Well, it's definitely that time of year again ... garden writers start getting bombarded with announcements of new introductions that should be in nurseries in 2007. Here are just a few of the latest from Monrovia:
"Blue Moon" wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya 'Blue Moon') is billed as a plant that can withstand temperatures of -40 degrees F without any reduction at all in next year's bloom. (So let us know how it does in places like Wyoming, OK?). It's a native American cultivar, flowers from June to September at three distinct times, and has intensely fragrant lilac-blue flowers on racemes one foot long. It reaches a height of 25 feet, and is said to require no pruning, although it can be shaped after the final fall bloom. It needs strong support, and the growers suggest pillars, decks, rails, fences or walls. Developed by Harvey Buchite and introduced by Rice Creek Gardens in Minnesota. Zones 4-9.
(photo: Monrovia)
I am not familiar with Pittosporum, since it's a plant for warm climates (Zones 8-11), but this one sounds like a winner. Emerald Wave(TM) Kohuhu Pittosporum (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Star') originated in New Zealand and has small, sage-green leaves on red-black stems. It's an evergreen shrub that gets 10-12 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide, making it very useful for hedging or as a stand-alone specimen in the garden. It's also drought-tolerant and prefers full to part sun.
Finally, an upright purple leaf plum,Crimson Pointe(TM), (Prunus cerasifera 'Crim
son Point'),discovered in a residential neighborhood in northern Ohio by Jim Zampini.
This is the only columnar purple-leaf plum on the market, and it's believed that it'll reach 25-30 feet high, but only 10 feet wide. It has glossy bronze foliage which turns maroon-green with age, and the traditional white flowers in spring. Sounds like a candidate for a small garden or a narrow side yard.
(images: Monrovia)
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