April 2011 Newsletter©

New Perennials at Dan West for this Spring

(and a few that are just worth mentioning again!)

No, you didn’t miss the March newsletter…It was started and then there were 4000+ roses to pot and 10000 or so perennials and the weather turned off nice and the customers came (for which I’m grateful, just not used to in early March).

So it didn’t get finished until now and it’s the April newsletter.  Sorry, but it’s likely to happen again sometime.

Every year there are many, many new perennials produced by the growers.  They look great in the catalogs and do well in test gardens, but it remains to be seen whether they perform here in Memphis.  That’s why our perennial selection varies every year.  We drop some that don’t do well, add some to try and of course, continue to offer the tried and true.  Some of the perennials we carry are better referred to as “temperennials”.  They do great for a season (like lime green Heuchera in containers) but don’t winter well, however their foliage is spectacular so it’s worth treating them as an annuals and replacing them yearly.  So here are some newer introductions that you might want to try…

Astilbe – The Younique Series – These are very compact and produce an abundance of flowers.  They would be great as a

front border plant in the shade garden or in containers.  We are offering 5 colors this year: Carmine, Cerise, Lilac, Silvery Pink and White and all are only 16” tall.  Don’t forget Astilbe likes plenty of summer moisture to prevent the foliage from scalding.

Agastache – Purple Haze – We’re adding this hyssop this year.  It’s a large growing cultivar to 36” and 24” wide. Smoky

lavender flowers from summer until fall give it its name.  It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is deer resistant.  It will need a sunny and very well drained location.  Best in a slightly elevated bed and avoid mulch and leaves on the crown during the winter.

Coreopsis – Moonray – This is a sport of Moonbeam Coreopsis with light, creamy yellow flowers.  Few perennials will give

you the length of bloom that the threadleaf Coreopsis bring to your garden.  It’s not unusual to have flowers for 90 to 120 days.  For best flowering, it needs a sunny, well-drained location.  You can expect them to be 24” tall and wide.

Echinacea – Lucky Star – This is a new bright white coneflower.  Its petals are held out horizontal instead of folding back like       most coneflowers.  The center cone is orange-yellow and it grows to 40” tall.

- Magnus Superior – A new purple coneflower with deeper lavender flowers and larger copper-orange cones.  The stems are darker than the species and it grows to around 40” also.  Coneflowers like full sun, but will bloom in partial sun.

Eupatorium – Pink Frost – This E. fortunei variegated selection has deeply serrated green leaves with an irregular white

margin.  Clusters of small pink flowers in late summer, but this is a striking variegated plant even if it didn’t flower.  It grows to 36” or more so place it towards the rear of the sun garden in a moist location.

Euphorbia – Bonfire – Deep purple, red and orange leaves with a touch of chartreuse.  Foliage turns red in the fall, yellow

            flowers in the spring, to 18”.

                - First Blush – Variegated green, white and pink foliage.  Yellow flowers mature to rose pink, to 12” tall.

Geranium – Dark Reiter – This is a compact selection with dark purple foliage and lilac blue flowers that grows to 10”.

- Dragon Heart – The plant is bigger, the leaves are bigger and the flowers are bigger than most geraniums.  It has             magenta flowers with a darker throat and grows to 2’ tall.  Geraniums want a well drained location in sun to part sun.

Helleborus – Pink Parachutes – A new selection with very large, bright pink flowers with red flecks.  A nice addition to the

            shade garden, to 20” tall.

Hemerocallis –    Big Blue – A very large, light lavender pink re-blooming daylily with a yellow throat.  Grows to 28”.

-  Buttered Popcorn – 6” plus butter yellow flowers.  Profuse bloomer, re-bloomer and grows to 32” tall.

-  Chicago Sunrise – Golden yellow 6” flowers. Profuse bloomer, re-bloomer to 28” tall.

-  Double Cutie – Small. Fragrant, double yellow flowers.  Re-blooms and grows to 16” tall.

-  Entrapment – Ruffled 6” blue/purple flowers with a yellow throat. Heavy flower producer with up to 32 flowers per stem.  Grows to 26” tall and re-blooms.

-  Janice Brown – Ruffled 4.5” vibrant pink, raspberry eye and a green throat.  Very heavy flower producer, grows to 21” tall and re-blooms.

-  Spanish Glow – Ruffled peach flower with a golden yellow throat. Grows to 26” tall and re-blooms.

Hosta – Alakazaam – A small, vigorous lance-leaf selection with rippled bright green leaves with yellow margins.   Grows

            to 10” tall with lavender flowers to 18”.

- American Sweetheart – Dark green rounded leaves with a narrow white center.  Grows to 18” tall with lavender

 flower spikes to 36”.

-  Blueberry Muffin - A compact selection with rounded, puckered blue foliage that becomes more blue-green with age. Lavender flowers and grows to 16” tall.

-  Brass Ring – Rounded, corrugated green leaves with a yellow margin.  Grows to 15” tall, lavender flowers to 26”.

-  Cameo – Small green leaves with an irregular cream border.  Very small plant to 4” tall with lavender-purple flowers to 12”.

-  Deja Blu – Dark green leaves, yellow-green margins with a thin cream line separating the colors.  Grows to 14” tall with light lavender flowers to 18”.

- Eskimo Pie – Puckered leaf with a creamy white center, blue-green margins and chartreuse in between.  Grows to

26” tall with white flowers to 30” or more.

Leucanthemum – Banana Cream – A semi-double pale yellow Shasta daisy.  Prolific bloomer, large 4” flowers, grows to 18”.

-  Highland White Dream – This is a very large 4” semi double flower to 30” tall.

-  Sante – This is a double white, pom-pom like flower with a slight yellow center, to 24” tall.

Monarda – Grand Mum - Light pink to mauve mum-like flower.  Heavy bloomer with excellent disease resistance, to 18”.

Nepeta – Pink Cat – Compact, mounded growth to 10” with tall spikes of pink flowers.  Very heavy bloomer and very heat tolerant, needs full sun.

Penstemon – Miss Moneypenny – Spikes of tubular scarlet flowers all summer to 24” tall.

- Pinacolada Series – Compact plants to 18” with spikes of dark pink or violet flowers.

Platycodon – Astra Series – A dwarf series of balloon flowers to 10” tall.  Available in double blue and double lavender.

Rudbeckia – Cherry Brandy – The first red Rudbeckia. 4” maroon red flowers to 24”.  Needs well drained soil.

Veronica – Blue Bomb – Unique branching flower, much like an Astilbe.  15” spikes with hundreds of tiny blue flowers.

              - Pink Explosion – Spikes of white flowers that are blushed pink, to 18”.

This is just a few of the many new varieties here at Dan West.  Come see them.

Last month I asked you to unscramble this botanical name “SPONEEHIRPL  ATTAXLAE  NSNTSBOISIEO”.

It is Nephrolepis exaltata bostoniensis or Boston Fern.

This months contest…what is this plant?

The contest ends on April 30th.  Drop by either store to enter or you can email your entry to

questions@danwestonline.com. One winner, selected from all correct entries, will receive a $25

Dan West Gift Certificate.

Thanks for shopping with us at Dan West.