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Michigan Gardener | May 2014 | MichiganGardener.com
National Garden Bureau
‘Lanai Candy Cane’
National Garden Bureau
‘Lanai Twister Red’
continued from page 30 and rose. Some of the more unique colors include ‘Peach,’ the purple and white star-patterned ‘Purple Star,’ white-centered flowers like ‘Blue with Eye’ and ‘Purple with Eye,’ the baby pink and deep rose bicolored flowers of ‘Bright Eye,’ and the bicolored clusters of pink and white florets in ‘Twister Pink.’ Two exciting new Lanai cultivars were recently introduced. ‘Candy Cane’ has electric red and white bicolored flowers that will likely get your attention this spring. And ‘Lime Green’ has the first chartreuse/green flowers on a verbena. For 2014, we have ‘Vintage Rose,’ whose pink-centered flower clusters fade to an outer edge of white. The ‘Twister’ group of the Lanai series has a similar color pattern configuration in pink, purple, and the new one for 2014: ‘Twister Red.’ I am eager to see what exciting combinations gardeners are able to create with these new eye-catching colors. The Superbena series also contains several popular colors including red, blue, burgundy, pink, and purple. More recently, the Superbena line has grown to include high performance varieties denoted with the name ‘Superbena Royale.’ These include ‘Superbena Royale Iced Cherry,’ ‘Superbena Royale Red,’ ‘Superbena Royale Chambray’ (blue), and ‘Superbena Royale Peachy Keen.’ Both the Lascar and the Empress series have become very popular the last several years but the Estrella series has added a few striking selections that you have to see. ‘Estrella Voodoo Red Star’ has vibrant red and white, star-patterned flowers whose colors are exceptionally vivid—almost glowing. ‘Estrella Voodoo Pink Star’ has equally stunning flowers of rose and white. And ‘Estrella Voo-
Proven Winners
‘Lanai Purple Star’
Verbena
Proven Winners
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Dummen Group
‘Estrella Voodoo Red Star’
‘Superbena Royale Iced Cherry’
Botanical name: Verbena (ver-BEE-nah) Plant type: Annual Plant size: 8-12 inches tall, 18-24 inches wide Habit: Spreading Flower color: Purple, pink, red, blue, rose, magenta, white, peach and bi-color combinations Flower size: Clusters (about 3 inches wide) of 1/2-inch wide flowers Bloom period: Spring into fall Light: Full sun Soil: Rich, well-drained Hanging baskets, containers, bedding plant, perennial beds Uses: Remarks: A low-maintenance, durable, and versatile plant. Verbena is one of the few annuals that can tolerate both light frost and extreme heat. Use verbena to provide spots of color in perennial beds; it is one of those annuals that combines well with perennials. Vegetatively-produced plants (grown from cuttings, typically offered in 4-inch pots or “superpacks”) generally perform better than seed-grown varieties (typically grown in flats).