What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Abelmoschus manihot
Aibika
This plant is native to subtropical and tropical regions from Pakistan in the west to southeastern China in the east to tropical northeastern Australia in the south, where it grows in grasslands, on rocky hillsides, and along stream banks. It grows as a subshrub perennial with an erect, mounding habit. Bright green stems are slightly pubescent and highly branching. They turn coppery-brown as the stems lignify. The stems alternately bear large, dark green, edible leaves that deeply dissect into three to nine palmate lobes with serrate margins. Leaf axils and stem termini produce large, solitary, cup- to saucer-shaped flowers. Each flower is comprised of five fused sepals subtended by bracts fused to the base of the sepals; five large, yellow petals with maroon bases; and countless stamens fused into a monadelphous staminal column around five fused pistils that exceed the stamens. The flowers only last one day, but the plant produces flowers well into autumn. The genus name comes from an Arabic word meaning “source of musk,” as the fruit capsules have a musky odor. The specific epithet itself is the name for an unrelated genus of plants with similar leaf structure.
Allium ‘Millenium’
Millenium Ornamental Onion
This cultivar is of undisclosed parentage, but it is believed to be based on characteristics from a hybrid of Allium lusitanicum and Allium nutans. A. lusitanicum is native to Europe from Portugal to Ukraine, where it grows in dry and sometimes rocky grasslands of hilly and mountainous areas. A. nutans, on the other hand, is native to central and northern Asia, where it grows in moist grasslands and fen meadows. Plants of this genus are bulbous, herbaceous perennials with an erect, clump-forming habit. Bulbs produce tight rosettes of bright green, linear leaves that are fragrant and sometimes edible. In midsummer, the bulbs produce a floral scape that emerges above the foliage and that is round, leafless, and unbranching. The floral scape terminates in an umbel inflorescence of small, fragrant, pink to purple, cup-shaped flowers that are attractive to bees and butterflies. Each flower has six lanceolate tepals arranged in two whorls of three, and six stamens typically basally fused to a tepal all around three fused pistils. This cultivar is noted for its compact and erect clumping growth habit. The genus name is the Latin word for “garlic,” which is of uncertain origin.
Clethra alnifolia ‘Caleb’
Vanilla Spice® Summersweet
Clethra alnifolia is native to eastern North America, following coastal areas from Nova Scotia and Maine south around Florida and westward to eastern Texas, where it grows in coastal plains, swamps, bogs, and along stream banks. It grows as a deciduous, multistemmed shrub with a dense, oval to mounding habit. The stems emerge green before turning coppery-brown and producing dark gray bark that exfoliates with age. The shoots alternately bear glossy green leaves that are oblong to elliptic with minutely serrate margins. Leaf axils and shoot termini produce erect, cylindrical raceme inflorescences of fragrant, cup-shaped, white flowers. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and bees. Each flower has five green sepals, five rounded petals, and ten stamens arranged in two whorls of five around three fused pistils. This trademarked cultivar is noted for its large, long-lasting individual flowers and overall compact size. The genus name comes from the Greek word klethra, which is the word for plants of the unrelated Alnus genus that the leaves resemble. Similarly, the specific epithet means “with leaves like Alnus.”
Limonium latifolium
Wide-Leaf Sea-Lavender
This plant is native to the northern coasts of the Black Sea from Bulgaria to Georgia, where it is found in salt meadows, coastal flats, and on sandy dunes. It grows as an herbaceous perennial with a clumping, mounding habit. Stout stems produce large rosettes of waxy green leaves that are oblong to obovate with entire margins that sometimes undulate. Leaf axils and stem termini produce long, wiry, green floral stalks that terminate in a large, airy panicle of tiny purple flowers. Each flower has five minuscule sepals fused into a tube; five salverform, fused, petals with rounded apices; five stamens; and five fused pistils. The genus name is derived from the ancient Greek work leimon meaning “meadow.” The specific epithet is Latin for “with broad leaves.”
Senna hebecarpa
Water Senna
This plant is native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada, where it is found in open, wet prairies and woodlands, floodplains, and along stream banks. It grows as an herbaceous perennial with a rounded, mounding habit. The stout central stem is light green, slightly pubescent, and highly branched. Shoots bear large, showy, pinnately compound leaves in an alternate arrangement. The silvery green leaflets are oblong to elliptical with entire margins. Shoot termini produce showy racemes of bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers. Though part of the Fabaceae family, the flowers do not have the typical pea-shaped flowers, as all five petals are unfused and open, showing the ten dark brown stamens and one central pistil. In autumn, the flower produces a dark coppery-brown seedpod that is slightly pubescent and that persists on the plant well into winter. The genus name is derived from the Arabic word sanā, which was used to refer to any plant with leaves that could be used as a purgative. The specific epithet comes from the Greek words hebe meaning “youth” or “soft pubescence” and carpos meaning “fruit.”
Vitex agnus-castus ‘Shoal Creek’
Shoal Creek Chaste Tree
Vitex agnus-castus is native to Mediterranean Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, extending south and east toward India. It grows along stream banks, in riverbeds, and in damp ravines. It grows as a deciduous shrub or tree with a spreading, vase-like habit. Stems emerge green before turning brown with hints of red and purple, producing dark grey bark that is smooth or furrowed with age. The shoots bear showy, fragrant, dark green, palmately compound leaves in opposite pairs. The leaves have five to nine lanceolate leaflets with dentate margins and have a silvery tone to their undersides. Leaf axils and shoot termini produce large, branching, spike inflorescences densely packed with small, fragrant, tubular, purple flowers. Each flower has a tube of five fused sepals; five fused petals with ruffled margins; and four stamens around two fused pistils that produce a small purple drupe-like fruit in autumn. This cultivar is noted for its heat tolerance, resistance to leaf spot, and its markedly large floral inflorescences. The genus name is derived from the Latin word vieo meaning “to weave,” as the pliable shoots were used in basketmaking and wattle fencing. The specific epithet is a rare case of using Greek and Latin words to make one name. In this case, the words mean “pure” or “chaste” in their respective languages.
Angelonia angustifolia ‘Serena® Blue’
Summer Snapdragon
This carefree, continuous bloomer is well-suited to gardens and containers, performing well under a wide range of conditions. The perfect choice for heat-loving garden spaces. Deer- and rabbit-resistant plants grow 16 to 20 inches tall and 12 to 14 inches wide.
Ageratum ‘Monarch Magic Agerboyuma’
Ageratum, Floss Flower
A one-of-a-kind spreading ageratum that monarch butterflies can’t resist. Full, spreading garden fill that’s ideal for use in landscapes and large containers. Drought-tolerant plants grow 6 to 12 inches tall and spread to 8 to 16 inches wide.
Ocimum basilicum ‘Everleaf Thai Towers’
Thai Basil
This gorgeous basil plant has masses of green leaves with soft purple stems that brighten up vegetable gardens and mixed containers. Its aromatic and vibrant licorice flavor complements any dish, especially Thai cuisine. Columnar habit growing 24 to 36 inches tall and 8 to 12 inches wide.