Plant of the Week: Better Rebloomers

Tuff Stuff™ reblooming mountain hydrangea

The case for mountain hydrangeas

Hydrangea serrata is wonderful. Similar to H. macrophylla, but with better bud hardiness, it's a better choice for folks in colder USDA Zone 5 areas. Even those of you in milder climates will appreciate these plants because they are just so pretty and such good growers.

The reblooming Tuff Stuff™ varieties are especially nice because they will bloom on new growth later in the summer so if the early summer bloom is compromised you will still enjoy flowers later in the season.

Tuff Stuff™ Red reblooming mountain hydrangea

Like H. macrophylla, the blooms of H. serrata will change color depending on the soil. (Here's a good guide to turning hydrangeas blue.) Tiny Tuff Stuff™  has delicate, refined lacecap flowers that are an elegant addition to gardens. For more intense color, check out the original Tuff Stuff™. And if you need some really intense color, check out Tuff Stuff™ Red, whose doubled lacecap flowers open green and red before maturing to deep pink-red.

All of the Tuff Stuff™ hydrangeas are hardy to USDA Zone 5 and will grow in full sun or partial shade. Tiny Tuff stuff™ is the smallest, at 1.5-2', and the other two are in the 2-3' range.

Tiny Tuff Stuff™ reblooming mountain hydrangea

Anecdotally I can tell you that my H. serrata plants have always performed better than the H. macrophylla in my yard, and that the Tuff Stuff™ varieties are especially nice. Actually, these plants are staff favorites, being good growers both in our greenhouses and in our growers' yards.

I know that when I go to a store I always like seeing the staff picks. So here are some other staff favorites:

• Oso Easy® Double Red rose 
• Pugster® Buddleia 
• Kodiak® Diervilla 

P.S. This is the list I get when I don't let anyone choose a hydrangea as a favorite. Hint: Invincibelle Limetta® is joining Tuff Stuff™ and Bobo® on the separate Favorite Hydrangea Staff Pick List.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: Sun and Blues

Sunny Boulevard™ Hypericum

Hypericum is having a moment.

Maybe I'm just saying that because I want it to be true, because I do really like this plant. After all, what's not to love? It's adaptable and easy to grow. It flowers all summer long - nice flowers, too, not wimpy little 'nice try' blooms. It's deer resistant, drought tolerant, and bees love it. We hear so much about the need to grow native plants that support pollinator populations. Well, here's one, and it looks great, too.

Sunny Boulevard™ Hypericum

We have two great varieties here: Blues Festival® and Sunny Boulevard™ Hypericum.

Both are loaded with very showy yellow flowers all summer long. Sunny Boulevard™ may bloom a little longer, into September, but Blues Festival® has really cool blue-green foliage. We like these varieties because they have both very long bloom times and nice, densely branched habits that look as sharp in containers as they do in the landscape. They're both hardy to USDA 4 and grow 2-3' tall.

Blues Festival® Hypericum

Anyway, I'm not saying that it's having a moment just because I want it to happen. I have seen more and more Hypericum in landscapes recently. I think that for many people the excellent deer-resistance is the real appeal. That's no small thing, and if you're in an area with heavy deer browsing pressure you might put this on your list along with the Caryopteris and Russian sage.

Blues Festival® Hypericum

I was lucky enough to be at the APLD conference in Boston, and we saw LOTS of Hypericum in the gardens we toured. The northeast has even more deer than it does Dunkin' Donuts, so plants that resist browsing are a must.

So this isn't just me trying to make fetch happen. It's a thing. Just like on Wednesdays we wear pink.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: One Tough Customer

Diervilla is an outstanding plant, but the species isn't super showy. So we wanted to introduce some flashier options to help them get a little more popular in the ornamental world. The Kodiak® series does just that: the plants have the durability you expect of a Diervilla but more color than you're used to.

Kodiak® Orange Diervilla

Kodiak® Orange Diervilla has nice orange new growth and outstanding fall color. It would be a good native alternative to burning bush. Kodiak® Red Diervilla has more red foliage in spring and fall. Both these and Kodiak® Black Diervilla have yellow summer flowers that support pollinator populations. All grow 3-4' tall and wide.

Kodiak® Red Diervilla

Bring it.

When we introduced our Kodiak® Diervilla we knew we needed a name that illustrated how tough this native plant is. Kodiak seems to do the job.

The Kodiak archipelago extends south from Anchorage into the Gulf of Alaska. That sounds pretty harsh to me. While Diervilla isn't native to this region, the Kodiak bear is, and it's a pretty intimidating creature. Males can weigh more than 1300 pounds, which I think is heavier than my car.

Kodiak® Black Diervilla

Diervilla is also intimidating, but in a good way. It can take sun, it can take shade - even dry shade - and is an all-around durable landscape plant. Kodiak® Red and Kodiak® Orange are hardy to USDA Zone 4, while Kodiak® Black goes into Zone 5. One more thing: they have good deer-resistance, too. See what I mean? Your tricky landscaping problem is no match for the mighty Diervilla.

They have a softer side, too: pollinators love them. When those yellow flowers bloom in midsummer the bees go crazy. There's a lot of talk these days about using native plants and supporting pollinator populations, both worthwhile goals. But the plants need to look good, too. That's why we're so happy with these plants, and hope you will be, too.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: Midnight Sunshine

So, do you like dark and mysterious? Or sunny and bright? That's what we've got going on with our Caryoperis varieties.

Beyond Midnight® bluebeard

Beyond Midnight® bluebeard was selected for its extremely glossy, dark green foliage and intense blue flowers. It's the classic Caryopteris, only better. Sunshine Blue® II Caryopteris is an improved version of the original Sunshine Blue® Caryopteris. Same flashy blue and yellow color, but with better hardiness.

All Caryopteris will do best in full sun and well-drained soil. Cold, wet winters are really hard on them, so be sure to check the drainage of a site before planting. They are hardy to USDA Zone 5. Beyond Midnight® gets about 30" tall and wide, while Sunshine Blue® II bluebeard grows to about 3'.

Note: bees love these plants. Personally, I like seeing bumblebees in the garden. But the bee-phobic might not want them right next to the patio. (The technical term for bee-phobia is 'melissophobia'. Sorry to all of the very nice ladies named Melissa out there.)

Sunshine Blue® II bluebeard

Caryopteris peaks later in summer. It's a really nice plant for refreshing a summer border. When other plants are starting to get a little tired, the Caryopteris burst into bloom with their distinctive blue flowers.

The challenge for summer stars like this is that they don't look like much in spring. The one-time garden center shopper can miss out on some great plants. How do we convince these folks to plant for more than one season and hopefully shop more than once a year? 

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: A patriotic weekend in North America!

First, Canada Day was on July 1, then U.S. Independence Day on July 4. Since Michigan is on the border, we're having one long weekend of international bonhomie, with fireworks all around.

It's a good time for folks on both sides of the border to appreciate the richness of our native plant genera and species. We have so many cool plants, and I think that plant breeders are just getting started exploring them. What if there were as many choices of Cephalanthus as there are Hydrangea macrophylla? OK, that might make my head explode. But you get the idea.

The firework flowers of native Sugar Shack® Cephalanthus (buttonbush)

How's that for a celebratory flower?

Sugar Shack® Cephalanthus is a compact selection of our native buttonbush. The crazy flowers are quite fragrant - pollinators love them. Unlike the green fruits of the species, Sugar Shack® buttonbush has flashy red fruit in fall. It's smaller, too, growing to 3-4' tall rather than the 8-15' of the species.

Unlike the green fruits of the species, Sugar Shack® buttonbush has flashy red fruit in fall.

This is a good plant for moist to wet sites. It's not the plant for someone who wants a very manicured, formal landscape, but perfect for the gardener who wants to take a walk on the wild side. Hardy to USDA Zone 4, it grows in full sun or partial shade.

While there's lots of chatter about native plants, I tend to stay away from most of the ideology. I just like plants that do what they're supposed to do. Smaller selections like this can be less intimidating to gardeners, and often have better shelf appeal than seedlings.

Sugar Shack® buttonbush stays a compact 3-4' tall and wide, compared to the typical 8-15' size of the species.

Native plant selections like Sugar Shack® Cephalanthus give us valuable new choices for solving tricky landscape challenges, and offer gardeners something fun and novel to set their yards apart from the neighbors'.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles