New Plants to Look for in Garden Centers | 2026

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from micro Climate Controlled Studio a here at proven Winners,
<v Speaker 1>Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show
<v Speaker 1>with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick weisst and our engineer and
<v Speaker 1>producer Adrianna Robinson. Well, Stacy, you know, this month marks
<v Speaker 1>my fiftieth year in the garden center industry, and I
<v Speaker 1>can tell you I've seen it all. And I have
<v Speaker 1>a friend who is a retired professor from Michigan State University,
<v Speaker 1>and something she said to me a long time ago
<v Speaker 1>has stuck with me through the years in the garden
<v Speaker 1>center industry, and that is that people search for and
<v Speaker 1>buy in a garden center what they're familiar with. In
<v Speaker 1>other words, if you have a whiskey barrel that every
<v Speaker 1>year you put geraniums in it, you're coming in to
<v Speaker 1>get your geraniums for your whiskey barrel.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I mean that's how I grew up. Love you, mom,
<v Speaker 2>but it's true, and it is one of the things
<v Speaker 2>that made me want to go into gardening is because
<v Speaker 2>I was like, there's so much else and I want
<v Speaker 2>to learn about it. But I get it. People, you know,
<v Speaker 2>especially if you live in a cold climate, you got
<v Speaker 2>a short window of time. You don't want to take
<v Speaker 2>a chance on something that you know may not do
<v Speaker 2>what you expect. You're spending your good money on it.
<v Speaker 2>You're just like I want something that I know and
<v Speaker 2>can predict will will do well and do great for
<v Speaker 2>me all season. But again, the garden center industry has
<v Speaker 2>come a long way since those fifty years ago when
<v Speaker 2>you started. Which congratulations on your momentous anniversary. Thanks like
<v Speaker 2>a golden anniversary.
<v Speaker 1>I'm just like the bud Leah's in my landscape. I
<v Speaker 1>bleom on old wood. But you know, and thank you.
<v Speaker 1>It's fascinating to me, it really is. You know, Bridget
<v Speaker 1>she was involved in marketing stuff where they were looking
<v Speaker 1>at the feet the ability of a blue geranium, or
<v Speaker 1>they were putting special glasses on people and then trying
<v Speaker 1>to figure out how people shop in a garden center.
<v Speaker 1>But the bottom line is this, and this is what
<v Speaker 1>she drove home with me. My job in the garden center,
<v Speaker 1>our job as broadcasters is to show people what they need,
<v Speaker 1>show them what they need, and it's an easy job.
<v Speaker 1>And it's an easy job because there are so many
<v Speaker 1>incredible varieties of plants available today that have been developed
<v Speaker 1>and by the way. I've been meaning to talk to
<v Speaker 1>you about this, Stacy. Right here at Proven Winners Color
<v Speaker 1>Choice Shrubs. We have some fabulous new plants for garden
<v Speaker 1>centers this year, and that's what today's show is about
<v Speaker 1>what you should look for in garden centers this year.
<v Speaker 1>I was going to ask you about red Zeppelin, sweet
<v Speaker 1>shrub Kelly kanthus.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, yes, the plant that everybody wants can get.
<v Speaker 1>Is it gonna happen?
<v Speaker 2>It is gonna happen, Yes, it is gonna happen. But
<v Speaker 2>now this plant has a very interesting story. And obviously
<v Speaker 2>I cannot tell every story behind every plant or the
<v Speaker 2>show would go so much longer than it already is
<v Speaker 2>has to go. But yeah, So there was a plant,
<v Speaker 2>a purple leaf kelly canthus. And this is a variety
<v Speaker 2>of our native kelly canthus kelly Canthus floridus, also known
<v Speaker 2>as sweet Betsy or sweet trub, carolina all spice. Lots
<v Speaker 2>of great names there. So it was a purple leaf variety.
<v Speaker 2>It was called Burgundy spice. It did not come from us,
<v Speaker 2>and this came out maybe you know fifteen ish years
<v Speaker 2>ago nursery industry went bananas for it. We love this thing.
<v Speaker 2>Could couldn't get enough of it, and they literally couldn't
<v Speaker 2>get enough of it because it was impossible to propagate.
<v Speaker 2>And yes it was a very cool plant, but you know,
<v Speaker 2>it can't be cut, it can't be done by cuttings.
<v Speaker 2>You know, trying to do it any other way was
<v Speaker 2>just not feasible, so it kind of disappeared from the marketplace. Well,
<v Speaker 2>we actually worked with the original breeder of Burgundy spice,
<v Speaker 2>Kelly Canthus, with some of his alternate plants that he
<v Speaker 2>had developed, to get all of those features into a
<v Speaker 2>plant that could actually be propagated, but actually be propagated
<v Speaker 2>for a sweet trub, not talking like a nine bark
<v Speaker 2>or a hydrange of piniculator here that just roots like
<v Speaker 2>you know, we don't even have to think about it.
<v Speaker 2>It is still a difficult plant to propagate, even though
<v Speaker 2>it is much better from a propagation standpoint than the
<v Speaker 2>original Burgundy spice. But yeah, this is going to be
<v Speaker 2>a slow plant to get on the market. Why because
<v Speaker 2>the demand has been so high from you know, all
<v Speaker 2>of our customers, from gardeners, from influencers around the internet.
<v Speaker 2>I know Eric and Christopher from Grow from Me Gardening
<v Speaker 2>are just jonesing for one, and you're on our mind,
<v Speaker 2>Eric and Christopher, but you know, we actually needed to
<v Speaker 2>hold back the plants that we were propagating to take
<v Speaker 2>more cuttings and be able to meet all of that demand.
<v Speaker 2>So it's it's out ish. If you're very lucky, you
<v Speaker 2>might find a small plant online for sales, so it'll
<v Speaker 2>be like a one court, which is it's on a
<v Speaker 2>bad start. Once you have it, it's a fast growing plant.
<v Speaker 2>It's just the propagation that's a problem. But yeah, it
<v Speaker 2>is such a unique, beautiful plant. Now, I do have
<v Speaker 2>to say unfortunately with the onset of that purple foliage,
<v Speaker 2>it did lose its fragrance, so the flowers are not
<v Speaker 2>fragrant like your standard sweet trup. So just in case
<v Speaker 2>anyone's getting any ideas out there, but it's still just
<v Speaker 2>an absolutely beautiful, truly interesting plant. If you like dark
<v Speaker 2>foliage and you like dramatic plants, it's the one.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's why I bring it up. And I love
<v Speaker 1>the name red Zeppelin. I love that I can hear
<v Speaker 1>Robert Plant singing a whole lot of love because I've
<v Speaker 1>got a whole lot of love for this plant.
<v Speaker 2>Well, we will see what we can do to get
<v Speaker 2>you on, but you will be on a long list
<v Speaker 2>of special recipients who are eagerly awaiting the plant.
<v Speaker 1>All right, well, at least I have an inside track now.
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, so you know we're going to talk about
<v Speaker 1>more plants throughout the show and into segment four because
<v Speaker 1>there are new annuals, new perennials for you to enjoy,
<v Speaker 1>and of course flowering shrubs. To Stacey, I can't wait
<v Speaker 1>for Kodiak Jet Black, the Spiced Durvilla, and of course
<v Speaker 1>in garden centers and as the name suggest, incredible stormproof
<v Speaker 1>smooth hydranger. We all loved smooth hydranges, but for a
<v Speaker 1>lot of people they don't like the flop fantastic or
<v Speaker 1>powerball HYDRANGEA wow. And for our YouTube viewers, I have
<v Speaker 1>a picture for you of me with Fairy Trail Fresco
<v Speaker 1>in the greenhouse this past weekend. What a great plant
<v Speaker 1>for garden centers for Mother's Day. And these things were
<v Speaker 1>just gorgeous and it was interesting in the picture Stacey
<v Speaker 1>that they were beautiful pink, but I understand you can
<v Speaker 1>get them blue.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, So Fairy Trail Bride, of course was the original.
<v Speaker 2>That's white can't change its color. Then we had Fairy
<v Speaker 2>Trail White, which is a mophead version of Fairy Trail Bride,
<v Speaker 2>Fairy Trail Green, which is a green one, and then
<v Speaker 2>Fresco just came out, So yeah, this is its first
<v Speaker 2>year in the market and it is the first one
<v Speaker 2>to be able to change color. So it has that
<v Speaker 2>really beautiful, elegant cascading branches that make the cascade hydrangees
<v Speaker 2>so distinctive. But yeah, the flowers can actually change color.
<v Speaker 2>So this is going to be a huge game changer.
<v Speaker 2>Now as far as Mother's Day goes, the Fairy Trail
<v Speaker 2>hydrangs have absolutely just changed the Mother's Day game. Garden
<v Speaker 2>centers love them. Growers are producing them specifically for Mother's Day.
<v Speaker 2>But because Fresco is still a little bit new, it's
<v Speaker 2>not the most prominent one out there. But next year
<v Speaker 2>there will be even more. But yeah, just a really cool,
<v Speaker 2>really special plant.
<v Speaker 1>Oh. I love it. Of course, in the area of perennials,
<v Speaker 1>I always look for the new grasses that are coming out.
<v Speaker 1>There's a perfect edging tall fescue. There are other ornamental
<v Speaker 1>grasses like october sky switch grass, blue spear, which is
<v Speaker 1>really neat and has an inflorescence on it that is
<v Speaker 1>different than what you are used to with a panicum.
<v Speaker 1>Very exciting to me. Heliopsis athena gold.
<v Speaker 2>Wow, what a crap pro I think we just learned
<v Speaker 2>what your favorite genre of music is. What's new grass?
<v Speaker 1>Oh? Yes, I like that. I like that new grass.
<v Speaker 2>Because you're pretty excited about those grasses. I mean not
<v Speaker 2>everyone listening right now is on YouTube.
<v Speaker 1>But and you caught me completely off guard, and I'm like,
<v Speaker 1>how am I gonna do this? This?
<v Speaker 2>I like that.
<v Speaker 1>I like that a lot.
<v Speaker 2>Thank you. We have talked a lot already about the
<v Speaker 2>Treasure Trove. Rebeccia one of the new perennials, and this
<v Speaker 2>is such a game changing Rebeccia. And people think, oh,
<v Speaker 2>black eyed Susan, ho haa, you see it everywhere, But
<v Speaker 2>actually there's a very good chance you would not be
<v Speaker 2>seeing black eyed Susan everywhere for very much, much longer
<v Speaker 2>because it's very very susceptible to a leaf spot that
<v Speaker 2>makes it super unsightly. People dig them out if it
<v Speaker 2>doesn't take the plant out entirely. And Treasure Trove is
<v Speaker 2>one that, for over seven years in trial, has never
<v Speaker 2>shown any signs of that leaf spot, so super duper resistant.
<v Speaker 2>It is a beautiful has everything you love about the
<v Speaker 2>regular standard black eyed Susan perennials, but without that leaf
<v Speaker 2>spot issue. So a great choice if you are replacing
<v Speaker 2>ones that you are just tired of, or you had
<v Speaker 2>lost faith in Rebeccia and want to bring it back.
<v Speaker 1>Fantastic. So on segment four, we're going to jam in
<v Speaker 1>as many annuals perennials and flowering shrubs that you should
<v Speaker 1>be looking for at your garden center this year to
<v Speaker 1>kick this all off and lead us into plants on Trial.
<v Speaker 1>Here's my green thumb limb a rick this week. If
<v Speaker 1>it's new, improved, I'll try it in impulse. I can't
<v Speaker 1>deny it. This fledgling upstar art put it on my cart.
<v Speaker 1>I think I'm gonna buy it. I'm not settling for
<v Speaker 1>home drum when I spend my hard earned income. These
<v Speaker 1>plants give me thrills, So I'm handling dollar bills. It's
<v Speaker 1>how I get my green thumb.
<v Speaker 2>Love it.
<v Speaker 1>Plants on Trial is next here on the Gardening Simplified.
<v Speaker 2>Show, beautify your home and community with proven winner's color
<v Speaker 2>choice shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique
<v Speaker 2>varieties to choose from. There's a flowering, shrubber, 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>Provenwinner's Color Choice dot com. Reeting's gardening friends, and welcome
<v Speaker 2>back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where we are talking
<v Speaker 2>all about what is new in your garden centers when
<v Speaker 2>you head out shopping, which I know some people have
<v Speaker 2>already been shopping, and certainly our friends in the warmer
<v Speaker 2>climates have been shopping for a while. But for a
<v Speaker 2>lot of us in cooler climates, even though it's been
<v Speaker 2>an early spring, we're just really starting to go shopping,
<v Speaker 2>you know, for to get all of our plants. And
<v Speaker 2>you still got to be careful. You know that we
<v Speaker 2>can definitely still get a froster freeze here in Michigan,
<v Speaker 2>and I would say most of the Midwest and Northeast.
<v Speaker 2>But you know, as long as you got a blanket,
<v Speaker 2>handy or you know, you don't plant, you just kind
<v Speaker 2>of keep them in an area where you can. But
<v Speaker 2>some people want to get in there for you know,
<v Speaker 2>early and get the best selection.
<v Speaker 1>And I want to take those risks yeah, it's fun.
<v Speaker 2>It is. It is really fun. And you know, I
<v Speaker 2>think that even though a lot of people do rely
<v Speaker 2>on the tried and true, there's tremendous interest in what
<v Speaker 2>is new as well. And I know I remember a
<v Speaker 2>customer once asked me, well, you know, tell me what
<v Speaker 2>you have for new varieties, because no one ever comes
<v Speaker 2>in and asks me what's old.
<v Speaker 1>The dust.
<v Speaker 2>So there is some interest in what is new, and
<v Speaker 2>certainly you will find some of these at your local
<v Speaker 2>garden center. I know some garden centers are going to
<v Speaker 2>be a little bit risk averse, maybe not go full
<v Speaker 2>on with some new varieties that they aren't sure if
<v Speaker 2>they're going to sell. Some will be like, hey, let's
<v Speaker 2>just make like a whole huge display of what's new
<v Speaker 2>from all different brands, because every brand, not just proven Winners,
<v Speaker 2>is putting out new plants every year. Some are going
<v Speaker 2>to go in between. But you know, I would also say,
<v Speaker 2>if you're hearing about something that you like, or there's
<v Speaker 2>something that you've read about that you like, always ask
<v Speaker 2>at your garden center. It does not hurt to ask,
<v Speaker 2>you know, if you can, if you're if you're there
<v Speaker 2>and you can ask a tree and shrub buyer or
<v Speaker 2>some sort of manager, Hey, can you get this in.
<v Speaker 2>I'm interested in this. They don't know. They're just guessing.
<v Speaker 2>They're not psychic, so your I mean, maybe they are.
<v Speaker 2>I don't. I can't speak for all of them. So
<v Speaker 2>you know your requests and letting them know what you're
<v Speaker 2>looking for, whether that is a specific plant or you're
<v Speaker 2>saying like, hey, I want more native plants or I
<v Speaker 2>want more space sating plants or whatever. These are the
<v Speaker 2>kinds of things you need to communicate so that they
<v Speaker 2>can make those decisions. It's appreciated, Yeah, absolutely so always,
<v Speaker 2>you know, goodeback is always appreciated by everybody. But for
<v Speaker 2>the last several months, when it comes to plants on trial,
<v Speaker 2>I've been making them a little bit more abstract, kind
<v Speaker 2>of more conceptual, talking about bigger things. But I'm bringing
<v Speaker 2>it back to a kind of single plant this week.
<v Speaker 1>All right.
<v Speaker 2>I was really tempted to make this about my favorite
<v Speaker 2>new plant, my favorite new shrubs for twenty twenty six,
<v Speaker 2>but that would have been too long, so I narrowed
<v Speaker 2>it down to a plant, a new plant for twenty
<v Speaker 2>twenty six, new shrub that is a little bit mystifying
<v Speaker 2>and it's a plant that we don't talk about very
<v Speaker 2>often on the show. So you know, usually people we
<v Speaker 2>say all the time they're confused about hydrange as, they
<v Speaker 2>don't know how to take care of them. But another
<v Speaker 2>plant that people are supremely confused about is azaleas. Oh.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, yes, they.
<v Speaker 2>Are very confused about azaleas for a couple of reasons.
<v Speaker 2>Number one, azaleas and rhododendrons are the same genus. Some
<v Speaker 2>all right, how does this go? All azaleas are rhododendrons,
<v Speaker 2>but not all rhododendrons are azaleas, so they're very closely related.
<v Speaker 2>The distinctions between them, it's like the number of stamens
<v Speaker 2>that they have, not something that matters to the average person.
<v Speaker 2>All rhododendrons are evergreen, whereas azalea's may be deciduous, semi evergreen,
<v Speaker 2>or evergreen. So I know that's about as clear as mud.
<v Speaker 2>Most azaleas tend to be smaller. There's a number of
<v Speaker 2>other differences in between them. But I think what a
<v Speaker 2>lot of people what happens is a lot of people
<v Speaker 2>will know about like classic Southern garden and gardens or
<v Speaker 2>you know, and how closely associated the South is with azaleas.
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, I mean this past month we had the
<v Speaker 1>Masters yeah and the Masters yeah. And that's all about,
<v Speaker 1>is it right?
<v Speaker 2>So people see that and they're like, wow, look at
<v Speaker 2>those gorgeous azaleas. I want those at my house. And
<v Speaker 2>they go to their garden center and you know, Wisconsin
<v Speaker 2>or Minnesota or whatever, and they're like, where's all azaleas.
<v Speaker 2>I know I have seen azaleas around my neighborhood. They
<v Speaker 2>didn't quite look like the Masters azaleas, but I'm not
<v Speaker 2>finding them at my garden center. I don't know, Like,
<v Speaker 2>what's going on? Can I just not grow azaleas? And
<v Speaker 2>it is confusing. So the azaleas that kind of get
<v Speaker 2>all the tension. The Masters azaleas, the Southern azaleas, those
<v Speaker 2>are not super hardy plants. They are hardy probably to
<v Speaker 2>about USDA Zone six, and even then it's kind of
<v Speaker 2>a not all USDA Zone six areas. You have to
<v Speaker 2>be pretty mild. You can't have prolonged cold because if
<v Speaker 2>you do, they get a lot of setback. There's Kurume azaleas,
<v Speaker 2>which came from Japan. Those are really popular on the
<v Speaker 2>East coast. Gumpbo Azalea's similar hardiness again, hardy to the
<v Speaker 2>USDA Zone six. And then there's this other group called
<v Speaker 2>the Northern Lights azalea's. Yes, those are developed by the
<v Speaker 2>University of Minnesota and are hardy down to USDA Zone three,
<v Speaker 2>but you don't really see them around all that much anymore.
<v Speaker 1>I think Northern lights is deciduous.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, so a lot of these azaleas. If you can
<v Speaker 2>grow them in a colder climate like usdas on six,
<v Speaker 2>they will be deciduous, whereas if you were growing them
<v Speaker 2>in a warm climate there ever, they keep their foliage.
<v Speaker 1>Let me just quickly mention Stacey that my experience with
<v Speaker 1>azaleas in the north has been I want a spot
<v Speaker 1>that sunny in summer, but provide structural shade in winter
<v Speaker 1>to protect the plants. At least that's how I've.
<v Speaker 2>Had so Yeah, I mean they are a little bit finicky.
<v Speaker 2>Of course, they need acidic soil just like a rhododendron wood.
<v Speaker 2>They do appreciate shade, sort of like high dappled shade
<v Speaker 2>is a really great situation for them. But there's another
<v Speaker 2>type of azalea that I think isn't getting nearly enough attention,
<v Speaker 2>and we are trying to change that with this new introduction,
<v Speaker 2>and that is our North American native azaleas.
<v Speaker 1>Wow.
<v Speaker 2>Now, I'm sure a lot of people are surprised to
<v Speaker 2>even find out that azaleas are native to North America, unless,
<v Speaker 2>of course they have driven the Blue Ridge Parkway in
<v Speaker 2>spring where it is absolutely covered with them. I think
<v Speaker 2>that the apple, specifically the Blue Ridge Mountains in North
<v Speaker 2>Carolina has to be the epicenter of American native azaleas.
<v Speaker 2>They are just everywhere down there, and we have a
<v Speaker 2>number of beautiful species. My personal favorite is the flame azalea,
<v Speaker 2>which is rhododendron colendulation. How much fun is that to
<v Speaker 2>say colunngulation? And of course I love the color flame
<v Speaker 2>azalea yellow orange or red flowers depending on the native population.
<v Speaker 2>Just fabulous. And so I think with the increasing interest
<v Speaker 2>in native plants, there has been an increasing market for
<v Speaker 2>native azaleas too, And so today's plant on trial is
<v Speaker 2>our native Ish azalea's the sweet Reward azaleas. Now, these
<v Speaker 2>came to us from North Carolina. These were developed in
<v Speaker 2>the Blue Ridge Mountains by Jim Ballington, a breeder at
<v Speaker 2>North Carolina State University. And I'm saying native Ish because
<v Speaker 2>there is a complex parentage among the series. Some of
<v Speaker 2>them are exclusively North American natives species that have been
<v Speaker 2>crossed to create it, so all of their parentage is
<v Speaker 2>Native American. Others have some other species mixed into use,
<v Speaker 2>going for you know, specific colors and that kind of thing.
<v Speaker 2>So it's a little bit hard to generalize, except that
<v Speaker 2>all of them have the same kind of vibe and
<v Speaker 2>aesthetics as the native azaleas once you get them in
<v Speaker 2>your garden. So the native azaleas are different than the
<v Speaker 2>azalees we've just been talking about in that they're a
<v Speaker 2>little bit more wild. People love the cushiony azaleas right,
<v Speaker 2>the button tough at azaleas, So these are a little
<v Speaker 2>bit more wild looking. They're not huge, they are only
<v Speaker 2>these sweet rewards get to be about three to six
<v Speaker 2>feet tall and wide. And the reason for that wide
<v Speaker 2>range is, of course, as we were saying, in cooler
<v Speaker 2>climates it's going to be on the smaller side. In
<v Speaker 2>warmer climates, it's going to be on the taller side,
<v Speaker 2>so six foot so they're hardy to down to USDA
<v Speaker 2>Zone five heat tolerant through USDA Zone eight. But what
<v Speaker 2>makes the native azaleas so special is that they're fragrant
<v Speaker 2>and yeah, wow, because most people don't at all think
<v Speaker 2>of azalea as having any kind of fragrance. They're like, oh,
<v Speaker 2>it's a pretty flower, but it doesn't. And the same
<v Speaker 2>with rhododendrons, you know, they're they're not mostly fragrant.
<v Speaker 1>So what does it smell like?
<v Speaker 2>It's a great question. I'm going to describe it in
<v Speaker 2>a way that is potentially unflattering, although it is actually lovely.
<v Speaker 2>It is a very wonderful fragrance. It smells like sweet
<v Speaker 2>water with green peppers.
<v Speaker 1>Sounds like it.
<v Speaker 2>Has like the sweetness, really nice sweetness to it, but
<v Speaker 2>it has an unmistakable pepperiness to it, not the kind
<v Speaker 2>that's going to make you want to sneeze, you know.
<v Speaker 1>It's sweet bell.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, like a sweet bell pepper, like just that kind
<v Speaker 2>of like fresh greenness to it. It's a little bit
<v Speaker 2>hard to explain, but it is very, very cool and
<v Speaker 2>really lovely. And the other thing about these plants, they
<v Speaker 2>have these amazing long stamens and pistols that just protrude
<v Speaker 2>explode out of the flot They attract hummingbirds and butterflies,
<v Speaker 2>and they're just nothing like those tame, pruned, fussy little azaleas.
<v Speaker 2>They're wild, they're beautiful. The flowers come up on these
<v Speaker 2>really cool candelabra like stems, so instead of again just
<v Speaker 2>being that bun and tough it, they were like poof, poof,
<v Speaker 2>poof with these flower clusters. So there's two varieties right now.
<v Speaker 2>There's Sweet Reward Coral, which is my favorite because it
<v Speaker 2>has a lot of those orange colors in it, like
<v Speaker 2>from our native azaleas. And then they're Sweet Reward pink,
<v Speaker 2>So if your taste tends more to the pink, that
<v Speaker 2>is a great choice. Coral is a lot of different colors,
<v Speaker 2>absolutely beautiful. They're so covered in flowers that you really
<v Speaker 2>can't even see the leaves, which I know is another
<v Speaker 2>thing that people love about azalea's when they bloom. So
<v Speaker 2>just a really unique take on azalea's. And I think
<v Speaker 2>something that you know when you see these, if these
<v Speaker 2>are in bloom, when you go to your garden center
<v Speaker 2>this season, they are going home with you. It is
<v Speaker 2>like a non negotiable. You're gonna love them so much.
<v Speaker 2>As long as you have shade, acidic soil, USDA zones
<v Speaker 2>five through eight, and room for a three to six
<v Speaker 2>foot shrub.
<v Speaker 1>Wow, And if you're listening to our podcast or the
<v Speaker 1>radio version of our show, make sure to flip on
<v Speaker 1>over to YouTube and watch Stacey describe a flower with
<v Speaker 1>her hands. She demonstrated what I look like. That was spectacular.
<v Speaker 1>I love it. I'm sold.
<v Speaker 2>Well, it's up to you to decide if my interpretive
<v Speaker 2>dance there matches the photo. But in any case, so
<v Speaker 2>that is sweet reward. Azalea's please do look for them
<v Speaker 2>at your garden center. We're going to take a little break.
<v Speaker 2>When we come back, we're opening up the mailbag, so
<v Speaker 2>stay tuned. At Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs, we know
<v Speaker 2>that a better landscape starts with a better shrub. Our
<v Speaker 2>team of experts tests and evaluates all of our flowering
<v Speaker 2>shrubs in evergreens for eight to ten years to ensure
<v Speaker 2>they outperform what's already on the market. For easycare, reliable,
<v Speaker 2>beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and express your personal style.
<v Speaker 2>Look for Proven Winners Shrubs in the distinctive white container
<v Speaker 2>at your local garden center or learn more at Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winner's Color Choice dot com. You're Reading's gardening friends, and
<v Speaker 2>welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where it's our
<v Speaker 2>turn to answer your garden questions, quandaries and conundrums. You
<v Speaker 2>can reach us at Gardening Simplified on air dot com.
<v Speaker 2>A couple things before we get to the mail bag.
<v Speaker 2>Number one on break Adriana perfectly described what the fragrance
<v Speaker 2>of the sweet reward azaleas is like pepper jelly. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>and Adriana actually makes pepper jelly, so she would know.
<v Speaker 2>But yeah, it has that kind of like sweet like
<v Speaker 2>you get all of that like sugary sweetness, but that
<v Speaker 2>fresh green, peppery kind of note in there. Yeah, it's great.
<v Speaker 2>So you know, not everyone has a fragrant as elia,
<v Speaker 2>so that's pretty cool. So pepper jelly if that's a
<v Speaker 2>better frame of reference than whatever crazy stuff I was
<v Speaker 2>just saying in the segment speaking of crazy stuff that
<v Speaker 2>I say thank you so much to everybody who answered
<v Speaker 2>and weighed in on my pergola question.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's fantastic.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, we had a lot of comment too, a lot
<v Speaker 2>of emails as well, so thank you all so much
<v Speaker 2>for taking the time to share that the verdict is mixed.
<v Speaker 1>I was going to say, what's the decision.
<v Speaker 2>The verdict is highly mixed. There was some great suggestions.
<v Speaker 2>Someone said, hey, you could just kind of make like
<v Speaker 2>a narrow screen so you can sit next to your
<v Speaker 2>grapes rather than under them. I thought that was kind
<v Speaker 2>of a cool idea. Someone said, if you're putting up
<v Speaker 2>a pergola, make sure it can withstand the winds in
<v Speaker 2>your area, because we had to secure ours, and I
<v Speaker 2>do live in a very windy area, so I certainly
<v Speaker 2>appreciate that bit of advice. And it would be basically
<v Speaker 2>directly exposed to the western winds, so definitely a big consideration.
<v Speaker 2>Some people said, I've never had a single problem some person.
<v Speaker 2>Some people said I have to clean my furniture anytime
<v Speaker 2>we want to go sit down out there. Some people
<v Speaker 2>say it's beautiful, but I can't stand the wasps and hornets.
<v Speaker 2>There is just a little fuzzy like floating right of
<v Speaker 2>my face.
<v Speaker 1>Sorry, don't edit that olid Adriana.
<v Speaker 2>Anyway, not out of ospar hornet, just a little fuzzy.
<v Speaker 2>Some people said spiders, which I do find spiders fascinating,
<v Speaker 2>don't necessarily want them landing in my dinner. So yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it was all over the place, and I think that
<v Speaker 2>where my husband and I are at in this decision
<v Speaker 2>is we're just going to go ahead and build the
<v Speaker 2>patio and add the thing in later if we want.
<v Speaker 1>To, which is how I did it.
<v Speaker 2>Because it's not going to be hard. You know, our
<v Speaker 2>patio is not going to be poured concrete or anything.
<v Speaker 2>We're not gonna have to go and get a jackhammer.
<v Speaker 2>It's just going to be pavers, and so we can
<v Speaker 2>just take up a group of pavers to install the pergola.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but if you're keeping square at home with the
<v Speaker 1>pergola that I built, the concrete slab was already there,
<v Speaker 1>so I just used a drill to drill holes in
<v Speaker 1>the concrete and you can get these footings that you
<v Speaker 1>put the posts in. So yeah, it works.
<v Speaker 2>So there's even a way to do that, except, of course,
<v Speaker 2>then you couldn't plant, because that would be a problem
<v Speaker 2>I have.
<v Speaker 1>You'd have to jackhammer grape expectations for your projects.
<v Speaker 2>So we're gonna table the pergola in favor of an
<v Speaker 2>umbrella to give us some shade there. And thank you
<v Speaker 2>so much for the people who said consider getting a
<v Speaker 2>covered one so you can be out there when it rains.
<v Speaker 2>That is a great idea. But we do also have
<v Speaker 2>a covered front porch, so we usually spend our time
<v Speaker 2>out there when it rains, and then that gives us
<v Speaker 2>a chance to enjoy the front. So I do love
<v Speaker 2>the idea and thank you all so much for sharing
<v Speaker 2>your opinions and experience with us. It means a lot.
<v Speaker 2>So what have we got in the mail bag?
<v Speaker 1>I wanted to mention quickly at the start with the
<v Speaker 1>mail bag, Stacy, I don't think it's a fig leaf
<v Speaker 1>of my imagination. For folks who are in the north,
<v Speaker 1>A lot of die back from the polar vortex, as
<v Speaker 1>it relates to bud Lea's. You know, every year it's
<v Speaker 1>different and mine have started butting out and it's low
<v Speaker 1>down on the stems. So I did have a lot
<v Speaker 1>of die back.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so don't panic if you have a lot of
<v Speaker 2>die back, it will be fine, exactly. But this is
<v Speaker 2>why you wait to prune your butterfly bush until you're
<v Speaker 2>actually seeing that growth come out, and then you can
<v Speaker 2>prune where the growth is, rather than you know, having
<v Speaker 2>to prune again when it doesn't come out along the
<v Speaker 2>whole stems. But you know, I know, you know, Rick,
<v Speaker 2>But it's so amazing to me when you have a
<v Speaker 2>butterfly bush that was seriously set back for whatever reason.
<v Speaker 2>How quickly it will grow once it starts getting warm.
<v Speaker 2>It's like by the time you know, mid June rolls around,
<v Speaker 2>you'll forget it was ever set back, because it'll be
<v Speaker 2>like nothing happened.
<v Speaker 1>You got to maintain your composture, all right, Gen writes,
<v Speaker 1>For the past few years, I've been buying bags of
<v Speaker 1>blackwood mulch. However, I've heard that the black dye isn't
<v Speaker 1>great to use. I really like to look at the
<v Speaker 1>dark mulch though, and a few other gardeners that I
<v Speaker 1>follow I've mentioned using compost as mulch. There's a garden
<v Speaker 1>center close to me that sells compost in bulk. Wondering
<v Speaker 1>if it's a good approach to take. I really want
<v Speaker 1>to do what's best for the health of the garden.
<v Speaker 1>I'm fortunate to have good soil, so I'm not concerned
<v Speaker 1>about amending it at all. I just want something that
<v Speaker 1>has the benefits of mulch, is good for the plants,
<v Speaker 1>and if it looks good too. In an added bonus,
<v Speaker 1>great question for the jen.
<v Speaker 2>I know well. Dyed mulch is certainly a contentious topic.
<v Speaker 1>It is.
<v Speaker 2>I am firmly in the no dyed mulch camp myself,
<v Speaker 2>but I think the question for anybody who is struggling
<v Speaker 2>with this is why are you mulching? And compost does
<v Speaker 2>make a great mulch, so let's get that out of
<v Speaker 2>the way right away. Compost would be a great mulch
<v Speaker 2>for people like Rick or I who garden in an
<v Speaker 2>area that's very, very sandy. It helps you increase the
<v Speaker 2>moisture retention of the soil, and it does have that
<v Speaker 2>nice dark look, of course that you like. It's probably
<v Speaker 2>not going to be as good at suppressing weeds as
<v Speaker 2>a bark mulch would be, so if you're using mulch
<v Speaker 2>for weed suppression, compost is not necessarily going to be
<v Speaker 2>a great alternative. The other thing is, of course, both
<v Speaker 2>compost is simply decayed organic matter that has turned into
<v Speaker 2>People think it's soil because it kind of looks like soil,
<v Speaker 2>but compost is purely organic matter that is completely decayed
<v Speaker 2>into something else entirely. Bark mulch is also organic matter.
<v Speaker 2>Of course, it all came from trees, but the composts
<v Speaker 2>because it is much further along in the decay process.
<v Speaker 2>A compost mulch is not going to last as long
<v Speaker 2>as a bark mulch. It's definitely going to erode potentially,
<v Speaker 2>you know, because those particles are really lightweight and it's
<v Speaker 2>going to break down, which is good for the plants.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, don't get me wrong, you definitely want that
<v Speaker 2>to break down and give nutrients to the plants. But yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it's not going to provide the weed control. It's probably
<v Speaker 2>not going to provide great erosion control either, because when
<v Speaker 2>soil erodes from water, like rainfall or something like that,
<v Speaker 2>the lightest particles wash away first. This is why if
<v Speaker 2>you're looking around your yard after all the rain we've
<v Speaker 2>had in Michigan, and you see where there's wash out,
<v Speaker 2>all that's left of sand because sand is the heaviest particle,
<v Speaker 2>So all the silt, all the clay, all the organic matter,
<v Speaker 2>and that gets washed away. That's why you're left with
<v Speaker 2>that little sandpile. So compost is also not going to
<v Speaker 2>hold up to erosion as well as mulch.
<v Speaker 1>Wow, that was really well said. I like that well done,
<v Speaker 1>and I agree with you one hundred percent. Let me
<v Speaker 1>just add one thing. I got to the point, Stacy
<v Speaker 1>where I started to use shredded hardwood mulch, so it's
<v Speaker 1>not dyed. It's dark, and they shred the daylights out
<v Speaker 1>of it, so it almost has this compost like texture
<v Speaker 1>to it, and it really solved the problem for me.
<v Speaker 1>So really good shredded hardwood mulch that does not have diet. Okay,
<v Speaker 1>good to know that's the route I've gone. Deb Wright's
<v Speaker 1>my proven winter strong box holly of peers to have fungus.
<v Speaker 1>It looked very healthy for the last two years, but
<v Speaker 1>this week when I saw the fungus, I pruned off
<v Speaker 1>a lot of the black spot. I sprayed it with
<v Speaker 1>a fungicide. I cleaned up the area underneath so there's
<v Speaker 1>no leaves left behind, and then sprinkled some boxwood fertilizer
<v Speaker 1>around the drip line. Do you think it has a chance?
<v Speaker 1>Deb is writing to us from Holland, Michigan' Zone six feek.
<v Speaker 2>Just down the road. Yeah, so believe it or not,
<v Speaker 2>what you are seeing on your strong box holly is
<v Speaker 2>actually winter damage. So the sorry, the inkberry hollies are
<v Speaker 2>pretty susceptible to winter damage, I mean boxwood. So we're
<v Speaker 2>selling these primarily as a boxwood alternative for people who
<v Speaker 2>don't like boxwood because of the odor, or people who
<v Speaker 2>want to plant something native instead of boxwood, or people
<v Speaker 2>who have had issues with boxwood disease. So it looks
<v Speaker 2>like boxwood, but it's a North American native shrub, but
<v Speaker 2>it's not, you know, a perfect substitute. It does have
<v Speaker 2>some issues. It's certainly not as your resists in his
<v Speaker 2>box would and even the boxwood can also get some
<v Speaker 2>fungal diseases. It does because it's native, of course, it's
<v Speaker 2>more susceptible to various diseases you know, that are present
<v Speaker 2>in our soils in our areas. But it is actually
<v Speaker 2>winter damage. So those blackened spots that you are seeing
<v Speaker 2>is actually cold damage and it happened over winter. And
<v Speaker 2>that's why the new growth on your pictures DA does
<v Speaker 2>not show any of those signs because usually when you
<v Speaker 2>have a fungal infection, that new growth starts showing signs
<v Speaker 2>of it pretty quickly. So no worries about what you've done.
<v Speaker 2>That's totally fine. If anyone else has an inkberry holly
<v Speaker 2>that is showing these kind of amorphous black spots, so
<v Speaker 2>not the typical like ring spot that you see for
<v Speaker 2>most fungal diseases, not even like a rose black spot.
<v Speaker 2>It looks very distinctive on the inkberry hollies. It is
<v Speaker 2>cold damage. And what will happen as the plant starts
<v Speaker 2>to grow, it will drop that foliage because it is
<v Speaker 2>not as effective at photosynthesizing as fresh foliage would be,
<v Speaker 2>and it will push out new growth to replace that.
<v Speaker 2>So there's nothing wrong with what you've done. That's totally fine.
<v Speaker 2>It was a great idea to fertilize it. That will
<v Speaker 2>help it. But I think the reason that you're seeing
<v Speaker 2>that now as opposed to the previous two years when
<v Speaker 2>you've had this plant, because we just got out of
<v Speaker 2>a heck of a winter, as you just said. But
<v Speaker 2>la are certainly not the only thing it's impacting. I've
<v Speaker 2>seen damage on Arborvity's rhododener I mean just there's so
<v Speaker 2>many things that got damaged with how cold it was
<v Speaker 2>for how long. So that's why you're seeing that this year.
<v Speaker 2>But not to worry, you haven't caused any harm and
<v Speaker 2>any remaining bits that you didn't get. As the season
<v Speaker 2>continues to warm up and the days continue to get longer,
<v Speaker 2>new growth will come and replace that and you'll be
<v Speaker 2>good as new bench. All right, we're going to take
<v Speaker 2>a little break. When we come back, we're going to
<v Speaker 2>be talking more about what plants are new in garden
<v Speaker 2>centers this year, so please stay tuned. Thanks for listening
<v Speaker 2>to the Gardening Simplified Podcast, brought to you by Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and
<v Speaker 2>evergreens are trialed and tested by experts with your success
<v Speaker 2>in mind. Learn more at Proven Winners color Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, Stacey. There are
<v Speaker 1>so many plants for folks to ask for at garden
<v Speaker 1>centers this spring. New plants, great new plants, perennials like
<v Speaker 1>Nepetta lemon perfection, beautiful yellow foliage and blue flowers. The
<v Speaker 1>flowers last for a long time, a continuous bloomer. Nepeta
<v Speaker 1>Catwalk Queen is another great plant. You mentioned the Treasure
<v Speaker 1>Trove and a lot of people are going to have
<v Speaker 1>interest too. In the Dolce Sultry Night Hucara ruffled purple
<v Speaker 1>black leaves. What a great plant.
<v Speaker 2>I'm a sucker for ruffled hugres. Yeah, I love them.
<v Speaker 2>I mean I can't grow you grow so but I
<v Speaker 2>love seeing him in the garden center.
<v Speaker 1>I do too. But the great thing about them is
<v Speaker 1>you can use It's a compact plant, so you can
<v Speaker 1>use it in container plants.
<v Speaker 2>I could grow it in containers. Yeah, and you know what,
<v Speaker 2>that's a great point. If you can't find the right
<v Speaker 2>foliage in the annual section of your garden center, just
<v Speaker 2>go to the perennial section.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly. And here's a great one, Spigelia. I think
<v Speaker 1>I'm pronouncing that right.
<v Speaker 2>Spigelia, I say spigelia.
<v Speaker 1>But spigelia, either of the two orange slices, so beautiful.
<v Speaker 1>Did anybody say hummingbirds? Sun or shade, although you're gonna
<v Speaker 1>want it in the sun in my opinion, but it
<v Speaker 1>can handle sun or shade and a lot of moisture.
<v Speaker 2>Though, yes, if you have it in the sun, it
<v Speaker 2>needs pretty moist soil.
<v Speaker 1>But you know, great for attracting pollinators. And many people
<v Speaker 1>also interested in this plant because it is native to
<v Speaker 1>the United States, Eastern and midwestern United States. So that's
<v Speaker 1>that's pretty cool too. Let's see delphinium violets are blue.
<v Speaker 1>A lot of people interested in delphiniums perfect for cottage gardens.
<v Speaker 1>But these new varieties like proven winners. Delphinium violets are blue.
<v Speaker 1>Staking is still recommended, you know, because you're gonna have
<v Speaker 1>some inclement weather now and then, but really stands up
<v Speaker 1>to it, you know. So it's well, you look at
<v Speaker 1>the botanical name, it's Delphinium elatum, and I looked up
<v Speaker 1>elatum is a Latin adjective meaning elevated, raised, or exalted.
<v Speaker 1>So it's an upright plant but really stands up nicely
<v Speaker 1>in the garden compared to let's say, the older varieties
<v Speaker 1>of delphiniums that we're familiar.
<v Speaker 2>And probably more perennial too, which I know that's kind
<v Speaker 2>of a strange charm to say something is more perennial,
<v Speaker 2>But especially older varieties, we're just not that perennial. You know.
<v Speaker 2>You get a year, two, three years out of them
<v Speaker 2>and then they would just peter out, especially for Delphinium,
<v Speaker 2>so you're constantly having to get new ones. So really
<v Speaker 2>working on increasing the perennialness of delphinium as well as
<v Speaker 2>the stem strength. And I mean, who can resist a
<v Speaker 2>delphinium exactly?
<v Speaker 1>We love delphiniums. Hearts on fire, old fashioned bleeding heart,
<v Speaker 1>just bright golden yellow foliage with true red heart flowers.
<v Speaker 1>I like this plant, and the other thing that I
<v Speaker 1>love about the plant is it's great for our friends
<v Speaker 1>up in Canada or Minnesota hardy to zone three. Raised
<v Speaker 1>for days Heliopsis double flowering fallse sunflower with double yellow blossoms.
<v Speaker 1>They almost look like Zenia's. What a great plant, especially
<v Speaker 1>if you like to bring cut flowers inside the house.
<v Speaker 1>Rais for days Heliopsis. And then a plant that isn't
<v Speaker 1>used much in the landscape, but barren wart or Epimedium
<v Speaker 1>uh hugs and kisses. And I think the plant is
<v Speaker 1>notable because number one, it has interesting flowers, but number two,
<v Speaker 1>it's great for dry shade, and dry shade is a
<v Speaker 1>condition that a lot of people struggle right now.
<v Speaker 2>Do you have ep medium in your garden?
<v Speaker 1>I do not. You don't, I don't.
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm glad that you mentioned it. These are the
<v Speaker 2>first proven winners epimedium, so that is very special. Epimedium
<v Speaker 2>is a great plant. And even though it is closely
<v Speaker 2>related to barbary, I still like it. I love it,
<v Speaker 2>and they're evergreen perennials. They make a great groundcover. They
<v Speaker 2>do thrive in the shade. Although they need some help
<v Speaker 2>getting established, they definitely benefit from some water as they're
<v Speaker 2>getting established as young plants. Once they're established, they're fine.
<v Speaker 1>Now.
<v Speaker 2>I do want to say, as someone who was fussing
<v Speaker 2>with my epimediums over the past weekend, if it's not
<v Speaker 2>too late for you and you're in a cool climate,
<v Speaker 2>cut back the old foliage of your epimediums now. Don't
<v Speaker 2>wait until the new stuff starts to you emerge, because
<v Speaker 2>it's very tricky to kind of be in there and
<v Speaker 2>separating the old growth from the new growth. So you
<v Speaker 2>want to get them out before the new groth starts
<v Speaker 2>to emerge. It probably starts sooner than you think. It
<v Speaker 2>started sooner than I thought. And yeah, and then once
<v Speaker 2>you're in there, you know, trying to prune out the
<v Speaker 2>old leaves, the evergreen foliage from last year. It's really
<v Speaker 2>easy to cut into that new growth. And if you
<v Speaker 2>do that, that's it. You lost that new growth for
<v Speaker 2>the year, So no flowers, no foliage from that. So
<v Speaker 2>that's the only drawback that they have. I am crazy
<v Speaker 2>about epimediums. They're so so pretty, they're deer resistant, and
<v Speaker 2>I'm just so excited that we have finally have some
<v Speaker 2>that are good enough to be in the proven winner's line.
<v Speaker 1>Just made a note of it. Stacey suggests I have
<v Speaker 1>epimedium in my yard. I think I may try that,
<v Speaker 1>thank you. Of course, as far as flowering annuals are concerned,
<v Speaker 1>every year there's all kinds of new productions. This year
<v Speaker 1>is no exception. Super Bell's Magic Grapefruit calibri CoA. This
<v Speaker 1>is a plant caliber, in my opinion, are best for containers,
<v Speaker 1>not in ground planting. But what a cool plant. It's
<v Speaker 1>a color shifting calibricoa. So it opens lemon yellow, then
<v Speaker 1>takes on soft pink tones as it basts in the
<v Speaker 1>summer sun. Of course, there's always new Supertunias. There's Supertunia
<v Speaker 1>Mini vista, pink cloud this is. This plant has really neat,
<v Speaker 1>uniquely ruffled petals that have a color that I would
<v Speaker 1>describe as cotton candy with a white eye. Great plant,
<v Speaker 1>sweet caroline, sweet heart shadows storm. This is a chartreuse
<v Speaker 1>and black. I'm gonna call it variegated foliage on a
<v Speaker 1>potato vine. That's a cool plant.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I look forward to that, like you bet.
<v Speaker 1>Southern Blaze, bright pink flocks. It's a pollinator friendly native
<v Speaker 1>oar with Texan roots, so it shows you by the
<v Speaker 1>name Southern Blaze bright pink flocks. Here's a plant that
<v Speaker 1>can handle the heat for you this summer.
<v Speaker 2>And I think a lot of people would be surprised
<v Speaker 2>to think of flocks as an animal, because of course,
<v Speaker 2>you know, for those of us in cold climates, we
<v Speaker 2>grow flocks as a perennial. This is you know said
<v Speaker 2>it's from Texas, so it's a tender flocks that you
<v Speaker 2>can grow and it should bloom all season long. So
<v Speaker 2>a little bit of a different take on flocks.
<v Speaker 1>You bet, both of us love kalladiums and the hard
<v Speaker 1>to heart kalladiums. They have a crem brew lay Ooh,
<v Speaker 1>now this one makes me hungry, torched caramelized hardened sugar
<v Speaker 1>rush coming on. Yeah, hmm, crembrew lay and hard to
<v Speaker 1>heart midnight oil. Unusual kalladium because it has strap like
<v Speaker 1>kind of roughly foliage that blends deep green red tones.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, it's hard to describe undulating type margins.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. It's just it is a cool plant.
<v Speaker 1>Hard to heart midnight oil.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I have definitely not seen anything quite like it
<v Speaker 2>in the kalladium world.
<v Speaker 1>Lots of people have enjoyed jazzberry Supertunia's Well, now we
<v Speaker 1>have Supertunia Vista cool Jazz. So if you liked Jazzberry,
<v Speaker 1>try cool jazz. This plant has a lot of promise.
<v Speaker 1>And the Laguna Royale series of Lobilia. Again, as I mentioned,
<v Speaker 1>I've been in the garden center industry for a long time,
<v Speaker 1>and people love lobilia in April and May when the
<v Speaker 1>temperatures are coolish, and then the heat of summer.
<v Speaker 2>It's like year by by what happens to my lobilia.
<v Speaker 1>And proven Winters has developed the Laguna Royale series of
<v Speaker 1>lobilia that is far more heat tolerant. So what a
<v Speaker 1>great place.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it really changes the way that you can use
<v Speaker 2>loubilia in the landscape. Now, if you live in a
<v Speaker 2>really hot climate, it's still gonna peter out. You know
<v Speaker 2>that it is still a cool climate annual or cool
<v Speaker 2>season annual. But for those of us, even in Michigan,
<v Speaker 2>for the most part, they will bloom all summer long
<v Speaker 2>unless we have, you know, extremely hot weather. But and
<v Speaker 2>it's just that color is so there's nothing like it.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Yeah, it's beautiful. And they have a lilac a
<v Speaker 1>laguna royale, a beautiful, beautiful plant. Let's take a look here.
<v Speaker 1>Few more to share with you. I'm excited about super
<v Speaker 1>Lofus sunglow onethra. Talk about a drought and heat tolerant plant.
<v Speaker 1>It's basically Texas primrose is what I like to call it.
<v Speaker 1>It's derived from a native Texan species. I mean, this
<v Speaker 1>is a plant stacy that can handle one hundred degree weather.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and big open, sunny yellow flowers. So if yellow
<v Speaker 2>is your thing in the garden, it's going to be
<v Speaker 2>hard to beat this one, that is for sure.
<v Speaker 1>This one's for you. Ask for it at your garden center.
<v Speaker 1>Surefire cascade red begonias, great for trailing and hanging baskets
<v Speaker 1>or upright containers. And then I'm going to wrap it
<v Speaker 1>right here, Stacy with the one that I have difficulty pronouncing,
<v Speaker 1>and so I'm glad you're sitting right next to me.
<v Speaker 2>It's a mouthful, So sorry, Lava flow James Britannia.
<v Speaker 1>Thank you. You say it so much better than It's
<v Speaker 1>a stay different every time.
<v Speaker 2>It's a very unusual name. It's literally James Britton. I
<v Speaker 2>a at the end, But like it's like someone's name
<v Speaker 2>was James Britton and then they said James Bretenna. So yeah,
<v Speaker 2>a newish plant. I think the name could use a
<v Speaker 2>little marketing campaign there. But very cool. Just it's a
<v Speaker 2>little bit like a super colorful but copa.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, it's like the copa but heardier, a better filler
<v Speaker 1>spiller than the old fashioned be copa and very humidity,
<v Speaker 1>heat tolerant. Just just a great.
<v Speaker 2>Great color too. I love the color on these.
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to use it in my containers this year.
<v Speaker 1>And then when somebody walks through my garden and say,
<v Speaker 1>what is that plant, I'm gonna hand them your phone.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, okay, you could do that.
<v Speaker 1>Stacy has been fun and it's been super fun.
<v Speaker 2>Thanks.
<v Speaker 1>I'm looking forward to getting out into the garden center
<v Speaker 1>this year and filling up my shopping cart. Thank you, Adriana,
<v Speaker 1>and thanks to you for watching us on YouTube, downloading
<v Speaker 1>the podcast, or listening to the radio version of The
<v Speaker 1>Gardening Simplified Show. Have a great week.