Nothing sells like the word “new.” That goes for plants as well as designer handbags and electronic devices.
Some people love new things just for their newness (leading to many plant cultivars that are just new, not better, and disappear once their newness blinks out). Other gardeners are exquisitely attuned to nearly undetectable variations: a slightly redder shade of purple, a little more ruffle in the leaf, a beefsteak tomato that matures, on average, a day and a half sooner. Some like their plants offbeat (purple carrots, black pansies). Others are driven to own plants that no one else in the garden club has or has heard of.
But many plants are bred to respond to more practical needs. A new hydrangea or peony may have stronger stalks so heavy blooms don’t flop in the rain. Roses are bred to survive northern winters without fuss. New cultivars of prairie plants are smaller, so they can be used in today’s shrinking gardens or in pots on roofs and patios.
New plants with interesting foliage move in as trees mature and shade out blooms. Increasingly sophisticated cooks seek out a wider range of vegetables with flavors from around the world. Fast-living gardeners want perennials that will flower the first year from seed.
And just about everybody these days wants plants that are bred to be resistant to common diseases and pests — not just because it is less work to take care of them but because it reduces or eliminates the need for fungicides, insecticides and other toxic garden chemicals.
Here are just a handful of plants that caught our eye among the hundreds of new varieties that will be available this year.
In most cases, it is too soon to know which nurseries or catalogs will be selling them, and some will be available only in limited quantities. If you are interested in a plant and don’t see it in a catalog, ask your favorite nursery if they will be carrying it or suggest that they do.
ORNAMENTALS
Baptisia Starlite Prairieblues
Baptisia x bicolor `Starlite’
Lupinelike stalks bear petals of soft periwinkle blue touched with cream. Jim Ault of the Chicago Botanic Garden crossed this hybrid of the native false indigo. Like wild baptisia, it tolerates drought and a wide range of soils and is tough and durable once established. A 3-year-old clump will be 3 to 4 feet tall and wide, blooming for two to three weeks starting in mid-May. Released by the Chicagoland Grows program, it will be available this spring in a few Chicago-area independent nurseries and from White Flower Farm (www.whiteflowerfarm.com).
Rainbow Knock Out shrub rose
Rosa `Radcor’
The latest Knock Out brand rose bred by Wisconsin’s William Radler is a pale coral-pink with yellow at the center of the single blooms. More compact than earlier Knock Outs, and like them bred to be very hardy and disease-resistant. Developed by Conard-Pyle Co. Also look for Pink Double Knock Out (left) from Novalis Plants That Work. Both plants are likely to be available in nurseries and catalogs.
`Live Wire’ fiber optic grass
Isolepis cernua `Live Wire’
The mopheaded droop of this amusing sedge recalls Cousin It, and tiny flower heads make it look like a bundle of fiber optic crystals. Seriously, though, its soft, fine texture would add contrast to a container garden. An annual, it needs moist, shady conditions. Developed by Pan-American Seed; will likely be widely available.
`Shimmer’ dwarf evening primrose
Oenothera fremontii `Shimmer’
Lemon-yellow flowers appear in late spring among the threadlike silver-green foliage; smaller flushes of bloom occur through the summer. At only about a foot tall, this cultivar of a drought-tolerant native plant is good for the front of the border or for pots. Available from High Country Gardens (800-925-9387; www.highcountrygardens.com).
`Piglet’ dwarf fountain grasss
Pennisetum alopecuroides `Piglet’
A handsome mound-forming ornamental grass in an 18-inch size that fits in small gardens and tight spaces. Bred by Intrinsic Perennial Gardens Inc. in Hebron, Ill.; limited availability in independent garden centers.
My Monet Weigela
Weigela florida `Verweig’
This tidy 18-inch shrub is smaller than many perennials, making it perfect for containers, edging or accents. Though it has pink flowers in late spring, its prime attribute is the seasonlong color provided by green, white and pink variegated foliage. Developed by ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs; likely to be available in nurseries and catalogs.
`Fireworks mixed’ dahlia
Dahlia variabilis `Fireworks Mixed’
The grower says that if they are started indoors from seed in early spring, the dwarf plants will produce bright striped flowers in the summer of their first year. Available from Thompson & Morgan (800-274-7333; http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us).
EDIBLES
‘Golden Mama’ paste tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
‘Golden Mama’
A mild-flavored, meaty oval cooking tomato with a deep orange-yellow color for striking pasta sauce (other varieties tend to be paler yellow). Available from W. Atlee Burpee & Co. (800-888-1447; www.burpee.com).
`Helios’ radish
Raphanus sativus `Helios’
This sweet, pale yellow radish from an organization that saves and markets heirloom seeds matures in just about a month. It’s believed to date from the late 19th Century. Available from Seed Savers Exchange (563-382-5990; www.seedsavers.org).
`Sweet African Orange’ African eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
The 4-inch fruits of this vine mature from white to red-orange and have a mild, sweet flavor. They can be used like the more familiar eggplant, Solanum melongena, which comes from India. Available from Underwood Gardens in Woodstock (www.underwoodgardens.com).
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ebotts@tribune.com
