A productive pollinator garden in Chicagoland must do more than produce a few attractive flowers in midsummer. Plants need to handle cold winters, humid…
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.
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When late spring bulbs are fading and many summer perennials are still gathering momentum, baptisia steps into the garden with tall, clean-lined flower spikes.…
Northern Illinois gardens can support a remarkable range of summer plants, from dahlias and cannas to tropical hibiscus and elephant ears. Many of these tender…
Helenium, commonly called sneezeweed, brings late-season color to perennial borders when many early and midsummer plants are fading. Its daisy-like flowers in…
A butterfly-friendly garden can be much more than a colorful planting bed. When several nearby spaces offer nectar, shelter, water, and host plants, they form…
Shade can be one of the most rewarding conditions in a Chicagoland garden. Beneath mature trees, along north-facing foundations, and beside woodland paths,…
A perennial can be well suited to the Chicago climate and still fail in a city garden. The problem is often below the surface. Urban planting beds regularly…
A productive vegetable garden depends on more than sunlight, fertile soil, and regular watering. Pollinating bees, hoverflies, lacewings, lady beetles,…
Wet ground can turn perennial selection into a season-by-season guessing game. A plant may thrive during a cool, rainy spring, then struggle when heavy clay…
Gaura lindheimeri, commonly called gaura or butterfly gaura, brings a light, animated presence to perennial borders. Its slender flower stems carry white,…
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.
