New Plants! | Egan Gardens of Salem, Oregon

New Plants for 2011

We couldn't start a new spring without plans for trying new plants. Life would be too easy without the stimulating frustration of figuring out how to grow a bunch of unknowns. There are lots new varieties of things we've been growing all along, like trailing verbenas and geraniums, and assorted perennials, but I'll list just a few things I'm really excited about.

Libertia ‘Goldfinger’ is a perennial with slender grass-like foliage 18” high, bright green with golden-yellow stripes. It’s not a grass, though, it blooms with multitudes of white flowers in spring, and after that it sets showy yellow berries in autumn. It keeps its foliage all winter, so it’s pretty all through the year.

Amsonia is a perennial that’s not new to the world, but it is to us. Sky blue flowers cluster on top of 2-3 ft tall stems, a lot like tall Phlox. The foliage turns brilliant yellow in fall before dying down for winter. It can handle dry conditions and it’s unappealing to deer. It’s this year’s Perennial Plant of the Year, which means it’s going to be a good plant.

Black Velvet Petunia – I’m sure I won’t be the only one talking about this velvety black semi-trailing petunia. A perfect combination with Diamond Frost Euphorbia, another of my favorite fairly-new plants.

More Abutilons – I was so pleased with the sturdy growth and abundant blooms of these annual Hibiscus relatives that I’m growing more varieties this year. In addition to the Bella colors we did in ’10, there will be Kristen’s Pink and Fairy Coral.

Hypnotica Dahlias are much bigger than our usual annual mix, but not huge and tall like old-fashioned “dinnerplate” or cutflower types. In other words, they’re just right for a lot of gardens. They’ll bloom all summer and fall, and live through most winters (dig tubers to be sure) The colors are wonderful, the plants easy to grow.