The year 2001 marks the fifth anniversary Plant Select® introducing and promoting plants of outstanding horticultural merit to the Rocky Mountain and Plains states. Since 1997, the program has promoted 31 annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Seven varieties are being promoted this year.
CORONADO® Hyssop (Agastache aurantiaca) has yellow 
and orange flowers from midsummer to autumn frost. This silvery-leaved, southwesternperennial is intensely aromatic, just like its relative, sunset hyssop. It performs best in sunny sites with soil that drains well.
REMEMBRANCE® Columbine (Aquilegia ‘Swan Violet & White’) is a hybrid derived from Colorado’s state flower. The petals and spurs of this perennial are an incredibly rich, shining violet-blue. The name honors the memory of the students and a teacher lost in the shooting at Columbine High School. Proceeds from garden center and nursery sales of this plant benefit organizations that promote diversity and tolerance in schools.
First Love Dianthus® (Dianthus ‘First Love’) is a clump-forming perennial with flowers that change from pure white to deep rose as they age. The plants produce a constant succession of intensely fragrant flowers from April to frost. Mounds of silvery-blue foliage remain attractive through the winter months.
Cheyenne Mock Orange® (Philadelphus lewisii) is a North American native that forms an attractive shape in a variety of sites and soils. This is the second selection from the Hildreth-Howard arboretum, formerly known as the USDA Field Station at Cheyenne, Wyoming, promoted by Plant Select®. The parent shrub has formed a spectacular and carefree specimen and has thrived over many decades there with no care. It produces intensely fragrant nearly white blooms that are nearly two-inches wide.
Comanche Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa ‘Red Jacket’) has bright green leaves and produces many clusters of sweet, huge, red berries in midsummer. This mounding shrub bears long thorns and is good used as a hedge. It is powdery mildew resistant and very hardy.
ORANGE CARPET® Hummingbird Trumpet (Zauschneria garrettii ) is a rapidly spreading perennial ground cover that produces masses of orange flowers from summer to fall. This selection was made from seed collected in Idaho and is the best form of hummingbird trumpet for high altitude or cool climate gardens.
DENVER GOLD® Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha) is a particularly showy race of the golden columbine of the southern Rockies. The huge yellow flowers can be more than three inches across and the spurs are even longer. These perennial plants often bloom from May to autumn frost and self sow generously.
ORANGE CARPET® is a registered trademark of PLANTS FOR THE WESTERN GARDEN, INC.
REMEMBRANCE® is a registered trademark of FTD®.
Plant Select® introductions and recommendations are available at garden centers and nurseries. Additional information on the cultural needs of these and other plants in the program is available at the Plant Select® website, www.plantselect.org.
