Posted by James E. Klett, Professor,
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University
The following seven perennials were recently selected by the Perennial
Trial Garden Sub-committee as being superior after 3 years of growth and two
winters. Plan to utilize these in your
designs and home gardens in 2017 and I think you will be happy with the
results.
WINDWALKER® Big Bluestem from Plant
Select®
(Andropogon
gerardii 'P003S')
This is an ornamental grass with great multi-season interest with
beautiful soft blue foliage that changes to a dark maroon lavender that
persists even into the winter. The plant
adds impressive height to the border with a narrow growth habit that reaches
about 6’ tall. This is a great choice
for a xeriscape area, as it can thrive with little or no supplemental irrigation.
Avoid overhead watering and
over-fertilization to maintain compact plants and prevent lodging.
Alexander’s Great Brunnera from
Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
(Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alexanders Great’ PP25,789)
This is a unique Brunnera of
“monster” growth proportions which is an excellent choice to add structure to
the garden. The large size also helps
show off the heavily silvered leaves resulting in a dramatic statement for the
garden. It makes a great foliage plant for
shady areas but also has a good display of blue flowers that creates a light,
airy appearance. It can be used as a
very attractive groundcover that is about knee high, but also makes a striking
specimen. This is one of the few
perennials that was selected for the “Too Good to Wait” award in 2015 and did
not disappoint during the 2016 season. Make sure to give this plant ample space to
show off its naturally uniform mounding habit and beautiful flowers.
Carnival Rose Granita Heuchera from Darwin Perennials
(Heuchera x
hybrid 'Carnival Rose Granita'PPAF)
One of the
best in the Carnival series, Rose Granita is unique among Heuchera in that the foliage reflects light and even seems to glow
at times. Its foliage has a composite of
pink, purple and green, combined with a silver overlay that seems to change
with the angle of the sun as well as the season for a truly mesmerizing
appearance. Beautiful from a distance,
this plant only gets more impressive up close as the leaf variation starts to
come into focus. Use in mass plantings
or as a small specimen in the shade. The
plants have a very uniform growth habit and a light pink flower that
complements the foliage nicely.
Forever Purple Coral Bells from Terra Nova Nurseries,
Inc.
(Heuchera 'Forever Purple'PPAF)
Aptly named, Forever Purple’s
leaves are a deep, rich purple color that is maintained all season without
fading. The best and most vibrant purple
leaved Heuchera currently on the market sports glossy foliage that seems to
make the color “bounce” off the leaf. It
is grown mostly for attractive foliage which also has fluted edges. Plants have good vigor and a very uniform
growth habit. It would make a great
choice for shady areas or combos.
Summerific® Cherry Cheesecake Rose Mallow from Walters
Garden/Proven Winners
(Hibiscus x ‘Summerific® Cherry Cheesecake’)
Saucer sized
flowers are a stunning contrast of rich cherry-red and bright white which gives
a very tropical or exotic feel to the landscape. This selection is rated highly for its
ability to produce huge flowers evenly over the entire plant. Plants are very uniform and healthy with
foliage that reaches all the way to the ground. Be patient with this hibiscus as it comes up
very late in the spring, but is well worth the wait when the showy flowers
start to open in late July.
CrazyBlue Russian Sage from Darwin Perennials
(Perovskia atriplicifolia 'CrazyBlue'USPP25639)
Besides the
prolific blue flowers, this entry is noted for a very attractive growth habit
that is smaller than the species and is not susceptible to lodging even with
overhead irrigation. Growth habit
improves with age and with time makes a very attractive compact mound of silver
gray foliage. Plants appear dense with
good branching and have a very long bloom period. This selection thrives in a dry location and
maintains a slightly more compact habit.
Glamour Girl Garden Phlox from Walters Garden/Proven
Winners
(Phlox paniculata ‘Glamour
Girl’)
This variety
is described as “One of the best garden phlox introduced in a very long
time”. The period of bloom is
impressively long and provides the garden with abundant vibrant salmon colored
flowers. Flower color did not fade and
the plants create a very upright and uniform overall appearance with no lodging. This selection seems to be fairly mildew
resistant when compared to other garden phlox in the trials.
Class of 2015 - “Too Good to Wait” Award
The Perennial Trial Garden Sub-committee
likes to award the ‘Top Performer’ designation to superior plants that have
been in the ground 2 winters and 3 growing seasons. This
category is to acknowledge an upcoming plant that has been in the ground one
winter and two growing seasons and shows excellent performance thus far in the
trial. The following plant impressed the Perennial Trial Garden Sub-committee so
much that they designated the category name: “Too Good to Wait Performer”.
Kahori®
Border Pink from Bartels
(Dianthus
‘Kahori’)
Prolific
blooms cover the plants at peak bloom and creates a mat of vibrant pink
flowers. This entry is superior for a
long period of bloom and exceptional uniformity. It looks great in ground beds and would make
a beautiful border, but is a great choice to use in containers since it is
always in bloom. This selection remains
very compact and has great heat tolerance during the peak of summer
temperatures.
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