Our new Plant Curiosities feature rarities for enthusiasts

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Gardeners will shout bravo to these plant debuts

By MARTY WINGATE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

New doesn't necessarily mean better, but it is often more interesting. Each spring, a round of new plants is introduced by growers -- different colors, forms and textures for the garden. This year's collection of what's new can meet the needs of almost any gardener. To help you with your decision-making, here is a rundown of some of the more noteworthy additions to this year's garden.

First the flowers.

Meet Delphinium elatum 'Susan Edmunds,' one of the English delphiniums. 'Susan Edmunds' has double, violet-colored, almost iridescent flowers on densely packed stalks that appear in early summer. If you are vigilant and cut back the flower stalks just after bloom, you may get a second flush of flowers.

'Susan Edmunds' grows to 5 feet the first year and up to 8 feet after it settles in. As with other delphiniums, it needs full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Water regularly and stand guard against slugs. Yes, it's work, but, after all, it's for delphiniums.

Astrantia 'Magnum Blush,' for the sunny border, starts out pink in bud and opens to large white flowers with a blush.

In front of the 2-foot-high Astrantia, use Campanula 'Royal Wave,' just half its size. 'Royal Wave' has fragrant, open-faced purple flowers with a white center; it blooms late spring through summer. And 'Royal Wave' is sterile, so there's no worry about its reseeding around.

Another Geum gets added to my collection this year -- Geum 'Mango Lassi' has double apricot-and-gold flowers held above the clump of foliage. It blooms once in early summer but puts on a great show.

Every year, the line between the showiest feature of a plant -- is it flowers or foliage? -- blurs a little more. This year, several new plants provide interest in both, which helps to extend the plant's show in the garden.

Campanula punctata 'Plum Wine' blooms with narrow, 2-inch, bell-shaped flowers that are light pink at the tips and darken closer to the stem. The foliage is a plum color in summer and red in winter.

For colorful foliage in part shade, try the new Jacob's ladder Polemonium 'Bressingham Purple.' Its long, evenly divided leaves are flushed dark purple in spring (when the stems of lavender-blue flowers appear) and again in fall.

The silver and red leaves of Persicaria 'Silver Dragon' create a long display, accented by small sprays of tiny white flowers in summer. 'Silver Dragon' is a clumper and grows to about 2 feet high and 3 feet wide. Grow in full sun.

New plants often are planned by breeders, but sometimes they are discovered in a garden. A perennial usually found as an annual basket stuffer -- Bidens 'Madame Ganna Walska' -- was discovered at the garden Lotusland in Santa Barbara, Calif., by local designer and plantsman Bob Lilly and a grower from Oregon.

'Madame Ganna Walska,' named for the opera singer and proprietress of Lotusland, has open, deep-pink flowers all summer and into fall. The plant grows 4 feet high and spreads to an impressive 6-foot stand. Make way.

More flowers for you. Coreopsis 'Creme Brulee' has dark foliage and buttery flowers over an extended period. It's sort of a bulked-up 'Moonbeam.' There are two new mulleins, great for hot sun: Verbascum 'Plum Smokey' (purple) and 'Sugar Plum' (plum). A new white coneflower is here, Echinacea 'Fragrant Angel,' and for fall, a double Japanese anemone, Anemone x hybrida 'Party Dress.'

The large, maplelike leaves of Mukdenia rossii 'Crimson Fans' flush red in summer, looking as if they've been dipped in paint. This unusual ground cover takes shade and even moisture. In early spring, 12-inch stems with clusters of white flowers appear.

More variations in Heuchera foliage color are popping up all the time, including: 'Lime Rickey' (chartreuse), 'Marmalade' (apricot and pink) and 'City Lights' (bronze-chocolate).

Closely related x Heucherella is a hybrid between coral bells (Heuchera) and foam flower (Tiarella) and has been given the odd common name of foamy bells (sounds like a dish detergent to me).

The flowers of x Heucherella are more showy than Heuchera, as is evidenced in 'Birthday Cake' (lots of creamy white flowers above chocolate foliage) and 'Party Time' (pink flowers, green leaves).

Foam flowers themselves -- fabulous plants for dry shade -- also have some new showings. 'Candy Striper' has loads of pink flowers and green leaves with a dark mark down the middle of each lobe. The leaves of 'Pirate's Patch' have dark centers; it blooms with a copious amount of stems covered in tiny white flowers.

Even the flowers of spurges look like foliage. Euphorbia 'Blue Lagoon' is a hybrid between Mrs. Robb's spurge (dry shade!) and E. 'Jade Dragon' (a blue tint to the foliage).

Fancy begonias in summer pots are all the rage, and here to feed that need is 'River Nile.' It has swirling foliage with ruffled red edges and will help bring a jolt of energy to the shade.

Perennials are obviously faster to breed than shrubs, but there are a few new shrub selections, too. These include a variegated bluebeard, Caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy.' Its foliage is heavily edged in white; like other bluebeards, it blooms in late summer with soft blue flowers, prefers hot sun and doesn't mind dry soil.

Catching many a gardener's eye since it showed up last year is the (almost) new golden-leaved smoke bush. Cotinus 'Golden Spirit' brings dazzling bright light to the garden, and then goes out in a blaze of glory in fall, turning glowing shades of orange.

I think I can find room for all of these.

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