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The Weeding Gnome

by Plants Nouveau ·May 2, 2023

Happy Earth Day 2023

New Plants and Website Updates

Baptisia Prairieblues™ ‘Solar Flare’ PP 20408

Happy Earth Day (actually tomorrow) 2023!

Most of what we do is for the betterment of the planet each and every day in the Green Industry. Celebrating Earth Day is an important reminder that we can all do more. Adding more plants to every homeowner’s garden is a great way to start!

Plants that attract pollinators, use less chemicals, have deeper hardiness and heat tolerance ranges and plants that require less water are a good choice. We have so many problem solvers in our collection, that we made a Solutions category on our website. From drought tolerance, to plants for pollinators, and plants for small, or even wet spaces, we have so many amazing plants that solve problems.

Other updates to the website include a Collections tab. If you are looking for all of our Magical® hydrangeas and plants in one place, click on  Magical®. If you are a new licensee and would like to see all of the wonderful, super useful and gorgeous plants in the Chicagoland Grows® Plant Collection, click on Chicagoland Grows®. And last, but certainly not least, if you would like to see all of our October Magic® camellias, click on October Magic®.

Speaking of Chicagoland Grows®, one of the most lovely additions has to be Baptisia Prairieblues™ ‘Solar Flare’ . This hybrid false indigo was bred by Dr. Jim Ault at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The bi-color flowers, along with its size and flower power make for a winning combination.

Tissue Culture is available on a custom grow basis from Florae Collaborative in NY. Liners are available from Creek Hill Nursery.

New Plants & New Ideas


Super Hardy

Acer 'Morton UW' Morning Starburst™

Japanese maples are lovely, but only hardy to USDA Zone 6. From the Chicagoland Grows® Plant Collection, we introduce a fabulous new maple.

Morning Starburst™ is a vine maple hybrid  found in the collections of The Morton Arboretum with amazingly hardy tendencies, yet it is heat and humidity tolerant. Hardy in zones 5-9, you can now sell and buy an ornamental maple with the perfect habit and an amazing fall color in many more regions.

The fall color rivals the best Japanese maples and the large leaves, when in their autumnal glory put on quite a show. This is also an incredibly vigorous plant that produces near-perfect specimens n the field and in the garden.

Plants are currently available from Kuenzie Turf in Oregon.

Make a Statement

Amsonia ‘Blue Behemoth’

A sneak peak plant!

From the fabulous breeding at the Chicago Botanic Garden comes a giant, beautiful, and sturdy selection of bluestar. Blue Behemoth makes a statement in any mixed border, sporting up to 5’ tall stems topped with icy-blue flowers in early summer.

Use this pollinator magnet in large borders, “new perennial” style plantings, matrix plantings or foundation gardens en masse or as an accent. The stems are strong and sturdy and do not lodge in storms.

It's a Secret

That’s all for this week. Enjoy the season & do something nice for Mother Nature tomorrow. More to come on new plants, and new projects.

Take care, & be kind,

Angela

Stay tuned for news & more exciting new plants from Plants Nouveau. 
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