New Fall Shrubs for 2009

Hydrangea arborescens Incrediball® PPAF

ENORMOUS Flowerheads Tightly Packed with Blooms!
Descended from the old favorite, native 'Annabelle'.

The Incrediball came about as the result of a research program to develop stronger stems for the hydrangea to prevent full blooms from drooping on the plant. The outcome was a stronger stem and a bonus- surprisingly large blooms the size of basket balls. Each of Incrediball's® flowerheads contains 4 TIMES THE NUMBER OF BLOOMS as 'Annabelle's.


Hydrangea macrophylla Cityline™ Rio PPAF

Extra-large Blooms on Compact Plants!
Blooms earlier than most Hydrangeas.
Extra-large blooms cover this very compact plant, their heads held high thanks to sturdy stems. Among the richest shades of blue, the flowers will turn purple in lime soils, always starred with bright green eyes. Rio blooms earlier than most Hydrangea and resists mildew beautifully. Zones 5-9.


Syringa x Bloomerang™ PPAF

A Heavy-Flowering, Ultra-Fragrant, Reblooming Dwarf Lilac!
Blooms well past the late-flowering varieties!

The most compact, heaviest-blooming dwarf Lilac ever grown, Bloomerang™ is a flower machine for 4 months or more every year! The heaviest flowering is in spring, when this compact, very well-branched shrub erupts in fragrant purply-pink bloom trusses, ideal for cutting yet irresistible in the garden as well. Then the flowers simply continue into summer, long past even the late-blooming Lilacs, with color present on the shrub all the way until autumn. Introduced by Tim Wood of Spring Meadow Nursery, this cross of the famous dwarf S. 'Josee' outdoes all other members of the family with its generosity of blooms over a long, long season.


Clethra alnifolia Vanilla Spice™ PPAF

Larger Blooms, More Compact Habit
These foot-long panicles are fabulously fragrant and irresistible to butterflies.
Cultivar name: 'Caleb'. It keeps a neat, tidy habit that makes it accessible to smaller gardens and tight spaces it has never enjoyed before. The fragrance is overwhelming, the color lovely, and the butterflies thick in the air when Vanilla Spice™ is in full bloom!

Just 3 to 6 feet high and wide, this Clethra belongs in the front of the shrub border, the foundation, or as a hedge in any sun-soaked part of the garden. It is even compact enough for containers! A deciduous shrub introduced by plantsman Tim Wood, it boasts all the native vigor of the species plus hybrid advantages from larger blooms to longer flowering period. For carefree late-season color and plenty of butterflies, you simply can't equal it! Zones 5-9.

I could keep going, but these are some of the ones that caught my attention as outstanding improvements.

Til next time,

Poppy