Horticulture: Extension: Gold Medal Plants

2002 Gold Medal Winners

Have you seen that 'Lady in Red'? She's turning heads throughout Georgia with her continuous display of brilliant scarlet flowers from spring until fall frost.

Unlike the familiar bedding plant salvias that stay short and compact, Lady in Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) grows 2 to 2.5 feet tall. It's the focus of attention in a large container, and it provides a brilliant back-drop for gray, blue, burgundy or white. It's a knock-out when used with Powis Castle Artemesia, Japanese Aster (Kalimeris pinnatifida), Pigmy Crimson Barrberry, Persian Shield (Strobilanthes) or its purple and blue cousins Mealy-cup Sage (Salvia farinacea) or Blue Anise Sage (Salvia guaranitica) .

Lady in Red Salvia is somewhat self-grooming in the landscape and does not require frequent dead-heading (removal of old blossoms) like many other salvias do. The old flower stalks just seem to fade into the background as they are replaced by new ones.

Another advantage of Lady in Red Salvia is that it is a reseeding annual, so you're likely to experience many happy returns from the original planting. Seed can also be collected in fall and planted in March for April transplants and a head start on the growing season.

Plant Characteristics:

Plant Type: Reseeding summer annual

Plant Size: 2 to 2.5 feet tall and wide

Cultural Requirements:

Exposure: Full sun/afternoon shade preferred

Soils: Moist, well-drained

Planting: Plant in late spring after soil has warmed.

Fertility: Broadcast a complete, balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 at planting. Follow with 16-4-8 in May, June and September. Apply liquid feed as necessary when plants appear hungry.

Propagation: Collect seed in fall for spring planting.

If you're looking for a transition plant to bridge the gap between summer and fall flowering plants, then consider Blue Mist Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis) . It bears clusters of sky-blue flowers, 1 to 2 inches across, in August and September. They look like puffs of blue from a distance. The blue flowers complement yellow daisies, orange marigolds and other early fall bloomers.

Blue Mist Bluebeard is a herbaceous perennial, growing 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Leaves are 3 to 3.5 inches long, bright green above and gray-green below. The flower clusters -- containing as many as 20 flowers each -- are borne in pairs at the upper leaf axils on each branch.

Another cultivar called 'Worcester Gold' has yellow-gold foliage. Its flowers are about the same size and color as those of 'Blue Mist.'

Blue Mist Bluebeard prefers full sun and well-drained soils. It has excellent drought tolerance and good deer resistance. In south Georgia and along the coast, it may grow as a woody evergreen shrub; but in north Georgia, it is grown as a herbaceous perennial because cold weather often nips the leaves and causes die-back. In extreme north Georgia, cut plants back each fall and mulch them heavily for winter protection.

Plant Characteristics:

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9

Plant Size: 3 to 4 feet tall and wide

Cultural Requirements:

Exposure: Full sun

Soils: Well-drained

Fertility: Apply a light application of a complete fertilizer such as 16-4-8 in early spring and mid-summer.

Propagation: Terminal cuttings in spring and early summer.

Few fruiting shrubs can match the eye-catching display of Purple Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma) in September and October. That time of year, it boasts long, arching branches and clusters of shiny, lavender berries. "It's one of the most graceful and refined shrubs in the autumn landscape," says Michael Dirr, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia.

Purple Beautyberry is a prized transitional plant in the landscape, blending into the background most of the yar, then bursting into the foreground with its striking berry clusters just when the summer flowering plants are beginning to fade. It makes a spectacular showing when used in groupings of three or more plants.

Purple Beautyberry is a deciduous shrub growing 3 to 4 feet tall with a mounded growth habit. It blooms on new growth, so thinning old branches in winter should not deter flowering and fruiting. The plant looks best, however, when allowed to develop long, arching branches that cascade to the ground like streams from a fountain, bearing lavender droplets along their entire length.

Sever beautyberries exist in the trade, including our native American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana . Purple Beautyberry, however, outshines all the others with its smaller, more attractive foliage and graceful, spreading growth habit.

Plant Characteristics:

Plant Type: Deciduous shrub

Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8

Plant Size: 3 to 4 feet tall with an equal or larger spread

Flowers/Fruit: Lavender-pink flowers in summer followed by shiny lavender berries in fall

Cultural Requirements:

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Soils: Moist, well-drained

Planting: Container-grown plants can be transplanted throughout the year.

Fertility: Complete fertilizer such as 16-4-8 in early spring and again in mid-summer

Pruning: Thin old wood as necessary in winter.

Propagation: Summer cuttings or seeds.

Most people are familiar with the native Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) that bursts into bloom in March and April in our moist woodlands, signaling the arrival of spring. But if you dare to be different, consider planting one of the many improved selections of redbuds. In fact, the Georgia Plant Selections committee had such difficulty picking just one representative winner, it chose three -- each with unique and different qualities.

Forest Pansy Redbud us sure to stand out in the landscape with its striking purple/red foliage. The heart-shaped leaves emerge a shimmering red-purple in spring, fading to a deep plum-purple as the season progresses. Rose-pink flowers coat the twigs and branches in March and are another dramatic feature of the plant.

Oklahoma Redbud has glossy, somewhat leathery green leaves with wavy margins. The leaves alone make the plant worth having, while the showy magenta-rose flowers in March are an added bonus.

For a real conversation piece in your landscape, try a white-flowering redbud. Texas White, discovered in Fort Worth, Texas, has glossy green leaves similar to those of Oklahoma, but it bears milky-white flowers.

Each of these redbuds has been in the trade for a number of years and should be readily available in garden centers or mail-order nurseries.

Plant Characteristics:

Plant Type: Deciduous flowering tree

Hardiness: Zones 6 to 9

Plant Size: 15 to 25 feet at maturity with an equal spread

Cultural Requirements:

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade.

Soils: Moist, well-drained.

Planting: Plant B&B plants when dormant. Container-grown plants can be planted throughout the year.

Fertility: Four to six weeks after planting, broadcast a complete fertilizer such as 16-4-8 lightly around the perimeter of the planting hole. Fertilize in early spring and mid-summer with light applications of a complete fertilizer around the drip-line or edge of the canopy.

Pruning: Prune early to develop the desired shape, then prune as necessary -- after flowering -- to thin unnecessary branches.

For larger versions of photographs, click on the plant name:

• Lady in Red Salvia - Far
• Lady in Red Salvia - Closeup
• Blue Mist Bluebeard
• Purple Beautyberry - Far
• Purple Beautyberry - Closeup
• Redbud - Tree
• Redbud - Closeup

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