SNEAK PEEK 2009-2010

Echinacea 'Firebird' PPAF PVR. Sometimes it comes all together in an Echinacea - wonderful habit, compact size, and charming, red-orange shuttlecock-type flowers that look like they want to fly away! The dark cones only add to the appeal of this wonder. Attracts butterflies in summer and seed hunting birds in the fall. Mix with Rudbeckia for a great combo.

 Echinacea 'Hot Lava' PPAF PVR. Wide petals of deep orange red tint to a deeper red at the orange cone. Extra petals give this plant a fuller look and the super-strong stems make it a natural for cut flowers. Take a dip! Yes, it’s hot, hot, hot!

Echinacea 'Maui Sunshine' PPAF PVR. Large bright yellow flowers, sweetly scented and floriferous. Mature flowers are a soft yellow. Vigorous, well-branched stems are featured on this upright plant. Showy orange cones with green backgrounds (great for cutting and drying).

Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' PPAF PVR. Truly a four-seasons plant, ‘Autumn Leaves’ changes its personality as the days grow longer. Mid-sized leaves of red in the spring , taupe in summer, and ruby red in the fall, put on a show in any season. The H. villosa and H. americana parentage will help with heat and humidity tolerance. Try this plant in fall containers with mums and kale.

Heuchera 'Electric Lime' PPAF PVR. This is the big sister to ‘Electra’. Sporting red veins in cool temperature on huge leaves, the lime-tinted foliage forms a tight mound and has the bonus of attractive stems of densely packed, white flowers. The strong H. villosa and H. americana parentage will help with heat and humidity tolerance.

Heuchera 'Havana' PPAF PVR. Dense wands of cerise pink flowers glow, like the end of Fidel’s cigar. These dance to the Cuban beat over swirling yellow-lime leaves veiled in white. 'Havana’s compact habit and reblooming make it an excellent pot plant. Short flowering stems will fit most rack systems.

Heuchera 'Midas Touch' PPAF EU-derived var. Yummy, seer suckered, ruffled, and fluted foliage of peach and gold, ‘Midas Touch’ delivers a fashion statement on a heavily veiled, compact vigorous growing plant. Great throughout the year and a special “filler” for autumn-themed baskets.

Heuchera 'Midnight Bayou' PPAF PVR. They wanted a purple large leaved Heuch for the South? They have it with H. ‘Midnight Bayou.’ Maple-like leaves of purple with black veins provide an excellent foil for silver-leaved or pink-flowered plants. Leaf color changes with the season from silvered purple to red purple. The H. villosa heritage adds to the appeal of this bayou-beauty.

Heuchera 'Milan' PPAF PVR. Milan is all about fashion and so is this charmer with constant bloom of lovely warm pink flowers on short stems over tight mounds of small silver leaves (with a maroon blush when cool). Very flashy! A great show in the front of the border or in mass.

Heuchera 'Mint Julep' PPAF PVR. Short cones of clean-white flowers arise from delectable mint-green and silver leaves. These luscious clumps glow in the shady or dark areas of the garden. Dense habit and has that southern heritage, y’all.

Heuchera 'Mysteria' PPAF PVR. Lovely ruffled and silvered leaves set the stage for the free-flowering spikes of coral pink flowers. A heat tolerant plant that is no mystery to grow. Easy to grow if given good drainage. A reliable performer and in bloom all summer!

Heuchera 'Shanghai' PPAF PVR. As Shanghai is a beacon to China, so Heuchera ‘Shanghai’ can be an inviting beacon of metallic silver to your garden. Tight mounds of silvery-purple leaves set forth white flowers on dark stems. A lovely presentation for the border.

Heuchera 'Sugar Plum' PPAF PVR. “Plum delicious” is what I say! Frosty plum-purple leaves make a tight mound of evergreen (Zn. 6 and above) foliage. Silvery pink flowers rise 26 inches above the soil and frequently rebloom. A refreshing sight in summer!

Heucherella 'Golden Zebra' PPAF PVR. Striking bright yellow, feathery leaves are boldly marked with dark-red. Lush foliage and a tight crown make this plant unbeatable for a ground cover or under high branching shrubs. A standout in containers or front of the border.

Sedum 'Chocolate Drop' PPAF PVR. Small mounds of lightly scalloped, dark-chocolate brown leaves make a great addition to the border or in the rock-garden. Soft rose-colored flowers top and accent the foliage. Mix with gold’s and bronzes for an unforgettable effect. So round and chocolaty, you’ll want to “kiss” them!

Sedum spectabile 'Crystal Pink' PPAF PVR. The iciest pink heads you’ll ever see! Large heads of the softest pink on shorter stems make an awesome combination with blue-leaved grasses or Echinacea ‘Hope’. Does not fall apart like ‘Autumn Joy.’ An excellent attractor for pollinating insects and butterflies.