April 2022 - 40

VAUGHN'S VIEW
trial and it scored a 4.67/5 rating in
2021. The varieties Autumn Spice and
Brilliant were in the Colorado State
University's second year perennial
trial and were colorful with a multitude
of flowers in mid-September.
The series is hardy to Zone 3 and
offers to the consumers a prolific
flowering perennial in late summer
and early fall when other perennials
are waning. This series is underused,
but with growers and consumers
looking for a tough and hardy
perennial with late season color, this
series measures up.
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10. LEUCANTHEMUM
'REALFLOR REAL COMET'
Planthaven
I have written about many Shasta
Daisy varieties over the past five
years, but I have not highlighted the
RealFlor collection from PlantHaven.
Many of the varieties in this series
have been in trial sites since their
introduction, in spring production
programs, and are available from
multiple perennial suppliers. The
eleven varieties in this collection are
well branched, durable, floriferous
and offer a wide range of flower
forms.
This collection includes three new
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varieties: Real Deal, Real Goldcup, and
Real Comet. Real Comet has flowers
that transition from a large single
daisy to recurved white ray petals
with bright yellow centers, as depicted
in the photo from Colorado State
University taken in mid-September.
This RealFlor collection offers one of
the widest selections of diverse Shasta
Daisy varieties in the market. The
entire collection is hardy to Zone 5 and
mature size will vary from 16 to 36
inches, depending on the variety.
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40 APRIL 2022 GPNMAG.COM
11. PENSTEMON DIGITALIS
'DAKOTA BURGUNDY'
Terra Nova
Penstemon is the largest genus
of flowering plants native to the
continental U.S. with a multitude
of species and hybrids. Multiple
perennial breeders have introduced
new series and stand-alone varieties
with outstanding ornamental traits.
Many of these new hybrids have been
in regional trials and are deserving of
consideration in perennial production
programs. What sets these varieties
apart is the foliage color, plant habit,
flower form and vibrant colors.
Penstemon 'Dakota Burgundy'
was eye catching and floriferous
in the late summer trials last year.
This is an improved Dark Towers
with a more compact habit, supersized
deep pink flowers and dark
glossy foliage. It also produces
ornamental seed heads in the fall
with application in flower bouquets.
Like all Penstemon varieties, it is
heat and drought tolerant. It matures
at 14 to 28 inches and is hardy to
Zone 3. This variety demonstrated
prolific flowering, striking contrasting
foliage and flowers, and exceptional
heat tolerance in the Metrolina
North Carolina trial in mid August
as depicted in the accompanying
photograph. This variety is available
from Think Plants and multiple
perennial liner suppliers.
12. SALVIA NEMOROSA
'APEX WHITE'
Danziger
Danziger's research and development
innovations in the past five years have
been exceptional and have led to
the testing, introduction, production
and marketing of many unique and
excellent new annuals and perennials. I
have highlighted the Salvia Sallyfun and
Sallyrosa varieties in previous years.
The Salvia nemorosa Apex collection,
composed of Blue, Pink and White, and
introduced in 2021, was prominent in
multiple trials last summer. The series
is first-year flowering and manifested
many attributes that are essential in
production programs and consumer
appeal.
The varieties demonstrated a strong
upright habit, dense branching, long
spike-like racemes with closely spaced
whorls, and large calyxes. This was
one of the most floriferous nemorosa
series in the summer trials, as shown
in the accompanying photograph
from the Mast Young Plants container
trial. The three colors have similar
flower timing, mature at 16 to 18
inches, and are hardy to Zone 4. This
series offers versatility and uniformity
with production application in 1 and
1.5 gallon programs, and consumer
application in containers and
landscape beds. All three varieties are
components of the Apex Trilogy recipe
in the Durabella program.
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2022
