Super Plants in Louisiana
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been sharing various plant trial results with you. In my last newsletter, you learned about some of the top performers at the Raker trial gardens in Michigan. Today, I’m heading south to Lousiana State University.
Are you familiar with LSU’s Super Plant Program? According to LSU’s Ag Center website (www.lsuagcenter.com), it’s an educational and marketing campaign that highlights reliable and beautiful plants that are selected for superior performance under Louisiana growing conditions. These plants have a proven track record having gone through several years of university evaluations and observations. Louisiana Super Plants are “university tested and industry approved.”
Each spring and fall, the LSU AgCenter announces a new list of Louisiana Super Plants that perform well in Louisiana landscapes.
Here are the fall 2015 Super Plants:
Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’
Noted as the best perennial verbena for the Louisiana landscape, ‘Homestead Purple’ features rich purple blooms that cover a 3-foot-wide canopy of foliage twice annually. Although perennial verbenas are generally planted in spring, this variety can be considered for fall and winter plantings for best performance the first year.
Camellia ‘Leslie Ann’
A longtime proven performer, ‘Leslie Ann’ presents bicolored and sometimes tricolored flowers with blends of pink, blush and white. It is an early-season bloomer, starting in late October and continuing until mid or late December. ‘Leslie Ann’ is mostly upright and will mater at 8 feet tall in the landscape.
And here are the spring 2015 Super Plants:
Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’
This purple fountain grass is a new red-foliaged variety that is an annual in north and central Louisiana but can be a perennial in the warmer locations of south Louisiana. Flower plumes start midsummer and continue until first frost. Irrigation requirements are minimal, and it has no insect or pest issues.
Coleus ‘Henna’
The foliage of ‘Henna’ is highly fringed and sports shades of gold, chartreuse and reddish purple. Plants reach 24-30 inches in height and do best planted in full- to partial-sun landscapes. They should be planted in spring after the danger of frost has passed.
Are you growing any of the above plants? How have they performed for you? Do you manage your own plant trials? If you do, I’d love to learn about your top performers. Shoot me an email at jdolce@greatamericanpublish.com, and let me know about your trials.
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