The Ozarks Chronicle/The Hill Country Gardener

If you yearn for something new to spice up the landscape this spring, there are numerous new varieties of annuals, perennials, roses, daylilies, herbs, and others that are just waiting for a place in your garden. Below are a few for your consideration:

Each year All-American Selections winners offer new varieties to gardeners who are confident they can trust the results of testing performed in AAS trial grounds across the U.S. Four new plants have been named All-American Selections for 2007. They are…

§ Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’ (Celosia plumosa)– named for their ever-fresh appearance throughout the growing season. They are ornamented with deep, golden-yellow colored, feathery-looking plumes of 4-4.5” long that do not brown with age, so deadheading is not necessary. No pests were reported to be a problem in trials. The plants are low maintenance, heat and humidity tolerant, and rain tolerant. Height is approximately 12” tall and 12” wide. Great season-long performer.

§ Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’ (Catharanthus roseus) – this big, 2”, burgundy, bi-color bloom will add a nice pop of color to the front of a full-sun garden. First vinca to combine the large white center with a surrounding burgundy halo. Flowers early and continuously throughout the summer without pinching or maintenance. Good heat and drought tolerance make this a great plant for sunny gardens and patio containers. Plants reach approximately 12” tall and 10-12” wide.

§ Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ (Petunia x hybrida) – A new color of iridescent pink 2.5” blooms with creamy white eyes and yellow throats cover this vigorous trailing petunia. Blooms appear to have a silvery sheen that makes them look as if they shimmer in the distance. The continuously flowering plants get 4-6” tall and spread up to 3 feet wide choking out weeds in its path. No pruning or deadheading necessary.

§ Pepper ‘Holy Mole’ (Capsicum annuum) – If you like chicken mole enchiladas, you may want to grow this one. This is an earlier producing, more vigorous hybrid of the pepper used to make Mexican mole sauce. The peppers are a slender 1.5” x 7-9” long, and when mature they are a deep shiny, chocolate-brown with the tangy, nutty flavor savored in good mole sauces. Plants mature to about 20” tall, are virus-resistant, and are high yielding making them perfect for patio containers in full sun.

In Missouri, The Plants of Merit Program endeavors to increase public appreciation of beauty and eco-friendly plants that work well in the home landscape. Each year a consortium, including Missouri Botanical Garden, Powell Gardens, Mizzou Botanic Gardens and University of Missouri Extension, selects exceptional regionally tested and proven annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees to be added as Plants of Merit.

For 2007, one of the outstanding plants selected to be a Plant of Merit is Tecoma stans, or Yellow bells ‘Gold Star’. From the family Bignoniaceae. The height of this plant is approximately 3-5 feet tall and it can spread from 2-4 feet. This is a maintenance free shrub that is a broadleaf evergreen and winter hardy in zones 9 to 11, can be grown as an annual in northern zones, or may be grown in a container and over wintered as a houseplant. Requires average moisture, good drainage, and full sun. From June until frost the 2” tubular flowers are bright, lemon-yellow with a moderate sweet fragrance that attracts butterflies. To encourage continuous bloom, deadhead spent flowers before seed pods form. This plant is native to southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Central and South America, and parts of the Caribbean. In its native form it is found as a shrub or small tree that may grow 10’ to 25’ tall. The ‘Gold Star’ cultivar was discovered growing in a garden in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information on All-American Selections or The Plants of Merit Program, check out the links below:

All-American Selections -- http://www.all-americaselections.org/Winners.asp

The Plants of Merit Program -- http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Merit.asp

If you have questions or comments for the Hill Country Gardener, please feel free to email me at delaine@theozarkschronicle.com or write to me c/o The Ozarks Chronicle, PO Box 1122, Rolla, MO 65402-1122.