Plant Preview


Welcome to Plant Preview, a blog dedicated to helping gardeners learn about gardening techniques and preview new plant cultivars. Read about new plants here first and hear how your "comrades in compost" are making use of new plant introductions in their gardens and landscapes. Blog author Geri Laufer is a life-long dirt gardener, degreed horticulturist, author and former County Extension Agent. Plant Preview is copyrighted by Geri Laufer.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Pillars of Landscape Color & Grace: Golden Rocket & Orange Rocket Barberry

 Unique Columnar Shrubs with Brilliant Color are the Shape of Things to Come!

Two great new Barberry hybrids are rocketing onto the landscape scene.  Garden Debut® is pleased to announce two outstanding introductions from breeder Michal Andrusiv in the Czech Republic being grown for Plant Haven, Inc.:  Golden Rocket and Orange Rocket Barberries. Both Golden Rocket and Orange Rocket may be used as either a specimen or border plant.  Their bright unique colors work well in most landscapes, plus they have tight upright habits in contrast to other similar plants. These two barberries are rocketing to fame after extensive trials throughout the U.S. demonstrated that they perform exceptionally well in U.S.D.A. Climate Zones 4 through 9. As with all new barberries, the varieties were held in quarantine for wheat rust testing at the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory in Minnesota for more than 2 years and both are certified rust resistant.

Golden Rocket Barberry (PP#18626) This rocket-shaped barberry ascends in a unique narrow upright or tight columnar habit, ultimately reaching 5 feet tall by only 2 feet wide. Bright golden yellow foliage with contrasting coral colored stems in summer provides a golden specimen plant for the landscape, or adds height when placed in the mixed border, while the foliage turns to orange-red in autumn and is deciduous in early winter. Pale yellow, insignificant flowers in spring are attractive to pollinators and are followed by bright red berries in fall, without viable seed set.  

Orange Rocket Barberry (PP#18411) Soaring to even greater heights at the Oregon Association of Nurserymen’s Far West Show, Orange Rocket Barberry was awarded Best Shrub for 2010.  Orange Rocket has a tight missile-shaped habit, ultimately reaching 6 – 8 feet in height but only 2 feet in width in ten years. Plants have vibrant coral-orange new foliage that matures to mid-green. In early summer, pale yellow flowers are followed by small, crimson red berries that do not set viable seed. By autumn, the foliage is bright orange-red; for best foliage color, grow in full sun.

For more information on Yellow Rocket Barberry (PP18626) or Orange Rocket Barberry (PP18411) and other superior plant introductions brought to gardeners by Garden Debut®, visit GardenDebut.com. To set-up an interview contact Jim Thompson toll-free at 877-663-5053 or jim_thompson@greenleafnursery.com.
                              
Statistics Chart Yellow Rocket Barberry (PP18626) (Berberis thunbergii 'Yellow Rocket'),   Orange Rocket Barberry (PP18411), (Berberis thunbergii 'Orange Rocket')
Plant Category:
 Deciduous Woody shrubs
Mature Height:
Golden Rocket to 5 feet tall
Orange Rocket to 8 feet tall 
Mature Spread:
Both cultivars are only 2 feet in width even after 10 years
Mature Form:
Upright, compact, columnar, deciduous shrubs befitting their name
Branching:
Brown branches, deeply grooved, somewhat zig-zag in form and bearing a single sharp spine at each leaf node. 
Growth Rate:
Moderate, low maintenance, durable, no serious pests, rust resistant
Sun Exposure:
Full sun for best leaf color, will grow in partial shade
Soil Type:
Widely adaptable, Loam, Sand or Clay
Soil Moisture:
Well-drained; adaptable to drought when established
Roots:
Wide-ranging
Flower:
Pale yellow insignificant flowers, attractive to pollinators
Berries:
Crimson berries without viable seed set, therefore not invasive
Summer Leaf Color:
Golden Rocket:  Day-Glo Golden Yellow maturing to chartreuse green
Orange Rocket: Flaming coral-red with torch-like fall color
Fall Color:
Lovely red-orange fall color, becoming deciduous in early winter
pH Level:
5.5 – 7.5
Hardiness Zones:
4 – 9, includes nearly all of the continental U.S.
Landscape Impact:
Colorful columns of color in the landscape, provides a vertical element in mixed borders or as specimen plants for interest  
Heredity:
Lifetime Breeder Michal Andresiv in the Czech Republic through Plant Haven, Inc.
                                                                                                                       
When performance counts, use Garden Debut®’s great new plants. 
 
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Marvelous Montego Melon™ Daylily Never Stops Blooming


Continuous blooms from spring through fall add value to the landscape.

The desirable, soft butter-yellow color of Garden Debut®’s new introduction Montego Melon™ Daylily is superior to previous long-blooming daylilies because it represents advances in both color selection and disease resistance, along with an incredibly long bloom season. Plants in the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” share outstanding characteristics that appeal to gardeners, homeowners, landscape designers and contractors.

Bright, cheerful Montego Melon™ Daylily flowers are a clear yellow to cream melon color with an apple-green center that act as a magnet for the eye across a green landscape. Delightfully wide petals are sculptured or pleated with heavy substance, and recurve to form a very round flower. Large, looping ruffles extend into the throat area. Throughout the year, branched flower scapes produce dozens of flower buds, enhancing the display.

Montego Melon™ Daylily is a 2011 introduction in the Tetraploid series Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” from Garden Debut® that features shorter plants with large, brightly-colored flowers. Flowering begins six to eight weeks earlier than standard daylilies and flowers develop even during cooler weather and cold nights, a big plus for retailers whose customers will be captivated by the colorful display on their springtime shopping trips. Branched scapes are loaded with buds that begin blooming eight weeks earlier than standard daylilies and continue blooming until hard frost ends the growing season.

What’s more, Montego Melon™ Daylily is resistant to Daylily Rust, the scourge of previous long-blooming daylilies. Short, grassy foliage, clean shedding of old blooms, prolonged reblooming that extends the season, and rapid increases of divisions add up to a finer and more saleable daylily. Compact plants with short flower scapes and foliage of this daylily eliminate blow-over in garden centers common to taller daylilies sold in gallon pots,     

The culmination of seven years of targeted plant modification by renowned daylily breeder and author Dr. Ted Petit of Le Petit Jardin, McIntosh, Fla., Garden Debut® is pleased to provide the green industry with superior plants through this new partnership. Montego Melon™ Daylily is available in summer 2011. The series is named for the luscious, soft dawns and tropical island colors of the Beach Boys’ classic song, Kokomo, and future introductions in this daylily collection will continue with enjoyable names derived from this hit recording.

Montego Melon™ Daylily, Hemerocallis ‘SPd 06-13’ PPAF
(Hybrid 2011 introduction of the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection”)
Plant Category:
 Perennial
Mature Height:
18 inches, shorter plants won’t blow over in gallon pots
Mature Spread:
12 inches
Mature Form:
 Grass-like foliage, short mounds (like cushion mums)
Growth Rate:
Vigorous; rapid increase in landscape or garden quickly forming large plants
Disease Resistance:
 Very Rust resistant, “No Work Plant Collection”
Sun Exposure:
 Full sun to partial shade
Soil Moisture:
 Wide range, tolerant of dry to damp soils
Soil Type:
 Loam, Sand, Clay, tolerant of all soil types 
pH Level:
 Wide range, tolerant of soil reaction
Flower Genetics:
 Tetraploid. More flowers with heavier substance, yet the series are shorter with narrow leaves that will not blow over in gallon nursery pots.
Intensity:
Light-colored butter cream yellow blooms
Flower Color:
Bright, cheerful Montego Melon™ Daylily flowers are a clear yellow to cream melon color with an apple-green center. The wide petals are sculpted with heavy substance, and recurve to form a very round flower. Large, looping ruffles extend into the throat area. Delightfully wide, overlapping, yellow melon petals recurve, creating a round flower form
Flower Size:
 4 inches
Bloom Time:
 Continuous bloom spring through summer.
 Starts blooming 6 to 8 weeks earlier than standard commercial varieties, blooms during spring retail rush. Branched flower scapes have dozens of flower buds, enhancing the display.
Weather:
 Flowers even in cool weather and cold nights
Repeat bloomer:
 Outstanding re-bloomer or continual-bloomer with multitudes of buds and flowers on well- branched scapes
Self-cleaning:
 Clean shedding of old blooms
Season:
 Flowers extremely early (with Azaleas and Redbud) and throughout  summer and fall, until hard frost
Landscape Value:
 Improved garden mainstay; popular perennial now blooms earlier, fits into retail racks and has greater landscape application
Zones:
 5 – 9
Heredity:
 U.S., Dr. Ted Petit, McIntosh, FL
                                                           
                        When performance counts, use Garden Debut®'s great new plants
#     #     #

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Luminous Key Largo Moon™ Daylily Blooms Non-Stop


Continuous blooms from spring through fall add value to the landscape.

Light-years ahead of previous long-blooming daylilies, Garden Debut®’s new introduction Key Largo Moon™ Daylily "the no work plant collection" delivers brilliant flower color, long blooming season and disease resistance.  Enjoy 24/7™ plants share outstanding characteristics that appeal to gardeners, homeowners, landscape designers and contractors.

Flowers of Key Largo Moon™ Daylily are a gleaming golden yellow with a deep green throat and petals with heavy substance recurve to form a symmetrical, round flower.  The incandescent, medium-sized blooms of Key Largo Moon™ capture attention from across the garden.  The petals are heavily ruffled with a combination of tight crimped ruffling to large, looping ruffles along petal edges.

This shimmering moonlit daylily is one of the Garden Debut® Tetraploid daylilies in the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” that features three seasons of continuous bloom on short plants with large, brightly-colored flowers. Plants in the series are each named for the luscious, soft pink dawns and tropical island colors evoked by the Beach Boys’ classic song, Kokomo.

Key Largo Moon™ Daylily is a 2011 introduction from Garden Debut® that features flowering that begins six- to eight- weeks earlier than standard daylilies and flowers that develop despite cold spring nights, a big plus for retailers whose customers will be captivated by the colorful display on their springtime trips to local garden centers. Compact plants with short flower scapes and foliage eliminate blow-over in garden centers common to taller daylilies sold in gallon pots.
Blooming continues throughout the summer and fall until cut down by hard frost (as late as Thanksgiving in U.S.D.A. Zone 7). What’s more, Key Largo Moon™ Daylily is resistant to daylily rust that blights older daylily varieties. Short, grassy foliage, clean shedding of old blooms, prolonged reblooming that extends the season, and rapid increase of clumps add up to high customer demand.    
The culmination of seven years of targeted plant modification by renowned daylily breeder and author Dr. Ted Petit of Le Petit Jardin, McIntosh, Fla., Garden Debut® is pleased to provide the green industry with superior plants through this new partnership. Key Largo Moon™ Daylily is available in early 2012. Additional introductions in this daylily collection will continue with enjoyable names derived from the Beach Boys hit, Kokomo, and the flowers will evoke a tropical feel of freedom and fun.  


Key Largo Moon™ Daylily, Hemerocallis ‘SPd 06-14’ PPAF one of Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection”
Plant Category:
 Perennial
Mature Height:
18 inches, shorter plants won’t blow over in gallon pots
Mature Spread:
12 inches
Mature Form:
 Grass-like foliage, short mounds (like cushion mums)
Growth Rate:
Vigorous; rapid increase in landscape or garden quickly forming large plants
Disease Resistance:
 Very rust resistant, “No Work Plant Collection”
Sun Exposure:
 Full sun to partial shade
Soil Moisture:
 Wide range, tolerant of dry to damp soils
Soil Type:
 Loam, Sand, Clay, tolerant of all soil types 
pH Level:
 Wide range, tolerant of soil reaction
Flower Genetics:
 Tetraploid. More flowers with heavier substance, yet the series are shorter with narrow leaves that will not blow over in gallon nursery pots.
Intensity:
 Brightly colored, rich, golden-yellow blooms
Flower Color:
Key Largo Moon™ Daylily flowers are a brilliant golden-yellow color. The flowers have a deep green throat and petals with heavy substance petals recurve to form a symmetrical, round flower.  The medium sized blooms of Key Largo Moon™ are a luminous gold and grab attention from across the garden.  The petals are also heavily ruffled with a combination of tight crimped ruffling to large, looping ruffles.
Flower Size:
 4 inches
Bloom Time:
 Continuous bloom spring through summer.
 Starts blooming 6 to 8 weeks earlier than standard commercial varieties, blooms during spring retail rush.
Weather:
 Flowers even in cool weather and cold nights
Repeat bloomer:
 Good re-bloomer with multitude of flowers on well- branched scapes
Self-cleaning:
 Clean shedding of old blooms
Season:
 Flowers extremely early (with Azaleas and Redbud) and throughout  summer
Landscape Value:
 Improved of garden mainstay; popular perennial now fits into retail racks and has greater landscape application
Zones: 
 5 – 9
Heredity:
 U.S., Dr. Ted Petit, McIntosh, FL
                                                           
                        When performance counts, use Garden Debut®'s great new plants

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Enjoy 24/7(TM) Daylilies from Renown Daylily Breeder Dr. Ted L Petit


Ted Petit was born near New Orleans and completed his Bachelor and Masters degrees at L.S.U. before moving to the University of Florida to get his Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience.  He joined the faculty at the University of Toronto where he continues to work as a Professor.  His conducts research on how the brain changes to store memories, and has written two books about the brain. 

Ted and his wife, Susan, purchased 25 acres of land near Gainesville, Florida, where they raised their son, Gavin, with Ted commuting between Canada and Florida.  Ted had always been an avid gardener, so he soon created a large garden at his Florida home.  He soon met Bill Munson, arguably the foremost daylily hybridizer of his time, who lived nearby in Gainesville.  Ted fell in love with daylilies, and Bill became his mentor, teaching him everything about breeding them. 

Soon, Ted’s garden was filled with daylilies, and his love for the daylily turned into a passion.  It has now been 25 years since he first started breeding daylilies, and the gardens have transformed into a major undertaking, including two 30 x 100 feet greenhouses used for hybridizing.  Ted has also co-authored 3 books on daylilies, The Color Encyclopedia of Daylilies,  Daylilies: A Guide for Gardeners, and The New Encyclopedia of Daylilies, all published by Timber Press.  He has also written articles for gardening magazines as well as appearing on House and Garden TV. Read Ted's Blog at http://petitdaylilies.blogspot.com/

             
His first hybrids were introduced into commerce in 1994 through his daylily nursery, Le Petit Jardin.  To date, he has introduced 492 hybrids into commerce, which he sells through his web page (http://www.petitdaylilies.com/) and full-color catalog. His plants have won numerous awards from the American Hemerocallis Society, including 20 Honorable Mentions and 1 Award of Merit.  Some of Ted’s most popular daylilies have included Ferengi Gold, Bill Munson, Gavin Petit, Larry’s Obsession, Gary Colby, April LaQuinta, Ted's Tribute to Linda and Blue Eden.

The Enjoy 24/7(TM) Daylilies (three pictured here) are introduced and marketed through Garden Debut(R) and excel in the size and beauty of the flowers, length of bloom season which begins in April and blooms until frost, resistance to rust and short scapes with grassy foliage on plants in the collection. Find out more about this collection on this blog and at the Garden Debut(R) website.

Ted has broken the world record for the most expensive daylily sold at auction three times.  Prior to 2002, the most expensive daylily sold at auction for $2,300.  In 2002, Ted’s “Lady Betty Fretz” broke this record by selling at auction for $4,200 at the Canadian-American Daylily Meeting.  In 2004, he broke his own world record with “Larry’s Obsession” selling for $6,300 at the Canadian-American Daylily Meeting.  Ted again broke his own world record in 2008 with “Ted’s Tribute to Linda” selling at auction for $7,500 at the Lake Tahoe International Daylily Symposium. His latest record has yet to be broken. (http://www.petitdaylilies.com/index.php/world-record-breakers)

                       
Photos from top: Dr. Ted L. Petit, Bahama Pink Sky(TM), Key Largo Moon(TM) and Bermuda Peach(TM)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily Awakens Landscapes


Continuous blooms from spring through fall provide added value for gardeners and landscapers.

Far and away superior to older long-blooming daylilies, Garden Debut®’s new introduction Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily adds an eye-catching lavender-rose flower color to the daylily palette, while delivering both disease resistance and an extended season of bloom. Daylilies in the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” share valuable characteristics that appeal to gardeners, homeowners, landscape designers and contractors.

Extraordinary flowers of Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily are an unusual, clear lavender-rose or light burgundy color with a contrasting lemon-yellow and chartreuse throat. Flowers have a darker burgundy or grape-maroon eye zone with a thin maroon-red halo toward the flower center. Wide, overlapping petals have a light ruffle and heavy substance, creating a round flower shape on this outstanding cultivar. 

This out-of-the-ordinary lavender-rose daylily is one of the Garden Debut® Tetraploid daylilies in the Enjoy 24/7™ series that features three seasons of continuous bloom on short plants with large, brightly-colored flowers. Originator Ted Petit named the series for the luminous, soft purple dawns and tropical island colors of the Beach Boys’ classic song, Kokomo.

Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily is a 2011 introduction in the Tetraploid series Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” from Garden Debut® that features shorter plants with large, brightly-colored flowers. Flowering begins six to eight weeks earlier than standard daylilies and buds develop into flowers even during cooler weather and cold spring nights, a big plus for retailers whose customers will be captivated by the colorful display on their springtime shopping trips.  Blooming continues throughout the summer and fall until cut down by hard frost (as late as Thanksgiving in Zone 7).

What’s more, Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily is resistant to Daylily Rust that blights previous long-blooming daylilies. Short, grassy foliage, clean shedding of old blooms, prolonged reblooming that extends the season, and rapid increase of divisions adds up to an extraordinary daylily. Compact plants with short flower scapes and foliage eliminate blow-over in garden centers common to taller daylilies sold in gallon pots.  [Photo at left was taken 4/28/11 after -12 degree F. winter lows; 6 budded scapes in evidence on plant! ]  

The culmination of seven years of targeted plant modification by renowned daylily breeder and author Dr. Ted Petit of Le Petit Jardin, McIntosh, Fla., Garden Debut® is pleased to provide the green industry with outstanding plants through this partnership. Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily is available in summer 2011.

For more information on Enjoy 24/7 “the no work plant collection” and other superior plant introductions brought to gardeners by Garden Debut®, visit GardenDebut.com. To set-up an interview with daylily breeder Dr. Ted Petit, contact Jim Thompson toll-free at 877-663-5053 or jim_thompson@greenleafnursery.com.               

 Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily, Hemerocallis ‘SPd 06-12’ PPAF
(Hybrid 2011 introduction of the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection”)
Plant Category:
 Perennial
Mature Height:
18 inches, shorter plants won’t blow over in gallon pots
Mature Spread:
12 inches
Mature Form:
 Grass-like foliage, short mounds (like cushion mums)
Growth Rate:
Vigorous; rapid increase in landscape or garden quickly forming large plants
Disease Resistance:
 Very rust resistant, “No Work Plant Collection”
Sun Exposure:
 Full sun to partial shade
Soil Moisture:
 Wide range, tolerant of dry to damp soils
Soil Type:
 Loam, Sand, Clay, tolerant of all soil types 
pH Level:
 Wide range, tolerant of soil reaction
Flower Genetics:
 Tetraploid. More flowers with heavier substance, yet the series are shorter with narrow leaves that will not blow over in gallon nursery pots.
Intensity:
 Brightly colored red blooms
Flower Color:
Superior flowers of Jamaica Sunrise™ Daylily are an unusual, clear lavender-rose or light burgundy color with a contrasting lemon yellow/chartreuse throat. Flowers have a darker burgundy or grape-maroon eye zone with a thin maroon-red halo. Wide, overlapping petals with heavy substance have a light ruffle, and unusual lavender-rose daylily petals are gently recurved, creating a round form on medium size flowers.
Flower Size:
 4 inches
Bloom Time:
 Continuous bloom spring through summer.
 Starts blooming 6 to 8 weeks earlier than standard commercial varieties, blooms during spring retail rush.
Weather:
 Flowers even in cool weather and cold nights
Repeat bloomer:
 Good re-bloomer with multitude of flowers on well- branched scapes
Self-cleaning:
 Clean shedding of old blooms
Season:
 Flowers extremely early (with Azaleas and Redbud) and throughout  summer
Landscape Value:
 Improved of garden mainstay; popular perennial now fits into retail racks and has greater landscape application
Zones: 
 5 – 9
Heredity:
 U.S., Dr. Ted Petit, McIntosh, FL
                                                           
                        When performance counts, use Garden Debut® introductions
#     #     #