VARIETY INFORMATION Perennials ACCELERATE First-year flowering options to boost production offerings BY HEATHER MACHOVINA A landscape full of blooms is a gardener's dream, especially when the flowers will meet you again next year. First-year flowering perennial varieties are thoughtful options to satisfy the needs of growers and consumers. Less time and inputs are required to produce a blossoming bush for retail, and home gardeners are choosing longerlasting plants as they become more adept. During travels and conversations throughout the year, there's been a strong voice surrounding perennials, pollinators and drought-tolerant plants. With an overwhelming amount of choices, I present you with options from abelia to veronica and a rainbow of colors to choose from here. Spring Meadow Nursery 1 Abelia 'Poco Loco' has an eye-catching spring foliage that emerges in yellow and 1 All photos courtesy of Proven Winners ColorChoice. 2 3 18 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 GPNMAG.COM orange. It changes to green with new growth colored red-pink and fragrant blooms of pink as it grows through summer. It's a semi-evergreen with a globe-shaped habit that is finished for retail in one season. 2 3 Hydrangea 'Wee Bit Innocent' is a macrophylla-type with rounded, mophead flowers and double florets in pink or blue. It's a great substitute for the Cityline series with its excellent landscape performance and will be ready for sales in half of a season. The flow of colors from yellow to orange to red in rosa 'Oso Easy En Fuego' is entrancing with the high-gloss, dark green leaves in the background. It performs well in both hot and cold climates, has disease resistance and no deadheading is needed.http://www.GPNMAG.COM