A nice shot of ‘Enduring Onyx’ begonia seen meeting with folks and sharing ideas (see Diane, Rick Grazzini, and myself this morning in the photo below).  We had a cloudy start to the day but our group hit the ground running to two large displays from growers.  I networked a bit but focused on getting photos of as many plants as possible within our tight time frame.  It was another great day and I look forward to the next four days!  Safe travels around to the other sites too!  Sorry the blog is short but enjoy the flowers below.

Diane Blazek (AAS/NGB) and Dr. Rick Grazzini during a brief stop this morning.

Petunia ‘Margarita’ (double) – above

Heuchera ‘Timeless Orange’  – above

Heuchera ‘Royal Flame’ – above

Begonia ‘Belleconia Soft Orange’ (above)

Sedum ‘Chocolate Ball’ (above)

Bidens ‘Popstar Red’ (above)

Corydalis hybrida ‘Porcelin Brey’ is tough to grow and establish for us

Solenostemon ‘Taylor’

Nemesia ‘Fairy Kisses Vanilla Berry’ (above)

Begonia ‘Positively Peridot’ (above)

Solenostemon ‘Mainstreet Beale Street’ (coleus) – above

Solenostemon ‘Stained Glassworks Velvet’ (coleus) – above

Bidens ‘Bidy Boom Bonfire’ (above)

cool vertical wall with succulents

Petunia ‘Surprise Tie Dye Violet’ (above)

Petunia ‘Surprise Love Pink’ (above)

Sunstanding Jazzy variegated New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) – above

Phlox paniculata ‘Flame Pro Violet Charm’ (above)

Phlox paniculata ‘Flame Blue Improved’ (above)

Begonia ‘I’CONIA Portofino Citrix’ (above)

Petunia ‘Peppy Purple’ (above)

Petunia ‘Peppy Red’ (above)

Petunia ‘Surprise Purple Dance’ (above)

Chrysanthemum ‘Splash Icestar’ (above)

I again find  myself typing this blog after a full day seeing plant trials featured at the annuals California Spring Trials (CAST) event for 2019. I’m fading quickly so will try to be efficient before resting up for tomorrow! Our group (Diane, Gail, Mark K., Steve, Jeff and I) hit the ground running this morning and we had a busy day of seeing various sites featuring displays, plants and products.  We spent quite a bit of time at three separate locations and I’ve included a fraction of my 2,000 photos (accumulated these past two days!).  Above is Pericallis SENETTI® Magic Salmon which was just gorgeous this morning at Grolink, our first of three stops.  We also stopped at Ball/PanAmerican and Greenfuse and saw some neat stuff.  I’ll offer a disclaimer with the plants seen below in that I haven’t checked on the appropriate trade names yet but what I’ve given is sufficient for identification purposes.

Gerbera Garvinea® Sweet Sunset (above)

we saw this patch of French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) on standards at Grolink this morning!

Alstromeria hybrida Colorita® Katiana (above)

two of my travelling buddies are above: Mark Konlock (Director of Horticulture, Green Bay Botanical Garden) to the left (and directly below) and Dr. Jeff Kuehny from Louisiana State University,  Director at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden)

Lavandula stoechas ‘Bandera Deep Purple’ (above)

‘Emerald Towers’ basil (Ocimum basilicum) – above

Zion™ Morning Sun African daisy (Osteosperum eckonis ‘KLEOE19395’) – (above)

Serenity Coral Magic African zinnia (Osteospermum ecklonis ‘Balsercoric’) – above

Begonia On Top® Sun Glow (above)

Petunia ‘Easy Wave® Lavender Sky Blue’ (above)

Capsicum annuum ‘Salsa XP’ (above)

Calibrachoa ‘MiniFamous Neo Laua + Red Eye’ (above)

Petunia Constellation™ ‘Virgo’ (petunia)

Petunia “Spider Girl’ (above)

Petunia ‘Purple Storm’ (above)

um..ok

sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Marineland™ ‘Frosty Lavender’ (above)

sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Marineland™ ‘Frosty Lavender’ (above)

Begonia ‘Dibs Curly White’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Rose Frost’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Black Cherrry’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Lave Red’ (above)

Dahlia Venti™ Tequila Sunrise (above)

Headliner Pink™  Sky petunia (Petunia ‘KLEPH17342’) – above

Long day today with a 3:30 am bus shuttle from Janesville, WI to O’Hare Airport to fly to Los Angeles directly.  I joined a pre-arranged meet up with a crew [Diane, Gail, Mark K. (Green Bay Botanical Garden), Steve and Jeff] that will be travelling together over next five days to see the coolest and newest plants and 16 different growers displays/locations.  After getting picked up at the airport, four of us checked out Venice Beach which was super neat.  More to follow soon!  Giant geraniums (Pelargonium) and Wisteria sp. above!

angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia) as a parkway tree in Venice Beach, CA

black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) thriving!

Diane (AAS) in the lead with Gail (AAS) a close second and Mark K. bringing up the rear!

Venice Beach, CA (above and below)

Venice Beach, CA (above and below)

I’m a huge fan of using lungworts (Pulmonaria sp.) in the garden and frequently recommend them for part shade and tough soils.  Native to Europe and West Asia, these perennials are in the Boraginaceae family and feature beautiful and colorful spring blooms.  Funnel-shaped flowers usually turn blue once the pink buds open although flower colors of pink, red and white are not uncommon either and are specific to certain selections.  However, the blooms finish up quickly and the foliage then steals the snow.  Directly above is a patch of Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ adding wonderful color and texture with those silver leaves.  The blooms of this selection are seen directly below.  Typically reaching only 12-14″ in height, the foliage of lungworts comes out of a rosette and and it was actually the shape and spotting of the leaves (like a diseased lung!) that created interest in this plant by Medieval herbalists for it’s potential in treating lung ailments (no scientific basis!).  Deer tend to leave the leaves alone although sporadic slug damage and mildew issues may emerge during the growing season.  Hardy in zones 3-8, this perennial thrives in moist but well drained area and has some drought tolerance once established.  Hot and dry summers (or full sun) may compromise the foliage which can be trimmed back (“de-leafing”) to create a flush of fresh growth.  There are many selections available out in the market with a strong focus on the degree of silver in the leaves.  A wonderful resource to learn more about Pulmonaria and some of the early selections was compiled by the the Plant Trials Manager, Richard Hawke, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  See https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no17_pulmonaria.pdf for more information on this stalwart perennial.

Pulmonaria ‘Janet Fisk’ (above)

close-up of Pulmonaria sp. leaf (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Roy Davidson’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Silver Shimmer’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Bertram Anderson’

Pulmonaria sp. blooms (above and below) – note pink buds opening/aging to blue

Pulmonaria ‘Bubble Gum’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Opal’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Purple Haze’ (above)

flowers of Pulmonaria ‘Raspberry Splash’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Bubble Gum’ (summer foliage above and spring blooms below)

Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (one above and three below)

Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Cotton Cool’ (above)

flowers on miscellaneous Pulmonaria sp. (two above and one below)

flowers of Pulmonaria ‘Victorian Brooch’ (above)

I’ve always appreciated the value of smokebush (also called smoke tree) out in the landscape as a solidly performing woody plant with plenty of “curb appeal”.  This blog includes many photos of this plant that I’ve taken over the years and represents some of the fun selections that are available for the home gardener.  At the top of this blog is the variety ‘Grace’ which is a hybrid between American smokebush (Cotinus obovatus) and ‘Velvet Cloak’ European smokebush (Cotinus coggygria).  Directly above is the variety ‘Royal Purple’ which is one of the more commonly available selections.  Other varieties below are identified under the photo.

The American smokebush (Cotinus obovatus), native to the Southeastern United States from Tennessee to Alabama and west to Oklahoma and Eastern Texas is commonly available as are the many cultivars of European smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) which is native from Southern Europe to Central Asia and Northern China.  In terms of their cultural needs, they are very similar and their primary ornamental value revolves around the “smoke-like”, fluffy flowers that extend interest well in to summer.  The plume like flowers (termed “open terminal panicles”) have very fine, extended “hairs” that darken over time giving a lengthy show of “wispiness”!  Many selections have colorful foliage (maroon and gold being common) and most will also have some degree of good to excellent fall color which is variable.  The deepest maroons and golds on those selections are most intense in spring with some fading during the heat of summer.  This is a woody plant that doesn’t need rich soils and will thrive in rocky, dry, infertile soils with sharp drainage.  The best fall color is on specimens growing in those “leaner” soils.  Again, with superior drought tolerance, smokebush doesn’t care for heavier, wet soils and a neutral to alkaline pH soil is ideal.  Smokebush is deer resistant and hardy from zones 5-8 although zone 4 hardiness is possible with some winter protection.  Leaf spot, rust and verticillium wilt can be problems for this genus although stressed plants are more likely to suffer from these ailments.

These plants typically will reach heights around 15′ or so although I have seem some taller, older specimens.  While typically multi-stemmed in terms of growth, there are single stem opportunities.  When placing them in the landscape, you do have to account for their mature size but they can be cut back severely in winter to maintain their size.  Cutting smokebush back severely (coppicing) in late winter/early spring will result in a very lush regrowth in spring with larger than typical leaves.  This regrowth can easily be 6′-9′ of new growth in one season and I’ve seen even more significant growth.  This coppicing does compromise the flowers for that season but is sometimes warranted to keep this plant in scale and refresh the older growth with new stems.  There are now some more compact forms coming on the market (look for Winecraft Black® and Winecraft Gold®).  I am not aware of any cultivated selections of American smokebush (Cotinus obovatus) but the hybrid ‘Grace’ is mentioned above and common European smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) selections include ‘Royal Purple’ (maroon), ‘Velvet Cloak’ (maroon), ‘Nordine’ (maroon), ‘Daydream’ (green), ‘Flame’ (green  – awesome fall color), ‘Young Lady’ (green and compact), Golden Spirit™ (‘Ancot’ – golden!), the two compact Winecraft® selections mentioned above and another compact selection called Velveteeny™ (‘Cotsidh5′) which I haven’t tried yet.  Supposedly, this selection only gets 4’ tall but I’ll believe it when I see it!  Compactness in Cotinus is certainly a good thing though!

‘Royal Purple’ – UW Madison campus – above

I think this is ‘Nordine’..not entirely sure – above

‘Royal Purple’ (above and below)

spring foliage of ‘Royal Purple’ above and five photos below…

I planted this specimen (above and below) at my parents house (Chicago suburbs) back in 1994 and it was 15′ in 8 years!  I cut it back in late winter to a foot and the new growth (second photo down) was vivid and fast growing (no flowers that year though!

regrowth of big specimen (‘Royal Cloak’) further above

Winecraft Black® smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘NCCO1’) – above

intense fall color (variable!) of ‘Royal Cloak’ (above and four below)

‘Grace’ – hybrid – at Olbrich Botanical Garden (Madison, WI) – above

‘Young Lady’ – only gets 8′-10′ tall – above and seven below

Golden Spirit™ (‘Ancot’) – above and nine below

muted fall color of Golden Spirit™ (‘Ancot’) – above and below

American smokebush (Cotinus obovatus) – above and five below (note fall color!)