Just a few of the great new introductions this year from Spring Meadow Nursery. All photos Spring Meadow - click to enlarge
'Golden Treasure' Birch
(Betula x plettkei 'Golden Treasure')
If you love birch trees but haven't got room for one, then this is the plant for you. It's a dwarf shrub birch, just two to four feet high and wide, and best of all, the tiny yellow leaves emerge orange-red in spring. It can be shaped, pruned, hedged or trained into a miniature tree. Likely perfect for the patio container or a small urban garden. Hardy to Zone 2 as well. Developed by Michal Andrusiv from the Czech Republic and winner of the Green is Life Silver medal in Poland.
Double Play® Candy Corn™ Spirea
(Spiraea japonica 'NCSXI')
Just 1.5 to 2.5 feet high, this spirea has ever-changing foliage. The leaves emerge a candy-apple red color, then transforms to a deep golden yellow as the season progresses. Flowers that bloom in late spring are a deep purple color, a great contrast with the leaves. It would likely look great massed in a low-border planting, but small enough for patios or containers. Plant it in full sun -- and it also attracts hummingbirds. To Zone 4.
Tuff Stuff™ Red Mountain Hydrangea
(Hydrangea serrata 'SMNMAKTSR')
This hydrangea, like the original Tuff Stuff, has great bud and stem hardiness, but the bloom color on this one is dark pink-red. The flower open a two-toned green and red and then mature to red. It has a mounded form, reaches two to three feet in height, and is hardy to Zone 5. The shrub can be used in the garden, and is also suitable for containers. And ... it re-blooms until frost.
Madame Maria™ Clematis
(Clematis 'Maria Sklodowska Curie')
You can never have enough Clematis in the garden, and this new one is a real standout. It produces a ton of pure white double flowers that fade to pale green in cool weather. The blooms appear from June to July on old wood and re-bloom in late summer on new wood. Prune back to three feet each spring. It's named after Marie Curie and was developed by Szczepan Marczynski of Poland. Five to seven feet tall, two to three feet wide and hardy to Zone 4.
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