Phoenix Perennials - Fabulous at Phoenix

Fabulous at Phoenix
New, Notable and Luscious Plants at the Phoenix Candy Store

Echinacea 'Razzmatazz': It's been hard to get but we now have 'Razzmatazz'! This is the first fully double purple coneflower. It has a magenta "afro" of petals in place of the cone. 'Razzmatazz' got off to a bad start with gardeners because the double-flowering nature is somewhat unstable in tissue culture. Now all plants are field grown for one year after tissue culture and all the single flowered plants are weeded out. The additional work results in a slightly higher price but it's worth it for this amazing coneflower.

Lilies: The white tigers are crisp and classic, citronella is a glorious yellow, Turandot is glowing with luscious pink, regale is trumpeting the start of summer with fragrance and the early oriental Mona Lisa is just starting to open. I know I've been talking a lot about lilies lately but they look great right now. You should come down and see them. Landini, the blackest asiatic that yet exists, has already sold out! It is smashing.

Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger': One of the most striking variegated plants to arrive on the scene in quite some time, Tasmanian Tiger is a variegated version of Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii. The flower heads are gold with white variegation. Simply stunning! To 3 feet and evergreen. Plant in a well-drained soil.

Delphinium 'Red Caroline': WOW! This is a big, luscious coral red delphinium. From green buds the petals open and take on coral pink tones which deepen with time through coral red and then red. Plants that are established in the garden with have the darkest red tones. The flowering spikes are 5-6 inches across at the base. This delphinium will top off at about 3-4 feet and is reported to be quite hardy (i.e. good to at least zone 4). Rich soil and lots of water will bring on the best perfomance for this as well as all other delphs.

Crocosmia 'Solfaterre': This crocosmia has smoky bronze foliage with butter yellow flowers, and dark chocolate sepals. It's foliage makes it a stunning plant for creative plant combinations.

Corylus avellana contorta 'Red Majestic': This is the corkscrew hazel but with burgundy red leaves! How fabulous is that! 'Red Majestic' is a brand new cultivar that I think will become an important burgundy shrub element for gardens. it will provide great winter interest with its contorted corkscrew branches and then great summer interest with its large burgundy nicely textured leaves.

Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' and 'Merritt's Beauty': 'Endless Summer' is a mophead hydrangea with blue and pink flowers. What makes it special is that it is the first hydrangea that will bloom on old AND new wood! What that means for gardeners in our region is if you cut your hydrangea back a little too severely one year you'll still get glorious flowers that same year. What that means for gardeners all the way down to zone 4 is that here is a hydrangea that will BLOOM for you in your garden. Then there is glorious 'Merritt's Beauty in rich red. It's a pretty nice colour departure from the standard blue and pink.