When Chicago gardens are still gray and many perennials remain dormant, lungwort brings a welcome display of flowers and fresh foliage. Pulmonaria is…
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
A perennial meadow brings movement, seasonal color, habitat, and a more natural character to the garden. In the Chicagoland region, the most successful…
Community gardens are living laboratories for perennial plants. A successful planting must survive winter, recover from temperature swings, compete with…
By late August, many perennial borders lose their early-season energy. Peonies are long past bloom, catmint may look tired, and some daylilies have finished…
Agastache foeniculum, commonly called anise hyssop, earns attention for its summer flower spikes and minty fragrance. Yet its value continues after the…
Gaillardia, often called blanket flower, brings a long season of warm color to perennial borders. Its daisy-like blooms commonly combine yellow, orange, red,…
Chicagoland gardeners can grow a remarkable range of native perennial plants, from sunny prairie flowers to shade-loving woodland species. These plants evolved…
Lobelia cardinalis, commonly called cardinal flower, brings an intense red display to places where many garden perennials lose vigor. Its upright stems and…
Utility boxes, meter housings, air-conditioning equipment, and other service fixtures are necessary parts of a functioning property, but they can interrupt an…
New cultivars of Heliopsis that resist powdery mildew are attracting attention from gardeners who want a long season of golden flowers without sacrificing…
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.
