The Best Plants for Spring
by Rommy Lopat

ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED: 1995 Spring

Chicagoland's Top Gardeners Pick Their Flowering Favorites

It may only be February, but if you're a gardener, you're already thinking "Spring"! To help your optimism grow, the weedpatch gazette asked over twenty of Chicago's leading gardeners to supply a list of their five favorite springtime flowering plants. They complied, and came up with a master list of over 100 plants. Then twg asked them to review the master list and select their ten "all-time personal favorite" springtime plants. We are pleased to present their fascinating list of selections to you. Not all of their picks will surprise you -- the old standbys are still great plants in the minds of our experts -- but all the plants will definitely delight you once they bloom in your garden.

Frankly, I wasfairly surprised by the plants which were picked as favorites most often by our panel. While sprintime bulbs --narcissus, crocus, scilla, and tulips -- made the first round picks, they were rarely on anyone's final list. And the woody plants (trees & shrubs) scored much higher against the herbaceous perennials as springtime favorites than I would have expected-- indeed, the plant picked as a favorite most often is a shrub that many of you probably haven't even heard of. And the issue of natives vs. exotic plants comes to the fore: with the natives winning out as favorites over the exotics. Which proves once again -- gardeners are an unpredictable lot!

Just for fun, the weedpatch gazatte continued its "Here Comes Spring" theme with Pat Norman's favorite roses and Sharon Lappin Lumsden's favorite Chicago-area springtime gardens. Enjoy!

The Best Flowering Plants for Spring:

Amelanchier canadensis: Shadblow Serviceberry

Aquilegia canadensis: Wild Columbine
This is a 2-3' tall species with nodding flower with yellow sepals and red flowers. This North American native is very vigorous and easily grown. It reseeds readily and will quickly colonize an area. Grows in any soil. Fothergilla gardenii: Dwarf Fothergilla
Early blooming and low growing (3-4'), Dwarf Fothergilla was the favorite plant of our experts. This deciduous shrub is noted for its 1" spikes of honey-scented, cream white flowers that appear early in spring. Its leathery, dark green summer foliage turns, in the fall, to a spectacular display of brilliant yellow and orange-red, with best color achieved in full sun. Excellent in combination with its cousin, the witchhazel, and with azaleas and rhododendrons. It's easy to care for and while it prefers an acid soil (it is native to the edges of ponds or bogs in the Southeast U.S), it will tolerate alkalinity and wetness. Plant it in spring or fall, and expect it to form clumps. It can be propagated from softwood cuttings, taken in summer. Rabbits will nibble on it in winter. By the way, one expert listed a cultivar, ÔBlue Mist', as a favorite but others said this was either "a very weak grower" or, not to mince words, "a dog" among plants.

Hamamelis vernalis: Spring-Blooming Witchhazel
All of our experts agreed that this shrub is "terribly under-utilized" in the landscape. The vernal witchhazel heralds the early spring (February-March) with its bright yellow fragrant flowers, which have the unique habit of curling into a ball under frost and unfurling again when the termperature rises. The 6-10' shrub blooms before it sets leaves. It likes conditions which mimic its native woodlands: moisture-retentive, humus-filled soil in light shade or full sun. They don't like transplanting because of their coarse, deep root system. The clear green foliage turns bright yellow or burnt orange in the fall. The witchhazel and the fothergilla are cousins: they are both members of the Hamamelidaceae family. It looks very well with an evergreen background or underplanted with wildflowers, or close to the house where you can see and smell it bloom.

Syringa reticulata: Japanese Tree Lilac

Viburnum carlessii: Korean Spice Viburnum

Rosa polyanthus ÔThe Fairy': The Fairy Rose
Polyantha roses are tough, compact plants that bear clusters of rather small flowers. ÔThe Fairy' -- introduced in 1932 -- is the best of all, because it is vigorous, healthy (no black spot), hardy, and blooms clear pink continuously from early summer to fall. One spray of its flowers is a complete bouquet which will easily last a week or more when cut. Its only fault is that the pink may fade in hot weather. Says one of our experts, "Incredible for re-bloom and disease resistance". It is the parent of many of the better Ôground cover roses', so plant this Ôlow spreader' in the front of the border.

Veronica spicata ÔSunny Border Blue': ÔSunny Border Blue' Veronica
Some might call this a "summer" bloomer rather than spring, but our experts were eager to include it in their list of favorites. ÔSunny Border Blue' was chosen as the Perennial Plant Association's 1993 "Plant of the Year" and it was apparently well chosen. This 18-24" plant has dark green rounded leaves, dark violet-blue flower spikes, and blooms from early June through fall. ÔSunny Border Blue' likes rich soil, is not fussy about pH, and will bloom longer if the spent flowers are deadheaded. Use of fertilizer is not recommended, because the plant will sprawl. It tolerates light shade, but prefers full sun. It makes an especially nice edging plant for the vegetable garden.

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