Top 10 Heuchera Hybrids

by Patrick on March 30, 2011

Heuchera 'Snow Storm'

Before the heuchera revolution, this lowly plant came in any color you wanted as long as it was green. Even the flowers and the leaf shape were truly insignificant. On the positive side, it was a workhorse plant that performed well even in dry shade. Heucheras are native to the United States and they require  less maintenance than other perennials in areas like not having to be constantly divided for success. The potential was there if only it could be more flashy and less boring.

The first sport (a naturally occurring mutation) of note was discovered in England in the late 1980’s. ‘Purple Palace’ , named after Kew Palace, sported rich, deep purple, ruffled leaves and went on to be the Perennial Plant of the  Year in 1991.

At the same time, Dan Heims who was starting Terra Nova Nursery in Canby, OR, also stumbled upon a variegated seedling with red flowers which he named ‘Snow Storm’. Heims is now known for having the largest and most prolific breeding program in the world of heucheras.

But it was that chance seedling that was a catalyst that shattered the green only perception of heuchera. That catalyst has led the way for the explosion of new colors, leaf shapes and textures we’re witnessing today.

I’ve asked Ken Wood, the nursery manager at Family Tree in Shawnee, KS, to give me his top 10 heuchera hybrids. He informed me that the assignment would be easy because the list is already in his head. I took it from there.

Southern Comfort

Giant 9″  leaves on a 14″ tall and 2′ wide plant. Similar to H. ‘Caramel’ in height and sienna color. As evening draws closer and the air temperature becomes cooler,  the leaves take on a coral-orange hue.

Purple Petticoats

Dimensions are 12″ high and 12″ wide. Deep purple stems host white flowers. The ruffling is so pronounced you can see the bright purple undersides of the leaves.

Citronelle

Lime-yellow leaves with white blossoms help this sport of ‘Caramel’ stop traffic in your garden. This variety is more heat tolerant than other heucheras  It is clump forming making it a great ground cover. If you’re using it as a ground cover, cut the blossoms off early so the plant puts all its energy into clumping leaves. 12″ high and wide plant. Read more →

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Patrick’s Picks — Larry Moore’s Tomatoes

by Patrick on March 30, 2011

It takes skill and experience when selecting your tomato varieties to ensure a harvest from the Fourth of July to the first major frost. Larry Moore, the co-anchor of KMBC Channel 9 News since 1972, is a passionate tomato grower, who through trial and error has developed a season-long program with hybrids that deliver excellent flavor.Larry’s enthusiasm for growing tomatoes is regularly demonstrated on air when he shares his bounty with co-anchors. Larry says “I keep growing tomatoes because there is nothing more tasty and delicious than home-grown red-ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes like sweet corn are best if eaten within 8 hours.”

Larry always selects five varieties of tomatoes each year. He says “Early Girl Hybrid assures me of red ripe tomatoes by the Fourth of July weekend.” As the name implies, Early Girl is one of the earliest producing varieties with tennis ball sized fruit in as little as 52 days. However, the later varieties will always have superior taste. Read more →

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Top 5 Underused Flowering Trees

by Patrick on March 13, 2011

Seven Son's 'Second Bloom' of Sepals

Throw a stone in most Midwestern subdivisions and odds are you’ll hit at least one of three overused flowering trees; the Eastern Redbud, the Flowering Plum, the piece de resistance and the ‘Bradford’ Pear. At the same time, there are some beautiful flowering trees that are underused, under requested and under appreciated.

Seven Son Flower Tree, Heptacodium miconioides, has everything you will ever want in a flowering tree and more.  It’s a multi-stem tree of 15 feet to 20 feet tall and 10 feet to 15 feet wide for full sun to light shade. Flowers are unique because of the blooming time in mid-summer and after the blooming is done the red sepals create a “second bloom” effect. Read more →

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Top 10 Zinnias For Cutting

by Patrick on March 5, 2011

There is something to be said for the simplicity of country life. On the edge of the Australian outback, my grandfather did not ask for a lot. Besides keeping his family healthy, he prayed for a good wheat crop, a good price for wool for his Merino fleece and he wanted to win the trifecta at the Narrabri Show. What was the trifecta? He wanted to win the blue ribbon for the best pen of four lambs, four Hereford steers and the Queen of the Flower Show. Of course it went without saying, the Queen was always the best rose.
So this one year he won the trifecta. Was my grandmother thrilled for him? Well yes and no. The problem was a travesty was committed at the flower show. Yes, they had the best flower in the show but it was for a zinnia. It didn’t bother my grandfather at all but my grandmother was absolutely disgusted that a zinnia could ever beat a rose. Even if it was her zinnia.
The Trifecta of the Cutting Garden.
Zinnias have always been one of the best cutflowers to grow. They come in a multitude of different colors, sizes and forms. They are so easy to grow and the more you cut the more you get. Sounds like a good trifecta to me. Read more →

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The Tales of Four Sweet Corn Varieties

by Patrick on February 23, 2011

Sure you can grow all the super sweet enhanced hybrids you want but I’d like to share with you four tales of some unusual sweet corns.

Multi-colored corn is associated with jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows. But I found ‘Rainbow Inca’ which is a strong performing sweet corn with a heck of a story. Dr. Alan Kapular was breeding sweet corn in the mecca of sweet corn breeding, Oregon (not). He started by selecting 12 ears from his commune vegetable garden — I told you this was Oregon. The parents included flour corns, native American and heirloom sweet corns. Read more →

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Sow Your Poppies Outside in February

by Patrick on February 11, 2011

Corn Poppies, Monet 1873

Yes, I am talking about the Midwest and, no I’m not pushing any envelopes here. As a kid, I remember planting my Iceland Poppies as a winter annual in my Sydney garden. The papery thin petals were of the finest texture and a very dear friend for the winter months. But unfortunately, Iceland Poppies don’t perform well here in the KC area. According to Alan Branhagen, my friend and the Director of Horticulture at Powell Gardens in Kansas City, there are three poppies that are very successful in our area of the Midwest. Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Breadseed Poppy (Papaver somniferum) and the beautiful California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Read more →

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Patrick’s Picks — Perennials

by Patrick on February 4, 2011

 

 

A natural progression in the education of a gardener is to break free from annuals and discover the benefits of growing perennials. The most obvious benefit is the joy of seeing plants return year after year but the diversity of perennial plant material can weave a beautiful tapestry in anyone’s garden. It’s also important to remember you can’t think of a perennial garden as a static endeavor. Each year is an opp on successes and replace any lackluster performers. 

For this month’s column, I interviewed three area gardening professionals to find some outstanding perennials for those gardeners starting fresh or for those looking to improve an existing perennial garden.

Finding compact shade plants to complement hostas has always been a challenge. But Matt Archer of Soil Service in Kansas City, MO believes the variegated

Evergold' Japanese Sedge

Japanese Sedge Grass ‘Evergold’ boldly meets that need in the garden. Each graceful thin blade has dark green edging with a bright yellow stripe in the middle. Matt says “with fountain-like growth, ‘Evergold’ adapts well to moist, shady conditions but also has worked at our nursery in mostly-sunny locations and seems to also be drought tolerant. It is an excellent specimen for bordering or clumping in gardens as well as container accents”. 

Archer is also a big fan of Sedum ‘Angelina’. With its trailing habit, Angelina’ is a hardy plant with succulent foliage reaching a final size of 3 to 6 inches high by 12 to 14 inches wide. The chartreuse plant changes to a burnt orange-red in autumn.. It prefers sunny locations and will adapt to most sites as long as there is bright light and well-drained soil “We like to use chartreuse heucheras such as a ‘Dolce Key Lime Pie’ in the spring and the amber tones of heucheras such as ‘Peach Melba’ work great in the fall for our containers.” When using perennials in your containers, be sure to replant in the garden by mid-October to ensure their usage for another season.

'Caraina Moonlight' Baptisia

The common name for baptisia is false indigo based upon the blue flowers of the common species. But, since baptisia grows 3 feet to 4 feet tall and the same around, it requires some serious garden real estate. If you have the space, Duane Hoover of the Ewing and Muriel Kauffamn Memorial Garden in Kansas City, MO, really likes the yellow flowered ‘Carolina Moonlight’. Duane says “the 18” racemes in May through June compliment our garden very well. We also like all the baptisia because they attract butterflies. Even when this plant isn’t in flower it is stunning with its blue/green foliage and later on the almost black “inflated” seed pods”.

Stachy 'Hummelo'

Hoover’s other selection is Stachys ‘Hummelo’, a variety of Lambs Ear, The compact size of 12 to 18 inches high and 18 to 24 inches wide makes it an excellent candidate for a grouping of three in the average sized garden. The deep rose-lavender blooms begin in July and last through September. He says “the glossy basal rosette leaves are very attractive and easy to maintain in the garden. After the late summer flowers fade, the foliage will last well into fall and winter.

The intense breeding programs for Echinacea have delivered a stunning array of colors, plant habits and flower forms in recent years including ‘Prairie Splendor’. Julie Wendlandt of Audrie Seeley & Co in Kansas City, MO. says this variety is a “a beautiful rose red and our experience has seen the plant flower 100% of the time within the first year”. Julie says ‘Prairie Splendor’ “makes its presence known earlier than others in June and continues until the first frost, making it the longest flowering coneflower on the market today. As it is more compact than the normal Echinacea purpurea , it is more versatile in garden”.
Some gardeners hesitate to replace a poor performing perennial plant because they invested $4.99 for a small plant. But life is too short and fertile garden soil has too much potential to put up with an underperforming plant. If you’re cooking and burn a steak, would you just add some garnish and serve it to your guests hoping they won’t

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