Your most promising perennials of 2015

With 2015 almost done I would love to hear of your best new performers as we look ahead in planning purchases for the 2016 gardening season.

The only criteria is that the perennial must have been planted in 2014 or 2015.

I'll start:

- Campfire Rose (All 7 went in the ground this past May and June and these compact very hardy Canadian bred roses were bloom machines from May till October with almost perfect foliage throughout)

-Veronicastrum fascination (I put this in the ground last August 2014). I really like its interesting flower arrangement on the stem and it is quite water conserving. I just wish I had room for more than one plant.

- "Peacock Cherry Red" Phlox (paniculata). Again planted later in the summer of 2014. Incredible red flowers and very little mildew during 2015

- "Spring Vetchling" (lathyrus vernus). Planted last summer 2014 but was so vigorous early this spring. My first perennial (non bulb) to flower (early May) lasting almost a month.

I eagerly await your bests.




This message was edited Dec 29, 2015 7:33 AM

Kniphofia 'Mango Popsicle' was great. This is its second year in the ground, and it bloomed repeatedly both years. I have trouble getting Kniphofias to bloom even once a year, so this was a real treat.

I had two that were exceptional. The first was agastache 'Rosie Posie'. It just bloomed it's head off all summer. I hope it's hardier than its cousin 'Tango' and returns next year. The second was stachys 'Hummelo', which is beautiful even when not in bloom - but when it is - WOW. The first image is Rosie Posie. The second is Hummelo.

Momlady - Thanks for the heads up on the "Mango Popsicle". I also grow red hot pokers, but I am yet to see them continually bloom. I'll have to give "Mango Popsicle" a try. I think the best luck I ever had with my pokers was the year the deer ate them almost to the ground in the spring. When I saw what the deer had done, I quickly dug them up, divided them and moved them where the deer would not bother them. Instead of dying, they did great. Also, something I read and keep in mind is that the stems are very hollow, so a person should fold them over instead of cutting them off as they (the hollow stem) tends to hold water and cause the plant base to rot (for whatever that is worth).

That Hummelo is spectacular!

I love Kniphofia...so unique. But I have yet to keep it beyond 2 seasons :(.

I just moved to a home with a yard consisting of clay. I will try the Mango Popsicle Kniphofia and let people know how it works out.

Gomphrena "Fireworks". It became an openwork sphere about 4 feet in diameter, casting almost no shade, but each branch tipped with candy-pink fluff wads. Would definitely grow again.

We have failed with Agastche before, but decided to try again, because they grow so fast and bloom so well that even as an annual, they are terrific. Of course we always hope they will return.

Last summer we planted Agastache again, although we planted them somewhere totally different. Previously they were in the back garden. First with no special amendment, the second time I tried to plant them in a mound, so they could drain better. So last year we planted them in the front yard on a hill, so they couldn't get boggy at all. I also tried to plant them earlier in the year, so they would have more tme to get established. They were splendid all summer! We will have to wait and see if they come back, but they were worth it even if they don't come back.

We also planted Party Girl sildacea which I have loved in the past. Again, we totally changed the location. Before they were in the back garden back against the wall. Hard to get to and easy to forget. This time, they are in the front where I can't miss them. I bet they'll come back, I just don't know for how long.

I winter sowed several kinds of Agastache last winter and they are starting to show some real promise. Hoping they will provide food for my bees in years to come. Anyone interested, RobinSeeds.com has the seeds for them (great germination rate). My absolute favorite this year has been a multicolored wallflower. My daughter got it for my birthday, March 2014. It's potted and blooms almost unreal orange and purple/pink blooms.

Love! Reminds me of some Lantana blooms that are multicolored.

That is a gorgeous picture 'Domehomedee'...so many interesting things to look at.

I have had great luck with Minnie Pearl Phlox.

Phlox 'Minnie Pearl' begins flowering in mid-to-late April on 1' tall spikes...months earlier than other Phlox. The stalks are laden with glossy-green foliage and topped with large, pure white flowers. Phlox 'Minnie Pearl' makes a 2' wide patch in 3 years.
It is a cross between phlox maculate and Phlox glaberrima, they think.
It is a reliable grower, but it does not like a dry area. A patch I had in a dry area just disappeared.
I wanted more, but the only grower, where I found it available, is Fieldstone Gardens, Massachusetts, where I ordered more for this year's garden. I have ordered from them and their plants are good. They have such a variety of plants, take a look.

I am so glad to hear this as I planted a 2 or 3 of them last mid summer after a gardening friend raved about them.

That is incredibly early. I am much further north then you but if I could get those white phlox flowers even a month ahead of "traditional" phlox would be great.

Thanks for the post and the picture "obliqua".


This message was edited Apr 15, 2016 5:34 AM

This message was edited Apr 15, 2016 5:35 AM

This message was edited Apr 15, 2016 5:35 AM

The Phlox looks wonderful. I wonder if I could keep it going here, maybe in the boxes on the deck . . . more water and nose height.

Domehomedee, is that wallflower 'Jenny Brook' do you think? I really like it. It won't be a perennial for me, though. :(

It probably comes as no surprise, but by far, the peonies especially the ITOH types, are the best in my garden. If I had to pick a second one I would say it was the azaleas and Rhododendrons

Yes, definately wallflower "Jenny Brook". It's really been a nice plant. Turned me on to wallflowers again, I have to find some of the orange ones to put out in the flower garden. It's done well in a pot too, which with my gopher population that is a really good thing.

My Japanese Anemone is just taking over one of my garden beds.Hubby came back from his hobby golfing and he helped me adjusted the shape of the bed today.We figured we should do this since the weather was so beautiful .

A yellowish lepdote calledJill is my favorite early rhododendron, some Japanese Maples have nice early colored leaves Sone dogwood trees
especially the red dogwoods are my favorites. The early small bulbs such as Scottish Blue bells, and who can forget the drifts of color that Virginia Bluebells give to a woodland scene. The Pushing bulbs have such a bright color too.