Top Ten Plant Introductions Over the Years

A recent trade publication, Today's Garden Center magazine, named the top 10 most influential plant varieties.  Having been in this business for more years than I care to admit, it did get me thinking. What plants have I seen at the garden center that have made a big impact on how we grow and sell plants? Following is my own list.

1. New Guinea Impatiens first entered my radar in the seventies. Here was an impatiens-like plant that handled a bit more sun. The variegated leaves meant that the plant had interest even when it was not blooming. They have been much improved over the years and have even replaced 'regular' impatiens in many gardens this year.

   

   New Guinea impatiens do well in sun or shade

2. Knock-Out roses have taken over most of the rose market in recent years for good reason; they are relatively low-maintenance plants with a great blooming capacity. I think we may be overusing them and bypassing some of the many roses that offer remarkable fragrance, bigger, better flowers and a never ending color palette.

   

   Knock-Out roses displayed within our nursery area

3. Million Bells calibrachoa was a much needed plant as the container gardening craze took over a few years back. Though a little tricky for growers at first, gardeners had great success with this plant with mini petunia-like flowers. Within a few years, hundreds of varieties of calibrachoas were introduced by plant breeders and they remain some of our customers' favorite plants. 

   

   Calibrachoas shown in plant trials in southern Pennsylvania

4. Dragon Wing begonias have become another of our favorite plants. Beginning gardeners love them because they're about fool-proof, giving novices much needed confidence as they get to know plants. Dragon Wings will take full sun, almost full shade and anything in between. The Dragon Wing begonia is often recommended by our staff when gardeners aren't sure of their garden's location in sun or shade.

   

    Dragon Wing begonias are always a winner

    
5. Wave Petunias, beginning with Purple Wave, raised the bar for what landscapers could deliver in commercial properties by offering an annual that could be planted relatively far apart to fill in quickly offering tons of color all summer. New introductions have kept the Wave brand fresh. Landscapers did become over dependent on them for a time and have begun to rotate other annuals in to their gardens to keep beds healthy from year to year. Home gardeners love to use Wave petunias in containers as well as in the ground.  Other varieties of petunias have filled in with bold, bright colors as well. 

   

    Raspberry Blast has proven to be a popular petunia variety

6. Sunlover coleus give gardens color, height and reliability. Every year our greenhouse staff discusses (argues) over which varieties we should carry as there are so many cool colors available. I wish we had a bigger greenhouse to carry all of our favorites.

   

   Molten Lava was an early favorite in the sun-loving coleus wars

7. Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny), isn't a new plant but it has been re-purposed to be a wonderful 'spiller' for container gardens. It, along with Marguerite sweet potato vine, has become a remarkable seller for our gardeners looking for form and function. The chartreuse color is a winner too!

   
   

   

   
   

   Chartreuse varieties of sweet potato vine are the most popular

8. I'm going to cheat here a bit to suggest two perennials for shade that have been bred to be stars in the border garden. Heucheras and hellebores now have phenomenal varieties for gardeners. In late winter, we have bench after bench of the hellebores; by mid-summer and fall, heucheras fill the tables. Hellebores are deer-resistant too, which is great for our region.

   

   Benches of colorful heuchera
9. Homestead purple verbena has been around for some time. It's only been the last two decades that we have started to see other verbenas that were much improved in color and flowering.  We have carried Aztec verbenas for years, in shades of purple, red, pink, white, coral, peach and many other colors. 

   

   We judge the best verbena series for our garden center

10. Echinaceas (coneflowers) are another perennial that has been bred in many terrific colors and flower forms. New varieties are often sturdier, more compact, with blooms lasting much longer than earlier varieties. 

    

    Echinacea 'Secret Romance'

What are some of your favorite "new" plants in your garden? Please feel free to comment and/or leave photos of your top picks.

The Heat is ON!

This past week's temperatures had gardeners running for the shade! Many of us who garden in full sun gardens are looking for plants that can handle the heat. We have our favorites and would like to share a list of the toughest annuals for full summer color that handle the heat with ease.

Mediterranean Vinca

Vinca rosea has been extra popular this year because of its bloom's resemblance to impatiens. Vinca will do well in full sun or a half day of shade. We started carrying a new spreading vinca in addition to the popular upright type. Look for Mediterranean vinca to grow in large drifts on hillsides, an area where a groundcover might be used or in hanging baskets. The Pacifica and other varieties of upright vinca will do well in flower borders, window boxes and container gardens.

Angelonias at the Penn State Plant Trials

Angelonia aka Summer snapdragon became one of my favorite annuals when I saw it on a 103 degree day in a plant trial in West Chicago. Most of the other plants (and people, for that matter) were in wilt, but the Angelonias and Dragon Wing Begonias looked fantastic. I like the Angelface variety for its large bloom and the Serenas for their compact habit and early blooming time. Both bloom in an assortment of colors including white, pink and purple.



Dragon Wings do well in larger containers, including hanging baskets

The aforementioned Dragon Wing begonias have nice looking pink or red flowers that bloom all summer in full sun, full shade and everything in between. The only down side of these plants is that they are hard to combine with most other plants because of their vigorous habit. We have paired them with Golden lysimachia and Marguerite sweet potato vine with good success. Look for two other begonias with similar growing habits. Both the Whopper and the Big series of begonias are large, vigorous plants that handle the heat beautifully.

Pentas  Photo courtesy Benary Seed

Pentas have unique clusters of five-pointed petals on a beautiful, compact plant. Butterflies like them too. Look for white, pink, purple and white. They combine beautifully with many other sun-lovers as well.

A hummingbird favorite!

Salvia Black and Blue is our top-seller in our 8 inch pots. I think my coworkers and I are responsible for a good many of those sales as we grow them to attract hummingbirds to our gardens. The black stems and cobalt-blue flowers thrive in full sun. Be careful to plant them into a pretty big pot as they will fill out a container in no time.

There are plenty of other annuals that are valuable for their heat-loving capabilities, Purslane portulaca, lantana, celosia, crossandra, and zinnias thrive in hot, hot areas. When transplanting , use a plant starter fertilizer to get them rooted in well. Use Osmocote for pots and beds as a timed-release food that will last 2-4 months. If you want blooms to stay spectacular through the season, use a water soluble fertilizer as well.

Our first heat wave of the summer was relatively short, but, Maryland being Maryland certainly has more hot weather ahead for us. Enjoy your summer!

Heat-Loving Angelonias

Trial gardens featuring Angelonias

Several years ago, a few of us headed to West Chicago, Illinois to see some garden trials. Much like the weather recently suffered by Chicagoans, temperatures topped 100 degrees. I don't know who was wilting more, our group or the flowers. We walked for hours, judging plants grown side by side. There were two standouts. One, the Dragon Wing Begonia, was looking great in both sun and shade. Even in our store, they look wonderful no matter where they are planted in any type of pot. The other, Angelonia, stood tall, not showing a bit of weakness as the sun shone hot upon it.



Angelonia Archangel

Also called Summer Snapdragon, Angelonias thrive if full, hot sun, planted in borders or in pots. The whites are bright; darker colors like purple and raspberry look great all summer long. Now, it is a  favorite in the summer garden.