Wednesday, May 18, 2011
spring mystery plant
I've been away from blogging for awhile, but I'm back with a spring mystery plant quiz! Can you name this cute spring bloomer from my garden?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
New and Improved!
2011 promises to be another year of great new varieties. We've got a bunch of great new ones for you to drool over, here are some highlights.
Achillea Seduction series. I'm not a big fan of Yarrow. They flop, self-seed like crazy, or just look plain ugly after blooming. The Seduction series fixes all of those things. They are sturdy, stay in a fairly well behaved clump, and rebloom very well with dead-heading. They aren't exactly new, we've been carrying Strawberry Seduction for 3 years now and I love it. We're adding Peachy Seduction this year, and should also have Sunny Seduction.
Actaea pachypoda 'Misty Blue' I am a big fan of native plants. This selection of white baneberry features bluish foliage as well as white flowers followed by white berries. Great for the shaded or woodland garden, this selection will get 2-3' tall and wide and makes a terrific background for hostas, ferns, and grasses.
Agastache 'Summer Sunset' Another great hyssop from Terra Nova. Pretty much all of their Agastache are being sold as zone 6 hardy, and I've found with good drainage they've all survived here quite well. This beautiful orange flowered variety should be no exception.
Dicentra spectablis 'Valentine' Everyone has wanted a red-flowered bleeding heart for a long time now. It is finally here. This is the reddest to date, and it is fantastic.
The number of Echinacea varieties continues to expand exponentially. This year we have: 'Aloha' - a new soft yellow single, 'Cranberry Cupcake' - a shorter bright pink double, 'Daydream' - a strong yellow single, 'Irresistable' - a great double coral, 'Jupiter' - another addition to the big sky series this one is soft coral peach, 'Mama Mia' - a salmon orange fading to coral single, 'Marmalade'- a double orange beauty, 'Phoenix' - a single yellow with orange tones, 'Pow Wow Wildberry' and 'Pow Wow White' - 2 new dwarf singles with fantastic habits and loads of blooms, 'Snowcone' - A white counterpart to 'Pixie Meadowbrite', 'Secret Pride' - a new double white, 'Secret Joy' - a very soft double yellow, 'Secret Lust' - a new orange double.
Geum is and underused group of plants, with some fantastic new cultivars coming out. 'Totally Tangerine' is a great tangerine-orange beauty to 30" tall. This one is incredibly floriferous as well. 'Alabama Slammer' is an orange and yellow blend to 14" tall.
I saw Helleborus 'Pink Frost' at some winter trade shows and was blown away by the clarity of color, upward facing flowers, and fantastic foliage. This one is a MUST for the shade garden.
xHuecherella Falls series Terra Nova has come up with yet another breakthrough in breeding- creeping xHeucherellas. These beauties look fantastic in hanging baskets and combo planters as well as creeping across the ground in the partially shaded garden. 'Redstone Falls' has bronze toned leaves with darker marks in the center and 'Yellowstone Falls' is bright yellow with burgundy splashes in the center of the leaf. (very similar to xH. 'Solar Power')
We have a ton of other new varieties as well. Be sure to stop in and check them out this spring! I'll try to add pictures to this post as I get them.
Achillea Seduction series. I'm not a big fan of Yarrow. They flop, self-seed like crazy, or just look plain ugly after blooming. The Seduction series fixes all of those things. They are sturdy, stay in a fairly well behaved clump, and rebloom very well with dead-heading. They aren't exactly new, we've been carrying Strawberry Seduction for 3 years now and I love it. We're adding Peachy Seduction this year, and should also have Sunny Seduction.
Actaea pachypoda 'Misty Blue' I am a big fan of native plants. This selection of white baneberry features bluish foliage as well as white flowers followed by white berries. Great for the shaded or woodland garden, this selection will get 2-3' tall and wide and makes a terrific background for hostas, ferns, and grasses.
Agastache 'Summer Sunset' Another great hyssop from Terra Nova. Pretty much all of their Agastache are being sold as zone 6 hardy, and I've found with good drainage they've all survived here quite well. This beautiful orange flowered variety should be no exception.
Dicentra spectablis 'Valentine' Everyone has wanted a red-flowered bleeding heart for a long time now. It is finally here. This is the reddest to date, and it is fantastic.
The number of Echinacea varieties continues to expand exponentially. This year we have: 'Aloha' - a new soft yellow single, 'Cranberry Cupcake' - a shorter bright pink double, 'Daydream' - a strong yellow single, 'Irresistable' - a great double coral, 'Jupiter' - another addition to the big sky series this one is soft coral peach, 'Mama Mia' - a salmon orange fading to coral single, 'Marmalade'- a double orange beauty, 'Phoenix' - a single yellow with orange tones, 'Pow Wow Wildberry' and 'Pow Wow White' - 2 new dwarf singles with fantastic habits and loads of blooms, 'Snowcone' - A white counterpart to 'Pixie Meadowbrite', 'Secret Pride' - a new double white, 'Secret Joy' - a very soft double yellow, 'Secret Lust' - a new orange double.
Geum is and underused group of plants, with some fantastic new cultivars coming out. 'Totally Tangerine' is a great tangerine-orange beauty to 30" tall. This one is incredibly floriferous as well. 'Alabama Slammer' is an orange and yellow blend to 14" tall.
I saw Helleborus 'Pink Frost' at some winter trade shows and was blown away by the clarity of color, upward facing flowers, and fantastic foliage. This one is a MUST for the shade garden.
xHuecherella Falls series Terra Nova has come up with yet another breakthrough in breeding- creeping xHeucherellas. These beauties look fantastic in hanging baskets and combo planters as well as creeping across the ground in the partially shaded garden. 'Redstone Falls' has bronze toned leaves with darker marks in the center and 'Yellowstone Falls' is bright yellow with burgundy splashes in the center of the leaf. (very similar to xH. 'Solar Power')
We have a ton of other new varieties as well. Be sure to stop in and check them out this spring! I'll try to add pictures to this post as I get them.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Kudos to Teleflora
Now that the superbowl is over, it's time for everybody to talk about the commercials. I'm not a football fan so I usually don't watch them (I live in WI- am I a heretic?) but I did catch half of the game this year. I give kudos to Teleflora for having one of the best commercials of the superbowl. I don't have to tell anyone involved in the industry that the last number of years have been a struggle. With the economic troubles, fresh flowers haven't exactly been the go-to gift. For those who missed it, here it is:
Heuchera With Yellow and Orange Tones
I'm finally getting around to finishing up the Heuchera posts. (for now) We finally get to the plants that started Heuchera's rise to stardom. It all started back in 2002ish with a sport of 'Whirlwind' called 'Amber Waves'. (I don't remember the first year it was available- The Heims/Ware book gives it the year 2000 but that seems early to me- the patent was granted in 2002) This amber colored beauty with ruffled and lobed foliage and nice pink flowers wasn't an immediate sellout the first year, but as word spread it moved well. The second year, it sold out quite quickly. The 3rd year it continued with strong sales, but there were complaints about it not being hardy. I of course had planted one the first year. It was perfectly hardy, however there indeed were problems. For one it frost-heaved out of the ground every winter for 3 years regardless of how well I winter mulched. It didn't bulk up in my garden well, staying only about 8" across the whole time it was planted. I pulled it out, literally- I grabbed the plant and it popped out roots and all, in 2006 (long after we dropped this from our lineup). I think the foliage texture is unmatched by any other amber Heuchera, but its poor garden performance really knocks this one down on the desirability scale. Micrantha and americana are in the background, and as this is the source of all other amber and chartreuse varieties, they also have them in the background.
Improvements happen, and in the world of Heuchera they can happen quickly. 2004 brought 'Marmalade', a more vigorous plant slightly darker amber foliage than 'Amber Waves'. This one was a much better grower, though I still had problems with it losing vigor after a couple of years. Still, with the right site and soil conditions this one can prosper.
2004 also brought the first chartreuse Heuchera to market- 'Lime Rickey'. This plant had nice vigor and small leaves on a dense clump. This thing looks like a head of lettuce (in a good way). Bright chartreuse foliage in spring turning to lime green in summer. White flowers are nice enough, but not exciting. I had fewer vigor issues with this one.
2005 brought 'Creme Brulee' to the Proven Winners line, and this one was (to me) the best so far. It had good texture and a compact form. The flowers weren't very exciting, but who's looking at them anyway at this point- we still haven't recovered from seeing an orange heuchera! Another breakthrough was that this one tolerated sun. Lots of it if it didn't dry out. We included this in our full sun butterfly garden. Still after a few years of growing it, we found that it has the same loss of vigor issues as 'Amber Waves' and 'Marmalade'.
I had been growing H. villosa 'Autumn Bride' for a few years at this point, and it was turning out to be a great performer in heavy soils and hot humid temperatures. Many people growing this plant realized the breakthrough that was Heuchera 'Caramel' when it hit the market in 2005. This H. villosa hybrid (probably with 'Amber Waves' as the other parent) came to us from France. Finally an amber Heuchera that would perform! My clump is now somewhere between 24 and 30 inches wide. This one is also tolerant of full sun, and needs at least some sun to show its best color. In shade it is a sickly yellowish color. This has become my biggest selling variety to date, far exceeding 'Palace Purple'. Bad economy or not we still sell nearly 100 of these every year.
2006 brought even more- 'Peach Flambe', which is one of the best non-villosa hybrids. Bright foliage on a strong clump with H. sanguinea background. 'Peach Melba' is another Proven Winners plant, this one with a silverish veil over the amber foliage. 'Key Lime Pie' is also from PW, and features chartreuse-lime foliage and nice pink flowers.
From 2007 on I've lost track as so many have now come out. Here's a list of more, years included where possible:
'Citronelle' hit in 2007ish and is a chartreuse mutation of 'Caramel'. It isn't as strong a grower, but it still performs well. 'Georgia Peach' is a unique color of amber tones with some red and a silver overlay. Villosa hybrid that grows well but isn't as dense as other varieties.
'Christa' I haven't grown, but is another villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel'. Looks to have somewhat better color.
'Ginger Ale' 2008ish. A nice ginger color to the foliage with a silver overlay and yellowish flowers. Micrantha, americana, and cylindrica are in the background of this one. Has performed fairly well.
'Ginger Peach' I haven't grown. Out of 'Marmalade' breeding, 2010 intro.
'Lime Marmalade' is a chartreuse sport of 'Marmalade'.
'Kassandra' is another amber villosa hybrid from France that I have not grown. Foliage is more lobed and less rounded than 'Caramel.
'Tiramisu' & 'Miracle' showed a lot of promise for having chartreuse foliage with red veins. Plants don't always meet the expectations of the hype and pictures however. The red viens were only present in cool weather, so most of the summer they were chartreuse. Muddy chartreuse in the case of 'Miracle'. 'Tiramisu' was a poor grower for me, and is currently the only villosa hybrid I've killed. 'Miracle' grew well enough, but I don't like the color and removed it.
'Electra' came out in late 2009 and was widely available in 2010. This one lived up to the promise of pictures and hype and is everything that 'Tiramisu' wasn't. Red veins are present year round, with the exception of maybe spring as the new foliage fills out, at which point mine was eye-hurtingly bright chartreuse. Villosa hybrid.
'Electic Lime' is a chartreuse villosa hybrid that also came out in 2009. This one is a villosa hybrid similar to 'Citronelle' but I believe it will be bigger in all aspects.
'Southern Comfort' hit the market in 2009 and is villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel' but has bigger leaves and will get taller. It also has better color in the shade. Turns burgundy in fall and winter.
'Tara' is a very lobed villosa hybrid with chartreuse foliage and some red tones in the center. I have not grown this one, but like the looks of it.
'Midas Touch' was a 2010 release. I saw it at some trade shows and like the look of it. New growth is bright peach and matures to gold and finally the same ginger color as 'Ginger Ale'.
'Havana' excited me quite a bit as being the first chartreuse Heuchera with rose-red flowers. The foliage has some silver overlay and can get some red veining in fall. It was however quite a slow mover. Also a bit of a slow grower and took quite a long time to bloom. We'll see how it performs in the garden. A 2010 introduction with micrantha, americana, sanguinea, and cylindrica in the background.
'Peach Crisp' is a 2010 intro with ruffled and lobed amber foliage. Looks very good, full sun for best color.
'Pear Crisp' is new for 2011 and is the chartreuse counterpart to 'Peach Crisp'. Like all chartreuse variaties, will probably scorch with too much sun.
I didn't get a lot of pictures for this post. 2 great online resources for images:
http://www.lucsperennialworld.com/heuchera/index.html
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/gardeners/heuchera-c-82_23.html
Improvements happen, and in the world of Heuchera they can happen quickly. 2004 brought 'Marmalade', a more vigorous plant slightly darker amber foliage than 'Amber Waves'. This one was a much better grower, though I still had problems with it losing vigor after a couple of years. Still, with the right site and soil conditions this one can prosper.
2004 also brought the first chartreuse Heuchera to market- 'Lime Rickey'. This plant had nice vigor and small leaves on a dense clump. This thing looks like a head of lettuce (in a good way). Bright chartreuse foliage in spring turning to lime green in summer. White flowers are nice enough, but not exciting. I had fewer vigor issues with this one.
2005 brought 'Creme Brulee' to the Proven Winners line, and this one was (to me) the best so far. It had good texture and a compact form. The flowers weren't very exciting, but who's looking at them anyway at this point- we still haven't recovered from seeing an orange heuchera! Another breakthrough was that this one tolerated sun. Lots of it if it didn't dry out. We included this in our full sun butterfly garden. Still after a few years of growing it, we found that it has the same loss of vigor issues as 'Amber Waves' and 'Marmalade'.
I had been growing H. villosa 'Autumn Bride' for a few years at this point, and it was turning out to be a great performer in heavy soils and hot humid temperatures. Many people growing this plant realized the breakthrough that was Heuchera 'Caramel' when it hit the market in 2005. This H. villosa hybrid (probably with 'Amber Waves' as the other parent) came to us from France. Finally an amber Heuchera that would perform! My clump is now somewhere between 24 and 30 inches wide. This one is also tolerant of full sun, and needs at least some sun to show its best color. In shade it is a sickly yellowish color. This has become my biggest selling variety to date, far exceeding 'Palace Purple'. Bad economy or not we still sell nearly 100 of these every year.
 |
| 'Caramel' |
From 2007 on I've lost track as so many have now come out. Here's a list of more, years included where possible:
'Citronelle' hit in 2007ish and is a chartreuse mutation of 'Caramel'. It isn't as strong a grower, but it still performs well. 'Georgia Peach' is a unique color of amber tones with some red and a silver overlay. Villosa hybrid that grows well but isn't as dense as other varieties.
'Christa' I haven't grown, but is another villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel'. Looks to have somewhat better color.
'Ginger Ale' 2008ish. A nice ginger color to the foliage with a silver overlay and yellowish flowers. Micrantha, americana, and cylindrica are in the background of this one. Has performed fairly well.
'Ginger Peach' I haven't grown. Out of 'Marmalade' breeding, 2010 intro.
'Lime Marmalade' is a chartreuse sport of 'Marmalade'.
'Kassandra' is another amber villosa hybrid from France that I have not grown. Foliage is more lobed and less rounded than 'Caramel.
'Tiramisu' & 'Miracle' showed a lot of promise for having chartreuse foliage with red veins. Plants don't always meet the expectations of the hype and pictures however. The red viens were only present in cool weather, so most of the summer they were chartreuse. Muddy chartreuse in the case of 'Miracle'. 'Tiramisu' was a poor grower for me, and is currently the only villosa hybrid I've killed. 'Miracle' grew well enough, but I don't like the color and removed it.
'Electra' came out in late 2009 and was widely available in 2010. This one lived up to the promise of pictures and hype and is everything that 'Tiramisu' wasn't. Red veins are present year round, with the exception of maybe spring as the new foliage fills out, at which point mine was eye-hurtingly bright chartreuse. Villosa hybrid.
 |
| 'Electra' in spring before the veins turn red. |
'Southern Comfort' hit the market in 2009 and is villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel' but has bigger leaves and will get taller. It also has better color in the shade. Turns burgundy in fall and winter.
'Tara' is a very lobed villosa hybrid with chartreuse foliage and some red tones in the center. I have not grown this one, but like the looks of it.
'Midas Touch' was a 2010 release. I saw it at some trade shows and like the look of it. New growth is bright peach and matures to gold and finally the same ginger color as 'Ginger Ale'.
'Havana' excited me quite a bit as being the first chartreuse Heuchera with rose-red flowers. The foliage has some silver overlay and can get some red veining in fall. It was however quite a slow mover. Also a bit of a slow grower and took quite a long time to bloom. We'll see how it performs in the garden. A 2010 introduction with micrantha, americana, sanguinea, and cylindrica in the background.
 |
| My sad 'Havana' in November. I will be moving it to a better site in spring. |
'Pear Crisp' is new for 2011 and is the chartreuse counterpart to 'Peach Crisp'. Like all chartreuse variaties, will probably scorch with too much sun.
I didn't get a lot of pictures for this post. 2 great online resources for images:
http://www.lucsperennialworld.com/heuchera/index.html
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/gardeners/heuchera-c-82_23.html
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Botanophilia goes live!
In the past, I've posted about getting a mail-order nursery set up. The time has come for the reveal. The website is now live, hopefully everything works correctly. I will still be doing some page editing, but the products are all enabled and credit card processing should be working. Take a look and let me know what you think!
www.botanophilia.com
www.botanophilia.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
What's that smell?
We woke up this morning trying to figure out why it smelled like we had a sewer leak. Checked all over the house, no problems. I walked into the kitchen (where the plant stand is) and had a "duh" moment. In the night Sauromatum venosum opened. Not super strong smelling, but enough to notice throughout the house. Moving it to take pics didn't help any. Unfortunately the spathe has already fallen and I had to hold it up for a full shot. I was storing the bulb in my basement until I could plant it in the greenhouse in March. It had other ideas and sprouted a few days ago.
If it was nice enough outside (it's currently incredibly windy and we have 6' snow-drifts outside) I would go for hand pollination. This is one cool (but horrid smelling) aroid. Anyone with experience overwintering it in zone 5? I have a small offset I will try in the garden.
If it was nice enough outside (it's currently incredibly windy and we have 6' snow-drifts outside) I would go for hand pollination. This is one cool (but horrid smelling) aroid. Anyone with experience overwintering it in zone 5? I have a small offset I will try in the garden.
Friday, January 28, 2011
January Mystery Plant
This month's mystery plant is taken from my trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I very much want to add one of these to my collection some day. Can you guess what it is? By the way, I've enabled anonymous comments, so anyone can guess.
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