When the first hard frost settles over the Midwest, gardeners with potted perennials face a dilemma: leave plants outside and risk losing them, or bring them…
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
Wet shallow swales beside paved surfaces have become quiet workhorses in urban water management, soaking up runoff from driveways, footpaths, and carparks…
A garden that offers something in flower from April into November is one of the quiet triumphs of thoughtful perennial planning. Rather than relying on a few…
Australian gardeners increasingly want to support local birdlife as urban sprawl reduces natural bushland around Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. The…
Yarrow, or Achillea millefolium and its close garden selections, is often recommended for sunny, low-maintenance planting. Its aromatic foliage, tough stems…
Liatris spicata, commonly called blazing star or dense blazing star, is valued for its upright flower spikes, late-summer colour and ability to support…
Wild cranesbill, the common name for Geranium maculatum, has long drawn the eye of gardeners with its loose clusters of pink to lavender blooms held above…
Reducing lawn can make an Australian garden easier to water, mow and manage while creating space for flowers, insects and textured foliage. The most successful…
Asclepias incarnata, commonly called swamp milkweed, is a strong candidate for evaluation in municipal rain gardens because it combines seasonal flowers with a…
A productive garden does not need to look like a separate vegetable patch. Perennial food plants can bring edible harvests, distinctive foliage and seasonal…
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.
