Plant of the Week: Invincibelle Mini Mauvette™ hydrangea

 

Purple rocks!

For a long time, Hydrangea arborescens came in any color you wanted, as long as it was white. Northern gardeners coveted the vibrant colors of Zone 5 H. macrophylla. And then they had pink! 

But once we had achieved one color we wanted another. So we are very happy to introduce Invincibelle Mini Mauvette™, a petite selection that pushes into new color territory. Its abundant flowers are a rich mauve-purple. The purple tones are most apparent in the buds, but the flowers have a more violet hue than pink varieties like Invincibelle® Spirit II.

 

After so much cheerful pink and wholesome white, I kind of like the moody hues of this new variety. Who says the Heartland can't have a little drama? Rest assured that while Mini Mauvette may have unusual color it has the same easy growth and reliable flowers as the other Invincibelle® hydrangeas.

Invincibelle® Mini Mauvette™ hydrangea grows 2.5-3' tall and wide and is hardy to USDA Zone 3. It likes full sun, where it will have the best flowering and richest flower color. It will grow in partial shade, especially in milder locations, but we really recommend full sun for northern climates.

The pink-mauve-purple flowers age to a very attractive green and pink, too, as shown above. 

The case for purple:

You have blue, but want pink. Or have pink, and want blue. I can't help you with politics, but hydrangeas I can do. Here's a quick reminder of how to change hydrangea flower color.

But what about purple? We were all reminded of what a great color it was when the world mourned Prince several months ago. I wrote a bit about Let's Dance® Rave™ hydrangea at that time. Now I'm telling you about a more cold hardy hydrangea that is also an intriguing shade of purple or mauve.

This is a fun plant for those of us in the margins of H. macrophylla territory. H. arborescens is a tough customer that can take a lot of abuse. Even those of you in milder climates will appreciate its adaptability to full sun. Your fancy bigleaf hydrangeas won't be happy in it, but our native smooth hydrangea does great in full sun. In fact, it will often have better flower color and production in full sun.

Plant of the Week: Laced Up® elderberry

 

Fastigiate Black Lace® elderberry

 

It's Halloween so it seems like a good time to highlight a plant with some Nightmare Before Christmas appeal. I could have gone with the obvious, like Ghost® weigela, but instead, I'd like to present a plant that Morticia Addams would covet: Laced Up

®

 Sambucus.

Imagine Black Lace

®

 Sambucus but narrow and columnar. Laced Up® elderberry has the same deeply cut, dark purple foliage and pink flowers as Black Lace®, but grows upright with an occasional twist to one side or the other. If you want a sedate, traditional silhouette, this is not the plant for you. But if you or a customer wants something really different from everything else in the neighborhood, Laced Up®  is your plant.

Laced Up® Sambucus nigra will grow 6-8' tall and 2-4' wide. It doesn't need pruning in production; its natural inclination is to grow vertically without much (any) branching. You can prune it as a young plant to get a couple of branches on it - they, too, will grow straight up. 

It will grow in full sun or partial shade, with more intense color in full sun. It is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Although not selected for its fruit production, it will produce black berries if planted near Black Lace® Sambucus.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles



Plant of the Week: Double Play® Candy Corn® Spiraea

 

Trick or treat!

Ah, candy corn. Personally I think it's a waste of refined sugar. I'll take sour gummy worms over the overly sweet little pseudo-kernels of corn any day. But each to his own, I suppose.

I do, however, like Double Play® Candy Corn™ Spiraea. This plant's name really captures its color transformation: the colors of the actual candy are completely artificial, but the plant's hues are 100% natural and gluten-free.

 
It begins with fire engine red spring leaves, then matures to pineapple yellow. The new growth is orange red. If that's not enough for you, the flowers are dark magenta-purple.  All of that color, and in something as adaptable as a spirea! What a treat!

Double Play® Candy Corn™ Spiraea japonica grows 1.5-2' tall and wide. Like other spireas, it is very adaptable and deer resistant. It will grow in full sun or part shade, and is hardy to USDA Zone 4.
 
If you're looking for something with a little less flash, consider one of the more sedate members of the Double Play® series. Truthfully, all were selected for their outstanding foliage and flowers, so none of them is a wallflower. But Double Play® Pink and Double Play® Red spireas have more of a burgundy spring flush and darker summer color (although their flowers are outrageous!). The most subtle one in the group is Double Play® Blue Kazoo, which is a completely different color palette: cool blue green foliage and white flowers.
Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles