Both Delosperma Fire Spinner and Hesperaloe parviflora Brakelights sound interesting. Do you start them from seeds or buy plants? Where do you get them?

I'm planning on trying some Trailing Soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides), Double Butterfly pea and zinnias bling bling and raspberry sorbet.

I also want to try and get hold of some cobalt blue hepaticas to add to my hepatics patch.

Both are new plants that don't come from seeds. I think High Country Gardens will have them.

I really like that Delosperma. Not to be a killjoy, but how is the 'Brakelights' Hesperaloe any different from the plain species? The pic I saw looked a lot like the red form of the species I have seen... Just askin' since I recently got some Hesperaloe seed and am curious ;-)

I've come across a lot of new plants I want, although I'm not sure any of mine really count since they are mostly only from forign countries, lol! Like Verbascum 'Blue Lagoon', and Anemone 'Wild Swan'.

I would also like some of the unusual colored and variegated Osiris ligularias, but I have no clue if they are even on the market yet (in Canada) or still in development/trial stages.

-echinaceamaniac, have you tried the new seed variety of Echinacea called 'Magic Box', from Thompson & Morgan? They look very interesting. I'm tempted to try some when they come out, but with my other coneflowers suddenly dwindling in size and loosing vigor (even though they wern't big enough to divide to renew vigor) makes me pause and wonder if I should or not!
CMK

Hesperaloe 'Brakelights' is much more red than the standard variety. Here is a link that compares them. There is a drastic improvement in color!

Here is a link that might be useful: Brakelights Comparison

Notice that even the stems of 'Brakelights' are very red. The plants are also smaller than the standard red.

maniac, what does the Hesperaloe foliage look like? Does it look good even when the plant in not flowering?

I'm crazy about Delosperma and will absolutely look for Fire Spinner at the local nurseries.

I haven't seen any 2012 introductions that I absolutely unconditionally gotta have.

I'll probably wait to check out the 2012 GW threads ranting about disappointing brand new perennials that people paid huge prices for. :)

I do wonder if that very impressive 'Fire Spinner' can really survive a true zone 5 winter.

Hosta Streets of Gold is on want my want list and will likely stay there for a few years until the price comes down...unless Santa drops a hefty gift certificate in my stocking.

-Ech, now that I see a side by side of the Hesperaloes I do see the color improvement. Very nice.

-rouge21, I think success with over wintering Delospermas has a lot to do with how good the drainage of your soil is. I've had my D. cooperi for a couple of years and think it comes back because I have it in somewhat poor and quite gravel-y soil by the driveway. I managed to kill a 'Mesa Verde' Ice Plant a couple years prior because I planted it in a spot that gets a lot of run-off from the roof. Plant in sharp draining soil and I think you will have better luck with them ;-) I'm certainly going to try that very impressive 'Fire Spinner' when it comes out (as long as it isn't too expensive- I have a policy about not buying expensive groundcovers, lol!).
CMK

christinmk wrote:

I have a policy about not buying expensive groundcover

That is funny!

I am planning to purchase the dwarf rudbeckia Little Goldstar (as an alternative to 'Goldsturm') as first suggested by coolplantsguy.

I want to try leucanthemum 'Banana Cream' shasta daisy. I think it's been available at least a year or two and I'm waiting on some more reports. I've learned to be cautious trying new stuff. If my summers were cooler and if my soil drained better and if the new perennials were a lot cheaper, I'd try them all. : )

I've tried to start Hesperaloe parviflora from seed a couple times and couldn't get them to germinate well or stay alive once they did so maybe ordering an established plant would be a better way to go with that one. Brakelights is very tempting. I'd love to have that for my hummingbirds, probably needs to be in a raised bed for me.

I can't fix my hot summers but I have a mental list of long blooming plants I would like to try if I put in a gravelly raised bed someday, ice plant included. Several agastaches would be on the list as well.

christie wrote:

I want to try leucanthemum 'Banana Cream' shasta daisy. I think it's been available at least a year or two and I'm waiting on some more reports.

I planted 6 'Banana Cream' in the late fall of 2010. So this past summer was their first complete full growing season.

I liked the more compact size and there were lots of blooms all about the same time starting in late June or so and the flowers lasted about 3 to maybe 4 weeks. However even with deadheading I got nor more blooms. My expectation was to have flowers all of July and (well) into August (as is the case for my 'Becky' Shasta daisy). It was the case that July was an unusually hot and dry month so that might have accelerated the bloom cycle but I am just a zone 5. (So if heat was the issue I would expect an even shorter duration of blooms for hotter zones). I hope to see differently this upcoming second summer.

See here christie for more posts re BCream:

Here is a link that might be useful: Banana Cream not a long enough bloomer this first year?

Thanks for the feedback on Banana Cream. The description says the sideshoots will produce more blooms if you deadhead it, but a young plant might not be producing those sideshoots yet, so maybe you'll be happier with it next year. I'll watch for your reviews. I don't think I'll order it just yet, but if I came across some locally, I would pick it up. I like that color (soft yellow) more than a bright yellow.

This is the second year for my Shasta 'Banana Cream' and it didn't perform any better this year than last; short bloom time and flowers fading to dirty white. I am giving it one more year and then it is getting yanked. Defintely for me did not live up to the hype.

felisa your simple concise sentence describing your experience with this plant matches exactly mine in its first year.

So it seems I don't have much to look forward to this coming second year.

felisa your simple concise sentence describing your experience with this plant matches exactly mine in its first year.

So it seems I don't have much to look forward to this coming second year.

This is why I wait. Dirty white flowers is even more of a deterrent to me than a short bloom time. The photos were so pretty. What a shame. : (

I have Broadway Lights shasta daisy which has soft pale yellow blooms which turn white as they age. While mine produce small side buds even with deadheading they do not often open after the first bloom has finished. I've been considering Banana Cream though haven't seen any and wonder how they compare in bloom size with BLights.

Snow Lady blooms for me from June until frost with deadheading. I winter sowed the seeds several years ago and have divided them the last two years as they are the most requested plant from my garden.

Verbascum 'Blue Lagoon' is stunning. I will be waiting for that one, CMK.

I've had a small plant of Hesperaloe parviflora in a sunny well-drained spot for a couple of years now. It survives but grows minimally and has not flowered. 2012 may be the year it is spade-pruned.

They take about 3-4 years to bloom if you get small plants. They are so worth the wait. I will be getting more of them. I got one small plant from High Country Gardens. It hasn't bloomed yet, but maybe next year. I prefer to buy these locally already in bloom. Gallon-sized plants should be blooming size.

echinaceamaniac wrote:

I want the Ice Plant called Delosperma 'Fire Spinner.' It is a must have as far as I'm concerned. I can't wait to get that one!!!!

I bet you have noticed as I have that there are many nurseries showing this so cool plant in their 2012 catalogue so you should have no problem getting it for this coming season.

Here's my list:

Dicentra 'Valentine'
Heuchera 'Delta Dawn'
Heucherella 'Solar Eclipse'
Hosta 'Rainbow's End'
Hosta 'Rare Breed'
Knautia 'Thunder and Lightning'

coolplantsguy FWIW I see that Lost Horizons (Ontario) has this Knautia shown in its 2011 catalogue.

(I wonder when they will post their 2012 catalogue)

Here is a link that might be useful: Thunder and Lightning

Here's my (very short) wish list:

Clematis 'Little Mermaid'
Polygonatum (not sure species name, not variegated)
Lilium 'Royal Sunset'
Heuchera 'Obsidian'
Monarda 'Purple Rooster'

Anyone here know the difference between Sedum 'Purple Emperor' and Sedum 'Raspberry Truffle'?

Want to try out sedum dazzleberry and echinacea pow wow white version

Here is a link that might be useful: Sedum Dazzleberry

coolplantsguy wrote:

"Here's my list:
Dicentra 'Valentine'"

Is there any reason to think that this particular Dicentra is any less large at full size than other Dicentra spectabilis?

I am looking for foliage this year instead of flowers. Hoping I can keep the Heucherlla alive and flourish in my gardens.

Geranium Sweet Heidy
Geranium Dark Reiter
Geranium Elizabeth Ann
Heucherella Solar Eclipse
Heucherella Golden Zebra
Heucherella Sweet Tea

I had Geranium 'Midnight Reiter' once, it needed consistently moist soil and/or good drainage, which I don't have.

prairie thanks for the warning. I wonder if it is the same as Dark Reiter.

For those in southern Ontario, Lost Horizon has their 2012 plant list on line now. They don't do mail order unfortunately, but a neat place to visit west of Acton/Georgetown on Hwy. #7.

It ("Lost Horizons") is an outstanding, one of a kind nursery with a huge selection perennials, shrubs and trees. I am so looking forward to my first 'pilgrimage' to LH for the 2012 growing season.

I am not sure how long the BH&G "Must-Grow New Perennials for 2012" has been out but I look forward to seeing it each spring...here it is:

As you can see many of these plants have been discussed on GW...and lots in this particular thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Better Homes and Gardens perennial list for 2012