What’s new for the garden? Check these out

Keep an eye out in catalogs for these new, or newly available, varieties.

By BETH BOTTS

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

CHICAGO — Some gardeners play it safe. They know what they like. Every year, the red geraniums are in the same pots and the “Better Girl” tomatoes in the same plot.

Others love to push the limits. With so few gardening seasons in a lifetime, they want to try as many new things as possible every year. They revel in being the first ones on the block to have a new hydrangea or heirloom tomato variety. They happily take risks on new and untried plants.

Many of us are in the middle. We like to try new things now and then, just for the fun of it, but we value our time in the garden too much to take too many chances on plants that might turn out to be trouble. We know that “new” doesn’t always mean “better” or even “significantly different.” Before we try something new, we need a reason.

Still, plant sellers, like marketers all over, know that the word “new” has magic; it drives millions of dollars a year in plant sales. So every year, catalogs and Web sites are full of new introductions.

How can you choose? These days we are trying to garden more sustainably, so we’ve learned to look for plants that need less watering, less fertilizing, less fuss — not just because it’s easier on us but because it’s easier on the planet. We’re looking for perennials, to save on yearly replanting work and use fewer plastic pots. We’re alert to organically grown seed, so we know pesticides weren’t used in production.

We’re not insisting on native species, because we don’t live in a native habitat and prairie species don’t always work well in tight urban spaces. But because natives do tend to be more disease-resistant and drought-tolerant and need less care than many others, we’re looking for cultivars bred or selected from them that can fit into our gardens. Those genes improve our odds.

Growing our own food is about as green as you can get, so we’re looking for tempting vegetables, especially smaller ones that fit better in the cuisine of smaller households or patio varieties that can be grown in containers. We’re always going to be planting some annuals for color and variety, but we’ll be placing them carefully, in pots or among perennials with the same needs where they are easy to tend and water.

And like anyone else, we always can be wooed by a rose — as long as it’s a winter-hardy, low-maintenance, tough rose.

Here are some new, or newly available, plants for 2008 that piqued our interest. It’s too soon to say exactly where most of them will be available, but if a source is not listed keep an eye out for them in catalogs, Web sites and nurseries come May.

ORNAMENTALS

UEchinacea “Tiki Torch”: Among the multicolored tsunami of cultivars being bred from the various species of native coneflower, this selection of Echinacea purpurea stands out for its spectacular orange color. It’s a clumping upright perennial, about 2 feet tall, from Terra Nova Nurseries in Canby, Ore., that needs a well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil. Available from White Flower Farm — (800) 503-9624, whiteflowerfarm.com; and Dutch Gardens — (888) 821-0448, dutchgardens.com.

UCampanula “Summertime Blues”: This 2-foot clumping upright perennial, with big silvery-blue bells, has been bred to rebloom over an extra-long period from spring to fall. Terra Nova Nurseries says it doesn’t spread or reseed. Available from White Flower Farm — (800) 503-9624, whiteflowerfarm.com.

UShock Wave petunia (Petunia x hybrida “Shock Wave”): The latest in Pan American Seeds’ ocean of Wave petunias has smaller, more delicate blooms but plenty of them, in a cascade that would be spectacular in containers or as a ground cover. It also has a scale that works especially well in small spaces. This annual comes in ivory and four shades of pink. Should be widely available in nurseries and catalogs. Find more information at www.wave-rave.com.

UEryngium leavenworthii: This is a wildflower of the southern Great Plains that has just arrived in the Thompson & Morgan seed catalog. It’s an annual, unlike our native rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), but it blooms from seed in late summer with spiky purple flower heads. Available from Thompson & Morgan — (800) 274-7333, tmseeds.com.

UAll the Rage Easy Elegance rose (Rosa “BAIrage”): Bred in Minnesota by Ping Tim at Bailey Nurseries, this hardy, low-maintenance shrub rose, grown on its own root, has coral buds that open to 3- to 4-inch semidouble sunrise apricot flowers with yellow centers. About 3 to 4 feet high, it should rebloom all summer. Should be widely available in nurseries and catalogs. For more information, see baileynurseries.com/easyelegance.

UMidnight Prairieblues baptisia (Baptisia “Midnight”): The latest false indigo hybrid from Jim Ault’s breeding at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Ill., introduced by the Chicagoland Grows program, mixes genes from three species, Baptisia tinctoria, Baptisia alba and Baptisia australis. It has 4-foot spikes of deep violet-blue flowers in late May and June. Baptisias, with several species native to the Midwest, are large, shrubby, drought-tolerant perennials. See chicagolandgrows.org. Ault’s latest baptisia, a yellow hybrid called “Solar Flare,” may be in limited release in a few nurseries sometime in the summer.

UCarousel little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium “Carousel”): This selection of the native little bluestem was made by Donald Boehm at Boehm’s Garden Center in Rushville, Ill. It is compact, only about 30 inches tall and wide, with a rounded habit to make it fit well in smaller gardens. See chicagolandgrows.org.

UZinnia maritima “Solcito”: A fluffy cloud of bright green leaves and tiny golden blossoms fills containers or spreads over the ground. It’s a tough, drought-tolerant annual from Pan American Seed. Should be widely available in catalogs and at nurseries.

WHAT’S NEW IN EDIBLES

U“Zavory” pepper: Burpee says these bright red peppers have the aromatic, citrusy flavor of a habanero, but without the searing heat. “Zavory” is said to register 100 on the Scoville scale of pepper hotness, as opposed to up to 300,000 for a habanero. Must be started indoors; it takes about 90 days from sowing seed to harvest. From W. Atlee Burpee & Co. — (800) 888-1447, burpee.com.

U“Hansel” eggplant: This baby is an All-America Selections winner for 2008 (all- americaselections.org), meaning it was judged superior at more than 20 trial gardens around the country. The clusters of finger-shaped eggplants can be eaten at just 2 to 3 inches (try skewering them and grilling them) or allowed to grow a bit bigger without getting bitter. Compact plant, good for containers. Get little eggplants in about 70 days from sowing. Should be widely available in nurseries and catalogs, including Territorial Seed Co. — (800) 626-0866, territorialseed.com; and Park Seed — (800) 213-0076, parkseed.com.

U“Healy’s Pride” melon: Seed Savers Exchange brings back a plant first introduced in 1952 by Elmer James Healy of St. Francisville, Ill. The fruits, up to 10 pounds, have “sweet old time muskmelon flavor,” the company says. Harvest in 80 to 85 days from sowing; organic seed. Seed Savers Exchange — (563) 382-5990, seedsavers.org.

UJapanese Trifele Black tomato: A rich-flavored deep purple tomato, bred in Russia. Fruits are the size of a Bartlett pear, with high yields. Indeterminate. Harvest in 70 to 80 days from sowing; organic seed. Seed Savers Exchange — (563) 382-5990, seedsavers.org.