A perennial garden can keep earning attention after its flowers fade. Leaves may turn amber, copper, burgundy, plum, or brilliant red, giving borders structure…
Evaluating Perennials for Chicagoland Gardens
Perennials in Focus is a plant evaluation program that examines new and underused plants for Chicagoland, the third largest metropolitan area in the country. A group of horticultural experts trials and evaluates plants at numerous locations across the region. Results help consumers, public gardens, growers, landscape designers, breeders, and other industry professionals make informed plant choices.
Blog
Prairie perennials are valued for their seasonal colour, wildlife benefits and ability to form dense colonies. Their underground systems deserve equal…
Young perennials can look perfectly healthy at planting time, then develop bleached leaves, scorched margins, collapsed stems or a damaged crown after a run of…
Monarda fistulosa and Monarda didyma are valuable perennial bee balm species, yet they do not behave identically when disease pressure rises. Their differences…
Heliopsis helianthoides, commonly called false sunflower or oxeye sunflower, earns its place in a cutting garden through generous flowering, sturdy stems and a…
Salvia nemorosa is valued for its upright flower spikes, aromatic foliage and reliable performance in sunny perennial borders. Many cultivars produce their…
Rabbits can turn a carefully planted border into a patchwork of chewed stems, especially where new housing meets open grassland, railway corridors, creek…
Autumn can look like the quiet season in a garden, but it is a valuable time to leave useful plant material standing. Dry stems, spent flower heads, seed…
Phlox stolonifera, commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox, is a low-growing woodland perennial valued for its spring flowers and spreading habit. Unlike…
Echinacea purpurea, commonly called purple coneflower, is valued for its long summer bloom, sturdy stems, wildlife appeal, and tolerance of ordinary garden…
In the Garden
Evaluator gardens are located across the Chicagoland area, representing a range of growing conditions. Visit our retail and wholesale partners to find trialled perennials for your own garden.
Retail & Wholesale: Hinsdale Nurseries (Willowbrook, IL), Mariani Nurseries (Kenosha, WI & Garden Prairie, IL), Northwind Perennials (Burlington, WI), The Growing Place (Aurora, IL).
Wholesale Only: Hinsdale Nurseries (Plano, IL), Intrinsic Perennial Gardens (Hebron, IL).
Our Evaluation Program
The 2017–2020 evaluation cycle included Agastache 'Blue Boa', Allium senescens 'Blue Eddy', Amsonia ciliata var. filifolia 'Georgia Pancake', Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun', Boltonia astroides 'James Crocket', Brunnera 'Alexander's Great', and Geranium cinereum 'Jolly Jewel Purple'. Completed evaluations include Amsonia 'Blue Ice' (2004–07).
On April 10, 2020, the program published snapshot profiles for Vernonia lettermanii 'Iron Butterfly', Stokesia laevis 'Elf', Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy', Lobelia 'Monet Moment', Helleborus 'Winter Thrillers', Geum 'Mai Tai', Geranium soboliferum 'Butterfly Kisses', Gentiana x intermedia 'True Blue', Eurybia divaricata, Asparagus 'Purple Passion', and Agastache 'Bolero'.
Browse the full collection of snapshots organized alphabetically — from A–D, E–H, I–Q, and R–Z — to find detailed performance data on perennials trialled across Chicagoland.
