New Varieties For Cold Climates
Next to diamonds, roses rate highly as a girl's best friend; but until recently northern New England gardeners have had to settle for something that doesn't look much like a rose. It's a silly prejudice, but most of us yearn for something that resembles a standard hybrid tea, with big semi double long stemmed single blooms. Thanks to Dr. Griffith Buck of Iowa State University, Agriculture Canada, and other researchers there are dozens of hardy rose varieties that look like roses, not peonies or potentillas.
Three new Buck roses are "Aunt Honey" (6) {4} a pink disease resistant repeat bloomer, "Earth Song" (6) {4} a deep pink fragrant repeat bloomer, and "Winter Sunset" (6) {4} a gorgeous apricot yellow rose that blooms continuously. A new hybrid tea is "Moonstone" (6) {5}, a pearly white long-stemmed rose. A new variety from Agriculture Canada is "Royal Edward" (6) {3} a pink groundcover rose. All of Agriculture Canada's roses are hardy to Zone 3 and include some Old World and Rugosa type roses.
A number of perennial flowers hardy in Zones 3 & 4 have been introduced for 1999. A striking new Digitalis, "Primrose Carousel" (7) {4} offers a dwarf yellow foxglove true from seed. The perennial geranium "Reflections" (7) {3} glows in shades of purple, blue, pink and bi-color. A new Malva, "Mystic Merlin' (7) {3}, blooms in luminous shades of blue through mauve to deep purple. Touted as the most mildew-resistant variety yet, Monarda "Jacob Cline" (8){3} shines a fire engine red. Another new Monarda, "Scorpio" (8) {3} heavily blooms in breathtaking dark mauve. The hummingbirds should go wild over these lovelies.
I shouldn't neglect the annual flowers, even though we are talking about cold hardiness, and 1999 ushers in some wonderful varieties. Two new zinnias, "Profusion Orange" and "Profusion Cherry" (3,4,9) live up to their names, smothering compact bushy plants in non-stop bloom. This is a 1999 AAS Gold Medal winner. The New Guinea Impatiens, "Java" series (4), a vigorous grower, propagated by seed rather than cuttings, debuts as an inexpensive choice for shady locations. A new Marigold for 1999, "Bonanza Bolero" (4) sports gold flowers splashed with red. There are also two new wave Petunias available from seed, "Rose Wave" and "Misty Lilac Wave" (4,5,7,9).
Some of the new vegetable varieties for 1999 include: Lettuce: "Dynamite" (7), a greenfly resistant variety and "Integrata Red" (3), an exceptionally cold
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