SunPatiens® is a hybrid impatiens developed by the Japanese breeder Sakata specifically to improve the performance of impatiens in hot sun and humid conditions. By blending a great deal of New Guinea genetics into the basic impatiens they’ve delivered a plant with larger flowers and stronger stems but with the color firepower of traditional impatiens. As it turns out, this breeding work also enabled SunPatiens® to escape the worst of the downy mildew problem so we recommend it as a standard impatiens substitute in sunny locations.

In short, Magnums are extremely effective at doing the job that New Guineas are called on to do. A New Guinea impatiens in an 8-inch pot is the all-purpose shade plant: its task is to provide continuous color in a wide range of shaded and semi-shaded garden scenarios, from landscape beds to patio containers to mixed combos. To accomplish this it should provide extra-large rounded flowers with a heavy display across the top of the plant. Not all cultivars of New Guinea fulfill this requirement.

We discussed the Rocky Mountain geranium back in the winter. This landscaping variety grows much bigger than the usual geranium. Rocky Mountains are now shipping, so we thought we would review what makes them superior geraniums, especially well suited for extra large containers and oversized gardens:

Often following on the heels of pansies is verbena, a decor plant that thrives in the cooler spring weather. It is not frost-tolerant like pansies and violas, but it doesn’t mind the chill in the spring night air plus it blooms throughout the summer. We are shipping several series and cultivars of verbena this week, so today we will review what each brings to the table.