LINCOLN, Neb. – The Kentucky coffeetree, the Kalm St. Johnswort and the bloody cranesbill are this year's winners of the Plants of the Year honors from Nebraska's GreatPlants program.
The Plants of the Year award, which is sponsored by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA) and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association, highlights hardy plants with exceptional ornamental qualities.
"This year's winners are a durable bunch that somehow are still not very common in the landscape," said Bob Henrickson, assistant director for horticulture programs for NSA. "They provide a multitude of ornamental personalities with each season and are readily available from nurseries."
Winners are selected for their ornamental value, hardiness, ease of maintenance and availability. This year's winners are:
- Tree of the Year – Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus). This hardy native tree has a bold winter habit. Its ridged bark forms interesting scale-like ridges that add to the winter landscape. Its large, compound leaves offer a pink tint when they unfold, develop into a blue-green summer color and a clear yellow before falling.
- Shrub of the Year – Kalm St. Johnswort (Hypericum kalmianum). A small, dense shrub with stout, erect stems that form a perfect mound. It is a handsome hardy plant with small, bluish green summer foliage and small, buttercup yellow flowers from July to August. Chocolate-brown seed heads add winter interest. Hypericums hold up well in heat and drought, perform best in well-drained soils and provide late season color.
- Perennial of the Year – bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum). This plant forms mounds of deeply cut foliage that turn blood red in the fall, hence its common name bloody cranesbill. Leaves often are of greater decorative value than the flowers because of their texture and color. The bowl-shaped, magenta flowers cover the plant in late spring to early summer and bloom sporadically throughout the summer if plants are sheared back after flowering. Geraniums should be planted in full sun to light shade in front of a border or massed to form a groundcover around upright, leggy plants. These plants also perform well in dry conditions under trees in gardens.
For more information about GreatPlants Plants of the Year, contact NSA at P.O. Box 830715, UNL, Lincoln, Neb., 68583-0715 or call 402/472-2971.
The author is Managing Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at nwisniewski@gie.net.