Perennial of the Year: Little Bluestem
(Schizachyrium Scoparium)

• This small, non-spreading warm season ornamental grass will find a place in almost every perennial bed or border.
• It has blue green foliage to 12-16" long. Leaves turn bronze in fall.
• Fluffy plumes of seed heads bloom summer to fall and persist into winter.
• Grow in full sun in any well drained soil. Drought tolerant. Size 2-3' tall x 2-3' wide.
• Hardy to Zone 2.

Shrub of the Year: Black Chokeberry
(Aronia Melanocarpa)

• This hardy, medium-sized shrub should complement landscapes throughout state. Reaching 3-5' in height, this upright shrub has a tendency to sucker and can form large colonies up to 10' wide.
• It is particularly effective in the fall when its blackish purple fruit contrasts well with the wine-red leaf color.
• The name chokebery describes the astringent character of the fruit; so bitter even the birds don't like them. On the up side, the fruit will linger well into the winter, adding to a otherwise dreary landscape.
• Black chokeberry is best used in a setting that will showcase the dramatic fall color. It can be very effective massed together where the foliage and fruit make a strong statement in the autumn landscape.
• A single specimen can easily be incorporated into a shrub border, especially if smaller shrubs are planted in front to disguise the chokeberry's somewhat leggy character.
• In its native environment black chokeberry can be found in low wet areas and on dry windy hillsides. Hardy to zone 3, black chokeberry should find a place in almost any Nebraska landscape.

Tree of the Year: Serviceberry (Amelanchier X Grandiflora)

• This small deciduous flowering tree with showy pink apple-like blossoms in spring changing to brilliant yellow and red color in the fall, should find a place in many of today's smaller landscapes.
• Stems are covered with white blossoms in spring. And showy edible fruit follows.
• Light gray bark with interesting branch patterns.
• Brilliant yellow to red fall color. Does well in part shade. Size 20-25' tall x 15' wide.
• Hardy to Zone 4.

1997 is the 125 anniversary of the founding of Arbor Day, and this year the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association (NNLA) is following in the footsteps of J. Sterling Morton. Within these footprints the NNLA introduced an annual event called Great Plants For The Great Plains.