{"id":9412,"date":"2026-04-27T07:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/?p=9412"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:08:31","slug":"new-shrubs-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/new-shrubs-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"New Shrubs for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSooner or later, everything old is new again.\u201d<\/span><\/em> <\/span>(Stephen King, The Colorado Kid<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that true?!! Much of what\u2019s new at Christensen\u2019s this year is new varieties of existing plants or improved versions of plants that have been available for years.<\/p>\n

First up is \u2013 are you ready for it?<\/p>\n

Philadelphus \u2013 yep mock orange. The newer Illuminati\u00ae<\/strong>Series<\/strong> has turned out to be a very nice mock orange. I planted a couple a few years ago, below a window. I had totally forgotten how sweet they smell and how pretty the flowers are. I was hooked! There are several different heights in the series. Mine are Illuminati<\/strong>Tower\u00ae <\/strong>(Philadelphus coronarius <\/em>\u2018SMNPVG\u2019)<\/em> which flower up and down the stem. It is the tallest at 5\u2019 (3\u2019 spread). <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Christensen\u2019s will also have some Illuminati Sparks<\/strong>\u00ae<\/strong> (Philadelphus coronarius <\/em>\u2018SMNPVB\u2019),<\/p>\n

with its smaller 3 x 3 size. All in the series are well maintained, and all<\/p>\n

have deliciously sweet flowers in late spring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it weird to be excited about a new Cornus sericea<\/em>? \u201cRedtwig\u201d Dogwoods do have a place, looking fashionable in the winter, all dressed up in red. For years the nicest and most colorful was \u2018Baileyi\u2019 (6-10 x 6-10′). A true nativar, \u2018Baileyi\u2019 was found in a wooded area<\/p>\n

and is considered a naturally occurring cultivar. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The new one, Arctic Fire\u00ae<\/strong> (Cornus sericea<\/em> \u2018Farrow\u2019), is bred to only grow about 3-4\u2019 tall and lacks the colonizing habit of the species, therefore it doesn\u2019t spread.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t guessed <\/a>from prior articles, I am a Viburnum FAN<\/em>. There are a couple of new ones Christensen\u2019s will carry this year. My new favorite is the Sugar n’ Spice\u2122 <\/strong>(Viburnum carlesii<\/em> \u2018Select S\u2019). It is a small sized Viburnum (4-6\u2019 x 4-6\u2019) with pink buds, opening to an excess of white flowers. It is a Korean spice bush, so it has a sweet-spicy scent when it blooms in mid-May.<\/p>\n

Buds and flower of the Sugar n’ Spice\u2122 Viburnum<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

And just because Viburnum are<\/a> such an awesome plant, this one morphs<\/p>\n

to a brilliant red in the fall to add to the show.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Check back next week for the last in the series… Molly will introduce us to the Perennials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSooner or later, everything old is new again.\u201d (Stephen King, The Colorado Kid) Isn\u2019t that true?!! Much of what\u2019s new at Christensen\u2019s this year is new varieties of existing plants or improved versions of plants that have been available for years. First up is \u2013 are you ready for it? Philadelphus \u2013 yep mock orange. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

\t

\u201cSooner or later, everything old is new again.\u201d<\/span><\/em> <\/span>(Stephen King, The Colorado Kid<\/em>)<\/span><\/p><\/div>

\t

Isn\u2019t that true?!! Much of what\u2019s new at Christensen\u2019s this year is new varieties of existing plants or improved versions of plants that have been available for years.<\/p><\/div>

\t

First up is \u2013 are you ready for it?<\/p>

Philadelphus \u2013 yep mock orange. The newer Illuminati\u00ae<\/strong>\nSeries<\/strong> has turned out to be a very nice mock orange. I planted a couple a few years ago, below a window. I had totally forgotten how sweet they smell and how pretty the flowers are. I was hooked! There are several different heights in the series. Mine are Illuminati<\/strong>\nTower\u00ae <\/strong>(Philadelphus coronarius <\/em>\u2018SMNPVG\u2019)<\/em> which flower up and down the stem. It is the tallest at 5\u2019 (3\u2019 spread). <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Christensen\u2019s will also have some Illuminati Sparks<\/strong>\u00ae<\/strong> (Philadelphus coronarius <\/em>\u2018SMNPVB\u2019),<\/p>

with its smaller 3 x 3 size. All in the series are well maintained, and all<\/p>

have deliciously sweet flowers in late spring.<\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div>
\n\t
\n<\/div>
\t

Is it weird to be excited about a new Cornus sericea<\/em>? \u201cRedtwig\u201d Dogwoods do have a place, looking fashionable in the winter, all dressed up in red. For years the nicest and most colorful was \u2018Baileyi\u2019 (6-10 x 6-10'). A true nativar, \u2018Baileyi\u2019 was found in a wooded area<\/p>

and is considered a naturally occurring cultivar. <\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div>
\"\"<\/span><\/div>
\t

The new one, Arctic Fire\u00ae<\/strong> (Cornus sericea<\/em> \u2018Farrow\u2019), is bred to only grow about 3-4\u2019 tall and lacks the colonizing habit of the species, therefore it doesn\u2019t spread.<\/p><\/div>

\n\t
\n<\/div>

If you haven\u2019t guessed <\/a>from prior articles, I am a Viburnum FAN<\/em>. There are a couple of new ones Christensen\u2019s will carry this year. My new favorite is the Sugar n' Spice\u2122 <\/strong>(Viburnum carlesii<\/em> \u2018Select S\u2019). It is a small sized Viburnum (4-6\u2019 x 4-6\u2019) with pink buds, opening to an excess of white flowers. It is a Korean spice bush, so it has a sweet-spicy scent when it blooms in mid-May.<\/p><\/div>

Buds and flower of the Sugar n' Spice\u2122 Viburnum<\/strong><\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

And just because Viburnum are<\/a> such an awesome plant, this one morphs<\/p>

to a brilliant red in the fall to add to the show.<\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div>

Check back next week for the last in the series... Molly will introduce us to the Perennials.<\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/span><\/div>","tve_custom_css":"@media (min-width: 300px){:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-19dac209c3e\"] { font-size: 34px !important; padding-bottom: 29px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; line-height: 1em !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19dac218531\"] { font-size: 10px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19dac2259af\"] { font-size: 26px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19dac22f71d\"] { font-size: 26px !important; }:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-19dac2409c4\"] { padding-bottom: 5px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19dac3788fc\"] { width: 600px; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19db010afa5\"] { margin-top: 100px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19db011928c\"] { width: 683px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19db012d4c5\"] { margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-19db0135dd0\"] { padding-bottom: 0px !important; }:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-19db013935f\"] { padding-bottom: 0px !important; 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