Plant(s) of the Week: Meet the Floral Four

It's hard to believe how fast March is flying by, and this is made all the more evident by the fact that we already are down to the final four, known as the "Floral Four", in Shrub Madness!

If you haven't had a chance to acquaint yourself with Shrub Madness, it's a bracket competition, much like the March Madness basketball tournament, but instead of teams, plants compete in a head-to-head matchup for glory and greatness.

As a result of the popular votes that have come in so far, these are the plants that are battling it out in the Floral Four:

Czechmark Trilogy™ Weigela  vs Let's Dance® Blue Jangles® Hydrangea 

Czechmark Trilogy™ Weigela florida

Let's Dance® Blue Jangles® Hydrangea macrophylla

Czechmark Trilogy™ is an improved version of the ever-popular 'Carnaval' weigela. Flowers start out white, transition to pink, then finally red. This results in an eye-popping combination of three colors on the same plant.

Reaching a size 3 - 3.5' tall and 3.5 - 5.5' wide, Czechmark Trilogy looks great in borders, foundation plantings, flower gardens and hedges. Not fussy, Czechmark Trilogy weigela is adaptable to most well-drained soils and doesn't need pruning. Hardy to zone 4, plant in full sun for exceptional spring blooms.

Let's Dance® Blue Jangles® is a big-leaf hydrangea that blooms all summer long on both old and new wood - with a tight, compact habit that is unusual among reblooming hydrangeas. Large, full flower heads will readily go heavenly blue in acid soils; in alkaline soils, they'll be vivid pink. This proven performer will bloom reliably - even in zone 5.

Fun Fact:
The Let's Dance® series of reblooming hydrangeas were developed in Michigan. They went through a gauntlet of brutal treatment to ensure that they would still create new wood flower buds during the growing season, when it counts.


Pugster® Amethyst Butterfly Bush  vs Zinfin Doll® Hydrangea

Pugster® Amethyst Buddleia

Zinfin Doll® Hydrangea paniculata

Pugster® Amethyst butterfly bush is the newest member of the Pugster series that offers full sized flowers on a dwarf plant. This compact butterfly bush reaches just 2' tall and wide, but has the large, full flowers normally seen on a much larger plant. It blooms non-stop from early summer through frost with amethyst-toned flowers, each with a tiny yellow-orange eye in the center. Thanks to thick, sturdy stems, the Pugster® series offers vastly improved hardiness and winter survival over other types of dwarf butterfly bush.

Zinfin Doll® panacle hydrangea is a beautiful hardy hydrangea with loads of bodacious blooms that emerge pure white and then turn bright pink from the bottom up. Flowers eventually age to a dark pink-red, and stay colorful for months. It looks a bit like classic Pinky Winky hydrangea, but with full, mophead flowers, and it blooms much earlier, too. Strong stems hold the flowers upright in the garden, and make it an excellent cut flower, too. 

Panicle hydrangeas are super easy and reliable. In cold climates, they should get a minimum of six hours of sun each day; in hot areas, morning sun and afternoon shade are best. These are shallow-rooted plants that really benefit from a 2-3" layer of mulch.

As for pruning, plan to cut these plants back by about one-third in early spring. This builds up a strong base while encouraging vigorous new growth to produce lots of blooms.

Which is your favorite? 

Today is the LAST DAY to vote for the Floral Four - and maybe you'll even win some plants! 

Want to know more about the plants featured in Shrub Madness?
Visit us on You Tube for Shrubs Center, short videos featuring experts talking about the plants and their picks for each round of Shrub Madness.