News Release Distributed 12/16/11
By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings
Most Louisiana gardeners know about the new Louisiana Super Plants program launched by the LSU AgCenter in 2010. This program highlights tough and beautiful plants that perform well in Louisiana landscapes. The AgCenter announces new selections each spring and fall. We still have time to add cool-season flowers to the landscape, so consider the three Louisiana Super Plants for this fall – Redbor kale, Swan series columbine and Belinda’s Dream rose.
If you haven’t planted any kale this season, try Redbor. It’s incredible. Although this variety is edible, many people grow it as an ornamental. There is renewed interest in foliage plants for the landscape, and this plant is a great addition to the ornamental kales and cabbages already available for the cool season.
Redbor has previously been shown to be a proven performer in the South – it was a Mississippi Medallion-winning plant in 2005. It is one of the most vigorous-growing and heat-tolerant ornamental kales on the market. Expect gorgeous foliage from late winter through late spring. Extremely curly foliage, early dark purple leaves and a spring height of 3 feet are characteristics of this plant.
The LSU AgCenter has been evaluating landscape performance of columbines the past three years. Many gardeners are familiar with columbine (scientific name is Aquilegia), but the Swan series, which is propagated by seed, offers flower colors in these great plants that most of us do not know.
Columbine is a perennial normally treated as an annual in Louisiana. For the landscape, plant in beds mid- to late fall for eight weeks of flowers in March through early to mid-May. Columbines come in many flower colors besides the yellow or golden we may be familiar with from Texas. Varieties in the Swan series are Blue White, Burgundy White, Pink Yellow, Red White, Rose White, Violet White, White and Yellow.
Fall through the early spring is a great time to plant roses. Belinda’s Dream is one of the most popular Earth Kind roses grown in Louisiana. This shrub rose has pink, semi-double flowers. It reaches heights of 5-6 feet with an equal spread but can be contained to 4 feet. In LSU AgCenter landscape trials in Baton Rouge, this variety has only 10-20 percent of the foliage with black spot under a non-fungicide spray program by fall.
Louisiana Super Plants from last fall should still be considered now and in the future. They are Camelot series foxglove, ShiShi Gashira camellia and Amazon series dianthus. All of them would be great plants to add again to your landscapes. More cool-season Louisiana Super Plants have already been identified and will be announced later in 2012 and 2013.
Louisiana Super Plants have a proven track record of several years of university evaluations and observations by industry professionals. Home gardeners and professional horticulturists alike can benefit from using Louisiana Super Plants, which are university tested and industry approved. You can find more information on these great plants along with a list of participating retailers at www.lsuagcenter.com/SuperPlants
Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
Rick Bogren