‘Henry’s Garnet’ Virginia Willow
Jan
23
Written by:
Monday, January 23, 2012
Ornamental Plant of the Week
January 23, 2012
‘Henry’s Garnet’ Virginia Willow
from Allen Owings
One of my personal favorites in the native shrub category is the Virginia willow. This is also called Virginia sweetspire and known botanically as
Itea virginica. Interest in this plant really increased in the late 1990s when Henry’s Garnet started catching on with landscape contractors with the naming of this variety as a Louisiana Select plant. Flowers are the major feature of Virginia willow. Flowers are 4- to 5-inch white racemes (some varieties have a pinkish tinge) and have moderate fragrance. Flowering occurs over a four-to-six-week period in spring right about the time azaleas complete their flowering. Henry’s Garnet is the most widely available variety. It also has been recognized as a Mississippi Medallion plant in the past. Plants prefer more sun than shade but will grow in varying locations. It is best for soil pH to be slightly acid.
FURTHER ARTICLES
Consumer Evaluations of Poinsettia Cultivars, 2011
Sustainable Landscape News Articles
The 2011 poinsettia cultivar trials at Burden Center included a consumer survey. Cultivars were from Paul Ecke Ranch, Syngenta, Dummen USA and Selecta. Results indicated that 1188 (Ecke) was the top red cultivar followed by Orion Red (Syngenta) and 1055 (Ecke). Bella Italia Red (Dummen USA) and several of the numbered cultivars (23203, 23569 and 23866) by Syngenta were very popular with consumers in our trials. Interestingly, Prestige Red, which has rated highly in the past two years, dropped to being one of the lower-rated red cultivars this year. The nontraditional poinsettia cultivar Ice Punch (Ecke) ranked highest this year followed by Cortez Burgundy (Syngenta) and Red Glitter (Ecke). Winter Rose (Ecke) and Valentine (Selecta) or the “rose” type remain popular with consumers while a numbered cultivar SK-85 (Selecta) ranked just next Premium Picasso (Dummen USA). Pink and white cultivars were not very popular this year.
Overall, Ecke’s 1188 and Syngenta’s Orion Red were the top-ranking choices of consumers, while Ice Punch and Red Glitter, both Ecke cultivars, followed close behind. Consumers may prefer red poinsettias over the nontraditional types; however, this is the first year that a nontraditional cultivar has ranked so high. So this year growers and retailers should consider producing a few high-quality, nontraditional poinsettia cultivars, which could be a great opportunity to increase sales by attracting consumer who are looking to purchase nontraditional poinsettias.
All the plants in our 2011 trial with consumer survey scores can be viewed online at www.lsuagcenter.com.
(Note: We would like to acknowledge Paul Ecke Ranch, Syngenta, Selecta and Dummen for supplying the poinsettias cuttings. We would also like to acknowledge Sun Gro Horticulture for supplying the growing substrate, Syngenta for supplying pesticide and Scotts for supplying fertilizer for this project.)
Perennial Verbena – January 20