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from the issue of November 3, 2005
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Arboretum names rare rock clematis a 2006 GreatPlant
BY KARMA LARSEN, NEBRASKA STATEWIDE ARBORETUM
A rare rock garden clematis will be available commercially for the first time next spring as a 2006 GreatPlants release from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.
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| | | Clematis tenuiloba 'Pixie Parasols' is a rare rock-garden clematis and will be highlighted in the 2006 GreatPlants program. Photos courtesy of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.
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Clematis tenuiloba 'Pixie Parasols' is one of several plants being highlighted by the arboretum as part of its popular GreatPlants program. Plants of the year include the chinkapin oak, redleaf rose, pasque flower and autumn red Miscanthus. Other new GreatPlants releases include cultivars of penstemon, dianthus, gayfeather and big bluestem.
Like other GreatPlants, the Pixie Parasols clematis was discovered, developed and tested in the challenging growing conditions of the Great Plains.
Claude Barr, plantsman and author of "Jewels of the Great Plains," described this native clematis as "the prize rock garden clematis of the West Blue-purple sepals are poised in a nodding position and of thrilling grace and carriage." For the last several years, nursery wholesaler Harlan Hamernik has been propagating the plant for a spring 2006 introduction.
The 2006 GreatPlants are:
Tree of the Year: Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergia) - This oak is one of the most beautiful shade trees. It is at its best in the Great Plains, where many outstanding specimens of this tough 40-50 foot tall native tree can be found on rocky bluffs, in floodplains and in forests, making it the most adaptable and widespread of the chestnut oaks. One of the more alkaline-tolerant and faster growing oaks, it performs well in drought conditions. Hardy to zone 4.
| | 'Prairie Pink' dianthus (left) displays fuschia blooms. 'Prairie Snow' (left) produces unique snow white blooms.
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Shrub of the Year: Redleaf Rose (Rosa rubrifolia) - This shrub has attractive leaves that emerge reddish-purple in spring and become a waxy bluish green in summer. One of the most cold-hardy roses, it is tolerant of a variety of soil types. Hardy to zone 2.
Perennial of the Year: Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla) - This western Nebraska native is a real harbinger of spring with its delicate lavender, cup-shaped flowers blooming in April up to 18 inches high. Pasque flower prefers a well-drained site and dry soil. Hardy to zone 4.
Grass of the Year: Autumn Red Miscanthus (Miscanthus 'Purpurascens') - As a group among grasses, Miscanthus is unmatched in the diversity and beauty of its flowers, foliage, autumn colors and winter interest. Hardy to zone 4.
The 2006 GreatPlants releases are: Silver Sunrise Bluestem (Andropogon "Silver Sunshine"); Prairie Snow Shell-leaf Penstemon (Penstemon grandiflorus 'Prairie Snow'); Prairie Pink Dianthus (Dianthus caryophyllus 'Prairie Pink'); Eureka Thickspike Gayfeather (Liatris pycnostachya 'Eureka'); and Pixie Parasols Rock Clematis (Clematis tenuiloba 'Pixie Parasols').
For more information on GreatPlants or the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, call 472-2971 or go online to http://arboretum.unl.edu.
GO TO: ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 3
NEWS HEADLINES FOR NOVEMBER 3
Teens experience collegiate science
Nebraska meals come to campus
Pharmacy continues free prescription delivery service
Scopes trial symposium this week
Arboretum names rare rock clematis a 2006 GreatPlant
Featured Speaker
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Kruger Collection goes 360° online
Nebraska entrepreneurs rate health care as top cost of doing business
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