Thursday, February 24, 2011

Hot Plants for Spring 2011

With Witchhazels in bloom and daffodil buds emerging, my spring fever is nearing its peak.  I wanted to dedicate a few blogs to plants that I think will be hot this spring.  I’ve spent time going through stacks of 2011 catalogues, going to nursery trade shows, and talking to designers and breeders, so I have narrowed down my finalists.  Today’s pick for hot plants 2011:
The Genius Geum Genus
Geum 'Totally Tangerine' bred by Tim Crowther UK.  Image from Bluestone Perennials.
Try and say that three times quickly.  It’s clear that this once overlooked genus is hotter than ever this spring.  It’s easy to see why these plants have been ignored.  They tend to take a year or two to get established, can sometimes look scraggly, and don’t really stand out in a pot.  But what makes Geums uninspiring the first year turn into assets over the long haul.  By the second year, Geums really make a show and prove themselves to be long blooming additions to any border.  Plus, they come in almost every color imaginable.
What will make Geums particularly hot this year are a slate of wonderful new cultivars.  Consider, for example, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ (Tim’s Tangerine PPAF).  This plant won ‘Plant of the Year’ at the Chelsea Flower Show, among a particularly crowded field of good plants.  This plant explodes with coral-colored Anemone-like blooms in early summer and continues blooming through mid summer.  This cultivar is particularly robust and taller than the species, transforming a supporting plant into a leading role in your garden. 
Also look out for a series of new cultivars developed by Walter’s Gardens in Michigan.  Geum ‘Mai Thai’ and Geum ‘Alabama Slammer’ are a couple of their promising introductions.  You can purchase them online from Bluestone Perennials.
Geum triflorum, image from Prairie Moon Nursery
Don’t care about overly bred cultivars and are looking for something a bit more native?  Try Geum triflorum, a delightful and whimsical Midwest native.  Prairie Smoke is a low growing forb that sports gorgeous hot pink flowers in spring that explode into smoky, pinky, feathery seedheads in midsummer. What a knockout.   One of the most photogenic plants I’ve ever seen, proving once again, that natives can compete with even the most colorful exotic.  This plant is relatively easy to grow and combines nicely with other low prairie grasses like Bouteloua gracilis or Schizachyrium scoparium.  Prairie Moon Nursery sells seeds of this wonderful plant.
Geum triflorum in seed.  Image from Prairie Moon Nursery.

17 comments:

  1. I've always liked Geums; I've heart their colors criticized for being too harsh but the new selections should satisfy those critics. I've always liked it because, in spite of being advertised as an "early summer" bloomer, here in the DC area it starts a bit before that. It can actually bridge the gap between early perennials/spring bulbs, and the explosion of the perennial border.

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  2. That's a great point, Chris. They bloom at a time when you really need the color. Some of the newer cultivars keep blooming through late June.

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  3. I have lusted over the cultivar Tequila Sunrise, a beauty that also gives a nice long 4 week, maybe more, show. Very soft sherbet and raspberry hues, it is an unexpected and welcoming coloration for spring. Hiphip hooray for Piet Oudolf for using and photographing a lovely plant family over the years. It has a similar 'sweetness' similar to Knautia sp.

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  4. "Sweetness" . . . that's a perfect word for them!

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  5. Prairie smoke is one of my favorites because it is so surprising to look at.

    Its fluffy appearance works against the common stereotype of prairie plants being large, coarse and devoid of subtlety.

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  6. Thomas, I just found your blog a month or so ago thanks to the ladies at the Rant. I'm hooked :) Quick correction though, Geum 'Alabama Slammer' and 'Mai Thai' (along with 'Tequila Sunrise') were bred by Brent Horvath at Intrinsic Perennials, not Walters Gardens. Walters does do a terrific job promoting them though. I've tried a few Geum recently and am undecided about their heat tolerance. Have you found them tolerant of the sweltering DC summers? Thanks for the great blog!

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  7. I've long admired Geum triflorum in other people's gardens...I really must bite the bullet this year and put some in.

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  8. We've got prairie smoke in the Native Plant Garden and Geum 'Fireball' in the Welcome Garden, when they flower they are show stoppers. I saw geum in Andy Sturgeon's 2010 winning design at the Chelsea Flower Show: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01645/telegraph-garden-g_1645484a.pdf

    It's pretty spectacular.

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  10. I've planted Geums before, but with no luck. But you've inspired me to try them again.

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  11. I used Geum in my garden projects last year for the first time and I fell in love: I think they are very interesting especially combined with grasses and they seem to do pretty well here. Great post, as usual.

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  12. I've grown prairie smoke for years--it's lovely all year round and moee people should NOT plant them because I want to be special. I guess not. Argh.

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  13. Those plants were really lovely and pretty. I think that will fit in to my garden. I have just a simple garden design and it will add beauty if I have one of those plants.

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  14. Beautiful, love those Geum triflorum.

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  15. Those plants were really pretty. Having those plants certainly adds beauty in the environment. Those lovely flowers are awesome in beauty.

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  16. Beautiful plants! So nice for you to share your seeds!

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  17. I'm a bit late to the party! That tangerine geum is something I need to find, I really like the geum I find it to be a must have in my garden.

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