Plants Adapted To Region's Variable Climate Introduced In Joint Project With Colorado State And Denver Botanic Gardens
Friday, April 18, 1997
FORT COLLINS--Colorado gardeners can choose this spring from
five new plants adapted to the Rocky Mountain region's harsh
climate, thanks to a joint project between Colorado State
University and the Denver Botanic Gardens.
The new varieties mark the first plants introduced in retail
stores as part of Plant Select, a trademarked program that works
in conjunction with nurseries and garden centers to identify,
evaluate and introduce plants best-suited for climates in the
Rocky Mountain and Plains states.
This year's specimens include shrubs that produce fragrant
pink flowers or white blooms and red berries; a spreading ground
cover with cobalt blue flowers; an exotic plant that adds bronze-
orange blossoms to borders; and a foliage plant that produces
large leaves resembling elephant ears. Gardening enthusiasts may
recognize these plants by their common names: sunset hyssop,
silver sage, Carol Mackie Daphne, Alleghany viburnum and Turkish
Veronica.
Plants introduced at retailers this spring were selected
from rare landscape specimens, seedling populations and other
sources several years ago, then tested extensively in trials at
the Denver Botanic Gardens and at Colorado State. Plants that
passed muster were tested at other sites across the region and
evaluated on how easily they propagated and adapted to the
climate as well as their ornamental features, said Jim Klett,
professor in the department of horticulture and landscape
architecture at Colorado State and a Plant Select coordinator.
"Part of the difficulty for gardening enthusiasts is finding
plants that can take intense exposure to sun, adapt to a wide
range of soils and don't require too much water," Klett said. "We
have identified many plants suitable to our environment that are
rarely seen in retail stores and we are now in the process of
making the best candidates available to gardening enthusiasts."
Since its inception, the Plant Select program has identified
more than 70 possible new plants for introduction to Colorado and
other states with similar climates, Klett said. The program aims
to introduce about five new plants to the buying public each
year. Eventually, the program hopes to release plants bred and
selected specifically for features that make them suitable in
Colorado's climate.
"Plant Select provides a formal mechanism for an informal
practice that has become an important tradition in gardening:
that of exchanging and promoting the best plants among friends,"
said Richard H. Daley, executive director of Denver Botanic
Gardens.
New plants that meet the Plant Select criteria are
identified with one of three product designations: endorsed,
introduced and original plants. Plants with the endorsed label
are species that have grown in the region for years but have not
gained much recognition and are available only through some
specialty nurseries. Introduced plants are those discovered by
program researchers as ideal additions to gardens and landscapes.
Plants with the original designation are hybrids of other plants
resulting from extensive research and testing.
All specimens being released this year can be seen at the
Denver Botanic Gardens and at Colorado State. Plants debuting at
retail stores this year include:
* Sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris)--An exotic plant that has
silvery leaves with unusual bronze-orange flowers produced over
an extended period in the late summer. It is tolerant of a wide
range of soils and seems to thrive in extreme heat and sun.
* Silver sage (Salvia argentea)--A member of the mint family,
this unusual foliage plant produces large leaves, sometimes a
foot or more in length. The leaves are shaped like elephant ears
and covered with a dense coat of silver fur. Silver sage grows in
either full sun or partial shade and tolerates most soil types
and various amounts of water.
* Carol Mackie Daphne (Daphne x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackie')-- This
plant prefers more shade, but will tolerate a wide range of soils
and is tolerant of the higher alkaline content present in
Colorado soils. The plant blooms with intensely fragrant flowers
in late March or early April and continues to bloom sporadically
throughout the summer months.
* Alleghany viburnum (Viburnum x rhytidophylloides 'Alleghany')--
This plant is a hybrid produced by the U.S. National Arboretum.
It has nearly evergreen leaves and doesn't need a lot of water to
thrive. It holds its leaves into the winter after turning purple.
Flowers appear in late spring, followed by reddish-black fruit.
* Turkish Veronica (Veronica liwanensis)--This sturdy ground
cover produces waxy, teardrop-shaped leaves that take on a purple
hue in hot sun. This hardy plant requires little water after it
is established. Cobalt blue flowers cover the leaves from April
to June.
For information on where to purchase these plants, call
Panayoti Kelaidis at the Denver Botanic Gardens, (303) 370-8054;
or Jim Klett in the department of horticulture and landscape
architecture, (970) 491-7179.
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