‘Prairie Dusk’

‘Husker Red’

Penstemon - Penstemon, Beardtongue

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

red, pink, lavender, white

10"- 36"

late spring to mid-summer

powdery mildew, slugs

border, cut flowers

seed, cuttings, division

Performance - Penstemons are typically short lived perennials in Kentucky gardens. These plants must be planted in well drained soils if you hope to have them perform as perennials. Plants tolerate our summer weather and should be planted in full sun locations.

Comments - There are many penstemons available, both species and cultivars.

Varieties -
Penstemon barbatus - Common Bearded Tongue - 'Albus', 'Coccineus', 'Hyacinthus Mix', 'Skylight Mix'.
Penstemon digitalis - Smooth White Penstemon - 'Husker Red', from the University of Nebraska, has maroon-red foliage and was the 1996 Perennial Plant of the Year from the Perennial Plant Association. ‘Husker Red’ has performed very well in perennial garden flower trials at the UK Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington.
'Alice Hindley', 'Evelyn', 'Firebird', 'Hidcote Pink', 'Prairie Dawn', 'Prairie Dusk', 'Prairie Fire', 'Sour Grapes', 'Windsor Red'. ‘Prairie Dusk’ and ‘Purple Haze’ were nice plants but not perennial in trials at the UK Horticulture Research Farm in 2001 and 2004.

 

‘Star’ and ‘Butterfly’ Pentas at Pan American Seed

Pentas lanceolata - Star Flower, Star-Cluster, Egyptian Star

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

white, pink, red, violet

15"- 30"

summer

few

bedding, border, containers

seed, cuttings


Performance - Star flower is a warm season plant that is an excellent annual flower in Kentucky gardens. Grow these plants in well drained soils in full sun garden locations.

Comments - The newer, dwarf varieties are well suited to all garden uses.

Varieties - 'Butterfly' series, 'New Look' series, and ‘Star’ series.

 

Russian sage

Perovskia atriplicifolia - Russian Sage

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

silvery blue

3 - 5 ft.

summer

few

border

cuttings, division


Performance - Russian sage is a reliable and outstanding perennial in Kentucky gardens. The gray-white foliage and the long period of bloom make this plant desirable. This plant should be grown in full sun gardens because it loves hot weather and is drought tolerant. Extra water and fertilizer in summer will force new flowering stems.

Comments - Russian sage grows like a small shrub and can be rather rank in appearance. Like ornamental grasses, the foliage and silvery stems can add winter accent to the garden. During cold Kentucky winters, the stems will freeze to the ground and should be pruned to the ground in the spring. During mild winters, stems may not freeze to the ground. When we have cold spring weather, this plant is slow to emerge and grow.

Petunia x hybrida - Petunia

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

pink, purple, blue, yellow, white, and red

8"- 15"

summer

few

borders, beds, containers

seeds or cuttings


Performance - Petunias are good to outstanding annual flowers in Kentucky gardens. They bloom prolifically all summer producing large, showy flowers of nearly every color. They require full sun, regular fertilizer and regular watering in ground beds or containers. Removal of spent flowers and stems increases the production of flowers in the older types, but the new types (Wave, Surfinia, Supertunia, etc.) don't need pruning to stimulate flowering if they are growing vigorously.

Petunias come in many colors; ‘Ultra’ from Goldsmith Seeds

 

Comments - Petunias have been a popular garden flower in Kentucky for more than 50 years. The new varieties make a spectacular show in large containers and ground beds because they are so vigorous and continuously flowering, but they also require fertilizer every 3-4 weeks and water every 3-5 days in ground beds or fertilizer each week and water every 1-2 days in containers.

Varieties -
Multiflora -  'Carpet' series, 'Celebrity' series, 'Horizon' series, 'Primetime' series, 'Summertime Blues',

Grandiflora - 'Cloud' series, 'Daddy' series, 'Dreams' series, 'Eagle' series, 'Falcon' series, 'Frost' series, 'Hulahoop' series, 'Picotee' series, 'Prism' series, 'Storm' series, 'Supercascade' series, 'Supermagic' series, 'Titan' series, 'Ultra' series, 'Yellow Magic'

Double - 'Bonanza', 'Double Madness' series, 'Double Cascade' series, 'Pirouette' series, 'Sonata'

Spreading types from seed - 'Wave' series, 'Avalanche' series

Spreading types from cuttings - 'Cascadia' series, 'Supertunia' series, 'Surfinia' series

More information and photos are available in Hortfact 51.13 06 – Petunia.

Phlox - Phlox

Phlox divaricata - Woodland Phlox

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

blue

12"- 15"

spring

few

border, woodland garden

seed, cuttings

Performance - Woodland Phlox is a reliable perennial for partially shaded gardens in Kentucky.

Varieties - 'Blue Dreams', 'Fuller's White', 'Twilight'.

Phlox drummondii - Annual Phlox

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

white, pink, rose, blue, red

12"- 15"

summer

few

border

seed

Performance - Annual phlox is not common in Kentucky gardens. These plants do not tolerate Kentucky summers, with high temperatures and drought, very well. The plants do perform well in spring or fall and are excellent for mixed containers in the spring. The main ornamental interest is that they are easy to grow and the wide range of striking colors.

Varieties - '21st Century' series (seems to be more heat and drought tolerant), 'Chanal', 'Cecily Mix', 'Globe Mix', 'Palona' series, 'Petticoat Mix' (flowers are star-shaped), 'Garden Leader' series, 'Twinkles Mix' (flowers are star-shaped)

Annual phlox ‘Astoria Magenta’

Phlox maculata ‘Miss Lingard’

Phlox paniculata ‘David’

Phlox maculata - Wild Sweet William

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

pink

24"

early summer

few

border

division, root cuttings

Performance - Wild Sweet William is a reliable perennial in full sun gardens in Kentucky. The plants are much less susceptible to powdery mildew than garden phlox.

Varieties - 'Magnificance'; 'Miss Lingard' and 'Natascha' have performed well in trials at the UK Horticulture Research Farm.

Phlox paniculata - Garden Phlox

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

white, pink, blue, red

2-6 ft.

summer

powdery mildew

border, cut

root cuttings, division

Performance - Garden phlox is a common and reliable perennial in Kentucky gardens. It should be grown in full sun locations that have good air movement, in order to reduce powdery mildew infections.

Comments - Declining blooms should be removed to prevent reseeding. Cultivars that are allowed to reseed produce inferior plants that, because of their vigor, can literally "run" the desirable plants out of the garden. Many cultivars are fragrant.

Varieties - 'Amethyst', 'Bright Eyes', 'Charles H. Curtis', 'David', 'Elizabeth Arden', 'Eva Cullum', 'Franz Shubert', 'Orange Perfection', 'Robert Poore', 'Salmon Beauty', 'Spitfire', 'Starfire'.

 

Tall varieties ‘David’ and ‘Robert Poore’; dwarf varieties ‘Jill’, ‘Margie’ and ‘Nicky’ have done well in trials at the UK Horticulture Research Farm but they were quite susceptible to powdery mildew. The variegated variety ‘Becky Towe’ is beautiful but did not tolerate the full sun and somewhat dry conditions of the trials.

 

Results from a 4-year phlox evaluation at the Chicago Botanic Garden. 
Highest overall - good plant health, strong habits and high flower production: Phlox carolina 'Reine du Jour', P. x 'Chattahoochee', P. paniculata 'Katherine' and P. pulchra 'Morris Berd'.
Good disease resistance and ornamental qualities: Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes', 'David', 'Franz Schubert'.

Phlox subulata - Moss Pink, Creeping Phlox

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

blue, white, pink

3-6"

spring

few

border, rock garden, edging

division

Performance - Creeping phlox is a common and reliable landscape perennial in Kentucky. These plants make a spectacular show across the state in spring. The plants benefit from light pruning after they flower.

Comments - Although spectacular in spring, the plant is just an evergreen ground cover the rest of the year.

Varieties - Most creeping phlox plants in the state are simply sold by color, but there are cultivar names as well.

 

Obedience Plant ‘Pink Bouquet’

Physostegia virginiana - Obedience Plant, False Dragonhead

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

 pink, white

24"-36" 

summer 

few

border, cut flower

division

Performance - Obedience plant is a reliable perennial in Kentucky and grows best in full sun and well-drained soil.

Comments - These plants are commonly available in garden centers across the state, but the plants can be problematic for some gardeners. The right location with more organic, acid soils is important to success with this plant.

Varieties - 'Alba', 'Pink Bouquet', 'Vivid'.

 

Water Lettuce

Pistia stratiotes - Water Lettuce, Shellflower

Flower Color

Height

Season

Pests

Uses

Propagation

 insignificant

4"- 6"

summer 

few

water gardens, ponds

division


Performance - Water lettuce is a floating aquatic annual plant that is a reliable performer in full sun to partial shade water gardens in Kentucky. Add fertilizer to the water to get the plants to grow more numbers.

Comments - The waxy green rosette of leaves make the plants look like floating heads of lettuce.