2018 Perennial of the year is..PRIMO™ Black Pearl Heuchera! The deep black foliage is amazing, especially when mixed with other perennials to show off its color.
To trim or not to trim, that is a big question! The weather is cooling off and your garden perennials and flowering shrubs are probably starting to look sad. I often get asked “Can I trim my Hydrangeas?”, “Does my Hydrangea bloom on new or old growth? New or old wood?”
Why plant drought-tolerant plants even if your region isn’t experiencing a drought? They’re easy-care perennials that keep growing, blooming, and performing even if you forget to water them (after they’re established), even if it doesn’t rain, and even when you leave for a week on vacation in the middle of summer. You don’t have to be in the middle of a drought to appreciate the utility of these plants.
But, before we recommend plants for you, we need to set a couple of things straight.
You love the idea of perennials and not having to plant your plants every year, but you also want a perennial that will bloom all summer. That should be easy to find, right? Actually it is a little tricky to find a long blooming perennial that will give you color for most of the season, most perennials have a couple weeks to maybe a month of bloom time.
I have come up with a few varieties that I will feature that are a long blooming perennial flowers. Most will give you color from May- September with a little dead heading between blooms.
You may be asking what is so super about Supertunias®? Why does Garden Crossings make such a big deal out of them? We really do think they are super and we stand behind that statement by planting hundreds of them in our very own landscape, both at the Garden Center/Greenhouse and at our home, every year!
What is a Supertunia®? A Supertunia® is a petunia that has been breed and tested for excellence in performance, flower power, and overall habit by the folks at Proven Winners®. Petunia Supertunia® is marketed by Proven Winners® and has been proven to perform well all over the county. These plants are an excellent choice for use in ground plantings, hanging baskets and in combination planters. Supertunias® have a trailing habit with the exception of the Vista® series, theirs is a mounding habit.
So you love the look of the large, white, cone shaped paniculata Hydrangeas, but are thinking…I don’t have the space to grow that large of a shrub. I am here to tell you that you now have options! When you think of Hardy paniculata Hydrangeas the one that comes to mind in most cases is Hydrangea ‘Limelight’. ‘Limelight’ is a beautiful flowering shrub but does get upwards of 8 foot which may not work in every garden.
The dark evening sky, the mysterious happenings in the night, all of these things set you up for a touch of fear. Right? Well maybe not but it got your attention anyway. Today’s featured plant is ‘Midnight Marvel‘ Hibiscus. ‘Midnight Marvel’ is a new plant introduction for 2013. It is a cross between to other great Hardy hibiscus plants, those plants are ‘Summer Storm‘, known for its dark foliage and also ‘Cranberry Crush‘ known for its deep, rich, red flowers.
So if someone was to ask me ” What is the best thing about this plant?” This is what I would have to say. “There are several ‘best’ things!” What really stands out as the most intriguing feature of ‘Midnight Marvel‘ is the deep dark purple, almost black, foliage. Then when you pair the huge cranberry blooms with that dark foliage the contrast is Striking! Not only are you getting beautiful blooms color in your garden, you can also enjoy the dark foliage color. Planted in full, the foliage will be the darkest in color. Another thing to point out is, that this Hardy Hibiscus is what is known as “indeterminate”. Indeterminate is a feature you should look for when deciding on what hibiscus variety you are going to choose. Indeterminate means that this plant is going to send blooms all the way up the stem. Which means for you, MORE blooms to enjoy!