Short Grass Prairie at Wehr Nature Center

Green Roof at Chicago Botanic Garden

• Mow at 2.5-3" minimum. That seems pretty high to most lawn lovers, but it's the ideal height for fescue-bluegrass blends. It will reduce water loss, reduce light penetration to weed seeds, and actually form a thicker turf. 
• Keep your blade sharp, sharpen and balance at least once per year. A dull blade creates poor cut which results in more water loss. 
• Stop fertilizing in summer, stop watering, stop bagging grass clippings! All of these are related. Cool-season grasses are meant to go dormant in summer. They don't need much water to stay alive, they will green up in fall when temps go back down and rain (usually) falls again. If the grass is dormant, it doesn't need fertilizer. And if you DO water and fertilize, you're just making it grow more so you need to cut more often. And if you do water and fertilize and then bag your clippings, you're just throwing that fertilizer right in the garbage. Grass clippings put nitrogen back into your soil. It also feeds the soil ecosystem which feeds the grass.
• Stop dethatching annually. Thatch is mulch. It reduces water loss, keeps soil cool which keeps the grass growing longer, and keeps the soil ecosystem healthy. Healthy soil equals healthy turf. 
• Use only organic fertilizer. Again, healthy soil equals healthy turf. Milorganite and other organic lawn fertilizers do a great job feeding the lawn and the soil ecosystem. The best lawns I've seen are fertilized only with organic fertilizers.
• Fertilize only in spring and fall. Fall is the most important time for fertilizer. Spring is the second most important. Any other application is a waste of money. Seriously. 

Heuchera wasn't always the garden rock star we know today. For almost 100 years, selections were simple green foliage with variable amounts of silver veil, possibly with small but nicely colored flowers. The flowers tended to be on quite tall stems (a trait that I like, but isn't always what you want in a design!) and short-lived.

Heucheras these days come in a various shades of green, silver, burgundy, purple, red, orange, yellow, and nearly any combination of these colors. Flowers can be a range of colors including green, white, pink, and red. Flower stems now tend to be shorter, more in proportion to the foliage, and can be long lasting or even rebloom all season. Heuchera breeders have mostly concentrated on using just 5 species. Knowing which species are used in a variety's background will help you know it's tolerances.

H. americana 'Marvelous Marble'

It should be noted that we understand Heuchera very differently now compared to the 17th century when they were introduced to horticulture. Six species were lumped under the name H. americana at the time and are likely in the background of many early cultivars. These species consist of H. americana, H. caroliniana, H. pubescens, H. alba, H. longiflora, and 

H. longiflora

H. richardsonii

H. richardsonii

H. micrantha

H. villosa is another woodland species, it also likes a rich soil.  It is very heat and humidity tolerant and seems to tolerate clay soils fairly well. Foliage tends to be somewhat fuzzy (villose) and is green. There is also a naturally occurring burgundy form, H. villosa f. purpurea Zones 4-9.

H. micrantha is a western species and prefers good drainage.  However it is also tolerant to moist soils during the growing season. Green foliage with somewhat ruffled margins. Zones 5-9, possibly colder.

H. cylindrica is a western species tolerant to harsh winds and temperature extremes, it tends to be a crevice dweller. Flowers are tightly packed on the stems.  Zones 3-8.

H. cylindrica var. glabella

H. cylindrica var. glabella

H. sanguinea is a south-western species that is extremely heat and drought tolerant. Foliage ranges from green to green with silver veil. This is where great flower colors comes from as well.  Despite its southwestern heritage it is very hardy, but requires excellent drainage to grow successfully in wet climates. Zones 3-9.

H. 'Coral Cloud' from Alan Bloom

Hybridizing Heuchera first began in the very late 1800s. Victor and Emile Lemoine introduced the first hybrid, 'Brizoides' (H. sanguinea x H. americana var. hispida f. purpurea), in 1897 and then 'Gracillima' ('Brizoides' x H. micrantha) in 1900. Many more were introduced by Lemoine et Fils over the next 20 years. George Arends (known for Astilbe hybrids, the Arendsii group) introduced 'Rosamonde' ('Gracillima' x H. micrantha 'Rosea') in 1903. These 3 represent the oldest and most popular varieties of the time and can still be found in collections to this day. 

Alan Bloom started trialing and breeding Heuchera in the 1930s and continued this passion into the 1990s. He introduced many selections originating from 'Brizoides', 'Gracillima', and others that can still be found on the market today. 

H. 'Canyon Duet'

While most breeders concentrated on the five species I talk about above, Dara Emery of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden went a completely different direction. He used various California native species, such as H. elegans, H. meriamii, and H. hirsuitissima, crossed to H. sanguinea to create a group of lovely compact cultivars that are suitable for rock gardens. 'Canyon Duet' is the most readily available of them and has proven surprisingly hardy. 

Edgar Wherry collected seed that went on to become the selection 'Palace Purple'. This plant is largely sold as H. micrantha'Palace Purple', but that is incorrect. Wherry never collected within the range of H.micrantha and no purple form of that species has ever been discovered. It's actually a superior form of H. villosa f. purpurea. Sadly, it has mostly been seed propagated and you can get inferior forms pretty easily. 

One of the most important hybrids to ever come about is 'Montrose Ruby' from Nancy Goodwin in 1990. It's a hybrid of H. americana 'Dale's Strain' and H. villosa f. purpurea 'Palace Purple'. 'Montrose Ruby' is the foundation plant for several modern hybridizing programs and most of today's cultivars can trace their lineage back to this plant! It's the basis of Charles Oliver's great selections, originally crossed to his 'White Marble' (which is H. pubescens x H. sanguinea 'White Cloud'). Oliver also worked with H. hallii and H. pulchella to produce garden worthy compact plants like 'Petite Pearl Fairy'. 

H. 'Georgia Peach' from Terra Nova

'Montrose Ruby' is also in the background of Terra Nova's program, crossed to H. sanguinea as well as backcrossed to H. americana. Later, they would use H. cylindrica, H. micrantha, and H. villosa; as well as recently using H. richardsonii. Terra Nova has been responsible for the bulk of modern Heuchera hybridizing and lots of innovation in the genus. I would say their most important variety is 'Amber Waves'. It was the first amber-colored Heuchera to be made available and its genes are responsible for broadening the color range to include orange, yellow, and true red. They've done really great work with plants for very colorful foliage as well as great flowers. One of the best varieties ever introduced for flowers is 'Paris', from their "city series". Maybe my favorite plant of theirs is 'Georgia Peach' which goes through seasonal color changes and has proven reliable across a wide range of the US. Some of their varieties can struggle in the upper midwest. This is most likely a result of the selection pressures in Oregon being very different from the climate here and may also involve some of the different genetics they've used. Making sure you have good drainage goes a long way to ensuring success; I find that most do well here provided drainage. 

H. 'Caramel'

Thierry Delabroye has done a lot of work with hybrids involving bringing H. villosa to the forefront of hybridization. 'Caramel' is his most popular cultivar and is a nice rich amber that is fairly reliable here in the upper midwest. He's also breeding a really nice line of larger cultivars, 'Mega-Caramel' being a larger version of 'Caramel'. 

H. 'Pink Panther' from Walter's Gardens Inc.

Walter's Gardens in Michigan has recently been breeding some real knockout cultivars that are performing well in the upper midwest. They've introduced several really nice purple varieties with improved vigor and size as well as some great plants with long-lasting flowers. Many of their varieties are part of the Proven Winners brand as well, as Walter's is the breeder and marketer of their perennial line. 

H. 'Carnival Watermelon' from Ball Hort.

Another series of plants I should mention is the Carnival series from Ball Horticulture. These are widely available mass market plants that can be found affordably at box stores. They seem to be performing fairly well in the midwest, which isn't surprising since they're bred and selected in Illinois. The standouts are 'Carnival Watermelon' and 'Carnival Peach Parfait'. Other than that, I'm not too excited by the series. Most of the varieties resemble plants that were released from hybridization efforts in the 90s and I don't find them to be improvements in any way. This isn't to say they are bad plants; I'd happily sub 'Carnival Peach Parfait' or 'Carnival Watermelon' for 'Georgia Peach' or 'Carnival Plum Crazy' for 'Plum Pudding' in design work if there was a significant price or availability difference. This applies to most of the series as well. If you're a landscaper or home gardener looking to do a mass planting without breaking the bank, this series is a good option. If you're a plant collector looking for novel plants, probably best to skip most of these as there are more unique plants out there. 

I'll go into more detail about specific varieties and how they've performed for me in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!

Walk into any garden center and ask for perennial recommendations for shade. Likely the first thing to be recommended will be Hosta; the second thing will probably be Astilbe. If you're not familiar with Astilbe, they are perennials that provide essential early to mid-summer color for shaded gardens. And that summary is where our tragedy begins.

Shade tolerance is the start of our tragic tale. It's certainly true that Astilbe are shade tolerant. They're native mostly to Asia, with one species currently present here in North America, and are naturally found in forest edges, ravines, and other somewhat shady locales. Shade tolerance does not mean shade loving. They need bright light, preferably some direct sun, to perform their best. Given adequate moisture, they can even tolerate full sun in cooler climates. Placed in heavy shade they might grow fine, but are likely to bloom poorly, if at all, on less sturdy stems. Plants will likely be thin rather than dense. 

Adaptability is the next chapter of our tragedy. Most species of Astilbe are found in fairly moist habitats with rich organic soils. While they are somewhat adaptable to less wet environments and a range of soil types, they are not at all adaptable to dry gardens or clay soils. 

The best Astilbe I've seen were planted in an area that was receiving 2" of water per week from automated irrigation. They were lush and had hundreds of blooms on tall 40" tall stems; the best marketing images pale in comparison to these plants. The average homeowner, gardener, or landscaped business does not (and given future water availability concerns, probably should not) provide this amount of water. 

Most of us don't have ideal soil either; here in WI we mostly have heavy clay or sandy soils. Neither is ideal for Astilbe, which like organic rich soils. Fortunately, most shade tolerant plants also like organic rich soils, and if you plan ahead you can easily create raised areas to accommodate them. 

A special chapter of this tragedy goes to Astilbe chinensis, or if we use the currently correct name, Astilbe rubra. This chapter is titled: Drought Tolerance is a Lie.Astilbe rubra is found in equally moist habitats to other species. It tends to be more adaptable to average soils than other species, but this is NOT drought tolerance. Astilbe rubra and its cultivars and hybrids are probably the best choice for our gardens. They can go longer periods without irrigation than A. japonica or A. x arendsii cultivars and hybrids, but they will not survive actual drought conditions. In true drought conditions, plants can go weeks or even months without appreciable water. Many plants will survive drought conditions just fine. Astilbe, including A. rubra, will not. At the least they will go dormant and their health and vigor will likely be severely impacted  when moisture returns. 

Selection is the final chapter of our tragic tale. There are A LOT of Astilbe cultivars available. George Arends was instrumental in popularizing the genus, and introduced at least 74 cultivars over the span of 50 years. That quantity and pace has continued to this day. Just a quick browse of 4 wholesale suppliers turns up 70 cultivars. 17 of them are older cultivars but the bulk of the rest have been introduced in the last 25 years. 6 are new for introductions for 2021. A quick search of plant patents turns up 60 different patented cultivars. There is certainly room for a large pool of unique cultivars. But many of them are just incremental improvements over cultivars introduced prior to 1960. Slight differences in color, height, bloom count, etc. really bogs down consumers who are just looking for a great plant.  

The conclusion of this tragedy is that gardeners and homeowners are being set up to fail with a really fantastic plant. The horticulture industry needs to stop heavily recommending it to non-gardeners and beginning gardeners who are destined to fail because we don't educate them properly. The myth of drought tolerance needs to be dropped from our collective vocabulary in regards to this genus. At this point we need quality over quantity and inferior plants should be dropped from wholesale and retail offerings. To some extent this is happening; but probably not as much as needed. There also needs to be more extensive comparative trials in place, though the trend is for there to be fewer trials these days.

I love Astilbe, I intend to continue to expand the selection of cultivars we offer and trial varieties here in the garden to see which perform well for us and which can just fade into horticultural history. I'm even interested in breeding some more novel forms, but I don't know if I'll get around to that project. If you're struggling to grow Astilbe; water them more, maybe improve their soil if it's well-drained or heavy clay, move them into morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled light if they're growing in heavy shade. They will reward you with essential color in early to mid-summer. 

*a couple quick footnotes:

Astilbe crenatiloba is also a North American species, but it hasn't been found since the 1880s and is likely extinct or possibly just a variant of A. biternata. 

This post is absent of pictures because I've seen so few great looking Astilbe in the landscape that I've not managed to photograph them. When I *DO* see good ones it's not during bloom season! 

 Aralia cordata'Sun King' has rocketed to stardom in the last several years and was named 2020 Perennial of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association. This wonderful plant was introduced by Barry Yinger of Asiatica Nursery, who brought it back from Japan. Barry brought a lot of great introductions into the country for the first time, often giving them appropriate names if their Japanese name wasn't valid. 'Sun King' was introduced to the wholesale trade by Terra Nova in 2011.

As a species, Aralia cordata is found in Japan, Korea, and eastern China. It grows to 6' or more (it's been reported over 8' in cultivation here in the states) and young shoots are cooked as a vegetable. It's the Asian counterpart to our native Aralia racemosa and is pretty similar. Both species inhabit similar niches in their range: woodland openings, woodland edges, and shaded areas of savannah. It's reportedly also closely related to another US native, Aralia hispida.

'Sun King' needs fairly good light to maintain a bright gold color. If it's in more shade it will turn chartreuse fairly quickly. So place it in bright shade, preferably with dappled light or even some direct morning sun.

It isn't a terribly picky or difficult to grow plant. I've had success with it in pots, in the garden in my silt loam here in z4, in clay-loam back in Sheboygan county, and in heavier clay soils in nursery display gardens. As long as it isn't too terribly wet or dry, it's easy to grow and worthy of its perennial of the year title. It does seem to best in fertile, well-drained soils, with some supplemental irrigation in summer. 

One of the most important things I need to stress about this plant is its mature size. Pretty much all of the commercial plant tags I've seen are incorrect, and online descriptions are often also misleading. Over and over I see this listed as growing only 3' tall x 3' wide. This plant will easily grow to 5' tall x 6' wide in 5-7 years, and larger over time. Barry's plant was certainly bigger than 3'x3' before the larger trade started growing it, judging by pics I've seen. So I'm not sure why this became the size everyone decided this would grow. A short 3 or 4 year trial maybe? I honestly don't know; but it's important to give this plant enough SPACE. Check out this specimen at Soule's Garden in Indianapolis eating its Hosta neighbors!

This is an excellent specimen or background plant for partial shade and it's easy to combine it with so many things. The compound foliage makes a good contrast with broad leaved plants like Hosta, Heuchera, Colocasia, Astilboides tabularis, Darmera peltata, Ligularia dentata, and a slew of others! The foliage is also bold enough to make a good foil for finer leaved plants like Iris, grasses and sedges, ferns, conifers, etc. 

I also think it's an excellent plant for a background to annuals and Rotary Botanic Garden made excellent use of it last time I visited. Don't be afraid to use it in beds with Coleus, or even in pots for a season and plant it in the garden at the end of the year. 

If you're not currently growing this in your shade garden, and you have the space, you really should add it. It's such a flexible plant and it's easy to grow. We'll be offering it again in the near future, probably available in late summer. 

 

Tiarella is a genus of woodland perennials found mostly in North America, with one species currently known from Asia. Closely related to Heuchera, the two genera can be hybridized to create the sterile intergeneric hybrid xHeucherella. 

Taxonomic work is still ongoing, with different authorities having drastically differing species listings. World Flora Online lists T. californica, T. cordifolia, T. laciniata, T. macrophylla, T. polyphylla, T. trifoliata, T. trifoliata var. laciniata, T. unifoliata, and T. wherryi as accepted names. The glaring problem with this list is that T. trifoliata var. laciniata and T. laciniata are the same plant! The USDA database lists T. cordifolia var. austrina, T. cordifolia var. collina (synonym for T. wherryi), T. cordifolia var. cordifolia (syn. T. macrophylla), T. trifoliata var. laciniata (syn. T. laciniata and T. californica), T. trifoliata var. trifoliata, and T. trifoliata var. unifoliata. These varieties are separated by questionable morphology that doesn't seem to hold up across their range, there is definitely overlap. T. polyphylla seems to be the only species with not much controversy about its taxonomic status, though I'd be unsurprised if other species were discovered in Asia. Confused yet? That's ok, so is everyone else! 

Fortunately, as gardeners, we're dealing primarily with hybrids. Or if you're a native plant nerd, you're probably dealing with more local sources and a deep dive into taxonomy isn't really necessary; you just need to know how close to home your plants originated. 

Tiarella mass planting at Chicago Botanic Garden

There have been a lot of cultivars introduced over the last 25 years or so. I wouldn't say any are specifically bad and you can easily pick a popular, readily available cultivar and be satisfied with it. It's also easy to pick several varieties for different applications based on growth habit, foliage form, and foliage color. 

I am growing 'Sugar and Spice' in full sun right now and it's been quite vigorous with the additional light and water, but I don't recommend this for most people. I had to water a LOT with this year's drought; I only have it planted in its location because in a few seasons it will be more shady once the shrubs fill in and I don't want to renovate. It's close to my hose and a high traffic area, so it's easy to give it extra attention. My friend Larry Conrad uses this variety exclusively in his gardens planted with Trillium and Phlox divaricata. This is a good example that if you only grow one variety you'll probably be happy with it, regardless which it is. 

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice'

Tiarella 'Brandywine' in early spring

'Brandywine' is a broadleaf hybrid of T. cordifolia and I was impressed with the heavy bud set I saw in potted plants just emerging from dormancy several years ago. The foliage still had burgundy and bronze tones from winter. I like blending this variety with finer foliage textures. If you want a Tiarella to blend with ferns or sedges, this is a good option for texture contrast. 

Tiarella 'Spring Symphony'

Tiarella 'Spring Symphony'

'Spring Symphony' is an older favorite of mine. It offers a heavy bloom show well distributed over the plant, deeply lobed foliage, and decent growth. Like I talked about with 'Sugar and Spice', I don't think this is any better than other varieties and you could easily grow 'Pink Skyrocket', 'Cutting Edge', 'Gowing' ANGEL WINGS, or any number of others and be just as happy with them. 

Tiarella 'Susquehanna'

Tiarella 'Susquehanna'

'Susquehanna' is another one that I've had around for awhile. It's another T. cordifolia hybrid like 'Brandywine', but with smaller foliage that's a little more lobed and is slightly rhizomatous. It's grown well in its new location and gave me a great flower show this spring. Flowers lasted a fairly long time as well.  

Maybe equally important: a quick 2020 recap might be in order. Otherwise you may be a bit lost if you don't follow the nursery's website, social media, or know me personally. I don't think I discussed this on the blog at all. In January 2020 I was diagnosed with early stage stomach cancer. I had surgery, chemo, and some setbacks. It was hard, but mostly it was an upward trajectory and I never lost hope or my positive outlook. I came through it feeling good about the future. 

2020 started low and had a mostly steady upward climb. 2021 was much more of a roller coaster. We brought in a good selection of neat new and old plants. Due to industry shortages and other factors we got shorted more plants than ever in my 25 year career. Area for the nursery got graded. It was a longer process and slightly more expensive than expected. We had record sales. We had record expenses. I got to go out and do a lot of botanizing in early spring. I didn't get back out to collect seed. The pandemic started to abate a little. We got a new logo, new shirts, and A BANNER! We did a couple in-person events, including hosting our first open house at the nursery, and got to see some old friends. A monitoring CT scan found a new mass, we thought I was dying. I got a lot of new plants in the ground. I got lyme's disease. I did some hybridizing. We found out I'm not dying (any faster than normal anyway). Several friends from the Hosta hobby passed away. I started more chemo, but the side effects aren't awful. We got the hoophouse up before winter. We got the website (mostly) done for spring. The pandemic got worse again. Because of industry shortages I'm getting ready for 2023 and even 2024 already. 

I think that about covers it. I'm not gonna lie, it was a rough year. It took almost 6 weeks to get a full diagnosis with good news and another 6 weeks to have a treatment plan and path forward. Basically all summer. By fall, for the first time, plants felt like work that I didn't want to do. Luckily it was a short phase - I'm over it and plants are fun. I'm looking forward to hopefully selling plants at conventions in 2022. 

Ok. Less talk, more rock. 

I added some Magnolia this year, including 'Sunsation' which I hope will survive our winters. 

Phlox divaricata looks great in a naturalized area. 

There is some debate whether Phlox 'Chatahoochie' is a selection of P. divaricata ssp laphamii or a hybrid of P. divaricata ssp laphamii x P. pilosa. Talking to Peter Zale and reading accounts from others, it seems like there are several clones of 'Chatahoochie' out there. This one definitely seems like a hybrid; it emerges from dormancy and starts blooming later than my P. divaricata ssp laphamii, and the foliage is darker green, stiffer, and narrower. 

Dicentra spectablis 'Cupid' is a nice pale pink form of old-fashioned bleeding heart. 

The Primula were all really nice this year, and I got some first time blooms on seed obtained in 2019 from the American Primrose Society. I highly recommend joining if you're at all interested in these plants. 

Syringa x chinensis 'Lilac Sunday' is impressive. It sets both terminal and axillary flower buds, giving the appearance of one massive flower cluster. 

Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride' is a well-behaved selection that is clump-forming rather than running. Cheery yellow flowers and silver patterned leaves are delightful. 

Epimedium are continuing to establish and do well. This E. wushanense 'Sandy Claws' is surviving so far and even gave me some flowers. 

Convallaria majalis 'Albostriata' is beautiful but may be aggressive. I may relegate this to a container if it seems to get to rambunctions. 

'Stainless Steel'

'Peachberry Ice'

'Carnival Peach Parfait'

Seedling

'Color Dream'

'Regina'

'Silver Scrolls'

Heuchera continue to be an obsession. I found some nice specimens of 'Silver Scrolls' at our local post office, which is nice to see. Despite its popularity many years ago, I don't see it around much. It's a great older variety that survives in the midwest beautifully, like most introductions from Charles Oliver. I continue to slowly update The Heuchera Library. 

'Restless Sea' in spring

'Restless Sea' in September

'Winter Snow'

'Frisian Pride'

'Nancy'

'Bitsy Gold'

'Blue Mouse Ears'

'Candy Kisses'

H. clausa var. normalis

'Con Te Partiro'

'Country Melody'

'Cranberry Wine'

'Deep Blue Sea'

'Family Crest'

'Feng Shui'

'Flemish Sky'

'Frosted Dimples' with Leucosceptrum japonicum 'Gold Angel'

'Frosted Frolic'

'Fruit Loop' with Chelonopsis yagiharana

'Gemstone'

'Indigo'

'Katie Q'

'Millennium'

'Mito No Hana'

'Mount Everest'

'Munchkin Fire'

'Olympic Edger'

'Patriot's Fire'

'Pixie Vamp'

'Punky'

'Satisfaction'

'Silver Threads and Golden Needles'

'Singin' the Blues'

'Slim and Trim'

'Sparkling Burgundy'

'Spooky Scary Skeletons'

'Sterling Medallion'

'Valley's Ruffle Shuffle'

'Vulcan Ears'

'Yellow Polka Dot Bikin'

Hostas of course are still the most numerous plants in my collection. I got several new ones this year, moved several here from the in-laws' house, and was gifted two from one of my chemo nurses who is a certified Hostaholic. I also did some hybridizing for the first time in a few years. I didn't get all my seed collected, but I got enough. If you're a Hosta nerd like me, consider joining the American Hosta Society. 

Baptisia 'Cinnamon Toast'

Baptisia 'Dutch Chocolate'

The false indigos are all settling in beautifully. They're starting to get dense and bloom very well. Just another few years and they'll be mature clumps. 

Penstemon 'Dark Tower'

Penstemon hirsutus

Clematis 'Asao'

Clematis texensis 'Duchess of Albany'

Lily bloom season kicks off in June with the martagon hybrids. We're ground zero for red lily beetle in Wisconsin so I've stopped adding to my collection. A single spraying of acetamiprid gave me good control all season. It's a more friendly systemic neonictinoid in that it doesn't translocate through the plant but has good translaminar action. This means it moves from the top surface of the leaf to the bottom of the leaf, but it doesn't move through the plant to pollen or nectar, which greatly reduces exposure to pollinators. 

'Burst of Joy'

'Coral Cove'

'Nuits De Young'

R. wichuriana 'Curiosity'

'Miracle on the Hudson'

Roses are a love I don't talk about much for some reason. I've ground hundreds of varieties in a production environment and have grown dozens in the garden. Some may be short lived since I'm so far north. I don't fully expect our new additions of 'Coral Cove', 'Burst of Joy', or 'All the Rage' to survive winter, but obviously hope they do. If not, I'll replace with something else. 'Nuits De Young' is an old moss that's very  hardy, 'Curiosity' is probably hardy as long as we have good snow cover, and 'Miracle on the Hudson' is outstanding so far. 

Veronica 'Charlote' might be the nicest Veronica I've ever grown. It hasn't gotten mildew, it doesn't struggle here, and it's variegated to boot!

Cirsium rivulare 'Trevor's Blue Wonder' is more delightful than I ever could have hoped. It bloomed repeatedly through summer and was usually covered in bumble bees and butterflies. This is the odd insect free moment. 

Asiatic lily 'Purple Dream'

Asiatic lily 'Night Rider'

Asiatic lily 'Stracciatella Event'

Asiatic lily 'Chocolate Event'

Asiatic-Oriental-Asiatic hybrid 'Hotel California'

Oriental-nepalense hybrid 'Kushi Maya'

Oriental-nepalense F2 hybrid 'African Lady'

Lily bloom continued in July with the asiatics, AOA, and finally interdivisional hybrids. The interdivisional hybrids are very fragrant. You can see some lily beetle damage that occurred before I sprayed 'African Lady'. 

Astilbe 'Visioin Inferno' is a great plant with a name I strongly dislike. Nothing about pale pink flowers screams INFERNO! to me. But it seems to be one of the best of the visions series I've grown. 

Silphium perfoliatum 'The Holy Grail'

'Burnin' Down the Town'

'Field of Screams'

'Fringed Sweetheart'

'Fujita Scale'

'Gala Finale'

'Gigantosaurus'

'Paul Voth'

'Red Nova'

'Strutters Ball'

I've had a long time love affair with daylilies and a few new ones were added again this year during our annual trip to Solaris Farms. Nate Bremer is a great guy and I can't recommend them highly enough for daylilies, peonies, or lilies. 

Hydrangea arborescens'Haas Halo'

Hydrangea arborescens 'Hayes Starburst'

Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle Spirit II

Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle Spirit

Hydrangea arborescens 'Emerald Lace' aka 'Green Dragon', 'Riven Lace'

I continue to add more Hydrangeas. They're indispensable shrubs for shade gardens. 

Echinacea sanguinea from Texas survived winter which was a big surprise. Hopefully it continues to do well. 

Echinacea 'Wild Horses' has gotten even more impressive and is one of my favorite subtle hybrids. It starts out a pale peach and matures light pink. 

Aconitum uncinatum 'White Witch' was added late last year and bloomed this season. Delightful selection of an eastern US native. 

Clethra alnifolia 'Woodlanders Sarah' was a new addition this year. I'm excited to have good conditions for the species here and look forward to adding more. 

Hibiscus 'Holy Grail' came back beautifully and finally started blooming in August. 

I finally got a chance to visit Glenn Herold this year. He has a great collection of plants, including this mature Symphoricarpos 'Sofia' Proud Berry. He also gifted me Hydrangea arborescens 'Green Dragon'.

I thought Vernonia 'Southern Cross' had died, but it was just very late to come up and didn't emerge form dormancy until June. But it was big and beautiful by September. 

I wasn't sure Rabdosia longituba would even survive, much less bloom. But bloom it did. Though it might be killed by frost before bloom most years. 

I did manage to get out to the county arboretum and collect seed from a couple specimens of Hamamelis virginiana. It's a delightful species, even if the flowers are usually hidden by yellow fall color. It's an important last food for pollinators here. 

The bloom season concluded with this Hamamelis 'Beholden', just in time for Thanksgiving. We had a fairly mild fall, it will be interesting to see how this variety blooms in the future. It's known for November bloom in warmer climates. It may hold off until late winter here most years.

The last plant picture I took of 2021 is of Hamamelis 'Winter Champagne', which is likely a hybrid between H. virginiana and H.vernalis. It's known for blooming in December, but we're too cold for such foolishness here. It will wait until we have a warm spell, buds ready to bloom. I suppose it signifies hope for 2022. Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy. 

 Mt. Cuba Center recently released the results from their Hydrangea arborescens (and relatives) trial, and I want to offer some of my views on their results. For those unfamiliar with them, they're in Delaware and their trails are excellent for recommendations of what performs well in the mid-Atlantic region. 

I'm a fan of H. arborescens, it's a reliable performer for gardeners throughout much of the country. For us here in the upper mid-west, it's hardy, blooms well, and grows beautifully in bright shade to a fair bit of sun. It also happens to be soil adaptable and generally attractive to a range of pollinators including flies, bees, and wasps. Butterflies and hummingbirds aren't terribly common visitors, but they do occasionally utilize Hydrangea.  

The first thing I want to say is that I'm mostly unsurprised by the results. The top ten are varieties known to be excellent performers and maybe the only one that surprises me is the old 'Grandiflora'. Which brings me to another surprise; 'Annabelle' received a 4.0 rating, which is higher than several newer varieties that I would rate higher than due to better habit. 

'Haas Halo' took the spot of top performer with a 5 star rating. We've been selling this one for a few years now and my plant was recently planted and isn't mature but I'm already happy with its performance. Foliage is dark green, the lacecap flowers are large have a good balance of sterile and fertile flowers, and it's fairly attractive to pollinators. For Mt. Cuba this one reached 7' tall and wide; here in the far north I expect this one to be a bit more reasonably sized, but time will tell. Cutting it back in spring can bring the height to 4' or so and the flowers will be even larger. This is the standard by which all lacecap H. arborescens should be judged.

I don't have a photo, but ‘SMNHALR’ LIME RICKEY® PP28858 took second place with a rating of 4.6. This variety has relatively flat mophead clusters that are smaller than 'Annabelle', which leads to the overall habit being sturdy and upright. It was one of the largest plants in their trial, reaching almost 6'x8' and I'd expect it to be slightly smaller here in the far north. Sterile flowers start out lime green, mature to creamy white, and age back to lime green. Fertile flowers are pink. This is a hybrid of  H. radiata x H. arborescens 'Pink Pincushion' and was bred by Spring Meadow Nursery and introduced as part of the Proven Winners® line of plants; unfortunately it has already been discontinued and is no longer available. If you see it for sale, it's worth picking up if you're looking for a reliable mophead. 

I also don't have a photo of ‘NCHA4’ INCREDIBALL BLUSH® PP28280, which came in with a rating of 4.5. This is tied for the top rated pink variety in the trial with the next variety; and the flowers are large, medium-pink maturing to blush pink, mopheads on sturdy stems to 4' tall. Foliage is dark green and overall habit was 5' wide. It grew best in full sun and they found that cutting it back in spring led to larger flowers but weaker stems, so don't cut it back. 

Tied for third place was ‘NCHA2’ INVINCIBELLE SPIRIT II® PP28316 with a rating of 4.5 as well. Like INCREDIBALL BLUSH® this was bred by Tom Ranney at NCSU and has a similar genetic background. Flowers are darker pink and slightly smaller. Habit was sturdy and upright. Of all the mopheads, this variety was the most attractive to pollinators. It scored much better than its predecessor, ‘NCHA1’ INCINCIBELLE SPIRIT® (pictured below in several gardens) for having a more robust habit and darker pink flower color (along with more pollinator visits). 

Third place was a three-way tie and the third of these plants was, unsurprisingly, ‘Abetwo’ INCREDIBALL® PP20571. Foliage is medium green, stems are sturdy, mophead flowers are large and start lime-green maturing to white, and habit is 5.5'x7.5'. This plant is an improvement over its parent, 'Annabelle', in every possible way and it baffles me that some nurseries are still growing that and not this. The above picture was taken at Rotary Botanic Garden in Janesville, WI post-bloom and the flowers were still held nicely upright. 

That rounds out the top 3 plants, from here I'm going to talk only about plants I've grown or observed. In fifth place was ‘Dardom’ White Dome® PP14168. I don't have any pictures, I grew and sold this commercially for a bunch of years and it was always a tough sell. I think partly because it's a lacecap, which are never as popular as mopheads, but also because it is an incredibly vigorous variety and never looked great in pots! But if you can find this one for sale and want a lacecap it's not a bad inclusion for the garden. Plants are robust, stems are sturdy, flowers are large and extremely attractive to pollinators, and foliage is dark green. 

Ruby-throated hummingbird on 'Annabelle'