2026 Shrubs of the Year

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from Studio a Here, proven winners, Color Choice Shrubs.
<v Speaker 1>It's The Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella me, Rick Weist,
<v Speaker 1>and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Happy New Year, Stacey,
<v Speaker 1>Happy New Year, Adriana, and happy new Year to you, Stacey.
<v Speaker 1>I think twenty twenty six is going to be a
<v Speaker 1>great year.
<v Speaker 2>I hope so I think it will be. Six is
<v Speaker 2>my lucky number?
<v Speaker 1>Oh I liked, I liked. I liked the number six.
<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean, I have a really silly story why
<v Speaker 2>six is my lucky number. But when I hear it, yeah, sure,
<v Speaker 2>it's pretty short. So when I was in elementary school,
<v Speaker 2>they had a fun fair and you know, like you
<v Speaker 2>have like games and so forth, and I had They
<v Speaker 2>had a game. It's kind of like roulette, but obviously
<v Speaker 2>this is elementary school. So it's just like a big
<v Speaker 2>wheel and you put your ticket down on a number
<v Speaker 2>and if your number came up, you got to pick
<v Speaker 2>a prize. And I put my ticket on number six,
<v Speaker 2>number six came up. I got this awesome stuffed parrot.
<v Speaker 2>Still can remember it clearly in my head, and ever
<v Speaker 2>since then, I have considered six my lucky number. But
<v Speaker 2>also I like six because you know, it's divisible by
<v Speaker 2>three and two, and those are both great numbers. Three
<v Speaker 2>is a prime number, and that's pretty cool, and yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it breaks up in all these cool ways. And yeah,
<v Speaker 2>I just like the number six.
<v Speaker 1>I love the number six. In school, I made the
<v Speaker 1>soccer team and I got the number six. So since
<v Speaker 1>then my voice loved that.
<v Speaker 2>Oh that's a good reason too. Anyhow, here's twenty twenty six.
<v Speaker 1>That's right, here's to twenty twenty six, and today National
<v Speaker 1>Plants of the Year, we're going to focus on shrubs.
<v Speaker 1>So over the course of the next few weeks we'll
<v Speaker 1>focus on different plant categories. Today it's shrubs, and so,
<v Speaker 1>without further ado the envelope, please let's look at Shrub
<v Speaker 1>of the Year and Stacy for twenty twenty six. I
<v Speaker 1>love this one. Shrub of the Year double play Dolly spyriea.
<v Speaker 2>So that's flowering Shrub of the Year. We have a
<v Speaker 2>number of categories in the in the Show of the
<v Speaker 2>Year program, Flowering Shob of the Year is our way
<v Speaker 2>to just kind of talk about a plant that doesn't
<v Speaker 2>fit neatly necessarily into any of the other categories. So
<v Speaker 2>this gives us a chance to award it to any
<v Speaker 2>number of the varieties. They're in the proven Winter's Color
<v Speaker 2>Choice program. So yes, Flowering Shrub of the Year. Double
<v Speaker 2>Play Dolly Spyrea. Now, you know, people don't typically get
<v Speaker 2>excited about spyrea, and we've been trying to change that
<v Speaker 2>with a double play spy reas you know, Spyria are
<v Speaker 2>a pretty workaday kind of plant.
<v Speaker 1>Workaday, but but it's a landscape classic and.
<v Speaker 2>They're really pretty and they're Yeah, they got that way
<v Speaker 2>for a reason.
<v Speaker 1>And in the garden center industry many times you're looking
<v Speaker 1>for plant material that presents well on the bench. I mean,
<v Speaker 1>this plant does very well in garden centers and does
<v Speaker 1>great in the landscape. And the color it provides all
<v Speaker 1>you're long is something to write home about. In my opinion,
<v Speaker 1>it is.
<v Speaker 2>And it's very durable sunshade, pretty deer resistant, pretty drought tolerant.
<v Speaker 2>And you know, another thing people love about Spyria, at
<v Speaker 2>least the type of the double Play series is are
<v Speaker 2>Also they're tufets, and people love a good tufet correct,
<v Speaker 2>So they have that nice, rounded, tight little form. Now,
<v Speaker 2>what makes double play Dolly special because you know, There
<v Speaker 2>are a number of amazing varieties in the double Play series,
<v Speaker 2>not least of all double Playduicy, which is ree blooming
<v Speaker 2>double Play Dolly is the first to combine shar trus
<v Speaker 2>foliage with purple flowers. Yes, so this color combination has
<v Speaker 2>never really been seen before in the spy real world.
<v Speaker 2>If you were to go to the garden center and
<v Speaker 2>look at the various spyria, especially if they're proven winner spiria, there,
<v Speaker 2>you're going to see all sorts of crazy color combinations,
<v Speaker 2>but this one really stands out. So when you're looking
<v Speaker 2>at the double Play Spyria, you can really choose based
<v Speaker 2>on the colors that you like, and this is a
<v Speaker 2>great choice.
<v Speaker 1>And double Play Dolly is a plant that I have
<v Speaker 1>in my landscape. I feel that the plant makes my
<v Speaker 1>landscape happy, and it also partners really well with plants
<v Speaker 1>like lavender or a blue nepeta, just a great partner.
<v Speaker 1>So it's really eye catching. And I guess the number
<v Speaker 1>one benefit I believe in the landscape is that it's just.
<v Speaker 2>Easy to grow, super easy to grow. And you know
<v Speaker 2>when we talk about plants that are workaday plants or
<v Speaker 2>landscape staples, again, they got there for a reason, and
<v Speaker 2>that reason is because they look great and you don't
<v Speaker 2>need to do a lot of work to keep them
<v Speaker 2>that way. So there's a reason for that, and I
<v Speaker 2>think this is just another great option within the range
<v Speaker 2>of colorful spyrea. So if you love color, if you
<v Speaker 2>want something that's just going to look colorful from spring
<v Speaker 2>to fall and you don't really have to mess around
<v Speaker 2>with it. Any of the double takes spireas any of
<v Speaker 2>the double place spirias will do, especially this year's Shrub
<v Speaker 2>of the Year double play Dolly. And you know I
<v Speaker 2>should just mention the significance of the Shrubs of the Year.
<v Speaker 2>We have over three hundred and fifty varieties in the
<v Speaker 2>proven Winner's color Choice line. So what the Shrub of
<v Speaker 2>the Year program does is help our growers focus in
<v Speaker 2>on a plant. This doesn't mean that they do this
<v Speaker 2>at the expense of all of the other varieties, but
<v Speaker 2>we talk about the shrubs of the Year because you're
<v Speaker 2>going to be able to find them in abundance at
<v Speaker 2>your local garden center. And the same goes for Perennials
<v Speaker 2>of the Year Annuals of the Year, which of course
<v Speaker 2>we'll be covering in the subsequent weeks.
<v Speaker 1>Growers and garden centers.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, yeah, so flowering shrub of the year double play
<v Speaker 1>Dolly spirea by the way, and growing this plant also, Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>I would say one of the benefits, at least what
<v Speaker 1>I've seen in my landscape is that it handles drought
<v Speaker 1>or dry situations pretty well.
<v Speaker 2>Definitely.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, all right, let's move on the envelope. Please. Rose
<v Speaker 1>of the year. And it is another one I have
<v Speaker 1>in my landscape and love, and that would be rise
<v Speaker 1>Up Lilac days Rosen.
<v Speaker 2>This rose is Herian is cheering over there across the table.
<v Speaker 1>I agree.
<v Speaker 2>This rose is impossible not to love. And you know
<v Speaker 2>a lot of roses. You look at it and you
<v Speaker 2>might say, okay, well this rose is red. This rose
<v Speaker 2>is this. This is a true purple rose. It has
<v Speaker 2>the most beautiful lavender lilac color. And if that wasn't enough,
<v Speaker 2>as you can say, since you have grown it, the
<v Speaker 2>fragrance is just absolutely beyond description. It is so fragrant,
<v Speaker 2>it is so beautiful. And this is a climbing rose.
<v Speaker 2>Do you grow it as a climber?
<v Speaker 1>So I grow it as a climb I grow it
<v Speaker 1>against a mesh fence. Okay, And it just works its
<v Speaker 1>way up the fence so nicely. It's not thorny and
<v Speaker 1>brambly like the old climbing roses would be easy to control,
<v Speaker 1>and it just blends in beautifully in the landscape. And
<v Speaker 1>it's vigorous. I love the plant.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it is very vigorous. Of course, it's disease resistant,
<v Speaker 2>because that's what we're looking for, you know, in our roses.
<v Speaker 2>So it's just a great choice. And when you see
<v Speaker 2>this at the garden center, I mean, this thing sells
<v Speaker 2>itself because there's really so few other roses that can
<v Speaker 2>boast this color and this fragrance. So even if you
<v Speaker 2>can't grow roses like me because you have deer or
<v Speaker 2>perhaps you have shade or something like that, when you
<v Speaker 2>go to the garden center this season, at least go
<v Speaker 2>over to the rose section and smell it, because you
<v Speaker 2>do want to. At least do that because it is.
<v Speaker 2>It's extraordinary. It really is. I think it's one of
<v Speaker 2>my favorite for fragrance in our entire line.
<v Speaker 1>Now with proven winners Color Choice shrubs, you refer to them.
<v Speaker 1>At least I've seen it in some of the promotions
<v Speaker 1>of the plant as a mini climber because they keep
<v Speaker 1>a neat, dense habit and can be grown as a
<v Speaker 1>climber or a shrub rose. That's been my experiences in
<v Speaker 1>the landscape.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so you can grow this and let it get
<v Speaker 2>really tall and take over, or you can keep it
<v Speaker 2>prune and it can be more like a kind of
<v Speaker 2>hybrid t like habit. Now, it doesn't share much else
<v Speaker 2>with the hybrid t. It's on its own roots. It's
<v Speaker 2>disease resistant, but it gives you that option. So if
<v Speaker 2>you don't have a space for a climbing rose, because
<v Speaker 2>not all of us do, all that's good to hear.
<v Speaker 2>It's growing well on a fence because a lot of
<v Speaker 2>people do have a mesh fence that they want to
<v Speaker 2>do something pretty Yes, all.
<v Speaker 1>Right, Hydrange of the year the envelope please, and it's
<v Speaker 1>Let's Dance Lovable hydrangea macrophilla. That Let's Dance series, Stacey
<v Speaker 1>is knock your socks off again. I've seen the performance firsthand,
<v Speaker 1>and now we have Let's Dance Lovable.
<v Speaker 2>Yes. So another amazing invention from Megan Matai, my friend
<v Speaker 2>and colleague. She is very proud of this plan because
<v Speaker 2>it is just a powerful, powerful bloomer with great color.
<v Speaker 2>Now you're going to hear us say that about a
<v Speaker 2>lot of the leat Stance series. You know, there are
<v Speaker 2>some subtle differences within the let Stand series. So it's
<v Speaker 2>a take. For example, Let's Stance Skyview continuous blooming hydrange
<v Speaker 2>by far the best bud hardiness, the best reblooming. But
<v Speaker 2>that doesn't mean that the other plants in the series
<v Speaker 2>don't have their own things to contribute. So what I
<v Speaker 2>find really special about Letstance lovable is this is a
<v Speaker 2>great purple and a lot of people love purple hydrangeas
<v Speaker 2>you know, I think a well grown deep purple hydrange
<v Speaker 2>I might like even better than blue. I mean, blue
<v Speaker 2>is fabulous, don't get me wrong, but when they get
<v Speaker 2>that gorgeous deep purple color, and that's what this does.
<v Speaker 2>And it is positively covered in flowers, so it's really
<v Speaker 2>easy to grow. You know, this is it's going to
<v Speaker 2>bloom on old wood. It is a rebloomer, so also
<v Speaker 2>bloom on new wood later in the season. We do
<v Speaker 2>recommend that you don't prune this one for the longest
<v Speaker 2>possible blooming time. But yeah, I know, Megan likes to
<v Speaker 2>make the when people are visiting the garden and it's
<v Speaker 2>in bloom. She'll say, Ah, you know, I don't really
<v Speaker 2>like that plant it blooms too much. Because it does,
<v Speaker 2>it's just has some of the heaviest flower set I
<v Speaker 2>think I've ever seen on a big Leafight, Rangel, I.
<v Speaker 1>Agree with you. Megan is such an amazing lady, and
<v Speaker 1>what a beautiful plant. And yes, like you said, don't
<v Speaker 1>necessarily prune. And yet with the Letstant series, one of
<v Speaker 1>my favorite things has become stacy in summer to take
<v Speaker 1>a pruning sheares and at least clip a few for
<v Speaker 1>a vase inside.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, everybody should definitely enjoy some indors.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely. All right, Well, Plants on Trial is next, and
<v Speaker 1>we're going to continue with Plants of the Year. We're
<v Speaker 1>going to look at landscape shrub of the Year, a
<v Speaker 1>heat loving shrub of the Year, and a tree of
<v Speaker 1>the Year. That's all coming up here on the Gardening
<v Speaker 1>Simplified Show.
<v Speaker 2>Beautify your home and community with proven winner's color choice
<v Speaker 2>shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique varieties
<v Speaker 2>to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen for
<v Speaker 2>every taste and every space. Just look for the distinctive
<v Speaker 2>white container. Your local Garden Center or learn more at
<v Speaker 2>proven Winner's color Choice dot com. Rereading's gardening friends, and
<v Speaker 2>welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show where we're celebrating
<v Speaker 2>the Shrubs of the Year here on the first show
<v Speaker 2>of twenty twenty six. Even though it's a little ways
<v Speaker 2>off to be going to the garden center and starting
<v Speaker 2>to pick out plants for your garden, you can start
<v Speaker 2>dreaming and making your wishless. And you know, I think
<v Speaker 2>that the Shrubs of the Year, the perennials of the year,
<v Speaker 2>the annuals of the year are all a great place
<v Speaker 2>to start again because they're going to be easy to
<v Speaker 2>find and when we have so many plants, I mean,
<v Speaker 2>believe me, I know just from trying to think about
<v Speaker 2>them all, it helps to kind of be able to
<v Speaker 2>focus your attention in on a small group. So that's
<v Speaker 2>what the Shrubs of the Year really do. And we'll
<v Speaker 2>talk about the rest of the Shrubs of the Year
<v Speaker 2>in the final segment today, but I wanted to of
<v Speaker 2>course cover one from Plants on Trial and twenty twenty
<v Speaker 2>six is bringing about an exciting new development in the
<v Speaker 2>Shrubs of the Year program, and that is that this
<v Speaker 2>is the very first year for the Heat Loving Shrub
<v Speaker 2>of the Year.
<v Speaker 1>And that's so smart because what we hear from people
<v Speaker 1>constantly is help us with this heat no matter where
<v Speaker 1>you live, not necessarily just in the South, but even
<v Speaker 1>in the North. Boy of those hot summers. Yeah, I
<v Speaker 1>need some plants that perform in the heat.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, and there's certainly a big swath of
<v Speaker 2>the country that has really cold winters and really hot summers,
<v Speaker 2>and you know they're trying to deal with both. So
<v Speaker 2>the heat loving Shrub of the Year, of course, it
<v Speaker 2>has to be heat loving. Now, the majority of the
<v Speaker 2>plants that will win this designation going forward are going
<v Speaker 2>to probably be hardy to only zone six or and
<v Speaker 2>then heat tolerant through nine or ten. But you know,
<v Speaker 2>there's certainly a possibility for plants with that broader range,
<v Speaker 2>say something like a hibiscus a rosa sharon, which is
<v Speaker 2>hardy down to USDA's OWNE five, but heat tlerant well
<v Speaker 2>into USDA's own ten. So there's a lot of leeway
<v Speaker 2>to play with this theme. But the thing that you
<v Speaker 2>need to know, especially if you do live in a
<v Speaker 2>nice hot climate, that these are plants that you can
<v Speaker 2>rely on to grow and bloom and do beautifully despite
<v Speaker 2>all of your weather challenges. Now, briefly, I do want
<v Speaker 2>you to know when we select the shrubs of the year,
<v Speaker 2>what we do is we present a short list of
<v Speaker 2>options to some of the biggest growers across the country.
<v Speaker 2>So this isn't just us here at the Gardening Simplified
<v Speaker 2>Show or you know here at Improven Winner's Colored Choice
<v Speaker 2>sh i'd say saying, hey, we want this to be
<v Speaker 2>a strub of the year. Now, it is a democratic
<v Speaker 2>process and they all get together and vote from again
<v Speaker 2>the shortlist based on you know what, we think. People
<v Speaker 2>are interested in what they can get out into the
<v Speaker 2>market in good supply. So it's not just us, you know,
<v Speaker 2>making it all up. So envelope please, as you're saying today,
<v Speaker 2>the first inaugural heat loving Shrub of the Year is
<v Speaker 2>jazz Hands variegated.
<v Speaker 1>Laura pedalum beautiful.
<v Speaker 2>Is this a plant you would love to grow if
<v Speaker 2>you lived in a warm enough climate. It seems like
<v Speaker 2>a plant you would like.
<v Speaker 1>Stunning because you're gonna get color all season long, right
<v Speaker 1>because of the.
<v Speaker 2>Foliot Yes, and people. I mean, it's it always amazes
<v Speaker 2>me when I do go to the South just how
<v Speaker 2>widespread Laura pedalum is. It is such a popular plant
<v Speaker 2>in hot climates. If you're not familiar with it and
<v Speaker 2>you're sitting there here in your snowy climate thinking about
<v Speaker 2>what is a Laura pedalum in the first place. But well,
<v Speaker 2>the reason that they have the name jazz hands is
<v Speaker 2>because they have these fringy little flowers that do indeed
<v Speaker 2>look like jazz hands. The most popular varieties of Laura
<v Speaker 2>pedlum have deep purple foliage. There is some there are
<v Speaker 2>some green varieties green foliage with pink flowers or with
<v Speaker 2>white flowers, but the most popular, most ubiquitous one that
<v Speaker 2>you see has that deep, dark purple foliage and bright
<v Speaker 2>fluorescent pink flowers, and people just seem to love that combination.
<v Speaker 2>They bloom for a long time, they're durable. Now, it's
<v Speaker 2>significant that jazz Hens variegated is the first heat loving
<v Speaker 2>shrub of the year because there is simply no other
<v Speaker 2>Laura pedalum like it. It is the only variegated Laura
<v Speaker 2>petalum on the market. And when we've talked about variegation
<v Speaker 2>on the show before, we often say that it is polarizing.
<v Speaker 2>Some people love variegation they can't get enough. Some people,
<v Speaker 2>I think you and I fall into this campric. We're
<v Speaker 2>kind of picky about our variegation. We like some variegation,
<v Speaker 2>but sometimes it's just a little bit too much. And
<v Speaker 2>then there's people who think, you know, it's perfectly the
<v Speaker 2>gasoline would never plant a variegated plant, but this one
<v Speaker 2>is very cool. It's variegation is like as if someone
<v Speaker 2>had taken a couple of paint brushes full of other colors,
<v Speaker 2>different colors of paint and just spattered it right on
<v Speaker 2>to the leaf. So the leaves become a mix of
<v Speaker 2>white and dark purple and pink, and they kind of
<v Speaker 2>like marbleize and spatter all together. It is really not
<v Speaker 2>like anything else that you've ever seen. The variegation is
<v Speaker 2>primarily on the new growth, and the benefit to this
<v Speaker 2>is that it's never going to have that crazy, busy
<v Speaker 2>look in the landscape. It's got enough of that variegation
<v Speaker 2>to be interesting, but not so much that it looks
<v Speaker 2>busy or is hard to work with or you know,
<v Speaker 2>overpower exactly exactly. That's a great word for it. The
<v Speaker 2>variegation is primarily on the new growth after it flowers,
<v Speaker 2>So when this plant flowers in usually early to mid spring,
<v Speaker 2>and it has those nice jets Hansy flowers on them.
<v Speaker 2>The foliage is mostly going to be dark purple. As
<v Speaker 2>those blooms start to fade into early summer, that's when
<v Speaker 2>the variegation comes in. And this is quite the opposite
<v Speaker 2>of what happens with most variegated plants, because most varrogation
<v Speaker 2>actually cannot with sand heat and kind of disappears when
<v Speaker 2>the weather gets hot. The exact opposite thing happens here,
<v Speaker 2>which is a great quality for a heat loving shrub
<v Speaker 2>of the year. The hotter it gets, the more variegated
<v Speaker 2>it gets. And this is a plant that if you
<v Speaker 2>want to really bring out the best, it benefits from
<v Speaker 2>a good dose of fertilizer throughout the season. So you know,
<v Speaker 2>you can really push that growth and get that variegation
<v Speaker 2>and the foliage size even bigger with some fertilizing. You know,
<v Speaker 2>beyond just spring, it is a bigger plant, four to
<v Speaker 2>six feet tall and wide.
<v Speaker 1>That's not too bad. I mean that's manageable.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's manageable. It's good for a hedge. And that
<v Speaker 2>is probably the way that I have seen Laura Pedla
<v Speaker 2>most often used in the south is as a hedge,
<v Speaker 2>and so this makes a very eye catching hedge. It
<v Speaker 2>is easy to prune, although I wouldn't recommend necessarily trying
<v Speaker 2>really hard to prune it to manage its size, just
<v Speaker 2>to kind of manage its shape and where it's going.
<v Speaker 1>But along the line of pruning, Stacey, would you use
<v Speaker 1>this plant for hedging if the opportunity presented it? So?
<v Speaker 2>I would absolutely, Yeah, I think it would look great. Okay,
<v Speaker 2>So I really like this plant. It is really yeah,
<v Speaker 2>just quite unique. Full to part sun so you don't
<v Speaker 2>have to worry about getting it into full sun. It
<v Speaker 2>can easily take just half a days of sun or
<v Speaker 2>filtered light throughout the day. It is quite tolerant of
<v Speaker 2>dry conditions, but as with most things, if you can
<v Speaker 2>get it that ideal moist but well drained soil, it
<v Speaker 2>will do even better. But it once it's established, it's
<v Speaker 2>quite durable and it is very pure resistant as well.
<v Speaker 2>It is in the witch hazel family. Oh so a
<v Speaker 2>lot of people are surprised to find that out, but yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it's in the Hamma MELODAYSY.
<v Speaker 1>Love witch hazel, and I think for people.
<v Speaker 2>Who are familiar with we chasel and the blooms. You'll
<v Speaker 2>see the similarities in the flowers of the Laura Pedal
<v Speaker 2>and Jazz Hands Variegated. So this has been our best
<v Speaker 2>selling Jazz Hands. There's actually five additional plants in the
<v Speaker 2>Jazz Hands series, so we have all different sizes, different colors. Really,
<v Speaker 2>there's kind of one for every possible application. But we
<v Speaker 2>really wanted to go with Jazz Hands Variegated for the
<v Speaker 2>inaugural even though they voted on it, this is what
<v Speaker 2>they picked and we weren't surprised. We really wanted this
<v Speaker 2>to be in the inaugural class because it's just so
<v Speaker 2>distinctive and there's already good supply in the South. So
<v Speaker 2>if you are in a warm climate and this appeals
<v Speaker 2>to you, you should have no trouble finding it at your
<v Speaker 2>local garden center this season. Now, if you are in
<v Speaker 2>a cold climate and this appeals to you, well you
<v Speaker 2>don't have to feel too sorry for yourself because you
<v Speaker 2>can just go online and buy it online as a
<v Speaker 2>small plant and grow it in a container. Now, I
<v Speaker 2>say buy it online because it's unlikely that most garden
<v Speaker 2>centers are going to be bringing this plant in as
<v Speaker 2>a seasonal color plant if it's not hardy because you're
<v Speaker 2>going to see it. You're gonna see the proven winner's
<v Speaker 2>color choice. So on there you're going to say, hey,
<v Speaker 2>this is probably hardy. I can grow this, and no,
<v Speaker 2>in fact you can't because it's only hardy down to
<v Speaker 2>USCA Zone seven B, so not all even of USDA
<v Speaker 2>Zone seven, only the warmer parts of USDA Zone seven.
<v Speaker 1>So if you're looking for the plant, or you're keeping
<v Speaker 1>score at home, maybe you're listening to our podcast or
<v Speaker 1>listening to us on the radio. Right now. The plant
<v Speaker 1>that Stacy is talking about is a heat loving shrub
<v Speaker 1>of the year jazz hands variegated. And then Stacy Laura Pedalum.
<v Speaker 1>So it's l O r O p e t A
<v Speaker 1>l u M. Yes, that is the name.
<v Speaker 2>Of the That is the name of the plant. Some
<v Speaker 2>people will call it Chinese fringe flower. Yes, but this
<v Speaker 2>is one of those unusual situations where Laura Pedlum, the
<v Speaker 2>kind of more complex word is the more common name
<v Speaker 2>for it. Then you know the than Chinese fringe flower.
<v Speaker 2>But yeah, if if you live in a cold climate
<v Speaker 2>and you are interested in this plant, it does make
<v Speaker 2>a great companion in containers or as a single specimen
<v Speaker 2>and a container. You can either let it go through
<v Speaker 2>the season, you can try to bring it in, you
<v Speaker 2>can try to overwinter it. That's always an interesting challenge,
<v Speaker 2>but again it's worth considering if you really love to
<v Speaker 2>design your containers and find unique things, because whether you
<v Speaker 2>grow in a container or in the landscape, there is
<v Speaker 2>really nothing quite like jazz Hands Varigated Laura Pedulum, the
<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty six and first heat loving shrub of the year.
<v Speaker 2>We're going to take a little break. When we come back,
<v Speaker 2>we're opening up the mail bag, so stay tuned. At
<v Speaker 2>Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs, we know that a better
<v Speaker 2>landscape starts with a better shrub. Our team of experts
<v Speaker 2>tests and evaluates all of our flowering shrubs in evergreens
<v Speaker 2>for eight to ten years to ensure they outperform what's
<v Speaker 2>already on the market. For easy care, reliable, beautiful shrubs
<v Speaker 2>to accentuate your home and express your personal style, look
<v Speaker 2>for Proven Winners Shrubs and the distinctive White Container at
<v Speaker 2>your local garden center or learn more at Proven Winner's
<v Speaker 2>Color Choice dot com. Creating's gardening friends and welcome back
<v Speaker 2>to the Gardening Simplified show word is our time to
<v Speaker 2>help you with your gardening questions, quandaries and conundrums. And
<v Speaker 2>you know, I feel like, you know, kind of there's
<v Speaker 2>a lead up to the holiday season, right nobody's thinking
<v Speaker 2>about the garden. They're just like thinking about the turkey,
<v Speaker 2>or they're thinking about the gifts or this or that,
<v Speaker 2>and they don't ask a lot of gardening questions. And
<v Speaker 2>then once the holidays are over, and everyone's like, Okay,
<v Speaker 2>what's next, what's next to spring? Blame that blamo? The
<v Speaker 2>questions start to come. And maybe you're looking out your
<v Speaker 2>window and wondering something, or you know, maybe you're just
<v Speaker 2>remembering something that happened last year, you're going through your
<v Speaker 2>phone photo roll looking at stuff. In that case, we're
<v Speaker 2>here to help you, and you can reach out to
<v Speaker 2>us at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com. There is a
<v Speaker 2>contact form there. You can also leave a comment on
<v Speaker 2>our YouTube videos and Adriana will get back to you.
<v Speaker 2>Or if it's a you know, we may add it
<v Speaker 2>to the show and answer it here. But we're always
<v Speaker 2>ready to help you, and it doesn't have to be timely.
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes we pick a timely question so that you can
<v Speaker 2>actually take action. But you know, it's like that your
<v Speaker 2>teacher always said, if you're wondering something, chances are other
<v Speaker 2>people are wondering about the same thing.
<v Speaker 1>So that's that's exactly it. So in the mail bag,
<v Speaker 1>we'll have some controversy, but we'll also have well kind
<v Speaker 1>of just this feeling of camaraderie that we're in this together.
<v Speaker 2>That and you know, sometimes I do repeat the same questions,
<v Speaker 2>but that is because I keep getting the same questions.
<v Speaker 2>And I know we have new viewers all the time,
<v Speaker 2>new listeners, and you know, the same questions really never end,
<v Speaker 2>it seems to.
<v Speaker 1>Me, especially when it comes to pruning.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, especially when it comes to pruning, you know, and
<v Speaker 2>and what can they say that you have to hear
<v Speaker 2>something seven times before you remember it? So I have
<v Speaker 2>them keeping track. But you know, hopefully we're getting to
<v Speaker 2>that critical mass where you've heard us answer some of
<v Speaker 2>these key gardening questions enough times that it's starting to
<v Speaker 2>stick for you as well. So what we got in
<v Speaker 2>the melee, well.
<v Speaker 1>Stacy Kyle writes to us, I have a few let's
<v Speaker 1>dance skyview and let's dance can do high ranges. Love
<v Speaker 1>those plants I grow in Minnesota Zone four B Chili.
<v Speaker 1>I protected these shrubs with a chicken wire cage filled
<v Speaker 1>with leaves. I'm wondering if this truly makes a difference
<v Speaker 1>in my growing zone. Does the temperature itself get low
<v Speaker 1>enough in zone four B that the buds will freeze
<v Speaker 1>no matter what. I'm wondering if the effort to try
<v Speaker 1>and protect the buds is worth it or not. And
<v Speaker 1>let me just say right off the battom minute, Stacey,
<v Speaker 1>And that is if you're using this method, and I
<v Speaker 1>have used it in the landscape, the leaves in the
<v Speaker 1>chicken wire, I think one of the keys is don't
<v Speaker 1>get too anxious and remove it too soon.
<v Speaker 2>In so, no, definitely not. And you're going to, yes, definitely,
<v Speaker 2>especially after they've been protected correct all winter long, They're
<v Speaker 2>going to be much more susceptible to those cold temperatures
<v Speaker 2>and frosts in freezes, which for us in the Midwest,
<v Speaker 2>do you continue to happen well into April and.
<v Speaker 1>The and yeah, you get that twenty five degree night.
<v Speaker 1>Not fun, right?
<v Speaker 2>But I did really like Kyle's question because he has
<v Speaker 2>selected the exact two cold hardiest tidranges in the proven
<v Speaker 2>Winner's color choice line. So there are a number of
<v Speaker 2>hydranges as I was saying in the Let's Dance series,
<v Speaker 2>but Let's Stance Skyview and Let's Dance Can Do are
<v Speaker 2>both the heart cold hardiest, the most tolerant to cold temperatures.
<v Speaker 2>And we're not just saying that. We have tested this
<v Speaker 2>and it has proven itself to be true. Part of
<v Speaker 2>the reason for that is because they are both a
<v Speaker 2>hybrid between hydrange of Macrophylla, the regular standard big leaf hydrangea,
<v Speaker 2>and hydrange of Serrata, the more cold tolerant mountain hydrangea
<v Speaker 2>that grows up on the top of the mountains in
<v Speaker 2>Japan where these shrubs are native, and by hybridizing those
<v Speaker 2>plants and selecting we kind of combine the best of
<v Speaker 2>both worlds. So that is why we are confident that
<v Speaker 2>these two varieties will not just survive in USCA Zone four,
<v Speaker 2>but will actually flower and bloom for you, because what's
<v Speaker 2>the fun and a plant that merely survives. You want
<v Speaker 2>a plant that does what it's supposed to do. So
<v Speaker 2>in theory, Kyle, no, you do not need to protect
<v Speaker 2>these plants. They are naturally more resilient to cold, and
<v Speaker 2>they also both have a unique characteristic where they set
<v Speaker 2>their flower buds even down at the base of the
<v Speaker 2>sum more conventional big leaf hydrange is only set them
<v Speaker 2>at the tops. So if even if you get a
<v Speaker 2>good code of snow, if there is that tip you
<v Speaker 2>know above the snow line, that will usually get frozen
<v Speaker 2>and with it there go all of the flower buds
<v Speaker 2>for the year. So these have flower buds towards the ground,
<v Speaker 2>which are going to be more protected, so even if
<v Speaker 2>someone prunes it or you get a really really harsh winter,
<v Speaker 2>they should survive. So they have that going for them.
<v Speaker 2>And then even if the worst happens and you lose
<v Speaker 2>those buds because of cold or because of a well
<v Speaker 2>intentioned landscaper or relative or something like that. These are
<v Speaker 2>also the fastest to bloom on new wood, and that
<v Speaker 2>is really key because more conventional big leaf reblooming hydrangees
<v Speaker 2>needed to get to a certain growth point each summer
<v Speaker 2>in order to set their new wood flowers. So say
<v Speaker 2>they need to put on seven or eight set of
<v Speaker 2>leaves in order to set a flower bud. Well, you know,
<v Speaker 2>in a climate like Minnesota, by the time that happens,
<v Speaker 2>you know it's October at best exactly, So even if
<v Speaker 2>the worst happens, these should go on to bloom for you.
<v Speaker 2>So they don't strictly need protection, but you will probably
<v Speaker 2>get more flowers if you protect them. So this is
<v Speaker 2>just kind of one of those situations where you have
<v Speaker 2>to decide what's right for you you and I would
<v Speaker 2>also say to Kyle and to anyone else growing big
<v Speaker 2>leaf hydrangs who experience not reliable blooming, remember that out
<v Speaker 2>of everything that we grow in our gardens, I would
<v Speaker 2>say hydrange of Macrophylla is the plant that is most
<v Speaker 2>susceptible to plant placement. Most plants, most shrubs you can put, say, hey,
<v Speaker 2>full sun parts on, put it anywhere and fuller parts
<v Speaker 2>on and it will do great. These are plants that,
<v Speaker 2>especially for those of us in cold climates, really benefit
<v Speaker 2>from some careful sighting.
<v Speaker 1>I am so glad you brought that up, because I
<v Speaker 1>believe that that's key in my experience. Yes, we're talking
<v Speaker 1>about two great cultivars here. Let's dance Skyview and let's
<v Speaker 1>dance can do hydranges, big leaf hydranges, Stacy. I don't
<v Speaker 1>know if it's a big leaf of my imagination, but
<v Speaker 1>I really and I would suggest it to Kyle is
<v Speaker 1>take a look at the placement of these here in Michigan.
<v Speaker 1>When I moved big leaf hydranges to the north side
<v Speaker 1>of my house or the east side of my house,
<v Speaker 1>I got two things. I got winter protection from sun
<v Speaker 1>and wind, and then in spring, summer, and fall, I
<v Speaker 1>get plenty of sunshine. For these high ranges. It was
<v Speaker 1>a game changer for me. So north or east side
<v Speaker 1>of the house, the structure provides the protection.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, so that is something to consider. What I
<v Speaker 2>would say to Kyle or anyone else who's willing to
<v Speaker 2>take a chance, you know, try it one year without
<v Speaker 2>any protection and see what happens. The plants are not
<v Speaker 2>going to die. They will certainly be able to survive
<v Speaker 2>the winter. They may not have the most floriferous year,
<v Speaker 2>but they might. And that's the only way you're going
<v Speaker 2>to know is to try it and see how they
<v Speaker 2>perform in your unique conditions and of course in the
<v Speaker 2>unique season that Mother Nature throws at you.
<v Speaker 1>And I have these two varieties in my landscape, I
<v Speaker 1>do not wrap them and put leaves around the plants,
<v Speaker 1>primarily because I hate dealing with chicken wire.
<v Speaker 2>It is not fun.
<v Speaker 1>Chicken wire is like garden hoses their.
<v Speaker 2>Pain, Yeah, except prickly garden hoses, so you have the
<v Speaker 2>added threat of blood with chicken wire compared to your house.
<v Speaker 1>Good luck, Kyle, and thanks for writing to us. Janagan asked,
<v Speaker 1>my lilacs have scorched leaves every year. It receives adequate water,
<v Speaker 1>It's protected from the harsh sun after two pm. I'm
<v Speaker 1>in normal Illinois, normal Illinois.
<v Speaker 2>I didn't know there was a normal Illinois, normal Illinois. Yes,
<v Speaker 2>so I would say that Jenagan does not say what
<v Speaker 2>type of lilacs they have, but I will say as
<v Speaker 2>the owner of two Syringa vulgaris, which is the common
<v Speaker 2>or French lilac that came with my house. When I
<v Speaker 2>bought it, it was like kind of a buy one
<v Speaker 2>by a house, get a lilac free kind of deal.
<v Speaker 2>They were actually quite mature. Some of them do get
<v Speaker 2>a very severe bacterial leaf scorch and it does look
<v Speaker 2>just like the plant got set on fire. Someone burned
<v Speaker 2>the edges of the leaves.
<v Speaker 1>I call it a bacterial blight. Yeah, yeah, it does
<v Speaker 1>look like the plant wants you.
<v Speaker 2>To water it. Yes, and it can be exacerbated if
<v Speaker 2>the plant isn't getting sufficient water, which I can tell
<v Speaker 2>you in my yard it isn't. But this is also
<v Speaker 2>just an issue that they get like when they're stressed.
<v Speaker 2>But even a healthy plant can get it, and certainly
<v Speaker 2>the older varieties of lilacs, if that is indeed what
<v Speaker 2>you have, are going to be much more susceptible than
<v Speaker 2>newer cultivars. But as you can probably tell Jenigan, it's
<v Speaker 2>not really harming the plant. It doesn't seem to set
<v Speaker 2>the plant back really at all for this to happen
<v Speaker 2>to it not really a problem. It's just a bit unsightly.
<v Speaker 2>So what I would recommend as an attempt to mitigate
<v Speaker 2>it is when the leaves drop next fall, obviously too
<v Speaker 2>late now you're probably as covered in snow as we
<v Speaker 2>are here in Michigan, make sure you clean all of
<v Speaker 2>those leaves up and discard them, just throw them away,
<v Speaker 2>don't put them in compost, and that will really help
<v Speaker 2>to mitigate any disease from re releasing onto the plant
<v Speaker 2>the following season, because you know a lot of people
<v Speaker 2>don't realize when you're seeing disease on a plant, that
<v Speaker 2>doesn't mean the disease just happened. It was in the
<v Speaker 2>works for weeks, possibly even months, before those signs actually
<v Speaker 2>showed up. So you can try mulching it as well
<v Speaker 2>pruning it to get a little bit more air around it.
<v Speaker 2>But chances are this is just an older variety that
<v Speaker 2>is more susceptible to those blights and scorches, and you
<v Speaker 2>can either replace it or live with it, or try
<v Speaker 2>to modify its habitat in some way that makes it
<v Speaker 2>a little bit less stressed. But again, it may just
<v Speaker 2>get it because that's what I find too, because they're.
<v Speaker 1>Going to thrive in wet weather, and I guess I
<v Speaker 1>would ask Janigan. Janigan states receives adequate water, is it
<v Speaker 1>coming from automatic irrigation? And if it is, you may
<v Speaker 1>want to adjust the heads and get the automatic irrigation
<v Speaker 1>off the foliage because along with the bacterial blight, of course,
<v Speaker 1>the plant is notorious for powdery milding.
<v Speaker 2>That's a great point, Yeah, for sure. Definitely watch the
<v Speaker 2>ear So thank you all so much for your questions.
<v Speaker 2>We're going to take a little break when we come
<v Speaker 2>back for finishing up all about the shrubs of the
<v Speaker 2>Year for twenty twenty six, so please stay tuned. Thanks
<v Speaker 2>for listening to the Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to you
<v Speaker 2>by Proven Winners, Color Choice shrubs. Our award winning flowering
<v Speaker 2>shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested by experts with
<v Speaker 2>your success in mind. Learn more at Proven Winners color
<v Speaker 2>Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. We're going to
<v Speaker 1>continue with our twenty twenty six Shrubs of the Year
<v Speaker 1>and Stacey the Landscape Shrub of the Year. And before
<v Speaker 1>we revealed the plant this category is around, I'm going
<v Speaker 1>to assume Landscape Shrub of the Year because you're looking
<v Speaker 1>for a plant that performs well in the landscapes of
<v Speaker 1>a typical homeowner, so to speak. Would you agree with that?
<v Speaker 1>How did it come about?
<v Speaker 2>Right? So it's a great question, and that is true.
<v Speaker 2>But actually the point of the Landscape Shrub of the
<v Speaker 2>Year is for landscapers. So you know, I'm sure a
<v Speaker 2>lot of people have seen this phenomenon where a landscaper
<v Speaker 2>develops a kind of plant palette and then they just
<v Speaker 2>reiterate that plant palette in various permutations across all of
<v Speaker 2>the projects that they get. And you know, I get it, like,
<v Speaker 2>you can't take a risk when you are working at
<v Speaker 2>that level, and so you don't necessarily want to try
<v Speaker 2>new varieties. You don't want to add plants to that palette,
<v Speaker 2>you have a tried and true formula. So the goal
<v Speaker 2>of the Landscape Shrub of the Year is really to
<v Speaker 2>help landscapers concentrate on varieties that are alternatives to what's
<v Speaker 2>already on the market, perhaps a variety that they are
<v Speaker 2>already using in abundance, but that the proven winner's color
<v Speaker 2>choice variety improves on that somehow or offers an alternative
<v Speaker 2>habit or size or color or something like that. So
<v Speaker 2>it's really an attempt to help landscapers kind of expand
<v Speaker 2>their horizons. But as with anything else that you know,
<v Speaker 2>professional landscapers are doing, that's generally a pretty good sign
<v Speaker 2>to the average home owner that those are good, reliable
<v Speaker 2>plants that they can incorporate and have the same results.
<v Speaker 1>I love that. I knew there'd be a story behind that,
<v Speaker 1>So envelope please. Landscape Shrub of the Year is Limelight
<v Speaker 1>prime Hydrangea peniculata. I love that choice because I've loved
<v Speaker 1>Limelight Hydranga since it came out, But now these improvements
<v Speaker 1>made to the plant are really quite something.
<v Speaker 2>They are, and of course I mean limelight is It's
<v Speaker 2>just wild to me to remember a pre limelight world right,
<v Speaker 2>because it's just become so ubiquitous and it is still
<v Speaker 2>a great plant, but that doesn't mean it's not without
<v Speaker 2>its shortcomings. And you know, I think that those shortcomings,
<v Speaker 2>even though they were they were not shortcomings at all
<v Speaker 2>at the time it was introduced. Since subsequent introductions have
<v Speaker 2>improved on some of these things like stem strength. You know,
<v Speaker 2>the original limelight has good stem strength. It certainly was
<v Speaker 2>far improved over any other hydrange of piniculata at the time.
<v Speaker 2>But Limelight Prime has really sturdy, thick stems that keep
<v Speaker 2>the whole plant nice and upright. And that's a very
<v Speaker 2>good thing for a landscaper. And now there's certainly gardeners
<v Speaker 2>who appreciate that more lax and relaxed habit of limelight
<v Speaker 2>in their garden, but landscapers really want that tidy, well
<v Speaker 2>behaved habit, and that's what this has. So nice sturdy
<v Speaker 2>stems that hold those flowers straight. The flowers still start
<v Speaker 2>out green, kind of go to cream and then go
<v Speaker 2>to green, but where they go after green is a
<v Speaker 2>vast improvement over the original limelight, which that original limelight
<v Speaker 2>huge improvement at the time, but now we have so
<v Speaker 2>far surpassed that red color that it gets and have
<v Speaker 2>introduced such beautiful, dramatic, saturated colors that are much more
<v Speaker 2>effective in the landscape. And that's what Limelight prime does
<v Speaker 2>as well.
<v Speaker 1>Would you describe it as punch pink.
<v Speaker 2>It's not quite as punch pink as little lime Punch
<v Speaker 2>and some of the other plants that we call punch,
<v Speaker 2>but it's that beautiful kind of dark red burgundy. It
<v Speaker 2>goes to that bright pink and then to that dark
<v Speaker 2>red burgundy. Another really crucial thing about Limelight Prime that
<v Speaker 2>everybody needs to know is that the original limelight was
<v Speaker 2>a very late to bloom plant. You know, I have
<v Speaker 2>been to Mackinaw Island in late summer, in late August
<v Speaker 2>and they were only just starting to bloom. So if
<v Speaker 2>you live in a cool climate, or you have a
<v Speaker 2>very cool summer, you may not get Limelight flowers until
<v Speaker 2>it's practically back to school time. Because Limelight prime blooms
<v Speaker 2>a good three weeks, possibly even more earlier, you're going
<v Speaker 2>to get that longer display right when you need it,
<v Speaker 2>when you're still in the pool, when you're still on
<v Speaker 2>the patio enjoying it. So I think all of those
<v Speaker 2>things It doesn't mean there's not still a place for limelight,
<v Speaker 2>and some people do love it, but that this really
<v Speaker 2>kind of fixes offers an alternative to the things that
<v Speaker 2>people don't love about limelight, especially if you're a landscaper.
<v Speaker 1>If you're keeping score at home, we're talking about the
<v Speaker 1>Landscape Shrub of the Year for twenty twenty six, Limelight
<v Speaker 1>Prime Hydrangea and Stacy. In talking to plant breeders, I
<v Speaker 1>know that they're always looking at branching when it comes
<v Speaker 1>to plants, and it doesn't matter if it's a flowering
<v Speaker 1>shrub or a flowering annual on the bench, or a
<v Speaker 1>point setio or something like that. But in this case,
<v Speaker 1>would it be fair to say that Limelight Prime, compared
<v Speaker 1>to its predecessors, has more of a compact habit?
<v Speaker 2>Definitely, Yeah, So it's going to be more dense and compact.
<v Speaker 2>It doesn't mean that you can't prune it to be
<v Speaker 2>more tree like or to have bare limbs like some
<v Speaker 2>people do like to prune limelight. But overall, if you
<v Speaker 2>look at these plants, and you can certainly see it
<v Speaker 2>at proven Winter's Color Choice dot Com, you're just going
<v Speaker 2>to find that this is overall just a tighter, tidier plant.
<v Speaker 2>And if that's what you like, then you're gonna love
<v Speaker 2>limelight prime.
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to add limelight prime to my landscape and
<v Speaker 1>put it with some of the storm proof.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, this is gonna be in the compound though, right,
<v Speaker 2>you're not.
<v Speaker 1>Compound in the compound, That's right. The buck stops here.
<v Speaker 1>All right, Let's move on to Tree of the Year,
<v Speaker 1>which I believe is a new category, or so tree of.
<v Speaker 2>The year is actually was the last year. Twenty twenty
<v Speaker 2>five was the first tree of the year. But because
<v Speaker 2>the tree distribution system is a lot slower than the
<v Speaker 2>shrub distribution, which is a lot slower than the perennial
<v Speaker 2>distribution system, which is a lot slower than the annual
<v Speaker 2>distribution system, the tree of the year actually is going
<v Speaker 2>to last two years because by the time the growers
<v Speaker 2>get it out there, you know, there's always a somewhat
<v Speaker 2>limited audience for trees. There's people who buy new trees
<v Speaker 2>every year, but it's nothing like hydrangeas or you know,
<v Speaker 2>ygila or other plants like that. So the tree of
<v Speaker 2>the year does last two years. So this is still
<v Speaker 2>the first tree of the year, it's just now in
<v Speaker 2>its second year.
<v Speaker 1>Got it, so Tree of the Year envelope please, and
<v Speaker 1>it is Showtime malice. Wow, what a beauty. I love
<v Speaker 1>crab apples anyhow.
<v Speaker 2>I do too. You know, they're honestly, they're just they're
<v Speaker 2>just such a they do it all, they do it all.
<v Speaker 2>They're elegant. The fragrance of crab apple is just one
<v Speaker 2>of my absolute favorite smells in the entire world. When
<v Speaker 2>you're under a crab apple on a warm spring day
<v Speaker 2>and it just has that like sweet watery smell and
<v Speaker 2>the bees are buzzing all around and Showtime. You know,
<v Speaker 2>if you love a plant, that is going to grab attention,
<v Speaker 2>and that's how people often use crab apples as as
<v Speaker 2>a specimen. Yes, I don't know that there is another
<v Speaker 2>crab apple with the color as bright as Showtime. It's
<v Speaker 2>nearly a fluorescent pink.
<v Speaker 1>Well. And then when you add to that not only
<v Speaker 1>the Showtime or show that it puts on in spring,
<v Speaker 1>but in fall.
<v Speaker 2>Too, Yes, amazing fall color. I actually have a Showtime
<v Speaker 2>crab apple in my landscape. It is currently protected from deer.
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna help it get established and then I'm gonna
<v Speaker 2>let the deer eat everything that they can reach, and
<v Speaker 2>then after that I'll know what height it can be
<v Speaker 2>and leave it to grow after that. But I couldn't
<v Speaker 2>help but have a crab apple because like they, Like
<v Speaker 2>I said, they really are one of my all time
<v Speaker 2>favorite small trees. But yeah, that thing was absolutely incredible
<v Speaker 2>this fall in its first year. I just planted it
<v Speaker 2>last spring and the fall color was extraordinary. It was
<v Speaker 2>orange and pink and yellow. I mean it was just everything.
<v Speaker 2>And then of course you've got the fruits, and if
<v Speaker 2>you garden for the birds like I do, got it.
<v Speaker 2>The birds adore the fruits and they have that great
<v Speaker 2>characteristic of kind of sticking around through most of winter
<v Speaker 2>until they've been frozen thowt frozen thought and get a
<v Speaker 2>little bit softer. So you get to enjoy that color
<v Speaker 2>even when the plant is bare and the birds move
<v Speaker 2>in you know, late winter spring when they're getting real hungry.
<v Speaker 1>And of course the benefit for the home landscape is
<v Speaker 1>new cultivars that have been developed through the years. With
<v Speaker 1>crab apples, showtime is no different. It has more of
<v Speaker 1>an oval upright appearance. It's it's a little i don't know,
<v Speaker 1>better behaved in the landscape.
<v Speaker 2>It is a bit yeah, I think it is a
<v Speaker 2>bit better behaved. I mean, if you want to add
<v Speaker 2>any crab apple to your landscape, you do really need
<v Speaker 2>to look at the habits because it's not like you
<v Speaker 2>know a pine or you know other plants that you know, hey,
<v Speaker 2>this is the habit that this plant has. There is
<v Speaker 2>a huge diversity of habits within crab apples, and it
<v Speaker 2>makes sense because people have been developing crab apples for
<v Speaker 2>like two hundred years now. So you really need to
<v Speaker 2>pay attention to that size and that shape that's going
<v Speaker 2>to be on the plant tag or when you're doing
<v Speaker 2>your research at home and make sure you're getting one
<v Speaker 2>that works, you know, for the purposes and the shape
<v Speaker 2>in the space that you have for that plant. But yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it is all of the crab apples in the Proof
<v Speaker 2>Winner's Color Choice Trees program have been selected for those
<v Speaker 2>really really tidy habits because we know that's what people like.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely. So there you have it, the winners for twenty
<v Speaker 1>twenty six. Look for them this spring in your favorite
<v Speaker 1>garden center and greenhouse. And Stacy I wanted to add
<v Speaker 1>to that from Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs just to
<v Speaker 1>mention that there is an easy to spot deer proof container,
<v Speaker 1>and that line also continues to expand deer proof plants.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, the most dear resistant shrubs in the line bear
<v Speaker 2>the Deerproof imprint. So yeah, we know it's a growing
<v Speaker 2>problem for people, and so we're using We're trying to
<v Speaker 2>make it easier for them to go to the garden
<v Speaker 2>center and not feel like they're taking such a huge risk. Oh,
<v Speaker 2>the deer are just going to eat this again. So
<v Speaker 2>we can talk more about deerproof because there's so much
<v Speaker 2>to say about it, but you can also just go
<v Speaker 2>to Proven Winners, Color Choice dot com, type into your
<v Speaker 2>proof and you can learn all about it there until
<v Speaker 2>we do finally do that episode.
<v Speaker 1>So congratulations to all the award winners, and twenty twenty
<v Speaker 1>six were off and running. Thank you Stacey, thank you Rick,
<v Speaker 1>thank you Adriana, and thanks to you. Look for us
<v Speaker 1>on YouTube where you get your favorite podcasts, and thanks
<v Speaker 1>for listening to the radio version of the show. Have
<v Speaker 1>a great week.