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continued from page 29 propagating them. Some nurseries are simply plant factories, cranking out as many of what is popular as possible. On the other hand, some nurseries grow plants because they are true plant nerds that love discovering the best plants for our region. It is more profitable to purchase from reputable plant nerds than plant factories, you want the best of the best, not the cheapest from the big box. One of our favorites is NOT one of the latest versions of drunken spilt, wine and cheese options in a pretty white pot, but instead a self-proven champion of the garden, called “French Lace.” Discovered as a genetic mutation (sport) of a 1950’s cultivar named “Bristol Ruby,” this plant was cultivated in 1989 by French breeder, Andre Briant, who patented the name as “Brigela,” which sells under the name “French Lace.” This cultivar is a good 4 to 5 foot rounded shrub with deep-red flowers set on lime-yellow margined leaves. French Lace also develops some attractive fall color in the reds to oranges. While this cultivar is newer to us, here in the states, it has a great track record of performing in a range of gardens across the world.
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“Wine and Roses” seemed to take the gardening world by storm when it hit the market around 2000, helping push the white pot to the forefront of consumers’ minds, but the plant fell a bit short of expectations. The deep purple of the leaves seemed to fade to a dark green by mid-summer and was likely rushed to market before actually proving itself. “Midnight Wine” was next in the series – and performs better – but makes one wonder if this group of breeders should put the wine down sometime before midnight. While the dwarf habit under 24” is nice, it still doesn’t seem to be the best of the dark-leaved versions. “Spilled Wine” continues in this debauchery, yet finally offers the best retention of deep purple leaves through the summer. Now that they’ve spilled the wine, one would hope they lay the series to rest – and hopefully make it through the hangover. We’ve personally found “Tuxedo” intriguing, as the white flowers jump out better with the same fading dark purple