Download 2005 Georgia Gold Medal Winners

2005 Georgia Gold Medal Winners
Dragon Wing Begonia
Summer Annual
™ (Begonia x hybrida 'Dragon Wing')
Partial Shade
Dragon Wing Begonia is not a typical begonia. It's like a begonia
on steroids' Its leaves and flowers are larger than most begonias,
and its growth rate is phenomenal. It adapts well to landscape beds,
containers or hanging baskets and blooms non-stop from spring
until fall frost.
mal manure on the planting area and incorporate it uniformly to a
12-inch depth. Then broadcast a slow-release fertilizer, such as
Osmocote, over the bed according to label direclions. Space plants
12 10 18 inches apart. Mulching and thoroughly watering are the
final tasks to gel the summer show under way.
Soon after Dragon Wing Begonia was introduced by Pan American
Like olher fibrous begonias, Dragon Wing Begonias are heavy
feeders and will benefil from a liquid fertilizer, such as 20-20-20 or
15-3-15, applied each two weeks during the growing season.
Seed Company in 2000, growers and landscapers from California to
Florida were raving about the plant. Ahybrid cross between angel
wing begonia and wax begonia, Dragon Wing Begonia offers the best
qualities of both plants. It grows denser and larger than most angel
wing types and has the heat tolerance of wax began ias.
Dragon Wing Begonias grow 12 to 15 inches tall and 15 to 18
inches wide. Leaves are wing-shaped and large, 2 to 5 inches long,
and dark glossy green. Plants tend to branch readily and grow
dense without pruning. Two flower colors, red and pink, are cur­
rentlyavailable. The Ilowers are borne on stalks, called panicles,
growing from the leaf nodes near tbe tip of each branch. Flowers
sbed naturally after bloom as new ones take their place, so plants
appear neat and clean all summer.
In the landscape, Dragon Wing Begonia does best in filtered shade
and well-drained soils enriched with organic matter. For best
results, plant on a raised bed, 4 to 6 inches above the normal grade.
To build up the bed, place 4 inches of compost or well-rotted ani-
Dragon Wing Begonia makes a spectacular showing in the landscape
when combined with tropical plants having bold foliage, sucb as
bananas, cannas, gingers and tibouchinas (Princess Flower). Witb its
gently arching stems and prolific, pendulous Ilower clusters, Dragon
Wing Begonia also is an excellent choice for large containers.
Asingle plant will fill a IO-inch hanging basket, and five plants
will fill a whisky barrel, so provide plenty of room to grow. When
plants grow a little to large for their container, simply trim them
back to encourage new growth and flowers.
When frost threatens, Dragon Wing Begonias can be cut back, dug
and repotted for indoor culture and overwintering. Cuttings also
can be rooted in water and potted. Give them plenty of bright Iigbt
and occasional liquid feedings, and they will continue their award­
winning performance indoors all winter.
Georgia Blue Veronica (Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue')
Herbaceous Perennial
Hordiness Zones S to 8
Sun/Partial Shode
Given Georgia's unpredictable climate, most gardeners are looking
for tough, drought tolerant, heat-tolerant, and low-maintenance
plants. Georgia Blue Veronica, Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia
Blue', has all these qualities, and more.
Georgia Blue Veronica is not another University of Georgia intro­
duction. In fact, it doesn't hail from the state of Georgia at all. It
was found in the Republic of Georgia (formerly a part of the Soviet
Union) by English plantsman Roy Lancaster, who introduced and
named it after the country of origin.
Georgia Blue Veronica is a herbaceous perennial with a growth
habit like a groundcover and beautiful, sky-blue flowers in early
spring. When planted over bulbs, such as daffodils, it provides a
dramatic color contrast and spectacular floral display as it blooms
in concert with the bulbs. Yellow, white and cream-colored daffodils
look particularly nice against the carpet of blue. The plant is an
excellent choice for container plantings and rock gardens, too, pro­
viding the visual appeal of a woodland stream spilling over the sides
of containers or cascading over rocks.
Growing just 4 to 6 inches tall and 2 feet wide, Georgia Blue
Veronica tends to hug the ground and remain compact. The ever­
green leaves are small, about J inch long, elliplical-sbaped and finely
100thed. They're dark green in summer and turn
burgundy-bronze color in winter.
Gardeners who like plants that bloom over a long time will love
Georgia Blue Veronica. From February to April, the plant bears an
abundance of tiny, true-blue flowers with white centers. There are
times during the bloom cycle that tbe foliage is literally masked by all
the flowers. The flowers are highly attractive to bees and butterllies.
Although Georgia Blue Veronica is a vigorous grower and spreads
by creeping rootstocks, it's not aggressive or invasive. When it
reaches the limits of its growing area, it can be sheared back and
easily maintained within a bed.
Well-drained soils and good nutrition are essential for success with
Georgia Blue Veronica. Alight application of 10-10- J0 fertilizer
applied every two months and watered in during the first growing
season will get the plant off to a good start. Once established, a
light application of a complete fertilizer, such as 16-4-8, in early
spring and late summer will keep the plant looking its best.
Georgia Blue Veronica can be grown from seed or propagated by
dividing established planls in spring or fall.
Cr.eping Rasberry (Rubus pentalobus)
Groundcover
Hardiness Zones 7 to 9
Most landscapes have difficult sites, like hot, dry, erodible slopes
or ditches. Not many plants tolerate these conditions, but creeping
raspberry, Rubus pentalobus, is one that will. In fact, it not only
survives, it thrives under harsh growing conditions.
Creeping Raspberry is a fast-growing evergreen ground cover
imported from Taiwan. It grows 3 to 6 inches high and spreads 3 to
6 feet in all directions. As the name implies, Creeping Raspberry
creeps along the ground by forming runners, much like strawberries,
which root at their nodes and establish new colouies. Although it is
Sun/Partial Shade
aggressive, Creeping Raspberry isn't invasive. It doesn't climb trees
or smother nearby shrubs, and it can be readily confined within a
bed with mechanical edging.
Creeping Raspberry has coarse-textured leaves with deep veins that
cause them to appear puckered. They're about 1.5 inches in diame­
ter and have 3 to 5 lobes. During spring and summer, the leaves are
shiny, dark green above and gray-green below. They turn burgundy
in fall and winter. White flowers are borne in mid-summer, but
they're lost in the foliage and not very showy. The flowers are 1'01­
Take Home a Georgia Gold Medal Plant ... and Take Home a Winner!
Prepared by Gary L. Wade, Extension Horticulturist, The University of Georgia
lowed by tiny, raspberry-like fruit in late summer. Althougb the
fruit are tasty and edible, they're tiny, so don't expect an abundant
harvest for your breaklast table. Fruiting is not one of the plantis
outstanding attributes.
Plant Creeping Raspberry plants 4 to 6 feet apart to allow them
plenty of room to spread. Afull- sun site is best, although plants
will adapt to partial shade. Avoid planting them in wet soils or
areas that may get too much irrigation. Wet soils or overhead irri­
gation will cause the plants to look ragged.
Creeping Raspberry does well in most areas of Georgia, except in
extreme mountainous regions, where winter hardiness may be a
problem. It has excellent pest resistance and deer tolerance. II: after
a harsh winter, the foliage looks a little rough, give it a ligbt
trimming with the lawn mower in mid-March to encourage a new
growth Ousb in spring.
To encourage rapid establishment, apply a granular fertilizer, such
as 16-4-8 or 12-4-8, in early spring. Apply fertilizer wben the
foliage is dry, and use a broom or rake to get excess granules off the
leaves. Then water with overhead irrigation to wash any residual
fertilizer off the foliage.
Creeping Raspberry can be propagated by separating a rooted
runner from the motber plant.
It's not just for ditches or slopes. Creeping Raspberry looks par­
ticularly nice when grown in a raised bed or planter and allowed to
cascade over a wall or container.
Rose Creek and Canyon Creek Abelias (Abelia hybrids)
Shrub
Hardiness Zones 6 to 9
Sun/Partial Shade
During recent years, plant breeders have made great strides in
developing new plants with outstanding seasonal characteristics that
give them improved landscape appeal. Examples are Rose Creek and
Canyon Creek Abelias, exciting new selections from the breeding
program of Dr. Michael Dirr at the University of Georgia. Since
their release in 2001 and 2002, respectively, these plants have earned
the admiration of nurserymen, landscapers and gardeners tbrough­
out the United States.
Rose Creek and Canyon Creek Abelias are seedling selections of
Chinese Abelia, Abelia chinellse. They were open-pollinated with
other abelia cultivars, so their exact parentage is unknown. Rose
Creek Abelia was selected for its low mounding growth habit, crim­
son stem color, fragrant white Oowers and exceptionally long bloom
period (May to frost). The plant grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet
wide, making it an excellent choice for foundation plantings, con­
tainers, or low-growing hedges.
Rose Creek Abelia has evergreen leaves that emerge with a pinkish
cast, turn lustrous, dark green in summer, then darken to purple
green in winter, giving the plant an ever-changing seasonal interest.
Cluster after cluster of white, fragrant, tubular Oowers, about a
half-inch long, are borne throughout tbe growing season. Below
each Oower are small, light-pink, modified leaves, called the calyx,
which remain on the plant after the flowers fade and provide even
more pizzazz to the Ooral display.
Canyon CreekAbelia is a larger plant than Rose Creek Abelia,
growing 4 to 6 feel tall and wide. It's a great hedging plant and is an
ideal cboice for a mixed perennial border. New leaves emerge with a
coppery-pink cast that mellows to a soft yellow, then green, then
rosey bronze in winter. Flowers are fragrant, tubular, light pink
and are borne in clusters from May until frost. The flowers are sur­
rounded at tbeir base by a star-shaped, reddisb-pink calyx that per­
sists long after the Oowers drop, so the plant appears to have two
Oower forms present at the same time throughout the season.
Both abelias are drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and are seldom
bothered by pests. They also are highly attractive to butterOies and
bees. Some light pruning may be required from time to time to
remove lanky shoots. Otherwise, botb plants look their best wben
allowed to develop a natural, informal appearance.
Glowing Embers Japanese Maple (Acer pa/matum 'Glowing Embers')
Tree
Hardiness Zones S to 8
Sun/Partial Shade
Glowing Embers is not just another Japanese maple. !tis an
award-winning selection from Dr. Michael Dirris plant evaluation
program at the University of Georgia, chosen for its vigorous
growth rate, brilliant fall color, and adaptability to a wide variety of
Southern landscape conditions. The original seedling selection from
which others have been propagated can be seen at the entrance to the
Callaway Building at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in
Athens.
Unlike many Japanese maples that require shade and moist, organ­
ic soils, Glowing Embers Japanese Maple thrives in full sun and tol­
erates drought better than most trees in its class. However, it will
not tolerate wet sites or sites where extreme Ouctuations in soil
moisture are common. Good soil drainage is essential.
Aptly named, Glowing Embers Japanese Maple provides a kaleido­
scope of color in fall as the leaves fade from green to purple,
Oourescent orange, or yellow, much like the ever-changing and mes­
merizing embers of a wood fire. The color sequence of each leaf
varies, and a single branch may display four distinctly different col­
ors at the same time.
toothed, 2 to 3 inches long and about 3 inches wide with five dis­
tinct, pointed lobes. The tree has a dense canopy when in full leaf
and is an excellent shade tree for residential landscapes where space
is limited.
Unlike other Japanese maples that are grafted onto a rootstock,
Glowing Embers Japanese Maple is called a "c1ollol"selection, which
means that it is propagated from cuttings and is not grafted onto a
rootstock. Nurserymen refer to this as "growing on its own roots."
They love this characteristic because it makes production more
efficient and less time-consuming.
Once established, Glowing Embers Japanese Maple will benefit
from spring applications of a complete garden fertilizer, such as
16-4-8 or 12-4-8. Prune as needed to tbin branches and to develop
a desired shape. Although the tree has above-average drought toler­
ance, be prepared to provide some supplemental irrigation during
drought periods.
Glowing Embers Japanese Maple is quickly becoming a highly
demanded and popular plant in the nursery industry as landscape pro­
fessionals and borne gardeners discover its award-winning qualities.
Glowing Embers Japanese Maple is a medium-size deciduous tree,
growing 30 to 40 feet high with an equal spread. Leaves are finely
Georgia Gold Medal Winners are selected each year by the Georgia Plant Selection (omminee, comprised of GreeA<lndustry professionals and faculty from The University of Georgia.
The (omminee promotes the production, sale and use of superior ornamental plants in Georgia. For information on other Georgia Gold Medal Winners, visit
www.georgiagoldmedal.com