[ Giant Hyssop (Agastache 'Tutti Frutti') | Posted on April 25, 2019 ] 'Tutti Frutti' is an interspecific hybrid created by Rich Dufresne. It was released around 1987. |
[ Purple Porterweed (Stachytarpheta frantzii) | Posted on February 22, 2018 ] Stachytarpheta frantzii is a wonderful plant for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Since it isn't hardy here, it is grown in a container that gets wheeled into an unheated garage during the winter. The cold temperatures (sometimes near freezing) in the garage usually cause the plant to drop its leaves and enter dormancy. When temperatures begin to warm, it quickly grows new leaves. It seems as though the plant may be sterile or self-sterile. Achenes that I've collected from the plant lack an actual seed inside. |
[ Salvia Big Blue | Posted on February 9, 2018 ] This is a new, interspecific, seed-propagated cultivar set to be introduced in 2019 by PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticultural. It is a Salvia longispicata x S. farinacea cross. It currently has PVPAF (Plant Variety Protection applied for) status. |
[ Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena 'Pink Zazzle') | Posted on November 1, 2017 ] Although marketed as an "annual," this hybrid Gomphrena appears to actually be a tender perennial. I've had a potted specimen for about 3 years now. Every winter, it gets thrown into a cold garage that gets near freezing but not below. In the cold garage, it goes dormant or semi-dormant. It only gets lightly watered to keep it dormant and free of root-rot. When warm weather returns in spring, it resumes growth from the crown/roots. It has large, fleshy, white roots which suggest its true perennial nature. True annuals don't generally invest in such substantial roots since they depend on returning the next year via seed and not via dormant roots. |
[ Salvia (Salvia mexicana 'Byron Flynt') | Posted on May 29, 2016 ] Salvia mexicana 'Byron Flynt' was originally thought to be an interspecific cross between Salvia mexicana & Salvia hispanica. |
[ Hybrid Rose Leaf Sage (Salvia 'Mulberry Jam') | Posted on January 27, 2016 ] 'Mulberry Jam' is an interspecific hybrid between Salvia involucrata and an unknown species. The other parent is speculated to be Salvia chiapensis. It was found in the California garden of Betsy Clebsch. It is a gorgeous Salvia that grows to around four feet tall and starts blooming in midsummer, continuing until frost. Emergence after winter doesn't occur until late spring. Plants that are overwintered without freezing can start blooming even earlier. It is less brittle than its S. involucrata parent but can still benefit from protection from strong winds. It is very popular with hummingbirds and hummingbird gardeners. |
[ Cigar Plant (Cuphea 'Starfire Pink') | Posted on January 8, 2016 ] Quote from - http://handle.nal.usda.gov/101... |
[ Blue Anise Sage (Salvia coerulea Nectar Blue™) | Posted on February 20, 2015 ] 'Black & Bloom' is a new cultivar developed by Ball FloraPlant that seems to have limited release in the summer of 2015, but should be more widely released in 2016. It is supposed to be an improvement over 'Black & Blue' in vigor, form, and floriferousness. Apparently, 'Black & Blue' has lost much of its original vigor after many years of tissue culture. Like 'Black & Blue', 'Black & Bloom' has deep blue flowers held in a blackish calyx. It is currently rated as hardy in USDA Zones 8-10. |
[ Hummingbird Plant (Ruttya fruticosa) | Posted on October 11, 2014 ] I grew both the yellow and orange forms for several years and they never bloomed until about November. The yellow was always a couple of weeks later than the orange. We usually have freezes before then, so they would be on the glassed-in porch, making a mess with their copious nectar. I was hoping they would be good nectar plants for the hummingbirds, but clearly that didn't work because the plants were inside and the hummingbirds had migrated away for the winter. When they got a bad mealybug infestation one winter, I just got rid of them. The flowers really are adorable...if only they bloomed earlier. |
[ Mecardonia GoldDust™ | Posted on October 11, 2014 ] This is my first year growing this plant and it hasn't performed well at all for me in a container. When it was in a shadier position, the foliage looked good but it never bloomed. When I moved the container into a little more light, the Mecardonia was constantly drying out and portions of it would die off. It appears that this plant requires high light and high moisture and does not handle the volatile conditions of being planted in a container well. Perhaps it would work with an in-ground planting in a damp and sunny area or in a container that has a water reservoir of some type. The little flowers were really adorable and cheerful for the brief time that they lasted. |
[ Euphorbia (Euphorbia hypericifolia Diamond Frost®) | Posted on October 11, 2014 ] 'Diamond Frost' has performed well for me in both sun and shade. In the sun, the plants stay in a tidier mound with denser blooms. In the shade, they grow larger and lacier but are still attractive, particularly when used as a filler around more substantial plants. The plant has grown well for me both in the ground and in containers. However, don't let the delicate look of the plant fool you when planting it in mixed containers. It is quite vigorous and can quickly overwhelm weaker growers. Plants are very drought tolerant, but they don't seem to mind regular watering either. Plants are extremely easy to overwinter inside in a cool but non-freezing area, such as a garage or basement. Keep them on the dry side and water lightly when needed. When they are placed back outside in the spring, you can give them a trim and some fertilizer and they will rebound quickly. |
[ Beefsteak Plant (Perilla 'Magilla') | Posted on October 10, 2014 ] Perilla 'Magilla' is related to Coleus and looks similar. I've read that it was discovered in a collection in Japan and is thought to be a hybrid because it rarely blooms and doesn't seem to set viable seed. I have some planted in full sun and in shade, and they have performed wonderfully in both locations. The coloration of the leaves varies greatly depending on the amount of sun exposure. In the full sun, they are plum-purple with magenta splashes. In the shade, the colors lighten and include green, pink, cream, and plum colors. Both versions are lovely. The shade color-scheme has looked especially nice with my 'Compact Blush Sunpatiens'. This plant is getting harder to find, so take cuttings if you want to keep it. Several cuttings rooted easily for me outside in a gallon-sized pot of soilless potting mix. I then divided them into three separate plants and they grew quickly. |
[ Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii 'Bicolor') | Posted on October 10, 2014 ] I'd been wanting to try this cultivar for years, so I was very excited to find a gallon-sized plant locally last spring. I planted it in full sun and it grew well. However, this has proved to be a very disappointing cultivar for me. In two years, I've only seen the bicolor coloration once. The majority of the time it's just a muddy, light-mauve color and that's only when it decides to eke out a few blooms. Also, when it does manage to bloom, it never gets a pretty spire of blooms because the individual flowers seem to quickly go from bud to dead and brown. It results in an ugly spire with the fresh flowers mixed in with the dead blooms. My other butterfly bush cultivars are floriferous all summer and have attractive spires of blooms. Meanwhile, the 'Bicolor' just looks weedy and sad. |
[ Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus 'Buttercup') | Posted on August 28, 2014 ] 'Buttercup' was chosen as a Classic City Award winner for 2011 by the UGA Trial Gardens for its outstanding performance in Athens, GA. |
[ Salvia Ember's Wish | Posted on August 28, 2014 ] Salvia 'Ember's Wish' was discovered as a naturally occurring sport (mutation) on Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' by a Plant Growers Australia team in Melbourne. PGA auctioned the naming rights at a Make-A-Wish® ball and donated the proceeds to the charity. Paul and Lyn Shegog won the auction and named the variety after their two children, Emma and Brett, both of whom had passed away from a rare genetic condition. A portion of the proceeds from every (patented) plant sold is donated to Make-A-Wish®. |
[ Salvia Love and Wishes™ | Posted on August 28, 2014 ] Salvia 'Love and Wishes' is the result of breeding by John Fisher of Australia. He used the popular Salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’ in his breeding program in hopes of getting a similar plant with different colored flowers. Unlike the bright magenta-pink of ‘Wendy’s Wish’, the flowers on 'Love and Wishes' are a deep violet-purple with darker purple calyces. |
[ Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha 'Danielle's Dream') | Posted on October 2, 2011 ] This pink and white form of Salvia leucantha is patented under the name 'Ferpink' but is being marketed under the names of 'Danielle's Dream', 'Pink Velour' and 'Velour Pink'. |
[ Sage (Salvia Mystic Spires Blue) | Posted on September 30, 2011 ] This is a shorter mutation of 'Indigo Spires.' Like 'Indigo Spires', it is sterile due to an odd number of chromosomes and won't produce seed. Because of this, it is very floriferous. It's a very pretty plant that is enjoyed by bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. |
[ Schumann’s Cuphea (Cuphea schumannii) | Posted on September 30, 2011 ] Cuphea schumannii is a species native to Mexico that has orange tubular calyces with small, lavender-purple petals that look like bunny ears. The plant tends to be big and sprawling. Hummingbirds find the flowers very, very attractive. Seed develops inside the tubular calyx and, when ripe, the old calyx flower splits to reveal the green to brown seeds. |
[ Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' | Posted on September 30, 2011 ] 'Wendy's Wish' is a wonderful hybrid Salvia with spires of bright fuchsia colored flowers with brownish-pink calyces that was found in Wendy Smith's garden in Australia. The leaves are dark green and glossy. It is a sterile, interspecific cross so it has a very long bloom period and doesn't set seed. This plant is patented and part of the proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, therefore the name 'Wendy's Wish'. It can take Sun to Part Shade (prefers part sun-part shade in the south.) It has performed very well for me in a container and I love the flowers. It is attractive to hummingbirds. I have been overwintering it on a porch that gets close to freezing but not below and it doesn't go dormant. I haven't tried overwintering it outside yet. |