New & Exciting Perennials

Julie Schroer and Jodie Ramsay

Jean’s - The Right Plant Place

It has certainly been an interesting winter so far. But spring is coming, and with it, a lot of new perennials. We will share with you a sampling of the roughly 170 new varieties we will receive in just a few short weeks!

Shade Perennials:

Astilbe: Astilbes produce an amazing range of brightly colored plumes during mid-summer and range in height from 12” to nearly 4’ tall! They do best in moist, rich soil. A. ‘Moulin Rouge (11”, Zone 3), is a dwarf selection. It features fluffy, reddish-purple plumes over a compact mound of burgundy-brown leaves. Two other new varieties are A. ‘Freya’ (18”), with vibrant pink flowers spikes, and A. ‘Lisa’ (24”), with dense, white flower spikes; both are Zone 4.

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Diane’s Gold’: Chartreuse leaves form a 12” mound and hold their color all season long! They produce small, forget-me-not-like blue flowers in early spring. The leaves are hairy, so deer will most likely leave them alone. They will tolerate well-drained, moist soil. Zone 4.

Heuchera: Coral bells are most often grown for their foliage, but they all produce flower spikes in shades of white, pink, or red (which attract hummingbirds!). Zone 4. Some newbies include:

  • H. DOLCE® ‘Silver Gumdrop’. 6-8”/20-24”. If you are looking for a silver coral bell to brighten up your shade area, this is it! Unlike other silver Heucheras, ‘Silver Gumdrop’ has vibrant pink flowers instead of the typical white or cream. Its silver, iridescent leaves have a semi-glossy finish and take on a rosy blush overtone later in the season.
  • H.PRIMO™ ‘Black Pearl’. 8-10”/18-20”. If you are going to choose just one coral bell for your garden, this is the one! Meet the new standard for black heucheras! This beauty forms a dense habit of shiny, jet black 4-4.5” leaves with scalloped, ruffled edges and rosy-purple undersides. It keeps its intense black color even in full sun. White flowers.
  • H. ‘Tokyo’. 10”/15”. This low mound of lime green foliage has shown to be amazingly tough and is both disease and heat-resistant. It provides a long-lasting show of red blooms starting in July.

Hosta: You know we have to talk about hostas! Why? They are low maintenance, easy to grow, drought tolerant—the list goes on! We’ll carry several new varieties this year, including:

  • H. ‘Wrinkle in Time’: 29”W x 9”H.Dark green, wavy leaves have creamy yellow margins in spring, maturing to white in summer.
  • H. ‘Aquamarine’: 30”W x 15”H. Thick blue leaves tinged with purple in the spring.
  • H. ‘Velvet Moon’: 38”W x 17”H. Large, dark green leaves with wide golden-yellow borders.
  • H. ‘Munchkin Fire’: 15”W x 7”H. A miniature hosta with narrow yellow leaves.
  • H. ‘Lakeside Little Tuft’: 10”W x 4”H. This mini hosta sports green leaves with yellow centers that turn white later in the season.
  • H. ‘Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’: 17”w x 9”H. The leaves of this sport of H. ‘Striptease’ have wide, yellow margins that gradually turn to an apple green. The leaves twist and cup before flattening out later in the season. You’re humming the song in your head, now, aren’t you?

Ligularia: These tropical-looking plants really make a statement in your shade garden. New this year is L. ‘BBQ Banana’ (36”), with dark chocolate, heart-shaped leaves and golden-yellow, daisy-like flowers. Ligularias require very moist soil and may wilt in the sun, so plant them where they will be protected. Zone 4.

Pulmonaria‘Shrimps on the Barbie’: This spreading variety of lungwort (10”) has a huge number of large, deep shrimp-pink flowers in spring. The green foliage has prominent white spots. Deer, rabbit, and mildew resistant too!

TiarellaSYLVAN™ Lace: This new foamflower has a vigorous, compact habit (9” mound; 16”flowers). Its beautifully patterned leaves are so lobed they resemble snowflakes! Lovely white flower spikes appear in spring. Zone 4.

Trollius europaeus ‘Superbus’: This bright yellow globeflower (24-30”) is stunning in the woodland garden. It flowers for much of the summer and produces wonderful cut flowers! Best in afternoon shade and moist soil or along water features. Zone 3.

Thalictrum rochebrunianum: This plant really makes a statement! It’s large in stature, yet delicate in texture. Deep wine-purple stems carry umbels of lavender flowers accented by yellow stamens. Tolerates full sun to full shade. It reaches 4-6’ in height, so place it where it won’t dwarf nearby plants. Zone 4

Sun Shrubs:

Cephalanthus occidentalisFiber Optics™ 'Bailoptics' PPAF: This compact variety of buttonbush (5-6’ tall and wide) is happy in moist conditions, and can even tolerate flooding. It has many wildlife benefits too; seeds are eaten by waterfowl and the fragrant flowers are great for pollinators. Zone 4.

Hydrangea paniculata Diamond Rouge® ‘Rendia’: New in 2017, Diamond Rouge® is the reddest H. paniculata on the market. Long-lasting flowers start white and progress to pink, raspberry red and eventually wine red. Starts blooming in July, so the mature coloration occurs earlier in the season than other varieties.

Sun Perennials:

Asclepias: Planting for pollinators is more important than ever! A. tuberosa(butterfly weed) is aptly named, as they are butterfly magnets. A. tuberosa produces bright orange flowers; it’s the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2017! A. tuberosa‘Gay Butterflies’ produces a mix of colors, ranging from yellow to orangish-red. 24-28”. Zone 3.

Amsonia tabernaemontana‘Storm Cloud’: 24-36”. Zone 4. New stems emerge near-black, and the dark green leaves have silver veins. Light periwinkle blue, star-shaped flowers cover the plant for several weeks starting late spring. Deer and rabbit-resistant too! Zone 4.

Dianthus: The new ‘Paint the Town’ series of Dianthus (6-8”) is prized for its bright flower color and increased heat tolerance. D. ‘Paint the Town Fuchsia’ has single fuchsia flowers with lavender centers and serrated petals. D. ‘Paint the Town Magenta’features magenta-pink flowers. Deadhead encourage rebloom in the fall. Flowers completely cover the glaucous blue foliage at its peak in early June. Zone 4.

Digitalis purpurea ‘Dalmatian Peach’: This fast growing foxglove is a perennial rather than a biennial, so it flowers the first year. Flowers open a pinkish-peach, then lighten to soft peach with tiny orange speckles. It forms large rosettes of downy green, oblong leaves. With flowers, it reaches 24-36” in height. Zone 4.

Echinacea: Coneflowers come in a variety of colors, heights, and flower types and are pollinator magnets! Plant early in the season to allow time for the taproot to mature. Some new varieties include:

  • E. DOUBLE SCOOP™ MANDARIN (‘Balscandin’): 18-22”. Large, 4” wide fluorescent orange pom-pom flowers are supported with short, strong stems. With age, flowers take on dark rosy pink tones. Zone 4.
  • E.SOMBRERO® Adobe Orange (‘Balsomador’): 18-20”. One of the best orange Echinacea to date! 2.5-3” flowers are intense orange with matching orange cones. The dark green foliage is completely covered with flowers. Zone 4.
  • E. ‘Amazing Dream’: 16”. This coneflower is a dream in the landscape. It has a compact habit and produces many deep pink flowers over the many-month bloom time. Zone 4.

Festuca glauca ‘Blue Whiskers’: 10-12”. Taller and more vigorous thanF. ‘Elijah Blue’, with longer leaves and a brighter, silvery blue foliage color. Forms a fully rounded, robust clump with consistent flower coverage. Yellow-green flowers age to tan as the season progresses. Zone 4.

Hemerocallis: Zone 3. Daylilies are aptly named, as each flower lasts only one day. Blooms will grace your gardens in late June, July, or August, depending on the variety. Colors range from whites and yellows to pinks and reds, even a few purples and oranges, and different varieties may be ruffled, have a “spider” look, or even double. Some are fragrant, and others may rebloom if you remove spent flowers. A few new varieties include:

  • H. ‘Naughty Red’: 24”. Scarlet-red, tetraploid flowers with gold edges. The flowers measure 6” across! May rebloom. Evergreen.
  • H. ‘Cheese and Wine’: 28”. Orchid-mauve, ruffled petals have large lighter orchid halos and buttery-yellow centers. It has a lovely fragrance too! Semi-evergreen.
  • H. ‘Magic Amethyst’: 27”. Tetraploid flowers are highly fragrant, sporting lavender petals with green throats. May rebloom. Dormant.
  • H. ‘Purple Flame’: 24”. Light lavender petals with burgundy edges and eyezones. Tetraploid; may rebloom. Semi-evergreen.

Hibiscus: Have you gotten on the perennial hibiscus bandwagon? Yes, they are slow to emerge in the spring, but they are worth the wait! These attention-grabbers can reach 4-5’ tall with flowers 8-10” across! H. ‘Starry Night’ has dark foliage with pink flowers with darker pink veins & splotches.Also new this year areH. SUMMERIFIC™ ‘Ballet Slippers’ (white flowers with red eyes that are edged in soft pink), and H. ‘Summer in Paradise’ (cherry red flowers). Zone 4.

Perovskia: Russian sage makes quite a statement in the garden! New in 2017 is a fairly short variety, P. atriplicifolia ‘Blue Jean Baby’ (28-34”), with a compact habit and long-lasting, purple flowers. Zone 4.

Lupinus: The new MINI GALLERY™ series of L. polyphyllus (14-16)” is touted as being more compact, earlier blooming, and more floriferous than otherLupine varieties. We will be carrying the blue bicolor, pink bicolor, yellow, and red varieties. They are lovely grown en masse and make wonderful bouquets!

Sempervivum: Hens and Chicks grow to 3-4” in height. They form large, fleshy rosettes that prefer lots of sun and dry soil. As the ‘chicks’ multiply, they may be separated and used to start additional patches. New this year is the Sempervivum Chick Charms® series (Zone 4), with unique colors and textures. A few examples of this series are S. ‘Chocolate Kiss™’ (mahogany), S. ‘Watermelon Ripple™’ (watermelon-red and green),S. ‘Cranberry Cocktail™’ (burgundy with green tips), S. ‘Mint Marvel™’ (blue-green with burgundy tips), and S. ‘Key Lime Kiss™’ (lime-green).

Phlox: Garden phlox provide long-term color in July. P. paniculata ‘Bambini’ has large flower heads of pinkish-purple, fragrant flowers. It is very compact (10-12)” and is said to be very mildew-resistant (Zone 4). Also new is P. paniculata ‘Lord Clayton’ (36-48”, Zone 3). The combination of cherry-red blooms and deep purple foliage makes this one a show stopper! Fashionably Early series blooms 2-3 weeks earlier than most other varieties; it includes several colors including pale lavender (‘Fashionably Early Lavender Ice’), and lavender-pink (‘Fashionably Early Flamingo’). These varieties get 30-36” tall and are stoloniferous, so they don’t clump as much as other types; they will spread, we think. Plant garden phlox in full sun and with enough space in between plants to prevent powdery mildew. Zone 4.

Tradescantia: Spiderworts adapt to most soil types as long as they are well-drained. They can tolerate full sun to full shade, but must be kept moist in full sun to prevent burning. T. ‘Charlotte’s Web’ (16-18”, Zone 3) has small, 3-petaled blue flowers and gold foliage that emerges with a small red margin. T. AMETHYST KISS™ ‘Radtrad’ (12-18”, Zone 3) has large clusters of periwinkle-blue flowers with yellow-tipped stamens.

Lilium: Lilies provide a blast of mid-season color. Oriental lilies have larger flowers than Asiatic varieties and are very fragrant. L. ‘Speedy’ is the fastest oriental lily to bloom; it produces large, pink flowers with yellow centers. It is compact (14”), so it has more energy to spend on producing its flowers! Martagon lilies produce unique, downward-facing blooms, producing a chandelier-like effect. L. ‘Claude Shride’ produces dark red blooms dusted with orange spots, and may reach 5-6’! Zone 4.

Jodie Ramsay and Julie Schroer

Think Spring!

Good for 15% off your entire purchase.

Offer good through September 30, 2017.

Excludes gift certificates and sale items.

Brainerd