Volume 1, No. 10
Jan
30
Written by:
1/30/2012 4:26 PM
LSU AgCenter’s
Trial Garden Report
January 15, 2012
(Volume 1, No. 10)
Welcome to the January 15, 2012, trial garden report from the LSU AgCenter. This article is published semimonthly and highlights new ornamental landscape plants being evaluated at the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station.
Highlights of New Plants Coming from Ball Horticulture
Ball Horticulture held a “Ball Horticulture University” at the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station last fall. It was great to see presentations on new plant varieties coming for 2013 and beyond.
PanAmerican Seed introduced the audience to the Pretty Grand and Pretty Flora series of petunias. In addition, there is a Black Cherry addition to the Debonairs and a Blackberry and Lime Green coming in the Sophistica petunias.
Serenita angelonias are new for 2013 and will include lavender pink, purple, raspberry, white and a mix.
Black vinca! Yes. The Jam and Jellies will include a Blackberry variety.
BabyWing begonias will be a Louisiana Super Plant this spring. Coming for May 2012 will be the new addition to the series – a white, bronze-leaf variety.
There is a new strawberry addition coming to the Double Zahara zinnia.
A new Cheyenne Spirit mixed colors seeded Echinacea will also be debuting soon, and I believe it is an AAS winner for 2013.
A new digitalis is the Dalmation series with cream, peach and rose flower colors. Will this replace the Camelots?
Dahoon Holly
Dahoon hollies (Ilex cassine) are not widely known among nursery and landscape professionals in Louisiana. It is a great native shrub.
Dahoon holly is a small tree with a narrow growth habit. Branches point upward. Trees can reach 30 feet. It is often found in swamps and other wet locations but does well in drier soils. In warm-winter areas the dahoon holly is evergreen. Female trees have red or yellow berries in winter.
Dahoon Holly Foliage and Berries
Variegated Form of Dahoon Holly University of Georgia Plant Trials Tifton, Ga.
Kordes Roses To Be Trialed at the AgCenter
Visited with Mark Chamblee, owner of Chamblee’s Rose Nursery, Tyler, Texas, at the Gulf States Horticultural Expo in Mobile, Ala., last week. He is growing the following 16 varieties of Kordes roses.
- Blue Girl
- Carmella Fairy Tale
- Cream Veranda
- Flamingo Kolorscape
- Golden Fairy Tale
- Iceberg
- Innocencia Vigorosa
- Lemon Fizz
- Lions Fairy Tale
- Mandarin Ice
- Milano Kolorscape
- Raspberry Vigorosa
- Roxy Sun Sprite
- Salmon Vigorosa
- Seminole Wind
- Westerland
Kordes is international and one of the world’s oldest rose-breeding companies. Since 1990, the company terminated using chemical fungicides in its programs and is now seeing many positive results in terms of disease-resistant varieties.
We will be planting these 16 available varieties in no-fungicide spray trials at the Hammond Research Station in late February or early March 2012.
You will notice a few familiar varieties, such as Iceberg and Seminole Wind.
Lemon Fizz is being highly praised for disease resistance in the southeastern United States by knowledgeable rose-growing enthusiasts. It is a yellow bloomer.
Fairy Tale Roses are Kordes’ answer to David Austin. The plants carry heavily double blooms on vigorous, easy-to-care-for shrubs with great disease resistance.
Vigorosa Roses are a group of vigorous, continuous-blooming, healthy, landscape and ground cover roses in a range of vibrant colors. Fragrances are slight. Several of these varieties are Gold and Silver Medal winners. All are suitable for mass plantings, but some would make lovely specimens on their own. Heights and growth habits vary.
AZALEA SYMPOSIUM COMING
THURSDAY
APRIL 4
More details coming soon!