12 Eye-Catching Landscape Shrubs For 2015
From heat-tolerant varieties to eye-popping foliage, the nation’s top shrub breeders offer some of the new selections they are most excited about this spring.
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Hydrangea arborescens ‘Haas Halo’ (Plants Nouveau)
Deep, bluish-green, leathery foliage and 14-inch pure white, wide lace cap blooms make for a stunning combination in any setting. This beautiful native selection stands tall and never flops, even with its massive blooms. It’s an upright, yet bushy plant that will stop anyone walking past with the display of truly incredible blooms and stout and sturdy stature.
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Chastetree ‘First Editions Delta Blues’ (Bailey Nurseries)
‘Delta Blues’ is brand new this year and is the first intermediate vitex in the market. It is not nearly as coarse as other vitex with a compact, rounded to upright growth habit. It has fragrant, dark bluish‐purple flowers followed by small, shiny reddish fruit. The foliage is dark green, fragrant and more refined than other selections. Delta Blues adapts to acid or alkaline soils as long as the site is well‐drained. It is also salt tolerant. Best in Zones 6 to 9.
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Syringa vulgaris ‘Elsdancer Tiny Dancer’ (Plants Nouveau)
This new lilac has a compact form, making it ideal anywhere hard-working, independent plants are needed. ‘Tiny Dancer’ boasts remarkable heat tolerance, growing and blooming where few lilacs have gone before. Even in Zone 8, violet-purple buds open into lavender flowers, ranking it among the dogwoods and azaleas as a benchmark of spring. Large panicles measure 4 to 5 inches, and the large florets make each cluster appear luxuriously full.
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Patio Rose ‘Summer Fling Saturnus King Terrazza’ (Blooms Of Bressingham)
This patio rose has showy, coral-orange, 3 to 3.5-inch flowers with a high petal count. Loads of blooms spring to autumn. It has a good branching habit and grows to 16 to 20 inches. With a long shelf and vase life, it is the perfect patio plant and a great cut flower, too. Others in the Summer Fling collection of one-season flowering roses are Comet King Terrazza (peach pink), Eclipse King Terrazza (bright red), Hot Terrazza (deep red), Jupiter King (coral peach/yellow), Neptune King Terrazza (pink) and Pluto King Terrazza (lilac/purple). Bred by DeRuiter Innovations B.V., introduced by Blooms of Bressingham.
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Camellia hiemalis ‘October Magic Ruby’ (Plants Nouveau)
Small Christmas-red, fully double blooms decorate the deep olive-green, super glossy foliage on this compact plant. As summer fades and the nights begin to cool, the October Magic series ushers in the camellia season in beautiful fashion. Graceful in form and one of the loveliest of autumn flowers, the soft fragrance conjures up memories of southern gardens amass with blooms. ‘Ruby’ is a profuse bloomer with foliage and a growth habit similar to ‘October Magic Orchid.’
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Lonicera ‘Groundhugger’ (Ball Ornamentals)
‘Groundhugger’ is small in stature but huge in flower power. It is a great low-maintenance groundcover — a unique new use for a popular class.
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Crape Myrtle ‘First Editions Midnight Magic’ (Bailey Nurseries)
This is a sister seedling of ‘Moonlight Magic’ with the superb purple-maroon foliage, but offering abundant dark-pink flowers and a more rounded compact habit. It flowers earlier than Moonlight Magic, beginning in July and still colorful in September. The foliage color is not diminished even in the heat of the south. Bonnie Dirr sings the praise of ‘Midnight Magic’ by deeming it “the most beautiful crape myrtle.” Midnight Magic will relegate purpleleaf plums to dinosaur status. It has good leaf spot and mildew resistance and is best in Zones 6 to 9.
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Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hokomano Everlasting Noblesse’ (Plants Nouveau)
Hydrangea ‘Everlasting Noblesse’ is one of the newest selections from this line of great performers. Crisp, celery-green flowers are brightened by white centers with complementary purple eyes. As the blooms mature, the white is not as prominent, turning a more saturated green. A strong grower, with remarkable flower power, Noblesse is a lovely choice for a garden setting, while doubling as the perfect cut flower for weddings and other important events.
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Buddleia ‘First Editions Psychedelic Sky’ Butterfly Bush (Bailey Nurseries)
Well matched with Funky Fuchsia in habit and flower display, ‘Psychedelic Sky’ has clear-blue flowers on upright stems. Flowers average 6 to 8 inches long and up to 10 inches long on vigorous shoots. The habit is upright and tidy, like Funky Fuchsia. Flowering continues into fall when deadheaded, offering a long season of pollen and nectar for bees and butterflies. It is easily rejuvenated by moderate to severe pruning to 12 inches from the ground. Psychedelic Sky dies back in Zone 5 like most buddleia. It is not sterile.
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Alyogyne ‘Elektra Blue’ (‘Ball Ornamentals)
This is a low water-needs bush hibiscus that tolerates heat. It has the largest flowers in its class. ‘Elektra Blue’ has distinctive blue flowers with iridescent edges. A favorite in the Southern U.S., it can make a big garden impact with very little effort.
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Abelia ‘Radiance’ (PlantHaven)
‘Radiance’ has a tight compact habit with colorful bicolored, variegated foliage. It has excellent year-round sales potential. New foliage is medium-green with creamy yellow margins, aging to silvery-green with cream-white margins. Stem color is vivid crimson. Drought and heat tolerant once established, it is best grown in well-drained soil in full sun in Zone 6.
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Lily of the Valley Enchanted Forest Collection (Monrovia)
From noted breeder Sven Svenson is a collection of compact, late-blooming lily of the valley shrubs, bred for their dazzling colors, improved disease resistance and better, superior growing habit. They love dappled shade and will reach 5 feet high and wide. Ideal for woodland gardens, they will develop buds in the fall that hold throughout the winter, providing a flame of color all season. ‘Impish Elf’ and ‘River Nymph’ are the first two in the collection, with other varieties coming soon. ‘Impish Elf’ has deep-red stems and buds on panicles that provide great winter interest, and then burst into bloom with hot pink, bell-shaped flowers in early spring. Glossy, brick-red new foliage follows. ‘Impish Elf’ makes a great foundation plant, and is ideal for massing in the landscape.
View all
Hydrangea arborescens ‘Haas Halo’ (Plants Nouveau)
Chastetree ‘First Editions Delta Blues’ (Bailey Nurseries)
Syringa vulgaris ‘Elsdancer Tiny Dancer’ (Plants Nouveau)
Patio Rose ‘Summer Fling Saturnus King Terrazza’ (Blooms Of Bressingham)
Camellia hiemalis ‘October Magic Ruby’ (Plants Nouveau)
Lonicera ‘Groundhugger’ (Ball Ornamentals)
Crape Myrtle ‘First Editions Midnight Magic’ (Bailey Nurseries)
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hokomano Everlasting Noblesse’ (Plants Nouveau)
Buddleia ‘First Editions Psychedelic Sky’ Butterfly Bush (Bailey Nurseries)
Alyogyne ‘Elektra Blue’ (‘Ball Ornamentals)
Abelia ‘Radiance’ (PlantHaven)
Lily of the Valley Enchanted Forest Collection (Monrovia)
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Carol Miller is editor of Today's Garden Center. You can eMail her at [email protected]. See all author stories here.