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Index : Landscape Plants
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- 4. New Garden & Landscape Plant Varieties for 2007 - Top
- Start the New Year off with some new plant introductions for 2007! Although hundreds of new varieties of garden seed and ornamental plants come on the market each year, only a limited number are adapted to conditions here in the Desert Southwest. Here are some quality plant introductions that should be perform well in Southern Arizona.
Flowers & Vegetables:
Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’ (Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’) is an All- American-Selection, so it’s been through extensive testing and like other vinca (vinca) varieties it’s a great annual for hot climates. This is the first vinca (vinca) with a burgundy halo surrounding a large white center. It’s an annual flower for full sun locations, tolerant of extreme heat. Good drainage is extremely important, all vinca (vinca) hybrids should be planted in containers or raised beds in well-drained potting soils.
Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’ (Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’) another All-American-Selection is a plumed or cox-comb type, well-adapted to hot summer temperatures. ‘Fresh Look Gold’ has large peachy-gold flower plumes that stay fresh for months. No need to dead-head faded flowers, this one holds it’s color and just keeps on blooming. Plumed celosia (Plumed celosia) can be planted in pots, raised beds or in-ground beds. Just mix in lots of organic matter, mulch and keep the soil evenly moist.
Tomato ‘Champion II’ (Tomato ‘Champion II’) is a new an improved selection of ‘Champion’ and ‘Champion I’, long-recommended and proven producers in Southern Arizona gardens. ‘Champion II’ has even more disease resistance with the same delicious medium to large meaty fruit. ‘Champion II’ is an early ripening, indeterminate type that’s ideal for early planting and harvesting so important to gardening under desert conditions.
Shrubs & Trees:
Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’ (Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’) is a multi-colored, low mounding version of the beautiful green-leafed, white flowered glossy abelia (glossy abelia). New leaves have bright yellow variegation, evolving to golden yellow edging glossy green leaves. In the summer, tubular white flowers emerge from pink buds. Leaves turn a patchwork of orange and red in the fall. Stems are a showy bright red. Abelia (Abelia) prefers improved garden soil, regular watering and a shady spot, protected from exposure to strong sunlight. ‘Kaleidoscope’ is an introduction Monrovia Nursery, a major supplier of landscape plants here in Southern Arizona. So it should be available at area garden centers in the this spring.
Salvia greggii (Salvia greggii) - Heat Wave Series is another introduction from Monrovia Nursery. Heat Wave offers a new series of colors for our favorite red-flowering perennial shrub. The color selection includes; Heatwave ‘Blaze’( Heatwave ‘Blaze’) in crimson, Heatwave ‘Sizzle’ Heatwave ‘Sizzle’) in candy pink, Heatwave ‘Scorcher’ (Heatwave ‘Scorcher’) in soft pink, and Heatwave ‘Flare’ (Heatwave ‘Flame’) in hot pink! These Australian natives make ideal color additions to full-sun desert landscapes. They’re drought tolerant and require little care, other than an occasional trimming to encourage compactness and abundant flowering.
Chilopsis linearis ‘Art’s Seedless’ (Chilopsis linearis ‘Art’s Seedless’) is a new seedless form of the popular desert willow (desert willow) tree. It comes from Mountain States Nursery one of Arizona’s premier wholesale nursery growers. ‘Art’s Seedess’ (Art’s Seedless’) is desirable not only for it’s clean, seedless quality, but also it’s showy, large clusters of rose-pink flowers that bloom throughout the Summer. As a group, desert willows are among the best-adapted medium-sized trees for desert landscapes. They’re heat and cold tolerant and require only occasional watering to keep them looking and blooming their best. ‘Art’s Seedless’ (‘Art’s Seedless’) is a fast grower, reaching an ultimate height and spread of 25 feet.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161. - Updated: December 31, 2006
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