Hummingbirds and butterflies love licorice.

At least they love plants from the genus Agastache, many of which have licorice-scented foliage. Many varieties have done very well in my garden. Nearly all of them need well drained soil to thrive and survive the winter. If you can provide the right soil conditions, they will reward you with masses of blooms, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

'Black Adder' is a tall, sturdy variety with dark purple calyces (the calyx holds the flower to the stalk) and lighter lavender flowers, the overall look is a dark purple. This year it is 4' in my garden. Last year it hit 5'. This variety seems to be a heavier feeder than the others, as it gets yellow in the garden without fertilizer. A slow release fertilizer would be a good idea. To much fertilizer and it could get leggy and floppy however, so don't over-do it. Tiger Swallowtail butterflies love this plant.

A. rupestris is a wonderful 30-36" mound of silvery foliage with coral flowers that blooms from the end of June through August. This is probably my favorite variety for the substantial fine textured clumps it makes in the garden. A hummingbird magnet.

'Raspberry Summer' is a rosey-pink flowered variety that gets 30"-36" tall on wiry stems that are pretty sturdy. They sway in the breeze, but aren't too horribly floppy. This year it was a little open and not very dense, so I recently cut it back and it is filling in nicely. This zone 6 variety has perfomed quite well overall, and this is its 3rd year. I do nothing special for winter, so I would say z5 with well drained soil.

(image courtesy of http://www.terranovanurseries.com/)

'Summer Love' is a nice vivid purple that has a habit nearly identical to 'Raspberry Summer'. Hummingbirds love both varieties. This zone 6 variety has proven to be a stronger grower for me, and in year 2 has surpassed my clump of 'Raspberry Summer' for size and blooming power. Easily z5 with well drained soil.

'Purple Haze' has not yet been planted in my own garden, but had been perfoming ok up to this year in the trial garden at work. It was planted in a somewhat heavy soil and with the new layer of mulch and all the rain we've had it rotted out this year. Similar growing to 'Black Adder' but with a more vivid purple flower.

'Golden Jubilee' is a nice fairly adaptable variety with golden foliage and purple flowers. It is a prolific self-seeder however, and needs to be deadheaded to prevent taking over part of the garden. This one can take a slightly heavier soil. Hardy to at least z4, probably z3 with well drained soil.

'Blue Fortune' is similar to 'Golden Jubilee' but with green foliage. Also more soil adaptable than other varieties and also a self-seeder. Both are around 30" tall. Hardy to z4, z3 with well drained soil.

I look forward to trialing a good number of new Agastache next year, with hopes that they will be proven hardier than expected. There is an increasing number of new varieties hitting the market, and most have been acceptable in z5 with good drainage. Experiment away, and have fun!

Surprise!

It's early august, which means it's time for the leafless flower stalks of the Surprise Lily (Lycoris squamigera) to make their appearance. Also known as Resurrection Lily, the foliage appears in spring with the bulbs and goes dormant by mid-June. Flowers appear in early August without any foliage, usually (if you're like me) well after you've forgotten they existed in your garden. Lycoris squamigera is easily grown in partial sun from zones (4)5-9 as long as they have moderately well drained soil as they don't want to be too wet in winter. Mine have done beautifully, I add a few more every year as they're slow to spread for me.

There is a good number of other hardy Lycoris species, and for further reading I recommend Jim Waddick's article here: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Lycoris/Garden_Lycoris_and_More.pdf

Zone-Denial

More and more people are living with zone denial. Typically, to most gardeners zone denial means growing plants outside of their recommended zones. Who hasn't grown (or at least tried) hybrid tea, grandiflora, or floribunda roses here in WI? Very few of them are hardy enough to be grown in zone 5, most teas really prefer zone 7. But gardeners do it anyway because they're beautiful.

There are a number of factors affecting a plant's hardiness. One is provenance. Where a plant is from generally affects where it will grow. A simplistic way of looking at it is that tropical plants need tropical climates and plants from the north don't do as well in heat. This gets a little messier when you consider other factors like elevation. A plant may be from a fairly warm area (say equivalent to zone 8) but may range to higher elevations (maybe 12,000' up a mountain) where it is much colder. Selections collected from these higher elevations may survive zone 6 or even 5.

Sometimes doing research into a family of plants that is commonly available as non-hardy will provide an obscure species that is hardy to our area. Everybody knows Croton (at least by sight if not by name) with its colorful foliage found for sale as a houseplant at every lowes, home depot, and walmart or grown as a landscape plant in Florida. Croton alabamensis is a species that is hardy to at least zone 6, possibly zone 5. Another case is Cyrtomium fortunei, which can be grown in zone 4 with ease even though other Cyrtomium species require warmer temperatures.














Another big factor affecting hardiness is growing conditions. This may seem obvious, but so very many gardeners miss it. Every plant has different needs. While we can make broad recommendations and put together a garden with plants that have similar needs, those needs still must be met. Woodland plants don't thrive in heavy clay or full sun, and no gardener should expect them to. Spending an extra $5 on a bag of compost, mulch, or fertilizer might mean the difference between success and failure.

Even placement in the garden can make a difference. Sometimes moving a plant as little as 2 feet from its original spot will show vast improvements in plant growth and hardiness. This can be due to many reasons. Soil might be a slighty different pH, there might be more or less soil moisture, light exposure might vary slighty, and the microclimate might be drastically different. Wind and light exposure plays a big role in affecting both winter and summer conditions. You can really capitalize on a spot that's cooler in summer and warmer in winter when it comes to stretching your zone.

Some plants can be potted up and overwintered in the garage if supplied with a little supplemental water in the winter. Other plants can be screened from the wind. Winter mulch can help tremendously protecting plants from freeze/thaw cycles, and you can try building a cage around the plant and filling it with compost to get non-hardy plants through the winter. Or you can try ugly white rose cones, but I find them the least effective method of winter protection. And they're ugly.

I live with zone denial for a number of reasons. I think most new plants are hardier than they are given credit for. There are some exceptions, Coreopsis 'Limerock Ruby' being sold as zone 5 without extensive trialing comes to mind. But I think for the most part most nurseries are responsible enough to err on the side of caution.

I've found a number of new plants to be hardier than previously thought. When I first got into the industry, Agastache rupestris was widely sold as being hardy only to zone 6. I can say with certainty that it is easily hardy to zone 5, and probably to zone 4 if provided the right conditions. Other Agastache varieties have followed suit, with 'Raspberry Summer', 'Summer Love', 'Purple Haze', and 'Black Adder' surviving in my (and many other) gardens beautifully.
































I've also been growing Black Mondo Grass, Ophiopogon planiscapes 'Nigrescens' for a few years now and it is starting to spread. This is another zone 6 plant.













Helleborus 'Hot Flash' in its 4th season. Not big and vigorous, but starting to do well. Listed as zone 7 upon release, now listed as zone 6, 5 with protection. I do no protection other than not removing the maple leaves that fall on it.












Sometimes I like to push zone limits just because I think a plant looks cool. It might provide a texture or color not readily available to us in colder zones. Or it might just be my horrible plant addiction. Either way, I planted Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca' in spring of 2008. This is a neat evergreen conifer with broad, wicked-looking but soft, blue needles that is zone 6/7 borderline hardy. I planted it in my south butterfly garden and other than some pretty good winter-burn it has survived pretty well. I have taken pity on it though and have moved it to a pot with some miniature hostas that will be overwintered in the garage.













There is also another form of zone denial that many of us in the industry have to deal with. The "this plant didn't do well for me, so it must not be hardy" denial. This usually comes about from improper cultural practices, and not providing the plants with the proper requirements. And some people just can't grow certain plants. I've killed ridiculously easy to grow species for no apparent reason. At the risk of my gardening reputation, I'll admit to killing Gooseneck Loosestrife. I'm also very good at killing ferns.

The most common reason most plants die in my experience is that their specific soil conditions are not met. Some plants resent being too wet in the winter and will simply rot away to nothing. The new Echinacea hybrids are a good example. Gaillardia is another example that needs good drainage. I've had Gaillardia 'Frenzy' for 3 years now, and it does very well in a fairly well drained clay-loam. Alpine/rock garden plants like Dianthus licinata or Delosperma species can't be too wet in spring or they will get crown rot. Rhododendrons are widely planted here, despite needing a moist but well-drained acidic soil. Most of them fail in our heavy alkaline pH clay. I've seen a number of huge beautiful Rhododendrons (primarily PJM, but others as well) in the north-central sand counties of WI. Some plants need organic soils that are consistently moist, like Lobelia cardinalis and Lobelia siphilitica. Providing the right soil conditions can make all the difference in the world.













Don't be afraid to try new plants, or even new ways to use old plants. Don't be afraid to try a plant again just because it dies once. If you do some research, it's amazing what can be done in our gardens.

Allium Summer Beauty

The genus Allium is a hugely diverse group of plants, many of which make great garden subjects. Ufortunately, most gardeners are only familiar with the giant globe onions like 'Globemaster', or the weedy species like A. azureum or A. sphaerocephalon. (As a side note A. azureum pulls very easily and the beutiful blue flowers make it worth including in any sunny garden).


The last few years have seen a number of new introductions for Allium (I'll write about more of the in the next 2 months), and one of my favorites has been A. lusitanicum 'Summer Beauty'. This form has nice pink flowers starting in July and lasting into August. The foliage remains a beautiful emerald green all season, despite neglect, and is deer and rabbit resistant. It quickly forms a clump 24-30" wide, and flowers at 30". Summer Beauty seems to tolerate heavy soil fairly well, but I would still amend clay soils with compost. Use it in any sunny garden as a textural contrast with Echinacea, Monarda, Coreopsis, Roses, etc. It makes a great nectar plant for bees and butterflies.

Shasta Daisies

I'm not a big fan of Shasta Daisies. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike them. They have their place in the perennial garden as long blooming bee and butterfly magnets that provide a bright and cheery spot of white and yellow in many sizes and shapes. There have been some interesting introductions in the last few years in the way of light yellow flowers, and wildly formed double flowers. But for the most part they're just common and unexciting old fashioned perennials you see everyday. Aren't They?

Maybe not, with the introduction of Leucanthemum 'Paladin' this year it was once again proven that even a perennial that's been around as long as the old fashioned Shasta Daisy, selective breeding can take the plant to the next level.



'Paladin' is a nice mid-height daisy to 20" tall with large double white flowers that cover the plant so completely you almost can't see the foliage. The stems are very sturdy, and shouldn't require any staking unless the plant is overfed. Shastas don't need much in the way of fertilizer, so lay off for most of the season. My plant has been blooming for about 2 weeks now, and is showing no sign of slowing down. I've been deadheading to promote more blooms, but you can just as easily wait until the first bloom cycle is done and shear it back to promote a second flush of blooms. Most varieties of Leucanthemum have an unpleasant (horrid is the word I prefer) fragrance but 'Paladin' has no scent at all, which is a big bonus to me.

'Victorian Secret' is a new variety for 2011 which I had the pleasure to view in Ohio recently. It is similar to 'Paladin' in all respects except it has a shorter 14" habit and a nice citrus scent. I'm told there are more varieties in the pipeline, including some nice yellow varieties. All with pleasant or no fragrance. I'm happy to see daisies getting a makeover, it's a plant that deserves some excitement.

Aralia cordata 'Sun King'

I like tropical textures in the garden, especially when gardening in the shade. It's important to make an impression with textural contrast in the shade garden, since it's difficult to make a huge impact with flower color. Aralia 'Sun King' gives you that great huge-foliage tropical look, as well as bright color due to the yellow to chartreuse foliage. Individual leaves should get nearly 3' long x 2.5' wide. Big racemes of white flowers in mid-late summer are followed by purple berries. Other species of Aralia attract honeybees, and this one should be no different. Grown with some morning sun in a good organic rich soil, 'Sun King' will make an awesome accent plant. There isn't a lot of information out there on this plant, and a lot of it is conflicting. I've seen zone ratings anywhere from 3 to 6. Also, mature sizes range from 3-9' tall x 3-10' wide. So, what's the truth of the matter? I think hardiness will be at least zone 5, which is the rating Asiatica gave it in their catalog a few years ago. Aralia cordata is known to be hardy to zone 4, this selection could possibly be a little less hardy. Time will tell. Size? I think the 3' x 3' that Terra Nova is giving it is a bit on the small side. I would guess it will easily hit 6' tall and 7' wide, given that it's a selection of A. cordata which can grow to 9'. Be sure to give this baby some room in your shade garden!

Hardy Roses

Nearly every gardener wants to grow roses. But most don't want the constant care and lack of hardiness of the hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda classes. With the vast number of shrub roses on the market, how do you pick varieties that will do well? I've picked some hardy shrub roses that have been doing fairly well for us.

The Knockout series:

Most people are familiar with this series, it's the number one asked for rose in garden centers with good reason. While no rose is completely disease free, it's hard to beat the disease resistance of the Knockouts. With the exception of Rainbow Knockout, they are also self-cleaning which means you don't need to dead-head. I still dead-head them anyway, since this will increase the amount of rebloom. They are not all that super-hardy though, and require some winter protection in zone 4, and it's not a bad idea to give some protection in zone 5 as well. Protecting them is relatively easy, I just mound 8-10" of mulch over the crown of the plant once the soil freezes for winter. This is usually enough to get them through the winter. Once the ground thaws, pull away the mulch and cut off any canes that have died over winter.

The Easy Elegance Series is much like the Knockout series, but there is far more variety in flower color, flower form, and fragrance. Hardiness varies by variety, but I have grown a number of them without winter protection. If in doubt, winter mulch as for Knockout. Disease resistance on almost all varieties is excellent. Some of my favorites include All the Rage, Grandma's Blessing, Macy's Pride, Kashmir, My Girl, Snowdrift, Sweet Fragrance, and Yellow Brick Road. Having said that, I don't dislike any of the varieties in the series.

Home Run is a great single red rose from Weeks Roses that has excellent disease resistance. The foliage always looks great. It is self cleaning, but just like Knockout I dead-head anyway. Winter hardiness is about the same as Knockout. Winter mulching is neccessary in zone 4, and not a bad idea in zone 5. There is a hot pink version coming in 2011 called Pink Home Run which looks promising. A better name would have been nice, maybe Grand Slam to continue the theme?

Midnight Blue and Rhapsody in Blue are both great dark purple roses from Weeks Roses that have proven to be fairly hardy and disease resistant for me. I didn't do any winter protection this past winter and both came through beautifully, only to be trampled by the dogs. Dead-heading is recommended for re-bloom.

Champlain is a great hardy red that is fairly disease resistant. I haven't had to spray mine yet,

but they do get a little mildew and blackspot. You have to look pretty hard to find it though.

Champlain is a larger variety, growing 4-5'. I don't do any winter protection, and get very little

dieback. This is a profuse early bloomer, and the first bloom for me lasts almost through July. You can dead-head to keep it looking it's cleanest, but I wait until it's done blooming and cut it back 12-18" to remove all of the flowering stems. More flowers follow in August. This is a fantastic, easy, variety. Great for anyone who hasn't grown roses before.

Hope For Humanity is another very hardy red that has done well for us. It is less disease resistant than the others, and may require spraying in a hot and humid summer. This one is hardy to zone 3.

Heart and Soul is a fairly hardy variety with beautiful rose and white bicolored blooms. Winter mulch is a good idea in zone 4, but probably not neccessary in zone 5. This one may require spraying as well, but blackspot and mildew haven't been too bad on it.

Watercolors is a single rose from Weeks Roses that is a little hard to describe. It starts out a blend of pink, yellow, and cream and changes to solid pink as the flowers age. Disease resistance has been very good, as has it's hardiness.

Winnipeg Parks is a great hardy magenta with large flowers that is very hardy and fairly disease resitant. This one overwinters in zone 4 without any problem. Another great one for beginning rose growers.

Carefree Spirit is a great red single that has shown excellent disease resistance and good hardiness. No winter mulch needed. I really like this one.

The Oso Easy series from Proven Winners shows a lot of promise. Paprika is my favorite, as it has the most unique color of the series so far. Cherry Pie is another red single. So far I like Carefree Spirit better. Strawberry Crush is an interesting rose-pink color, and Peachy Cream is a peach that fades to cream as the flower ages. Fragrant Spreader is a groundcover rose with small single pink flowers that are supposedly fragrant. I honestly haven't noticed. This one seems to take a long time to rebloom, and I'm not real impressed with it so far. They all seem very hardy so far, and show good disease resistance. They are self-cleaning, which is great since they are a dead-heading nightmare! They are incredibly profuse bloomers, and trying to deadhead is almost a losing battle. I may try shearing them back in the future.

There is vast number of other hardy shrub roses that will do well all the way to zone 3, these are just some of the newest or my favorites. Don't be afraid to grow roses, there's a rose for nearly every gardener.