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Tidings of "new and improved, drought-tolerant, easy-maintenance, high-yield, long-blooming, and foolproof plants" arrive in my inbox from all parts of the country. But experience taught me long ago to focus on plants that are field-tested for several years in local conditions before being released to the retail market.
Lucky for us, two of our most esteemed local growers are happy to share their glad tidings about the new plants they've been developing locally for release in 2012.
Denny Werner - former director of the JC Raulston Arboretum and now a professor at N.C. State University, researcher and breeder of perennials, woody ornamentals and peach trees - said that his newest butterfly bushes will be in retail stores this spring.
Fans of Werner's "Blue Chip" butterfly bush, released a couple of years ago, will have the opportunity to attract even more precious pollinators by planting his latest buddleja (the proper spelling of what I've been calling buddleia all these years). Look for "Ice Chip" with its low, spreading growth habit and snowy valentines flowers 2012, "Miss Molly" with dense growth and rosy flowers, and "Purple Haze" with long, pendulous flowers in a dusky lavender.
Werner is also responsible for two luscious new redbud trees. "Merlot" has wine-colored, heart-shaped leaves and "Ruby Falls" has similarly colored leaves and a weeping form reminiscent of Merlot spilling down a tower of wine goblets.
Tony Avent, avid plant collector, breeder and owner of Plant Delights Nursery in Juniper Level, recommends several new perennials:
A native pokeberry or Phytolacca americana called "Sunny Side Up," which has red stalks, bright yellow leaves and purple summer berries, reaches about 5 to 6 feet tall and does best in full sun.
For elephant ear aficionados, there's Colocasia esculenta "Black Coral." A showstopper, it has glossy black leaves and forms a clump about 4 feet high.
A new selection of Agave lophantha called "Splendida" would be a great addition to rock gardens, as it forms a foot tall by 20-inch wide rosette of green leaves with a wide, central yellow stripe.
Two Epimediums: "Pretty in Pink," which has mottled red and green foliage topped with sprays of bicolored valentines flowers 2012 in the spring, and "Sunny and Share" with small green leaves flecked with bronze and short flower spikes laden with small yellow bells. Avent said "Sunny and Share" begins flowering in early April and continues through midsummer, making it the longest-flowering epimedium he grows. It tops out at about 14 inches and forms a 4-foot wide, thick evergreen patch in about five years.
A beautiful new Baptisia called "Dutch Chocolate" has rich, chocolaty purple blooms. And, a native to the Florida panhandle, Clinopodium coccineum "Amber Blush," which has adapted well to our climate, forms a clump of woody stems with narrow green leaves topped in late summer with tubular yellow flowers blushed with orange. A highly mottled cast iron plant that doubles as a houseplant north of hardiness zone 7b called Aspidistra elatior "Spek-tacular" surprisingly produces eerie-looking deep pink flowers.
When in doubt about new plant introductions, stick with ones developed through local research and development. And don't forget that expert advice is available at your nearest locally owned garden center. Just ask for the resident horticulture professional.
Happy gardening in the new year!
Stein: moonstepper@juno.com
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