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The NNLA 2001 GreatPlants^TM

September 21, 2001
For Immediate Release

The Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association (NNLA) and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA) proudly announce the 2002 GreatPlants.

The GreatPlants program is always on the lookout for tough, undemanding plants for the garden. The winners chosen this year as "Plants of the Year" are a durable bunch that somehow are still not very common in the landscape. They provide a multitude of ornamental personalities with each season and are readily available in the nursery trade.. Make plans to include these winners in your landscape and garden center display area.

The 2002 selections are:

Tree of the Year KENTUCKY COFFEETREE Gymnocladus dioicus
Shrub of the Year KALM ST. JOHN'S WORT Hypericum kalmianum
Perennial of the Year CRANE'S BILL Geranium sanguineum

Tree of the Year KENTUCKY COFFEETREE Gymnocladus dioicus This is a durable native tree with bold winter habit and handsome, ridged bark. As a young tree, the shape is irregular and the texture is coarse. The beautiful blue-green summer foliage soon covers the blemishes of winter and can be a good golden yellow in fall. With age the habit becomes more uniform, producing a picturesque crown of rugged branches. Adaptable to a wide range of conditions such as heavy clay, drought, and city conditions, yet it is nowhere very common in the landscape.
Female plants produce long, leathery, brown pods in fall. Selections for good habit and maleness are being made on this picturesque 60-70'h, 40'w tree. Hardy to zone 3b. We recommend seeking the male selections 'Espresso' and 'Stately Manor'.
Shrub of the Year KALM ST. JOHN'S WORT Hypericum kalmianum A small, dense, little shrub with stout erect stems that form a perfect mound. A handsome hardy plant, with small, bluish green summer foliage. The bright yellow flowers are a beautiful sight from July to August and the chocolate-brown seed heads add winter interest. Holds up well in sun, heat, and drought and tolerates heavy soils. We recommend planting 'Ames' a perfect mounded form, 2 to 3' high and wide, developed at Iowa State University for improved hardiness. Native from Quebec and Ontario to Michigan and Illinois. Hardy to zone 4.
Perennial of the Year CRANE'S BILL Geranium sanguineum The hardy geraniums are considered by many to be one of the workhorses of the perennial border. This durable plant forms mounds of deeply cut foliage that turn blood red in the fall, hence the common name of Bloody Crane's-Bill. The bowl-shaped, magenta flowers cover the plant in late spring to early summer and will bloom sporadically throughout the summer if sheared after flowering.
There are many other excellent selections in this group of undemanding perennials for you to grow in your garden. We recommend the varieties 'Album', 'Shepherds Warning', or 'Elsbeth'. Plant geraniums in full sun to light shade as specimens in front of the border or massed to form a groundcover around upright, leggy plants. Plants are up to 18" high and 2' wide and are hardy to zone3.
New Release COMANCHE CAMPFIRE Oenothera macrocarpa The contrast of red stems to fine silver foliage is what caught the attention of Harlan Hamernik, owner of Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, NE. Hamernik goes on plant exploration trips regularly, overseas every other year, but he discovered Oenothera macrocarpa 'Comanche Camfire' on an oil well site in western Oklahoma. "We found this on a field trip expressly looking for new plants for the GreatPlants program," Hamernik said, "and with the success we've had so far, we intend to keep undertaking one major field trip each year for plants that will suit the program." Hamernik has been testing the primrose and propagating it since 1997 and is pleased with the results. "Even though it was found in central Oklahoma, it has survived our zone 4 trials, even this last winter." Now 'Comanche Campfire' primrose is being promoted to nurseries as the GreatPlants Release for 2001. Hamernik says, "We had a full page of possibilities for the name and selected "Comanche Campfire' because it was found in Custer county, Oklahoma, which was once Comanche territory. The word campfire refers to the glowing red ember color of the stems and the bright yellow blossoms." Bob Henrickson, assistant director for horticulture programs at the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA), believes this drought-tolerant primrose "will make a wonderful addition to your rock garden, xeriscape, or among your prairie plantings. The large shiny silver leaves are complemented by glowing ruby stems throughout the season, topped with huge, delicious bright yellow flowers from June through October. The contrast of colors on this plant is clearly striking. You can light a fire in your garden with this plant!" Henrickson suggests planting it in combination with prairie phlox, spiderwort, little bluestem, penstemon and other hardy natives. The plants are 12-15" tall and 18-24" wide, thrive in full sun, and are hardy to zone 4. Also involved in the plant expedition to Oklahoma were Bill Gustafson from UNL's Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Steve Bieberich and Bob Anderson from Sunshine Nursery in Clinton, OK, and Rod Ackerman of Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, NE. Todd Morrissey of the Omaha Botanical Garden and Henrickson are also involved in GreatPlants research and propagation. 'Comanche Campfire' is being promoted as a GreatPlants release-a named cultivar developed as a joint effort of the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Hamernik says future possibilities for the GreatPlants program include an allium and a scabioso, which were submitted to the All-America Selections Program Multi-season Plant Trials this year. For more information about GreatPlants, call the Arboretum at 402-472-2971 or e-mail Henrickson at rhenrickson@unl.edu.