What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’
Arendsii Azure Monkshood
Aconitum carmichaelii is native to eastern China and northern Vietnam, where it is found at the edges of forests and on grassy mountain slopes. It is an herbaceous perennial with rigid, erect stems that branch only near the top of the plant and bear leaves alternately. The leathery, dark green leaves are deeply lobed and broadly ovate with three to five palmate lobes. The terminus of each branch produces a dense panicle of deep purply-blue flowers. Each flower has five petal-like sepals. The topmost one cups over the rest of the flower, giving the appearance of a hood or helmet called a galea. The true petals are reduced within the hood of the upper sepal, though two petals are formed to have hooked nectar spurs. This cultivar is noted for its later bloom time than other Aconitum species. The genus name is thought to come from the Greek word akónitos from ak meaning “sharp” and kônos meaning “cone,” or the Greek word akon. Both etymologies refer to the “darts,” as it is believed that arrow tips were dipped in the poisonous sap of the plant to aid in hunting. The specific epithet honors English physician, missionary, and plant collector J.R. Carmichael who introduced this plant to Europe sometime between 1862 and his death in 1877.
Andropogon gerardi ‘Blackhawks’
Blackhawks Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardi is native to much of North America from the Rocky Mountains eastward though Mexico and Florida in the south and through Quebec and Maine in the north. It is found in prairies, open woodlands and glades, in floodplains, and along riverbanks and lakeshores. It is a grass perennial that has an erect, clumping habit with stiff, flat stems that produce strap-like linear leaves that emerge bluish green. Tall floral stalks emerge from the terminus of each stem in summer and extend far above the foliage. The stalks terminate in a raceme inflorescence of narrow spikelets. In autumn, the whole plant fades from bluish green to coppery burgundy. This cultivar is noted for its tall, narrow stature and dark purple autumnal foliage that turns black. The genus name comes from the Greek words andros meaning “man” and pogon meaning “beard,” referring to the fuzzy spikelets. The specific epithet honors French botanist and physician Louis Gérard.
Celosia argentea var. cristata ‘Dracula’
Dracula Cockscomb
Celosia argentea var. cristata is native to tropical Africa, where it is found on dry, grassy slopes. It grows as an herbaceous annual with erect, slightly ridged, multibranched stems. The stems produce leaves that are dark green blushed with reddish-copper, elliptic to lanceolate, and arranged alternately. The terminus of each stem produces a highly convoluted, flat-topped, filled in Y-shaped spike inflorescence densely covered with small, colorful flowers, each subtended by small, lustrous white bracts. C. argentea var. cristata naturally produces flowers of colors ranging from violet to red and pink to orange and yellow and white but never has more than one color on the same plant. Each flower is apetalous with five papery sepals, five stamens, and three tiny, fused pistils. This cultivar is noted for its deep red to violet inflorescences and its maroon foliage. The genus name comes from the Greek word kēlos meaning “burnt” in reference to the fiery flower colors. The specific epithet means “silvery” in Latin, referring to the silvered bracts of the flowers. The variety name means “crested” in Latin, for the shape of the inflorescence.
Galatella tatarica ‘Jindai’
Jindai Tatarian Aster
Galatella tatarica is native to dry steppes, scrublands, and riverine areas from Ukraine through the Caucasus and Kazakhstan into northwestern China in the east and northeastward through southern Russia to western Siberia. Galatella tatarica is an herbaceous perennial with an erect, spreading habit. The stems are stiff, erect, and not branching. They bear leaves in a basal rosette, transitioning to alternate bearing toward the upper stem. The basal leaves are larger than the upper leaves. The green leaves are elliptic with coarsely serrate margins. The termini of the stems produce a compound corymb of capitula inflorescences. Each capitulum is comprised of 10 to 20 lavender ray florets around a center button of many yellow, tubular, star-like disc florets. This cultivar is noted for its compact growth with short, purple ray florets and mustard disc florets. The genus name is derived from the Greek name Galatea, which means “woman dressed in milky white,” as some of the plants in this genus have milky-white flowers. The specific epithet means from Tatary, which was the old European word for the region that covers contemporary northern China, Mongolia, and Siberia.
Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory
Ipomoea tricolor is native to tropical Mexico, where it is found in open pastures and along roadsides. Ipomoea tricolor is a twining, fast growing, branching vine. The stems are smooth and bright green and bear large cordate leaves with entire margins in an alternate arrangement. Leaf axils produce open panicles of large, multicolored flowers with long flower stalks. Individual plants produce either yellow, white, and purply pink flowers or yellow, white, and blue flowers. The flowers are large, showy, and trumpet-shaped and are made up of five fused petals. This cultivar is noted for its large, blue, trumpet-shaped flowers with white throats and yellow base. The genus name comes from the Greek words ips meaning “worm” and hómoios meaning “similar,” referring to the twining nature of the roots and vines. The specific epithet means “with three colors,” referring to the multicolored flowers.
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pringlei ‘Monte Cassino’
Monte Cassino Pringle’s Aster
Symphyotrichum pilosum var. pringlei is native to eastern North America from Minnesota and Georgia northeastward through the Great Lakes and Appalachia to the Canadian Maritime provinces. It is found in prairies and glades. It is an herbaceous perennial with an erect, clumping habit. The green stems are highly branched and smooth. They bear small, lanceo-elliptic to lanceo-linear leaves that are shallowly toothed in an alternate arrangement. Upper leaf axils and branch termini produce clusters of small, daisy-like capitula inflorescences. Each capitulum has a button of tiny, yellow, tubular disc florets surrounded by 15 to 25 white ray florets. This cultivar is noted for its shorter stature and resistance against flopping. The genus name comes from the Greek words sýmphysis meaning “united” and thríks meaning “hairs,” which refers to the basal ring of hairs of the pappus around each floret that are fused together at their bases. The specific epithet means “with long, soft hairs” in Latin. The variety name honors American botanist Cyrus Guernsey Pringle who dedicated his career to cataloging North American plants.