The Plant Hunter

Freaky Fun Foliage A-Z (part 1)

When making your next tree, shrub or perennial plant purchase, think first about plants that have attractive foliage. It could be a plant with variegated foliage, but there are many other types of leaves that add interest to the landscape. Plants offer a wide array of foliage colors such as yellow, chartreuse, blue, orange, copper, bright reds, dark burgundy and even black.

Albizia Summer Chocolate

Mini Salsa Berberis

Green leafed plants can also have interesting leaves as well. First off there is an endless range of green hues. Leaf texture also adds interest. Leave texture varies greatly from finely cut leaf, to wavy, to crinkled, to big and bold, all of which provide variation and texture that can make a garden more interesting.

Pucker Up Cornus

Crème Fraîche Deutzia

Goldy Euonymus

Forsythia 'Kumson'

Bangle Genista

Hydrangea a. petiolaris 'Firefly'

Castle Gold Ilex

More to come . . .

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.

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.

Answers for Plant Breeders

As a plant breeder, I know how thrilling it is to have a new plant make it to market. This picture was taken at a garden center in England and you can see how excited I was. It was the very first time I had seen my plant, Summer Wine® ninebark (Physocarpus), for sale in Europe. I had the same feeling of excitement when someone in my neighborhood planted one in their yard. It is one of the main reasons why we plant breeders breed plants.

Perhaps you are a plant breeder and you are looking for answers on how you can get your plant to market, how to protect your plant and how to make good decisions regarding your new plants. I just got out of a planning meeting to help organize the next Independent Plant Breeders Conference. It's going to be held in West Michigan (most likely Grand Rapids) in September of 2014. Breeders come to network, hone their breeding skills, see old friends and to get answers. In reviewing the feedback on the 2012 conference in Portland, the most requested speaker topics dealt with plant protection (plant patents, trademarks, and breeders rights) and how to get a plant to market. If you are a plant breeder, by all means make plans to attend this excellent conference. We would love to see you there, but if you want answers now I would suggest you check out the "Advice for Plant Breeders" page at the Breedersrights.com website. I just updated the entire site and most specifically tips and advice for new plant breeders as well as commonly asked questions with answers.

If you are a plant breeder, let me know what topics you want covered and what speakers your want to hear at the 2014 IPBC. This is your conference so let me know what you need. In addition, let me know if I need to answer any additional questions at breedersrights.com.

My Top 10 Must Have Annuals

When I worked in public garden curation, I used to grow and use a lot of annuals. Much has changed since then. Many annuals are now clonal, that is they are now grown from cuttings instead of from seed. At first glace this seems crazy because seeds are easy and cheap, but these new cutting grown selections grow better and flower longer and harder. Gardeners may pay a bit more up front but these plants are a much better value. You need fewer plants to cover the same amount of ground and the display starts earlier and goes longer. These new plants fill in faster and require less care. In the old days we would plant spring annuals, replace them with summer annuals and then dead-head or replace them with mums to keep the display looking good. Not any more; this new breed of annual has changed all that.

Still there are some plants that will always be grown from seed like the castor bean plant or fragrant tobacco. These plants grow plenty fast as it is.

When it comes to annuals, I'm a fan of big and bold. I am also a fan of fragrance. But above all I am a fan of plants that perform in the garden. Summer is too short here in Michigan to plant wimpy annuals that take 4 months to mature. I want plants that offer quick color and that fill in fast to shade out the weeds. Because I hate weeding.

Here are my top 10 favorites. What are your favorite annuals?

10. Colorblaze® 'Sedona' Coleus is a favorite of mine because the color is
so warm and rich. It is a strong grower that is great for
adding blocks of color to shade or partial shade areas in your yard.
The Colorblase series of coleus do not go to flower and seed as quickly.

9. Graceful Grasses® Vertigo® Pennisetum boasts big bold leaves.
This is a monster plant that gives you color, contrast and texture in
the garden. It also gives you movement. I adore big annuals.

8. Kale 'Kaleidoscope' a wonderful cool season annual with a ruffled margin.
The foliage color changes and intensifies as the temperatures drop in autumn.
Ornamental Kales and Cabbages are great in mixed containers.

7. Nicotiana sylvestris the Fragrant Tobacco is a bold plant with incredible fragrance.
It is grown from seed but matures quickly. I like to plant it in groups of 5 or more
to give people a real good dose of sweet fragrance as they pass by.

6. Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' - Castor Bean plant is big bold plant
and some cultivars have attractive red leaves like this one.
One plant can reach 5-6' or more in one season.

5. Supertunia® Raspberry Blast is a super strong grower with incredible flower power.
Like other Supertunias it is a super grower and a great value. You can get cheaper
petunias but they wont grow and flower like this series of plants.

4. I love Superbells® Cherry Star Calibrachoa because it is such a cheerful color.
It boasts a unique blend of bright red with a yellow lines.

3. Euphorbia Diamond Frost® looks great every day all summer long. A very strong
grower that gives great garden value. It is great in containers, as seen here,
or in the garden. Just give it plenty of room to grow.

2. The fragrant Snow Princess® Lobularia blooms all summer long
and it saves you money because you need fewer plants
compared to traditional sweet alyssum which is seen on the right.
Traditional alyssum stops flowering in summer but this plant just keeps going.

1. This is my number one favorite annual and a must have in every garden.
Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum is an incredible plant that flowers non-stop
and looks good every day all season long. There are only two plants in each of
these window boxes but you could have achieved the same resultls with one plant. That's how strong this plant grows. This annual amazes me!

See You in Tulsa, Oklahoma

I am pleased to announce I will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, October 13 to speak at a conference entitled "Superior Plants for Superior Gardens." The conference is sponsored by the Ozark Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and is a fundraiser to support the development of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

I'm excited to be speaking along side some heavy hitting plant geeks such as Shane Berry, Len Miller and and Todd Lasseigne. Shane Berry will be talking about new and interesting Redbud (Cercis) cultivars. There has been some real interesting breeding developments with Redbud as you saw in my last post.

Dr. Miller is the past president of the American Rhododendron Society and founder of Lendonwood Gardens and Elk Ridge Garden. He will give insight into which Rhododendrons are tough enough to thrive in Oklahoma. There have been some incredible breeding breakthroughs in breeding for disease resistance and heat tolerance in this genera so I am excited to learn more from Leonard.

Todd Lasseigne, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden, is the plant geek's plant geek. Todd will fill us in on the development of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden and then lead us on a tour of the grounds. Seeing Todd will be a highlight for me and many other plant geeks.

Scheduled Speakers include:

9:00 a.m. “Developing the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden” - Dr. Todd Lasseigne

9:15 a.m. "Rhododendrons in Oklahoma" - Dr. Leonard Miller

9:45 a.m. "Plant Hunting for Superior Plants" - Tim Wood

10:30 a.m. - Break

10:45 a.m. "Redbud Cultivars" - Shane Berry

- Lunch on your own -

1:30 p.m. Tour at Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden - Dr. Todd Lasseigne

Plant sale: The Ozark Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will have a limited number of rhododendrons for sale during the conference.

Location: Tulsa Community College - Northeast Campus: 3727 East Apache Street, Tulsa.

Hope to see you there!

New Plant pics: Holland 2012

Here is a quick pictorial of some of the new plants that I ran across on my last trip to the Netherlands. We saw some pretty cool plants. What do you like?