I always get excited about new plant choices. Sure, I love my favorites. I wouldn't want a garden without the fantastic performance of Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum Petunia and Diamond Frost® Euphorbia, among others, but I have to admit that the allure of brand new plants beckons every spring. 2008 is bringing some great new plants for gardeners here in the US and Canada. I'll give you a brief overview of the new items you should be able to find at garden centers this spring.
Our Artist® series of Ageratum has proven to have superior summer garden performance, even holding up to the heat of a Dallas summer at the Dallas Arboretum. Our newest addition is Artist® Rose. You get the same great habit while enjoying rose to pink flowers. Plant growth is normally vigorous enough for the plant to "bury Its dead." In other words, the old flowers are quickly covered with new foliage and flowers making deadheading unnecessary, a great choice for pots or landscapes. Another new pink-toned flower is Molimba® Pink Argyranthemum. This daisy will bloom great all season, in very hot climates it may slow-down during the dog days of summer but will bounce back when night temperatures fall in late summer and fall.
Angelonia, has become a popular bedding plant in the last 10 yeas. I love our series, Angelface®, for its heat and drought tolerance, vigorous growth, and large flowers. For 2008 we are adding Angelface® Dark Violet and an improved version of Angelface® White. They are great adding height to combinations or landscape beds.
Superbells® Calibrachoa have become known for their disease tolerance and vigorous habit. We place a great emphasis on plants that have better tolerance to damp soils and root diseases. While Superbells® are indeed better than other Calibrachoa they will still do best in pots, unless you have very good drainage I probably wouldn't plant them in the landscape. This year we have introduced 6 great new Superbells®. Superbells® Apricot Punch has unique yellow-apricot petals with a large red eye, when temperatures are warm. In cooler temperatures the petals are more salmon-pink while maintaining that stunning red eye.
Superbells® Dreamsicle is a dreamy mix of orange tones, it has already garnered 11 awards from independent trials including the Smithsonian Institute garden. Superbells® Saffron is bright yellow with a few red veins highlighting a slight eye, my favorite new color. The yellow is most vibrant in warm temperatures with salmon tones making an appearance in cool temperatures. Superbells® Scarlet is bright red with a slight yellow eye to really make the color pop. For those of you who prefer softer colors, Superbells® Yellow Chiffon sports soft yellow color on uniquely trumpet shaped flowers. Superbells® Yellow Chiffon was our most popular new Superbells®. For those of you scouting for a nice trailing white plant to spill from planters and hanging baskets, Superbells® Trailing White is just the ticket.
I combined Superbells® Saffron, Superbells® Dreamsicle, Superbells® Scarlet and Angelface® Dark Violet for an eye popping combination in 3 larger planters last year. I love the contrast of dark blue/purple combined with orange, red and yellow.
For the first time we have found a Cuphea that is worthy of the Proven Winners® name. I think you will fall in love with Totally Tempted™ just as quickly as I have. It did great in my containers, showing off bright red and purple flowers all summer and should be just as fabulous in the ground. It has good heat and drought tolerance, doesn't need much fertilizer (in fact prefers to not be fed too heavily) and has great weather tolerance - holding up to heavy rain without a blink. Many Cuphea don't have the same color punch as other annuals but Totally Tempted™ is compact and colorful.
Dolce® Blackcurrant Heuchera is the newest addition to our series of Coral Bells. In warm temperatures the leaves of the plant are black to purple with faint silver markings and a plum-crimson reverse. With the onset of colder temperatures the silver netting becomes prominent and black coloration transforms into pinkish-plum undertones. She does bloom in mid to late spring but the flowers are an afterthought rather than the main show. She is a fast grower and will establish quickly. She does best in part shade to shade but will tolerate full sun in most areas.
While we are talking shade plants let me introduce you to Rockapulco™, our new double Impatiens series. Rockapulco™ comes in seven colors, Appleblossom, Dark Orange, Orchid, Purple, Red, Rose, and White. The large double blossoms look like miniature rose blooms but perform great in shady locations. Rockapulco™ will do great in containers or landscapes. We also have a new Torenia, Catalina® White Linen that is pure white with just a hint of a yellow spot in the throat. The habit is mounded which works great in both the landscape and containers. Torenia is one of the vastly underutilized plants in horticulture. These plants are heat and shade tolerant, a combination I know I'm always looking for.
I am always looking for heat tolerant, sun tolerant, drought tolerant, tough as nails plants that are pretty to boot and we have 2 new Lantana that fit the bill. Luscious™ Lemonade and Luscious™ Grape love the heat and humidity that cause other plants to wilt. Luscious™ Lemonade has fresh citrusy -yellow flowers with a well branched, mounded, mediumly vigorous habit. It sets little seed but is not completely sterile. Luscious™ Grape is a more trailing type of habit with dark lavender to purple flowers with a nice bright white eye. It has good vigor and is sterile so there will be no seed set.
Supertunia® Bermuda Beach Petunia has soft salmony pink petals with an almost iridescent shimmer in sunlight. It is vigorous but holds it's shape very well. It is the first salmon in our Supertunia® line and I think you will love it.
This is just a quick over view of the newest items for the Proven Winners® line. I'm really excited about our new plants and I hope are will be too.
Patent Information for plants in this article:
Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum 'USTUNI6001' US PP17,730, Can. PBR 2871; Diamond Frost® 'Inneuphdia' US PP17,567, Can. PBR 2830; Artist® Rose (Imp) 'Agros' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Molimba® Pink 'Argymip' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Angelface® White (Imp) 'Anwhitim' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Angelface® Dark Violet 'Andeepvi' US PPAF Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Apricot Punch 'USCALI413-8' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Dreamsicle 'USCALI411-7' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Saffron 'USCALI413-4' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Scarlet 'USCALI411-12' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Yellow Chiffon 'USCALI402-1' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Superbells® Trailing White 'KLECA07108' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Totally Tempted™ 'CUPED' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Rockapulco® Dark Orange 'BALFIEDEOR' US PP13,643, Can. PBR 1519; Rockapulco® Orchid 'LAVENDER ORCHID' US PP9,615; Rockapulco® Purple 'BALFIEPURP' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Rockapulco® Rose 'BALOLESTOP' US PP13,639; Rockapulco® White 'BFP-7812' US PP11,365, Can. PBR 643; Luscious™ Grape 'Robpwpur' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Luscious™ Lemonade 'Robpwcrm' US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Supertunia® Bermuda Beach US PPAF, Can. PBRAF; Catalina™ White Linen 'DANCAT5153' US PPAF;, Can. PBRAF
