THREE A+ RECENT INTRODUCTIONS

Having concluded that I need to do more species assessments, I shall. The essays will feature plants I have no problem recommending. Some of those upcoming posts will be monospecific. Others, like this one, will be polyspecific. -- Again, I have not asked for nor have I received any compensation for the advocacy, although the financial burden of this website is getting to the point where I may need to consider doing so.

We gardeners get to know each species and specimen by growing and interacting with them, as well as careful observation. From the Mad Botanist, you are getting good advice (first-hand experience, insight and fair {objective} judgment). You occasionally may not like what I have to say (the honesty), or how I say it (the frankness), but fortunately for you, I am compelled to say it as I see it. Deceit and lying seem easy for so many people. Except for the price (loss of integrity and self-respect), I might be welling to consider doing it sometimes. Alas, those characteristics do not appeal to me. Nor should they appeal to you. Facts are facts, and accepting that will make you a better gardener and person.

All three of the species listed below are hardy, at least for the conditions in central Indiana. And know this, frequently hardiness is more or other than the USDA zonation delimiter that we so willingly swallow as the be-all and end-all. These three species are also multi season plants with several inviting virtues, and I've seen no indication that any of them will escape cultivation (i.e., they are not invasive). A factor we should consider for everything BEFORE we put in our garden, but it mostly should not be the only consideration, the same with "native". An unnecessarily limiting bias that WILL prevent you from having the best garden -- so many missed opportunities -- based on half-truth, misunderstanding and unjustified hateful bias. You should consider reading or rereading some of my earlier essays on the general topic of natives, nativity and nationalism. See especially PHYTOFASCISM (2023), GOLDENROD (2022), US vs THEM (2022), WINTERCREEPER (2021), ASIAN BUSH HONEYSUCKLE (2020), and NATIVE (2019). And I always seem to be broaching denial and delusion, like here. Perhaps eventually ... one can hope.

THE THREE PLANTS ARE:

JACOB'S LADDER (Polemonium pulcherrimum) 'Golden Feathers'

I have a very special soft spot for things spring. Yes, l love the rest of the year, just that there is something extraordinary about spring, something magical. The anticipated, spectacular, multihued, but green rich, vernal rebirth. I noticed a tray of these plants (see pic) at a local garden center a couple of years back. I was immediately smitten. Enforcing the opinion, I was at a gardeners party the following winter where one of the best local plantsmen asked if we knew about this gem? I trumpeted approval! The leaf yellow variegation is stunning, especially in combo with the soft lavender/purple/yellow-white floral display. By the way, the species name pulcherrimum means beautiful. A well-developed mounding clump of this Rocky Mountain west and north native will be about two feet wide and a foot tall, slightly taller when flowering. We have a wonderful similar Midwest native P. reptans. It too occasionally produces variegated specimens, there are even named cultivar, but those plants for sale are rare. In case you didn't already know, the common name is based on the ladder-like arrangement of the leaflets, with a biblical connection.

There is a caveat, Polemonium (and especially 'Golden Feathers') can be a difficult cultivation. They are picky. Wet clay, full sun and having / permitting the site to periodically go dry are no-nos. Same as coral bells (Heuchera), otherwise they will quickly decline and you will have dropped your money on what turns out to be an annual, thus a start-over. It/they want the kind of location/habitat our best spring wildflowers displays are found in -- dappled light and rich moist loam. Hint: plant so you can enjoy as well as to conveniently and occasionally splash, trying to maintain consistent hydration but DO NOT OVERWATER. -- Thank you Lisa for causing me to realize that I had neglected this useful advice -- written to close to deadline thus no time for thoughtful editing. She and her partner Dan had already felt the sting, 5x plantas muertas :( Been there, done that -- we should seek trustworthy advice. Much of what you find on the internet is not firsthand experiential (i.e., regurgitated BS), or appropriate for where you live and garden.

STEEPLEBUSH (Spiraea thunbergii) 'Ogon'

Literally, golden Thunberg's spiraea -- named to honor Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg, an apostle of Linnaeus, the father of binomial nomenclature. Perfect as a specimen or perhaps a low hedge, although I find hedges too artificial, too manmade and they definitely are problematic, especially long-term. Rarely does one find rows or straight lines in nature -- she is my most trusted gardening mentor.

You may be surprised that the first thing that comes to mind when I describe this beauty is the wonderfully late fall prairie look, featuring enchanting shades of brown punctuated by orange-red. Think HOT BUTTERSCOTCH! This regal species is also stunning in spring, as the cultivar name implies, with enticingly golden vegetation. Ogon means gold in Japanese. 'Ogon' steeplebush has all the elegance of Bridal Wreath Spirea (S. x vanhouttei) but in a more compact plant and with far superior foliar coloration. Specimens retain many of their spent leaves (marcescent). Moreover, the species is slow-growing and tolerant of wet clay (likely generating slower growth w/o outwards signs of stress by the specimen). My specimen was a gift from an exceptional gardening couple. Check out my previous HOW LUCKY AM I? posting (Feb 2023).

'Ogon' is in the same form and appearance category as Chardonnay Pearls Deutzia. I leave the marcescent leaves over winter -- they will by then have turned brown -- removing them in February well before new growth shows by encircling a cluster of the branches near the base with my fingers and then gentling pulling to get most of them to detach and fall. I use the same technique for several of my chlorophyllous yard residents. It is a harvest technique called stripping, only done more loosely. If you neglect this cleanup the spent leaves will obscure the flowers. However, don't squeeze too tightly or wait until spring -- to avoid damaging the profusion of small creamy white flowers that will line the stems in April. Flowering (anthesis) occurs before the foliage emerges. Also be careful not to site your plant(s) with full sun. If so, those plants will display greener rather than the charming chartreuse leaves. Spiraea is a challenge to prune well -- I see mostly butchered specimens. PRUNING IS AN ART with every species and specimen presenting a unique challenge.

BOWMAN'S ROOT, INDIAN PHYSIC, AMERICAN IPECAC (Gillenia trifoliata)

I was fond of the old name Porteranthus and love all of the several common names. The synonymous genus was based on early PA botanist Thomas Conrad Porter. History and paying respect are important. I hope the name change was not due to the WOKE eponymous cleansing madness. Further, the common names clearly indicate utility. But, even though ethnobotany is in my blood, I wisely decided years ago to suppress the urge to discuss it in my essays. There are too many potentially serious problems when recommending edibility and medicinal use.

One would be lucky to find the straight species at even the best plant joints, and I doubt cultivars exist, or need to be considered. I got mine a decade ago from a West Virginia supplier (Sunshine Farm & Gardens) which specializes in uncommon, rare and exceptional plants. This piercingly beautiful but dainty plant is native in the dry to moist rocky woodlands of the eastern United States. Indian physic has exquisite asymmetric (zygomorphic) flowers borne from wiry red stems. The flowers remind me of a frolic of fairies, also presenting the feel of a low paused explosion. The petals are a captivating white, subtended by a very conspicuous bulbously swollen red calyx. The plant has a look that is open and appealing. A distinct lovely that is easy to grow. Related, it gets bigger slowly but will always be a low rider (less than waist high). Seems to show best in dappled shade with some watering. Whether or not water-starved, this drought tolerant species (once established), turns red in fall. It is a die-back perennial which (like Baptisia) readily gives up its dead and leftover above ground portion. The spent stems readily snap when bent making dormant season cleanup easy. No cutting necessary. The live part of the perennial overwintering underground.

Like the previous species, a member of the rose Family (Rosaceae). By my estimate, about 1/4 of all woody ornamental and fruit-bearing species are in this large family. Yet, while there are many desirable species, members of the family are notoriously susceptible to all sort of diseases and pests. Fortunately, and importantly, I have found none of that in this beauty or the immediately preceding taxon. Moreover, they are not nearly as prone to the sucker-sprouting problem inherent in so many rose relatives. -- In an upcoming I will highlight another similar rosaceous standout, Queen-of-the Prairie/Meadowsweet (Filipendula).

Why not consider giving one or all these choice plants a try this year? But remember finding a specimen may not be easy, one of the challenges hardcore gardeners are guaranteed to encountered, with those prone to procrastination more likely to be frustrated.