Our industry introduces new plants every year, and it's hard to keep up with them. Here are a few recent cultivars that you may want to check out for your next landscape project.
First is the Proven Winners Aronia Low Scape® Mound chokeberry. Aronia has been receiving a lot of interest lately as it is a native plant, and this one is nice because it only gets to about 24" and grows in a neat mound. Its white flowers bloom in late spring, and it also gives you a beautiful fall color. This plant is also quite deer resistant.
Second is the Golden Pacific™ juniper. This evergreen gives a bright burst of yellow throughout the year.
The texture is different from most junipers, being bold yet low-growing. It's a great plant to use for color without relying on flowering plants, and a nice change of pace from typical green ground cover.
There is also a blue-green variety called 'Blue Pacific'. Both are shore junipers, which are relatively salt tolerant, making either a candidate for planting near sidewalks and driveways.
Third is the Physocarpus Tiny Wine®. This is another Proven Winner, smaller than other varieties of ninebark commonly available. It grows to a height and width of just 3 to 4 feet. It blooms with tiny pink flowers in the spring, and keeps a nice fine-textured maroon foliage all season long.
The last recommendation I have is Physocarpus Lemon Candy™. This plant has outstanding foliage that starts out bright yellow and matures to yellow-green. It does not scorch in full sun, looking good all season. It grows to about 30" tall and makes an excellent color accent among the standard greens and purples of the common landscape.
The ninebarks are an up-and-coming group of landscape plants. They are tough yet good-looking and adaptible to many sites.
Take a look at these plants and I think you'll find they have a place in your landscape designs.
