HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
Perhaps with some brand-new plants you’ve never seen before
The paths behind Bedner’s Farm and Greenhouse in McDonald are filled with mud as they thaw out from another brutal winter. Owner Russ Bedner warns visitors to wear boots as he leads them into a big hoop greenhouse filled with colorful plants — many of them new varieties in this new growing season.
Mr. Bedner admitted he gets excited about the new plants he finds after scouring trade shows and nurseries. “I go on a gut feeling about what I think the public will enjoy,” he said.
First on his list for spring 2015 is Digiplexis, a new hybrid that was created by crossing digitalis — foxglove — and a digitalis relative from the Canary Islands called isoplexis.
It’s a long-blooming, sun-loving annual that is perfect for gardens here in Zone 6. Bedner’s carries two colors this season. “Illumination Raspberry” has fuchsia-colored blooms lined in peach; “Illumination Flame” sports red and orange blooms. The plant looks much like a foxglove with bell-shaped flowers on 3-foot spikes.
Digiplexis, Mr. Bedner noted, is the talk of the gardening world this spring.
Mr. Bedner also favors a new begonia called “Lucky Strike,” which is good for hanging baskets. The flowers have yellow inner petals and peach outer petals that create a contrast to its dark green leaves.
Then there’s the anemone “Fantasy Pocahontas.” He said it is an easy-to-grow, hardy perennial that gets covered with pinkish-purple double flowers and grows to be 18 inches tall. It blooms midsummer and continues until frost.
A new variety of the popular hydrangea this year is called
“LA Dreamin’ ” and has both pink and blue flowers. It’s a reliable bloomer as it sets buds on both old and new wood and grows to 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
There’s also a new hydrangea with exotic-looking black stems. One called “Zorro” has blue blooms; another called “Zebra” has white. Mr. Bedner noted that these need more sunlight than other hydrangeas.
New for the vegetable gardener this season is a plant called “Ketchup ’n’ Fries Tom-Tatos.” A potato plant and tomato plant are grafted together and produce sweet cherry tomatoes above ground and white potatoes underground.
Also new are Kalettes, a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale.
“You have the long stock, but instead of the actual tight Brussels sprout, it will have a kale leafy vegetable shape,” Mr. Bedner said.
“You always have people asking what’s new, and it gets them excited about a new color or a new texture to add to their gardens,’’ Mr. Beder said. Personalized landscaping On a recent brisk morning, Micah Tribou, operations manager at Plumline Nursery in Murrysville, examined some recently delivered conifers and evergreens.
He grew up in the family business, and Mr. Tribou takes pride in the fact the nursery grows a wide variety of plants and specializes in unusual varieties.
“If you can’t find it here, you can’t find it on the East Coast,” he said. “We spend all winter looking for something new.”
Mr. Tribou discovered the blue fir conifer called “Martha´s Vineyard” several years ago as a seedling in a grower’s field in Oregon. Now he has finally found specimens big enough to sell.
The tree has beautiful blue color and a conical shape. It is tough and grows only 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. “It fits in lots of places in a garden,’’ he said.
The self-described “plant nerd” said he also is drooling over the Japanese white pine called “Tani Mano Uki.” The slow-growing, evergreen rock garden plant is relatively rare and offers the typical blue-green color but develops a significant amount of white on the tips of its needles that fade to pink in the winter.
“It looks good all year,’’ he said.
Arizona cypress “Sulfura” is a narrow evergreen that has a strong yellow cast and reaches 20 feet.
“It will really jump out at you,” he said of the plant, which offers four seasons of interest.
“Sester’s Dwarf” is a small version of a regular blue spruce that grows to resemble a dwarf Alberta spruce but with different texture and color. Instead of having lime-green needles, it has coarser, blue needles.
“It’s everything you love about a blue spruce, only a smaller variety,’’ he explained.
“Amber Jubilee” ninebark is a shrub that leafs out with yellow-orange-ish leaves, dulls a bit in the summer and turns red in the fall.
“It’s indestructible and really pretty,’’ he said.
Then there is the Japanese maple “Orange Dream,” which gets 20 feet tall with stunning leaves. In spring, the foliage is orange; in summer, it’s green; and in fall, it’s fire engine red.
“It stands out like a UFO. It’s really bright,” he said.
Mr. Tribou also has a new annual to show off. “Snow ’N Summer” jasmine grows to resemble a ground cover with variegated leaves and can be used in a container to trail over the edges.
“Everybody wants to make a house their home that speaks to your personality,’’ he said of landscaping. Gardening excitement A cool, soft rain peppers the roof of the greenhouse at Quality Gardens in Valencia. It’s toasty warm inside and bursting with blooms as owner Tom McMeekin selects some of his favorites.
“There’s so many new, it’s hard to pick something that’s best,’’ he said. “A number of things are wonderful this year, especially the Hydrangea macrophylla “Chique” that has bi-colored flowers resembling candy stripes.’’
Mr. McMeekin wonders aloud if we really need another heuchera — coral bells — as he talks about one called “Lava Lamp.”
“Every year there’s something that’s just exciting,” he said. “This one will have a great spot in your garden.’’
The perennial is a shadelover grown for its foliage. The first leaves are a bright copper orange when emerging and then deepen to coppery purple through the season. The leaves are large, flat and rounded, and the plant likes brightness, but not full sun.
The Lily Looks series of asiatic lilies is another of his favorites.
“They’re hardy as bricks and will spread,” he said.
The plants stay less than 2 feet tall and love full sun, and the flowers point up for a nice show.
Then there is the petunia. “We have a love/hate relationship with them,’’ the gardener noted. “The love comes from their performance in hot, dry locations. But we hate them for the maintenance they need with deadheading and watering.’’
He points to the new Crazytunias, which are a selfcleaning, heat-tolerant mounding variety that comes in an array of shades.
“They just keep blooming and blooming all summer and they get quite large,’’ he promised.
Also, he added, “Rex begonias are something your grandmother had out back.’’
He’s fond of the Shadow series, which offers many different colors of foliage. They form vibrant leaves bigger than your hand and thrive in the shade.
“Gardening should be something that excites you,’’ he said. ”It should give you a reward beyond just getting the job done.’’
Details: www.bednersgreenhouse.com; www.plumlinenursery.com; www.qualitygardens.com