2026: Fun New Perennials

Baptisia: Baptisia alba (white) and Baptisia sphaerocarpa (yellow) - both are tall and available from reliable, inexpensive seed. I do plan to invest in cultivars as well, but I haven't decided which ones yet. They are more expensive so I don't want to invest until I have a spot prepared for them. As a cut flower grower I need more line flowers and foliage. As an orchardist I need nitrogen fixers. This genus fits the bill for both.

Leadplant: deer resistant, with exceptionally deep roots that assist with erosion control. It's in the legume family like baptisia, and being a nitrogen fixer, it will likewise be a good companion plant with the fruit trees. We are always looking for line ingredients, and the color purple sells well.

Vernonia: a very tall, cold hardy purple filler that is reliably perennial. I debated between species and cultivar for this one. The seed for the species type is really inexpensive and doesn't require anything too fussy besides cold stratification, so I'm going to give it a try. On the other hand, the cultivars are bred to have better powdery mildew resistance and fuller heads. In either case, it blooms at the end of the field growing season which is always a time when we need more product.

Culver's Root: similar to veronica, yet super tall. Beautiful white spikes with no side branches makes this one a breeze to cut, strip, and bunch. This has been on my grow list for a while and I'm excited to be planting it. No cold stratification required.

New Jersey Tea: another native plant, another nitrogen fixer. I think I'm most excited about the wildlife value and the fragrant white blooms, but I am also incorporating it to have another beautiful foliage. I also think the underripe seedheads will be a good late season textural option.

Hellebore: we have many shady wooded zones between our two properties, so I have been wanting to use some of this to grow fancy double hellebores. I'm finally investing in some. They're really expensive but I'm confident about them. Just too pretty for words.

Pitcher Plant: I'm so excited about these and I don't care if they're marketable as cuts or not. I just really wanted them for myself! But I think they have promise as a cut on my strange wetland + riparian property. They like bog conditions, yet want to grow in intense full sunlight.

Cephalaria: also known as Giant Pincushion Flower. Plants can reach 6 feet tall and produce an abundance of large, buttercream-colored, scabiosa-like blooms.

Roman Shields: a relative of cress and mustard, it has beautiful sand-colored flat seedheads that are wonderful for wreathmaking.

Linaria: another line flower, like dainty miniature snapdragons. These were one of my childhood favorites so I can't wait to grow them in my own garden.

Photos sourced from Uprising Seeds, Walters Gardens, Prairie Moon Nursery, Jelitto Seeds.