to be a strong interest in rock gardening in the Czech Republic. We were fortunate enough to visit several beautiful, hillside rock gardens. One of the nurseries we visited  hybridizes and selects new rock garden plants like this beautiful Lewisia seen here.

Believe it or not we drank more than beer and plum brandy in the Czech Republic. One of our hosts made this delicious elder flower lime water. It was wonderfully refreshing.   

The food was also delicious. One of my favorites was the garlic soup. Yum!  

One thing that caught my eye while traveling was common use of Parthenocissus quinquefolia, our native American Virginia-creeper. It is a real easy way to create a green wall (or a red wall)  without any complicated infrastructure.   

The invention of the GPS has made our trips so much easier than they were just a few years ago. I highly recommend one that pronounces the street names. Notice the name of the street we're on and note that Dale seems to be veering off the road a bit. He must be passing someone.  

As for my trip (and for this blog post), all good things must come to an end. We had a wonderful trip to the Czech Republic. I am sorry (not really) if you were expecting me to write more about plants. But if you had taken the time to read my bio you would have learned that this blog is about plants, people, the places I visit and the food and drink I discover along the way. Thanks for coming along.   

Goodbye!   

Flowering Shrub Evolution - Part II

Lo & Behold Dwarf Butterfly Bush

In my last post I wrote about new breakthrough plants that have changed the evolution of flowering shrubs. This post continues the discussion, and I've listed the shrubs that I think have changed the way we think about, and use them in our gardens and landscapes.

Have I left anything off the list? Send me your thoughts and comments.

Plant Name - Significance to the Industry

Abelia mosenensis
A Zone 4 Abelia with better fragrance than Viburnum carlesii

Berberis thun. ‘Concorde’
Dwarf, grape purple foliage, that’s nearly sterile

Buddleia davidii
English Butterfly Series™
A new series with dwarf growth. They actually look good in a one gallon.

Buddleia Lo & BeholdA new dwarf  series of Buddleia. Sterile.

Caryopteris incana Sunshine Blue®
A hardy, strong growing Caryopteris with bright yellow foliage and rich blue flowers. Move over Worchester Gold. Move over Gold Mound Spiraea?

Caryopteris Petit Bleu™
A dwarf Caryopteris with dark glossy leaves

Clethra ‘Hummingbird’
Sixteen Candles may be the best, but it was Hummingbird that started it all.

Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’
Andy Brand discovers the first pink Clethra that actually stays pink.

Corylus a. ‘Red Majestic’ pp#16,048
The first contorted filbert with red foliage. Year round excitement.

Deutzia gracilis Chardonnay Pearls®
The first Deutzia with season long color. Bright lemon yellow foliage rivals Spiraea

Diervilla ‘Butterfly’
Landscaper know the Diervilla is as tough as nails but Butterfly is attractive enough for retail

Euonymus alatus ‘Rudy Haag’
Grow this dwarf selection to be environmentally proactive in the fight against invasives.

Forsythia ‘Golden Peep’
Who has room for a 12 foot Forsythia? Not me, nor do many people. This is a great plant for around the deck

Fothergilla major ‘Blue Shadows’
A blue leafed Fothergilla that actually lives. Yes it’s true. Gary Handy discovers a Blue Mount Airy.

Hibiscus syriacus Chiffon™ Series
A vigorous rose of Sharon that will make money for nurseries and flowers like crazy. Unique Lacy flowers

Pink Chiffon

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Hayes Starburst’
A first! Hayes Jackson discovers a double flowered form of arborescens.

Hydrangea Endless Summer™
Great news for us in the Midwest with Hydrangea envy. Blooms on new wood. More to come.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
A Pee Gee with bright green flowers, strong stems. Does not flop like Pee Gee and finishes fast.

Hydrangea paniculata Little Lime
The best. A dwarf with strong stems and full flower heads

Little Lime

Hydrangea paniculata Quick Fire™

Why wait until August for Blooms. Quick Fire flowers in June and turns pink before Pink Diamond even flowers.

Hydrangea ‘Snowflake’
The best oakleaf with it doubled, hose in hose blooms that turn pink as they age. Very healthy and great fall color.

Hypericum ‘Blue Velvet’
Blue Leaves on a Hypericum, yes. Paul Cappiello delivers a hit.

Indigofera ‘Rose Carpet’
Rich pink blooms from Late June until frost. Hugs the ground like a rug. I mean carpet.

Itea Little Henry®
The first dwarf Sweetspire.

Kerria ‘Honshu’
A hard to find Kerria with big flowers and superior stem hardiness. The only selection with fragrant flowers.

Leptodermis oblonga
A neat little known treasure with vivid pink flowers that keep on coming all season long.

Physocarpus Diabolo®
The first ninebark with purple foliage.

Physocarpus Summer Wine®
The first compact ninebark with purple foliage. Who has room for a 15 foot ninebark? Not me. A cross between Diabolo® and ‘Nana’.

Physocarpus Coppertina™
The first ninebark with orange red foliage.

Potentilla Pink Beauty
A pink Potentilla that actually comes out pink and lives more than a year.

Rhamnus Fine Line®
An environmentally friendly Rhamnus with cut leaves and narrow columnar growth. Remember how many Tall Hedge you used to sell.

Rosa Knock Out®
It proved that a rose can be grown without having to spray

Rosa Home Run®
The most disease resistant, most attractive rose on the market. Comes in Red and Pink. 

Rosa Morden Sunrise
Yes, a strong growing, healthy yellow rose.

Sambucus Black Beauty™
The first black leaf elder with pink flowers.

Sambucus Black Lace™
The first cut leaf black elder with pink flowers. Incredible texture. As elegant as a Japanese Maple.

Sambucus ‘Sutherland Gold’

The best yellow leafed elder.

Spiraea ‘Gold Mound’ / 'Goldflame'
The plant that started it all. Lime Mound was first but never caught on.

Spiraea Pink Parasols®
The first pink flowered Spiraea fritscheriana. Ground covering habit. Landscapers forget about Rhus ‘Gro-low’ this plant is great for mass planting and it has large pink flowers.

Thuja Spring Grove®
A hardy northern selection that is deer resistant.

Viburnum ‘Cayuga’
An improved fragrant Viburnum with disease resistance.

Viburnum Cardinal Candy™
The best plant in the garden in late summer. Loads of tightly packed cardinal red fruit. No pollinator necessary.

Viburnum nudum BRANDYWINE™
A new variety that does not need a pollinator to enhance fruit set.

Viburnum plicatum ‘Popcorn’
A hardy, heat tolerant snowball Viburnum.

Viburnum p. tomentosum ‘Summer Snowflake’
What’s better than a Viburnum? A continuous blooming Viburnum

Viburnum ‘Mary Milton’
A Snowball Viburnum with pink flowers.

Weigela Midnight Wine®

The first dwarf purple leafed Weigela.

Weigela My Monet™
The first dwarf variegated Weigela. Very hardy, bright pink

Weigela 'White Knight’
The best reblooming Weigela. White flowers with a touch of pink.

Weigela Wine & Roses®
Dark burgundy foliage and vivid pink flowers.