Yikes, campers! It’s hot! We’re at Terra Nova and are preparing for an onslaught of visitors during the Far West Show where we will be hosting an August open house in Canby for a whole week. If you are in the industry, please join us! You’ll see firsthand all of the latest offers and Echinacea should be in their prime. We had a great show at Cultivate ’25, the largest wholesale nursery trade show in the US. Worth the trip to Columbus, Ohio, with a faboo side trip to Groovy Plants Ranch. Jared and Liz have an amazing set of cool plants for hot sticky weather.
We are excited to offer three great plants following in the footsteps of their brethren already in the industry. It was something to see Jared’s sales area with a swarm of Echinacea, and he amazingly featured several thousand plants for sale. These are a native of the Midwest plains and prairies. They take the heat and humidity but are also used to summer rain. If you are in dry areas of the Pacific Northwest, remember to supplement the sparse or non-existent rain with additional irrigation for best growth and flowering. A lot of people don’t know that they are fragrant with a sweet honey scent. This draws a bunch of pollinators, and the seeds are a feast for goldfinches. We have a resident flock at Terra Nova! We are featuring bicolored Echinacea PRIMA™ 'Aura'.
Next, a quiet, but effective groundcover, Ajuga truly covers ground, not permitting weed seeds to establish. Our new offering, Ajuga Nova™ Pink, is a vigorous, full-sized groundcover that can aggressively cover space and reward the homeowner with charming pink flowers rather than the purple flowers that are typical. Super hardy, heat, sun and shade-tolerant too!
And finally, Coreopsis Nova™ Amber is a new take on this versatile genus that is native to a wide swatch of America, from Maryland to South Carolina over to Tennessee. If you live in any of these areas, you know it’s hot and humid and this baby takes the heat and humidity with aplomb. It’s a monster bloomer and a pollinator magnet. Here’s the deets on this trio:
Come explore three remarkable offerings by the ORIGINAL innovators: Terra Nova.
Echinacea PRIMA™ 'Aura'
Everything about this plant is striking! Gorgeous, jewel toned flowers are exceptionally showy, bearing two tones at once. Rose pink is the heart of the flower and pastel lime is the ring around the rose-colored heart. Stiff, upright stems are great for cutting and healthy foliage completes the picture. Definitely a showstopper. Pollinator friendly and a nice fragrance. Hardy in USDA zones four to nine and is showy in outdoor containers or en masse in a bright garden location. The multitudinous flowers rise to twenty inches high on a globe-like mound nineteen inches across in full sun. You can expect the blooms from June through October!
A full-sized aggressive groundcover, Ajuga NOVA® ‘Pink’ has the same mat forming ability in the garden and landscape. Deep green foliage that sometimes has a purple flush to it, shows off the pretty bright pink and violet flowers. Beautiful when companion planted with spring flowering bulbs underneath, like crocus, muscari and narcissus. You can expect the blooming period from June to July. USDA Zones five to nine and is showy in outdoor containers or en masse in a garden location with any light exposure. Flowers rise to seventeen inches high on a low globe-like mound ten inches across in the first year.
Extremely dense and bushy growth. Deep green, slender, and vigorous foliage provides the perfect background for the cheery, amber flowers. Bees adore this plant! Growing like a bushel basket, NOVA® ‘Amber’ will impress growers and gardeners alike. Visitors to our trial fields couldn’t resist “petting” this one. Verticillata breeding with mildew resistance. Hardy in USDA zones six to ten. The warm amber flowers rise to thirty inches high with an upright, but compact habit, twenty inches wide by eighteen inches high. Excellent for gardens and as a specimen in a container. Coreopsis need full sun and supplemental summer watering. Continuous flowering in full sun from June through September. Pollinator haven.
Dan Heims is an award-winning author who lectures throughout the world. He was recently honored by The American Horticultural Society with the Luther Burbank Breeding Award, as well as the Perennial Plant Association’s Award of Merit. He was also honored in receiving the Royal Horticultural Society’s Reginald Cory Cup for advancements in breeding. A 2025 Silver Laurel Award was granted by GardenComm International for the 2025 Commercial Catalog.
You may contact Dan at [email protected] Questions on culture and care or availability for a speaking engagement can be had at this email.
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.
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