Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2005
PDF file available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/flowers.html

Dazzling New Coneflowers
September/October 2005
Jeremy Johnson, Nursery Buyer & Kansas Certified Nursery Professional

    New plants are released on a continual basis. Sometimes it's almost
too difficult to keep track. Perennials are no exception, with people
looking for season-long color, year after year in their gardens.
Perennials that I have become increasingly interested in are the
coneflowers (Echinaceas). As coneflower is native to the Flint Hills of
Kansas, many gardeners are aware of the long blooming season of this
traditionally pink or purple tough perennial. A couple of years ago, I
came across a trade story about a plant breeder who was working with the
Chicago Botanical Garden breeding some very interesting new plants in
this genus. The result of his work has become one of the most
difficult-to-find perennials.

    Orange Meadowbrite Coneflower is a breakthrough in coneflower
breeding and as you can guess by the name, it has beautiful orange
flowers! The plant is a result of several coneflower crosses and
provides one of the most unique flowering perennials available. Monrovia
Nursery Co. was the initial licensed grower of this unique plant, which
was released in 2004, but sales were restricted to Chicago only. As this
plant has been building in popularity it's been quite tough to acquire,
but a little bit of luck and a recent tour of Monrovia's Oregon
operations landed Johnson's with a small supply for this fall! These
plants are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to
stop by today to add this wonderful plant to your garden!

    About the same time, another group of breeders was busy in Georgia.
They developed both an orange, as well as a yellow coneflower, aptly
named the "Big Sky" series. Big Sky 'Sunrise' is a beautiful creamy
yellow and Big Sky 'Sunset' holds many of the same characteristics as
Orange Meadowbrite. We have acquired a small number of 'Sunrise' to go
along with Orange Meadowbrite.

    Both of these plants are wonderfully drought tolerant, and will
provide color from late May until frost. By removing spent blooms, it's
easy to encourage faster reblooming, and an addition of ferti-lome
Blooming and Rooting every couple of weeks will ensure nonstop blooming
all summer long.

Fresh Perennials for Fall
    Coneflowers are not the only plant I picked up on my Monrovia trip.
Hardy ferns are another group of my favorite shade-loving plants, and we
now have a fresh selection including Japanese Painted Fern and Ostrich
Fern. Last fall, we introduced the Bud Blooming Heathers to the fall
plant palette, and we will have a good selection of these to choose
from, for color well into the fall.

    Have you seen our Sweet Autumn Clematis specimen at Johnson's East
Store? Make sure to get there soon to experience the beautiful white
flowers and sweet fragrance--then pick up a Sweet Autumn Clematis for
your own landscape. It's so easy to grow and the returns are
magnificent!

    If you have any questions about these or any other plant we carry--or
any you think we should--send me an e-mail at jeremyj@johnsonsgarden.com.