Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners - www.provenwinners.com

Let’s face it. New plant offerings are fun and exciting. Even though I’m a big supporter of native plants, I’m always intrigued by what’s new for the garden.

Usually on the first Tuesday of the month I join with other master gardeners at the Boardman River Nature Center in Traverse City where we break bread over potluck dishes and hear a speaker. This month, because of shelter in place orders, our meeting was via Zoom. While the format was different, the information presented by Robin Smillie, manager of local gardening store Garden Goods couldn’t have been more interesting.

With Michigan’s shelter in place orders Smillie isn’t sure when Garden Goods will open this year but if the other master gardeners listening in were as inspired as I was by the plants she presented, we’ll look forward to the opening.

Smillie talked about what Garden Goods looks for in the plants they sell. Not only do they want plants that will look beautiful in planters in the early part of the summer - they need to perform in the heat and humidity of late July and August..

She also talked about how the houseplant industry has grown 50% in the past three years, taking me back to the early 1970’s when every home was filled with greenery; ficus, rubber trees, spider plants, snake plant and more. And the demographics of the buyer is changing. Retailers are seeing more pre-teens, teens and millennials buying plants, especially house plants.

From her introduction Smillie moved on to a list of plants worthy of our consideration in 2020. Since I’m looking for shrubs, I was particularly interested in two hydrangeas she featured.

• Hydrangea Paniculata Fire Light. No it’s not the usual white that turns pink as it ages or lime color. It blooms white and ages to a bright fuschia/hot pink and it’s spectacular. It tolerates more sun than many hydrangas and the more you cut it back the more it blooms. It does like water if you plant it in full sun but can be planted in part sun as well. It is hardy to Zone 3 and grows 6-8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. (Pictured above)

• Hydrangea Macrophylla Summer Crush. This grows about 18 inches tall and 3 feet wide. It’s very cold tolerant and even can put into a pot. It is sensitive to soil acidity. so you’ll get raspberry red blooms in alkaline soil and blue/purple in acid. It will tolerate partial sun but Smillie suggests if your yard is sunny planting it on the east side of the house, away from the blistering sun of the south and west exposures. It’s not a plant for deep shade.

Giving the site where I want to add hydrangeas in our yard I’m pretty much focused on the Fire Light, but I’m seriously considering some Summer Crush for a shadier spot in the year. The color is just so spectacular and so much fun.

More on new plants for 2020 in future posts…