Growing Into the New Year:
Plant Varieties You’ll Want to Try
The beginning of a year is a time for refresh and renewal, new year’s resolutions, maybe a fresh new layer of snow – and new plants! Each year Midwest Groundcovers refreshes our product line with some new introductions – some completely new to the market, while others more in the “new to you” vein - some that we can finally provide good availability on, others that may have proved their worth in the landscape, and some that we felt filled a void in our product line.
Native to just a few counties in Illinois, and sporadically throughout the Midwest, Carex woodie (Wood’s Sedge) came on our radar after the publication of the Mt. Cuba Center Carex trials. One of the top performers in the trials, it is similar to Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge) with its low spreading habit. However, while C. pensylvanica can take time to fill in, C. woodii quickly creates a dense mat of foliage – an element that made it the top performer in their mowing evaluation, which was done to provide recommendations on the best lawn substitutions. Carex woodii grows to 12-18’ tall and is adaptable to both sun and shade.
In the ornamental grass category, there are a couple newer to the market varieties that are at the top of our list. Schizachyrium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ (Little Bluestem) has an appearance unlike any other on the market; the leaves are covered with fine hairs that give the plant a hazy feel – a morning sunrise with a bit of dew only increases the effect. The foliage reaches about 30”, which allows it to blend well in matrix combinations in summer and early fall; once the blooms emerge it reaches 3-4’.
Sorghastrum nutans (Yellow Prairie Grass) is a less often used native species, but the introduction of Golden Sunset® should finally give it its due. A base of olive-green foliage gives way to a column of golden stems, topped off by golden flower plumes. It holds its upright form into winter, even in the event of snow; and reaching 4-6’ tall, it could be a slightly taller alternative to Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. Selected from a seedling by the University of Minnesota, it is hardy to zone 3.
Salvia Perpetual Purple™ (Meadow Sage) is a new introduction from Bloomin Easy® and has proven to be a durable landscape performer. Growing to about 18” tall and wide, plants form a nice mound of purple flowers. Even as the petals fade, purple stems and calyxes extend the appeal of the plant. While a cut back can help tidy the plant up in the dog days of summer, plants will continue to push new flowers through fall, even through spent flower stems.
Geum ‘Mai Tai’ (Avens) from Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials has been such an eye-catching spring bloomer in the Midwest Display Gardens that Midwest is adding more of his introductions to their line. ‘Cherry Bomb’ is a red to cherry pink flower, and ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ is a bright, clear yellow that pops against the green foliage. While both are semi-double flowers, ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ reaches about 18” tall, while ‘Cherry Bomb’ is only about 12-15”. While they can survive periods of drier conditions, plants will look their best in moist, well drained, fertile soil, with some afternoon shade in the heat of summer.
As with almost every year in the past decade or two, there are no shortage of Hydrangea introductions! What may be less common is that this year we have four different species represented among them:
Native to just a few counties in Illinois, and sporadically throughout the Midwest, Carex woodie (Wood’s Sedge) came on our radar after the publication of the Mt. Cuba Center Carex trials. One of the top performers in the trials, it is similar to Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge) with its low spreading habit. However, while C. pensylvanica can take time to fill in, C. woodii quickly creates a dense mat of foliage – an element that made it the top performer in their mowing evaluation, which was done to provide recommendations on the best lawn substitutions. Carex woodii grows to 12-18’ tall and is adaptable to both sun and shade.
In the ornamental grass category, there are a couple newer to the market varieties that are at the top of our list. Schizachyrium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ (Little Bluestem) has an appearance unlike any other on the market; the leaves are covered with fine hairs that give the plant a hazy feel – a morning sunrise with a bit of dew only increases the effect. The foliage reaches about 30”, which allows it to blend well in matrix combinations in summer and early fall; once the blooms emerge it reaches 3-4’.
Sorghastrum nutans (Yellow Prairie Grass) is a less often used native species, but the introduction of Golden Sunset® should finally give it its due. A base of olive-green foliage gives way to a column of golden stems, topped off by golden flower plumes. It holds its upright form into winter, even in the event of snow; and reaching 4-6’ tall, it could be a slightly taller alternative to Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. Selected from a seedling by the University of Minnesota, it is hardy to zone 3.
Salvia Perpetual Purple™ (Meadow Sage) is a new introduction from Bloomin Easy® and has proven to be a durable landscape performer. Growing to about 18” tall and wide, plants form a nice mound of purple flowers. Even as the petals fade, purple stems and calyxes extend the appeal of the plant. While a cut back can help tidy the plant up in the dog days of summer, plants will continue to push new flowers through fall, even through spent flower stems.
Geum ‘Mai Tai’ (Avens) from Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials has been such an eye-catching spring bloomer in the Midwest Display Gardens that Midwest is adding more of his introductions to their line. ‘Cherry Bomb’ is a red to cherry pink flower, and ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ is a bright, clear yellow that pops against the green foliage. While both are semi-double flowers, ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ reaches about 18” tall, while ‘Cherry Bomb’ is only about 12-15”. While they can survive periods of drier conditions, plants will look their best in moist, well drained, fertile soil, with some afternoon shade in the heat of summer.
As with almost every year in the past decade or two, there are no shortage of Hydrangea introductions! What may be less common is that this year we have four different species represented among them:
- H. macrophylla Endless Summer® DreamCloud® - an improvement over ‘Blushing Bride’ with a more compact form, deeper green foliage and longer lasting white blooms
- H. arborescens Incrediball® Blush and Incrediball Storm Proof™ - a pink version and an even studier version of Proven Winners® Incrediball®, respectively
- H. paniculata Little Hottie® and Spring Sizzle® - two First Editions® varieties, the former a compact plant with white blooms that won’t burn in summer sun, the latter a larger variety that ages better in summer heat.
- H. quercifolia Gastby Glow Ball® - another Proven Winners® variety with an improved, faster growing compact habit.
Growing Into the New Year:
Plant Varieties You’ll Want to Try
The beginning of a year is a time for refresh and renewal, new year’s resolutions, maybe a fresh new layer of snow – and new plants! Each year Midwest Groundcovers refreshes our product line with some new introductions – some completely new to the market, while others more in the “new to you” vein - some that we can finally provide good availability on, others that may have proved their worth in the landscape, and some that we felt filled a void in our product line.
Native to just a few counties in Illinois, and sporadically throughout the Midwest, Carex woodie (Wood’s Sedge) came on our radar after the publication of the Mt. Cuba Center Carex trials. One of the top performers in the trials, it is similar to Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge) with its low spreading habit. However, while C. pensylvanica can take time to fill in, C. woodii quickly creates a dense mat of foliage – an element that made it the top performer in their mowing evaluation, which was done to provide recommendations on the best lawn substitutions. Carex woodii grows to 12-18’ tall and is adaptable to both sun and shade.
In the ornamental grass category, there are a couple newer to the market varieties that are at the top of our list. Schizachyrium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ (Little Bluestem) has an appearance unlike any other on the market; the leaves are covered with fine hairs that give the plant a hazy feel – a morning sunrise with a bit of dew only increases the effect. The foliage reaches about 30”, which allows it to blend well in matrix combinations in summer and early fall; once the blooms emerge it reaches 3-4’.
Sorghastrum nutans (Yellow Prairie Grass) is a less often used native species, but the introduction of Golden Sunset® should finally give it its due. A base of olive-green foliage gives way to a column of golden stems, topped off by golden flower plumes. It holds its upright form into winter, even in the event of snow; and reaching 4-6’ tall, it could be a slightly taller alternative to Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. Selected from a seedling by the University of Minnesota, it is hardy to zone 3.
Salvia Perpetual Purple™ (Meadow Sage) is a new introduction from Bloomin Easy® and has proven to be a durable landscape performer. Growing to about 18” tall and wide, plants form a nice mound of purple flowers. Even as the petals fade, purple stems and calyxes extend the appeal of the plant. While a cut back can help tidy the plant up in the dog days of summer, plants will continue to push new flowers through fall, even through spent flower stems.
Geum ‘Mai Tai’ (Avens) from Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials has been such an eye-catching spring bloomer in the Midwest Display Gardens that Midwest is adding more of his introductions to their line. ‘Cherry Bomb’ is a red to cherry pink flower, and ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ is a bright, clear yellow that pops against the green foliage. While both are semi-double flowers, ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ reaches about 18” tall, while ‘Cherry Bomb’ is only about 12-15”. While they can survive periods of drier conditions, plants will look their best in moist, well drained, fertile soil, with some afternoon shade in the heat of summer.
As with almost every year in the past decade or two, there are no shortage of Hydrangea introductions! What may be less common is that this year we have four different species represented among them:
Native to just a few counties in Illinois, and sporadically throughout the Midwest, Carex woodie (Wood’s Sedge) came on our radar after the publication of the Mt. Cuba Center Carex trials. One of the top performers in the trials, it is similar to Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge) with its low spreading habit. However, while C. pensylvanica can take time to fill in, C. woodii quickly creates a dense mat of foliage – an element that made it the top performer in their mowing evaluation, which was done to provide recommendations on the best lawn substitutions. Carex woodii grows to 12-18’ tall and is adaptable to both sun and shade.
In the ornamental grass category, there are a couple newer to the market varieties that are at the top of our list. Schizachyrium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ (Little Bluestem) has an appearance unlike any other on the market; the leaves are covered with fine hairs that give the plant a hazy feel – a morning sunrise with a bit of dew only increases the effect. The foliage reaches about 30”, which allows it to blend well in matrix combinations in summer and early fall; once the blooms emerge it reaches 3-4’.
Sorghastrum nutans (Yellow Prairie Grass) is a less often used native species, but the introduction of Golden Sunset® should finally give it its due. A base of olive-green foliage gives way to a column of golden stems, topped off by golden flower plumes. It holds its upright form into winter, even in the event of snow; and reaching 4-6’ tall, it could be a slightly taller alternative to Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. Selected from a seedling by the University of Minnesota, it is hardy to zone 3.
Salvia Perpetual Purple™ (Meadow Sage) is a new introduction from Bloomin Easy® and has proven to be a durable landscape performer. Growing to about 18” tall and wide, plants form a nice mound of purple flowers. Even as the petals fade, purple stems and calyxes extend the appeal of the plant. While a cut back can help tidy the plant up in the dog days of summer, plants will continue to push new flowers through fall, even through spent flower stems.
Geum ‘Mai Tai’ (Avens) from Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials has been such an eye-catching spring bloomer in the Midwest Display Gardens that Midwest is adding more of his introductions to their line. ‘Cherry Bomb’ is a red to cherry pink flower, and ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ is a bright, clear yellow that pops against the green foliage. While both are semi-double flowers, ‘Top Shelf Margarita’ reaches about 18” tall, while ‘Cherry Bomb’ is only about 12-15”. While they can survive periods of drier conditions, plants will look their best in moist, well drained, fertile soil, with some afternoon shade in the heat of summer.
As with almost every year in the past decade or two, there are no shortage of Hydrangea introductions! What may be less common is that this year we have four different species represented among them:
- H. macrophylla Endless Summer® DreamCloud® - an improvement over ‘Blushing Bride’ with a more compact form, deeper green foliage and longer lasting white blooms
- H. arborescens Incrediball® Blush and Incrediball Storm Proof™ - a pink version and an even studier version of Proven Winners® Incrediball®, respectively
- H. paniculata Little Hottie® and Spring Sizzle® - two First Editions® varieties, the former a compact plant with white blooms that won’t burn in summer sun, the latter a larger variety that ages better in summer heat.
- H. quercifolia Gastby Glow Ball® - another Proven Winners® variety with an improved, faster growing compact habit.