2008 Plant Select List Announced by Colorado State University and Denver Botanic Gardens

Note to Editors: High-resolution photographs for print publication are available at www.newsinfo.colostate.edu. To download these photographs, click on the hyperlink for this release. Mongolian Bells, Little Trudy Catnip, Northern Lights Pansy and Blue Velvet Pansy are trademarked by Plant Select, and a plant patent has been applied for Little Trudy Catnip; Plant Select is a registered trademark of Colorado State University and Denver Botanic Gardens.

The Rocky Mountain region is known for horticultural innovation because of the bright sun and crisp air that can benefit rather than hinder plants. Each year, Plant Select – a program administered by Colorado State University and Denver Botanic Gardens together with nursery and landscape professionals – identifies and distributes the best plants suited for growing in Colorado’s high plains and intermountain regions.

The Plant Select recommendations and introductions for 2008 are Mongolian Bells Clematis, Seven-Son Flower, Blue Velvet Pansy, Little Trudy Catnip, Red Birds in a Tree, Northern Lights Pansy and Saint Theresa Seedless Grape.

Mongolian Bells Clematis, or Clematis integrifolia, was introduced from Mongolia by Harlan Hamernik of Bluebird Nursery. It is a very compact form of the common herbaceous species available in a spectrum of colors (including pink, white, lavender and blue), and it makes the perfect edging or mounding clump in a border or xeriscape. It produces attractive seed heads in late summer and fall.

— Perennial

— Height: 10-14 inches

— Width: 12-15 inches

— Blooms: May to September

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate to dry

— Hardiness: USDA zones 3-9 (up to 10,000 feet)

— Culture: Sandy loam or loam

Seven-Son Flower, or Heptacodium miconioides, is a lush, large shrub or small tree that produces masses of fragrant white flowers in late summer and equally attractive, persistent cherry-red sepals in fall. It is fast growing with attractive, peeling bark. Collected at Hangzhou Botanical Garden during the 1980 Sino-American Expedition, this unusual Chinese member of the honeysuckle family is very adaptable in a wide range of climates.

— Large shrub or small tree

— Height: 12-20 feet

— Width: 8-15 feet

— Blooms: August to September

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate

— Hardiness: USDA zones 4-9 (up to 7,000 feet)

— Culture: Sandy soil or loam

Blue Velvet Pansy, or Viola x wittrockiana, has velvety navy blue flowers offering a perfect contrast to the Northern Lights Pansy. Developed by Benary Seed Company in Germany, this partnership acknowledges that the Rocky Mountain horticultural industry provides a cutting edge in promoting the use of winter flowering annuals in North American gardens.

— Annual

— Height: 5-10 inches

— Width: 10 inches

— Blooms: September to summer

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate

— Hardiness: USDA zones 2-9 (up to 11,000 feet)

— Culture: Loam

Little Trudy Catnip, or Nepeta ‘Psfike,’ is a hybrid catnip selected at Little Valley Wholesale Nursery for its distinctive serrated, silvery foliage and long season of lavender bloom. It thrives under average or xeric conditions. It is the most compact catnip cultivar.

— Perennial

— Height: 8-10 inches

— Width: 12-16 inches

— Blooms: April to October

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate to xeric

— Hardiness: USDA zones 4-9 (up to 8,000 feet)

— Culture: Sandy soil, clay or loam

Red Birds in a Tree, or Scrophularia macrantha, was introduced in 1996 by High Country Gardens. This rare penstemon cousin has showy crimson tubular flowers which are produced in generous sprays above rich green serrated foliage. This southwestern uplands wildflower has shown great adaptability in gardens.

— Perennial

— Height: 36 inches

— Width: 18 inches

— Blooms: May to frost

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil Moisture: Moderate to dry

— Hardiness: USDA zones 4-9 (up to 8,000 feet)

— Culture: Sandy soil, clay or loam

Northern Lights Pansy, or Viola x wittrockiana, is a large-flowered pansy that is a subtle blend of lemon and lilac with accents of blue. It is being marketed in partnership with Sakata Seeds in Japan, marking a joint venture in promoting this important group of winter flowering annuals.

— Annual

— Height: 5-10 inches

— Width: 10 inches

— Blooms: September to summer

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate

— Hardiness: USDA zones 2-9 (up to 11,000 feet)

— Culture: Loam

St. Theresa Seedless Grape, or Vitis x "St. Theresa Seedless," is a hardy, mostly seedless, purple slip-skin grape with excellent flavor is an early season table grape variety from Elmer Swenson’s breeding program in Wisconsin. Wonderful for arbors. Tolerates alkaline soils.

— Woody vine

— Height: 15-20 feet

— Width: 3-8 feet

— Blooms: Inconspicuous

— Sun: Full sun to partial shade

— Soil moisture: Moderate

— Hardiness: USDA zones 4-9 (up to 8,000 feet)

— Culture: Loam

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Plant Select is a Colorado non-profit corporation that has been introducing and recommending plants for the Rocky Mountain and High Plains regions for 11 years and operating demonstration gardens around Colorado and neighboring states.

For more information, visit online at www.plantselect.org. The website lists locations of the more than 90 demonstration gardens throughout the state and region where many of the 2008 and previous years’ selections can be seen. Sources for purchasing these plants also are listed on the Web site.

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About Denver Botanic Gardens:

Rooted a mile high, Denver Botanic Gardens has been a favorite Denver destination for over 55 years, and is considered to be one of the top botanic gardens in the American West. Art and science unite in the Gardens’ spectacular urban oasis, offering an unforgettable artistic garden experience for the whole family, as well as a living laboratory for education and plant conservation programs. Additional sites at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, a 750-acre wildlife and native plant refuge in Littleton; Mount Goliath, a high altitude trail and interpretive site on the Mount Evans Scenic Byway; and Centennial Gardens, a five-acre formal garden with a Colorado native plant palette in downtown Denver, extend this experience throughout the Front Range. Visit us at www.botanicgardens.org.