Plant of the Week: Spilled Wine® Weigela

Happy Monday,

This week I'm throwing it all to Jane, she has some really great recommendations for continuing education, followed by the Plant of the Week. Enjoy!

- Natalie 

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I hope that you're having a great January. Sure, there have been unwanted snowstorms in some parts of the country, and others of us are wishing we had a little more snow to play in, but hopefully you've been able to visit a trade show or conference to get inspired for Spring.

If not, don't worry. There are still plenty of opportunities to learn about new plants. This week is NJ Plants in Edison, New Jersey, and iLandscape in Schaumburg, Illinois. Also, this week is the Proven Winners® Landscape Roadshow at Matsuda's Nursery in California.

February brings plenty of other learning opportunities. While at MANTS I learned about the Piedmont Landscape Association Seminar in Charlottesville, VA. I wish I could go; they have a great line-up of speakers, including Kerry Ann Mendez. But I will be at the Saginaw Valley Nursery and Landscape Association Short Course.

If you have to miss NJ Plants, you have another excuse to head to New Jersey: Northern Nurseries University on February 7.

You know how financial planners tell you to pay yourself first? This is similar. Invest in yourself with a seminar or two. You're worth it.

Spilled wine, but in a good way.

Spilled wine is normally not a good thing. Bad luck to some, and at the very least a stubborn stain.

But Spilled Wine® in the landscape is a very good thing. Spilled Wine® Weigela is a compact form of Wine & Roses® Weigela. It fits easily into most landscapes, and makes a great mass planting.

Great color, useful size, pretty flowers - no wonder Spilled Wine® Weigela is our Landscape Plant of the Year!

Spilled Wine® Weigela is hardy to USDA Zone 4 and will grow best in full sun. It is 2-3' tall and 3' wide - ideal for landscaping.

Here's a quick video that you can share with your readers to educate them about this newer weigela.


Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Ah-ha! It's the Plant of the Week!

Hello and Happy Monday!

Last week I had just gotten back into the office after a fun-filled few days at MANTS, the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, at the Baltimore Convention Center. There were two events during that time that were of particular interest to me, the GWA meet and greet on Wednesday evening and the Thursday morning MANTS media reception.

One of the people I met at the Wednesday evening event was Peggy Riccio. Peggy is a master gardener, active blogger, and resource person for everything plant-related in the VA, MD, and DC area through her blog, www.pegplant.com.

Peggy did a great write up of some of her favorite new products ("Peg's Picks") from MANTS. I also loved two of the companies she mentions, Womanswork, which  specializes in gardening gear for women, such as gardening gloves, hats, and aprons, and Organic Mechanics. Mark Highland, owner of Organic Mechanics, gave a great presentation Thursday morning on Biochar enhanced soil amendment for the green industry. Very impressive stuff, I hope to trial it in my garden this summer.

Click here to have a look at the rest of Peggy's blog to see who else made her "picks" from MANTS.

More reflections on MANTS next week, in the meantime, here's Jane's Plant of the Week:

An "Ah-Ha!" moment!

The Tuff Stuff™ reblooming hydrangeas are staff favorites here at Spring Meadow Nursery. Strong growers and reliable bloomers, these are plants both the growers and the sales team love.

Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha™ is the newest addition to the series, and brings us exceptionally large flowers. The distinctive florets are doubled so they look like waterlilies - how could anyone resist these beautiful blooms? You can't. And you don't have to - they will bloom on new wood so even if they're damaged in fall or winter they will flower the following year.

The Tuff Stuff™ hydrangeas are all hardy to USDA 5 and will grow in full sun or partial shade. Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha™ Hydrangea serrata will grow 2-3' tall. 

H. serrata is very similar to H. macrophylla, but have better bud hardiness. This is reflected in the common name, mountain hydrangea. Plants native to mountainous regions (like H. serrata) have to tolerate dramatic temperature swings. So the flower buds of mountain hydrangeas will take those late spring cold snaps better than the coastal H. macrophylla.

The Tuff Stuff™ plants are all rebloomers, so even if the buds are damaged over winter (or by untimely pruning) there will still be flowers later in the season.

Like H. macrophylla, the bloom color of H. serrata is affected by soil. It can take some time for soil treatments to change flower color. So if you're looking for blue flowers on your spring 2018 plants I hope you've already got that process underway. Here's a good resource on changing hydrangea flower color.

We find that hydrangeas generate more questions on the Proven Winners® feedback site than any other genus. So we've created a useful pdf about them that you are welcome to share. They may also appreciate this Garden Answer video that illustrates the different species and will help gardeners identify what they have in their gardens.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: Sugar Tip® Gold Hibiscus

Whew...

Last week was a whirlwind at MANTS in Baltimore! I met so many great people, from the GWA reception on Wednesday evening, to the MANTS media reception Thursday morning, and throughout the week at the booth.

I'll need some time to gather my thoughts, but I have lots of inspiration to share in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out my newest article in the GardenSmart e-news about deer-resistant evergreens and of course, Jane's Plant of the Week, below.

Have a wonderful week!

Natalie

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Zero calorie sweetness

That's Sugar Tip® Gold Hibiscus. Like the original Sugar Tip®, Sugar Tip® Gold Hibiscus is a handsome variegated rose of Sharon with showy sterile flowers. If you've ever dug up unwanted seedlings from your yard, you know how important this is.

Sugar Tip® Gold has bright golden variegation rather than the white coloration of the original, and has lavender-purple flowers instead of pink. It's a nice new color option for anyone wanting an easy to grow plant with season-long interest.

Sugar Tip® Hibiscus is one of those plants that challenges a lot of preconceived notions. First, it blooms.

This may not seem like a big deal for, you know, a flowering shrub, but if you've ever grown the older Hibiscus syriacus 'Variegata' you know how frustrating a non-blooming plant can be. That selection would tease gardeners with plenty of buds, but they would all abcise before opening. Imagine your favorite football team making it to the red zone on every possession but never scoring. Yes, that's what that plant did for gardeners - it made them sympathize with Detroit Lions fans.

Not only does Sugar Tip® bloom, but it does it without causing any problems, i.e. unwanted
seedlings. We're quite proud of the array of non-invasive plants in the Proven Winners® brand, and Sugar Tip® was one of the first sterile varieties that we introduced. Since then we've introduced Sugar Tip® Gold, Azurri Blue Satin®, Orchid Satin®, and Purple Satin® Hibiscus, all of which are seedless.

Sugar Tip® Gold Hibiscus grows 4-5' tall and is hardy to USDA Zone 5. You will want to grow it in full sun. As with many variegated plants, you may find that it's a little slower growing than non-variegated selections. That's OK: both of the Sugar Tip® Hibiscus have nice, consistent habits that make for a very attractive container plant.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant trial opportunity and Plant of the Week: Funshine Abelia

Happy Monday! Today I'm making final preparations to attend my very first MANTS conference in Baltimore. I'm so excited to learn more about the industry and meet lots and lots of new people. If you'll be at MANTS, stop by the Spring Meadow/Proven Winners® ColorChoice® booth and introduce yourself!

I'm also preparing to send complimentary spring shipments of two very special new varieties of dwarf hydrangea to garden writers. If you have space in your garden and would like to trial samples of Invincibelle Wee White® hydrangea and Invincibelle Mini Mauvette® hydrangea, shoot an email to natalie@springmeadownursery <dot> com, with your contact and shipping information - and send me a link to your blog so I can follow you! 

Now on to Jane's Plant of the Week:

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Good morning, Funshine™!

The earth says "hello"! This little gem from the musical "Hair" is wonderful for waking up sulky teenagers headed back to school after the lazy Christmas break.

Funshine™ Abelia isn't great at levering kids out of bed in the morning, but it does brighten up the landscape. The orange and bronze foliage is really appealing, and good enough to replace Bronze Anniversary® abelia in our product line.

We think you'll find it's a worthy alternative to 'Kaleidescope', too. There are no worries about variegation reverting, and it has a nice dwarf habit that fits well into landscapes. Check out the image below comparing the two varieties:

Funshine™ Abelia is hardy to USDA Zone 6 and grows 2-3' tall and wide. It will grow in full sun or partial shade, and produces fragrant pinkish-white flowers in summer.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Looking forward... Plant of the Week: Sprinter® Buxus

I'm pretty new here at Spring Meadow Nursery, so the fire that destroyed the office building about year ago is something that, before now, I had only heard about in the news. When you go through a traumatic experience, like a devastating fire, it changes you. But I have to say, the people here at Spring Meadow remain positive and resilient, despite working elbow-to-elbow for the past year in a large lunch room that has been retrofitted with rows of office cubicles. Maybe it's because plant lovers are the type of people who have a mindset that is forward-looking and focused on growth and renewal...

At any rate. I'm reminded of the amazing spirit of the Spring Meadow team when I read things like Jane's blog from last week:

"We're in the midst of some really cold temperatures here in West Michigan, and enjoying a steady dose of lake effect snow...

Cold weather also gives us a chance to slow down and reflect on what the year has brought. Some challenges, to be sure: having our office burn down was not a great way to start 2017. But opportunities as well. Our new office is framed in and roofed, and contractors are working right now to finish the interior. We always look forward to spring, but this year it will be extra special.

Year-end reflection also has us appreciating how lovely our customers and other horticulture industry friends are. We are truly lucky to work with you all.

We hope that all of you have had a great year, and look forward to seeing you in 2018!"

I couldn't have said it better myself... on to the Plant of the Week:

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Sprint to the New Year!

Sprinter® Buxus has attractive glossy evergreen foliage and excellent hardiness, something we care about here in West Michigan. Did I mention yesterday's high of 10°F?

But the reason we selected Sprinter® is its fast growth. It will finish about twice as fast as conventional varieties. An excellent production plant like this is good for growers, obviously. But it's good for retailers and landscapers, too, since they can count on good supplies for future projects. Because boxwood is kind of like wearing all black - you don't want your black pants to clash with your black shirt. You don't want last year's boxwood to clash with this year's replacement from where you lost control of the snow blower.

Sprinter® Buxus is hardy to USDA Zone 5 and will grow 2-4' tall and wide. Like other boxwood it will grow in sun or shade and takes pruning very well. This is the plant for folks who got some new hedge clippers for Christmas!

Here's a nice video of Sprinter® that you can share with your team so they're familiar with the plant - it will help them to sell this newer variety next spring.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

One last note from Natalie - Click here to see a cool time-lapsed video of the progression of the office building construction. The video is hosted on the Spring Meadow Nursery Facebook Page.