New Plants for Spring 2018

David has selected these new plants for 2018 for their beauty, their value to pollinators as sources of "natural nectar" (and seeds for songbirds) and as resilient performers in our high desert gardens of northern New Mexico.

The two native ornamental grasses are outstanding for their colorful foliage, their fall and winter beauty and their value to seed eating songbirds.

While most are cold hardy perennials for outdoor flower beds, Cuphea 'David Verity', Felicia 'Tight and Tidy' and Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' are special choices to be used as container plants that draw butterflies and hummingbirds up close to your outdoor sitting areas.

Spring 2018 Plant Sale Events

Agastache x pallida 'Globetrotter' (Hybrid Hummingbird Mint)

28-30 in. tall x 15-18 in. wide Sun Rabbit/Deer resistant Bees/Butterflies USDA zones 6-9. A hybrid hummingbird mint (native Agastache pallida x Agastache rugosa) that blooms mid-summer into fall with lavender-pink flowers and carmine-red bracts. Aromatic foliage. Excellent cut flower. Grows best in well drained sandy or loam soils with some supplemental water. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Agastache x 'Red Happiness' (Hybrid Hummingbird Mint)

28-32 in. tall x 15-18 in. wide Sun Xeric Rabbit/Deer resistant Hummingbirds USDA zones 5-9. A long blooming hybrid hummingbird mint introduced by David Salman/Waterwise Gardening. Found as a volunteer garden seedling in his Santa Fe garden, this long blooming perennial has exceptional garden resilience and aromatic foliage. Grows well in most any soil including compost amended clay. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite' (Aromatic Aster)

2-3 ft. tall x 12-15 in. wide Sun/part Sun Xeric Deer resistant Butterflies/Bees USDA zones 3-8. A top rated selection of this native Aster species with a fall display of showy violet-blue flowers. An essential fall nectar plant for butterflies and bees. Grows easily in most any soil type including clay.

©Photo Courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Coreopsis pubescens 'Sunshine Superman' (Star Tickseed)

12-15 in. tall x 12-15 in. wide Sun Xeric Deer resistant Butterflies USDA zones 5-9 This compact growing native wildflower blooms all summer with bright yellow star-shaped flowers; deadheading extends the blooming season. Grows best in fast draining loam soils but not heavy clay.

©Photo Courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Coreopsis tripteris 'Gold Standard' (Tall Tickseed)

4-5 ft. tall x 3 ft. wide Sun Butterflies USDA zones 3-8

An improved selection of the native tall tickseed was selected by the renowned Mt. Cuba Center native plant arboretum. 'Gold Standard' has an extending summer blooming season, a profuse display of bright yellow flowers and attractive foliage. Grows in most any soil including clay.

©Photo Courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center

Cuphea x 'David Verity' (hybrid Cigar Plant)

18-24 in. tall x 18-24 in. wide Sun/part Sun Hummingbirds USDA zones 8-10

An everblooming hybrid selection that flowers with tubular orange flowers held over glossy green foliage. A hummingbird magnet, this is an excellent container plant for sun or part sun locations. Can be brought indoors for the winter like a geranium where it will bloom in winter. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Granita ® Raspberry Ice Plant (Delosperma Granita Raspberry) is a cold-hardy Ice Plant hybrid with simply stunning color. The large shimmering raspberry-red flowers will be the highlight of your late spring garden when this durable groundcover comes into bloom. Discovered as a volunteer seedling in a Salt Lake City garden, the plant has excellent cold hardiness and tolerates drier Western growing conditions. Recommended companion plants include Catmint (Nepeta), African Daisy (Gazania) and smaller-growing Beardtongues (Penstemon).​

Felicia aethiopica 'Tight and Tidy' (Compact Felicia Daisy)

14-16 in. tall x 24-30 in. wide Sun Rabbit/Deer resistant Butterflies USDA zones 9-10

This ever-blooming selection of the South African wildflower species covers itself with butterfly attracting bright blue daisies spring through fall. A cold tender perennial, use it as a container plant where it thrives in sun and heat. Can be brought indoors for the winter like a geranium where it will bloom in winter. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Burning Hearts' (Smooth Oxeye Sunflower)

A superb selection of the native Oxeye Sunflower. The plant blooms all summer with large bi-colored yellow and orange flowers. The dark burgundy foliage is also very ornamental. Grows in a wide range of soil types including clay. Water regularly for best flowering display. 3-4 ft. tall x 15-18 in. wide Sun/part Sun Deer resistant, attracts Butterflies, USDA zones 3-9

©Photo Jelitto Seed

Leucanthemum x superbum 'Becky' (Shasta Daisy)

2-3 ft. tall x 24-30 in. wide Sun/part Sun Rabbit/Deer resistant Butterflies USDA zones 4-9. A vigorous shasta daisy selection chosen for its large white flowers, attractive leathery green foliage and tough, resilient nature. Deadhead after the first flush of flowers to encourage re-blooming. Grows well in most any soil type including clay. 2003 Plant of the Year/Perennial Plant Association.

Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' (Hybrid Beebalm)

3 ft. tall x 18-24 in. wide Sun/ part Sun Rabbit/Deer resistant Hummingbirds/Butterflies USDA zones 3-8. An outstanding hybrid beebalm blooming in mid-summer with dark wine-red flowers. Highly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Bumble bees like it too! The foliage is nicely aromatic. Grows well in compost enriched loam soils with regular irrigation.

©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Panicum vir. 'Shenandoah' (Burgundy Prairie Switchgrass)

3-4 ft. tall x 24 in. wide Sun Deer resistant USDA zones 3 - 9

A smaller growing Switchgrass cultivar with burgundy tinted summer foliage and reddish late summer flowers. Outstanding fall burgundy and purple colored foliage. Grows in any soil type including clay.

©Photo Courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Penstemon x 'Dark Towers' PP 20,013 (Hybrid Beardtongue)

30-36 in. tall x 15-18 in. wide Sun Rabbit/Deer resistant Butterflies/hummingbirds USDA zones 3-8

An outstanding native hybrid Beardtongue with large light pink flowers and attractive burgundy foliage. A tall, stately grower that is an excellent ornamental grass companion plant. Grows well in compost-enriched sandy soil or garden loam (not heavy clay) that grows best with some supplemental irrigation.

Penstemon virens is a small growing species and is native to the open Ponderosa forests and foothills of eastern CO and WY and well suited to northern New mexico gardens. The dainty spikes of blue, lavender-throated flowers are held over evergreen rosettes of dark green foliage and are a delight in the late spring garden. Most effective in groups of three or more. Plant in lean, well-drained soil. 8" tall x 8-10" wide. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Superb Beardtongue (Penstemon superbus) has glowing coral-orange flowers that make this Southwestern beardtongue a standout in the mid-spring garden. Out of flower, the plant has handsome evergreen foliage. Like most all Penstemon, it does best in poor, fast draining soils (no clay) in full sun where it gets plenty of heat. Deadhead after blooming, but leave some of the flowers spikes on the plant to ripen their seed and encourage re-seeding. Best grown where it can be planted with other water-wise, spring-blooming natives. 24" tall x 24-30" wide ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' (Pink Garden Phlox)

3-4 ft. tall x 24-30 in. wide Sun/Part Sun Butterflies/ Hummingbirds USDA zones 4-8

Robust native perennial with fragrant lavender-pink flowers over a long blooming season that starts in mid-summer. Best of all garden phlox for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Compost enriched garden loam with regular irrigation. ©Photo Courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Pulsatilla patens (Pasqueflower or Prairie Crocus)

6-8 in. tall x 4-6 in. wide Rabbit/Deer Resistant Sun Bees USDA Zones 3-8

A native wildflower of the northern US blooms in mid-spring with large ice-blue flowers held over feathery foliage. Not a perennial for beginners, it grows naturally in native grasslands and like to grow with blue grama grass. Grows well in most soil types including clay.

Rudbeckia fulgida v. fulgida (Black Eyed Susan)

24-30 in. tall x 18-24 in. wide Sun Xeric Rabbit/Deer resistant Butterflies USDA zones 5-7

A superior Black Eyed Susan grown for its long season of bloom (mid-summer to fall). Invaluable as a late season nectar source for butterflies. Cones hold on the plant through winter providing seeds for seed eating songbirds. Grows well in most any soil type including clay. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC

Salvia x 'Wendy's Wish' PP 21,889 (Red Hybrid Sage)

24-36 in. tall x 18-24 in. wide Sun Hummingbirds USDA zones 9-10

This spectacular tender perennial sage blooms all season with a continuous display of large, tubular magenta-pink flowers held on long maroon flower stems. Use it as a hummingbird-attracting container plant.

©Photo Monrovia Nursery

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Standing Ovation' (Little Bluestem Grass)

3-4 ft. tall x 15-18 in. wide Sun Xeric Deer resistant USDA zones 3-8

A new selection of our native little bluestem grass. It was chosen for its bright blue summer foliage and rigid upright growth habit that holds up even in snowy winters giving the grass exceptional winter interest. Very colorful fall foliage too. Grows in any soil including clay.

©Photo Courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree)

8-12 ft. tall x 8-10 ft. wide Sun/part Sun Xeric Rabbit/Deer resistant Butterflies/bees USDA zones 6-10

This large growing shrub/small multi-stemmed tree blooms in mid-summer with large deep blue, nectar-rich flower spikes that attract butterflies/bees/bumble bees. Heat loving, plant against a hot south or west facing walls. Until well established,it may die back to the ground the first winter or two (if temperatures dip below 0 ° F). Grows well in any soil including clay. ©Photo Waterwise Gardening , LLC