Whatever hue you're looking for, purple is well represented in the new plant offerings for 2005 as presented by the National Gardening Bureau, All-America Selections, Colorado's Plant Select and Utah's Choice. These new plants offer improved disease resistance, new colors, bigger blooms, better drought tolerance and other desired characteristics.
National Gardening Bureau picks: The National Gardening Bureau, a nonprofit organization that focuses on growing plants from seed, has declared 2005 "The Year of the Sweet Pea" and "The Year of the Melon."
I have yet to see a purple melon, but sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) have a wide variety of color, from white to pink to purple. Cupani, a highly scented, heat-tolerant, heirloom variety, has two-tone purple and reddish-violet petals. Sweet peas are easily grown from seed. They prefer a soil rich in organic matter that is well-drained. For much of Utah, raised beds are the best way to provide this. Beware of planting sweet peas where small children may reach and eat the seed pods; this plant is poisonous.
All-America Selections: All-America Selections tests new plant introductions in trial gardens across North America. This year, two purple winners are Fairy Tale eggplant and First Kiss Blueberry vinca.
Fairy Tale's elongated oval fruit is light purple with white streaks. First Kiss Blueberry vinca is the first blue-flowered Catharanthus rosea, and is more violet than blue. Large (2-inch diameter) flowers and glossy green leaves on a compact, heat- and drought-tolerant plant offer a nice choice for the front of a flower bed or patio container. Seed for the AAS winners is available from Mountain Valley Seed (http://www.mvseeds. com) and Utah garden centers.
Plant Select introductions: Plant Select is a cooperative effort of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Garden, commercial growers and horticulture professionals throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
This year's introductions include Mojave Sage (Salvia pachyphylla), a shrubby perennial hardy to USDA Zone 5 with silver green leaves and showy mauve-colored flower bracts. Assuredly drought-tolerant, this plant can grow 36 inches tall by 36 inches wide, and prefers a lean, dry soil. Other Plant Select choices for 2005 include a low-growing blue penstemon (Penstemon linarioides var. coloradoensis "Silverton"), a brilliant red sage (Salvia greggii "Wild Thing") and bright white perennial phlox with snowflake-shape flowers (Phlox bifida "Snowmass").
Utah's Choice: Utah's Choice is the Intermountain Native Plant Grower's list of recommended native plants.
Included is Desert Sage (Salvia dorrii), a beautiful blue-purple flowering shrub that will mature to about 36 inches tall and 36 inches wide. This plant prefers Utah's native soil without amendments, and is well adapted to drought once the root system is established.
The low-growing Utah Ladyfinger Milkvetch (Astragalus utahensis) is a good choice for dry, sunny areas. The purple legume-type spring flowers are followed with a charmingly fuzzy seed pod that persists most of the year.
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Maggie Wolf is an assistant professor for Utah State University Extension in Salt Lake County. Her area of expertise is horticulture. Contact her by e-mail - maggiew@ ext.usu.edu - or by phone at 801-468-3171.
For further information:
* National Gardening Bureau: http://www.ngb.org
* All-America Selections: http://www.all-america selections.org
* Plant Select: http://www.plantselect.org
* Utah's Choice: http://www.utahschoice.org
