01 Summer

Verbena 'Lanai Rose' -was an outstanding performer in August, a time when most verbena varieties have already expired or have stopped blooming. ‘Lanai Rose’ continued to grow and produce masses of bright blooms. Overall: 8.3	Cleome 'Linde Armsrong' -was a pleasant surprise. It delivered the familiar pink Cleome blooms, but without all the staking! Plants were only about 18” tall, full and vigorous, and tolerated the heat well. Overall: 8.9
Petunia 'Lavender Wave' -performed surprisingly well for us. We have had little success over the last few years with the other ‘Wave’ colors, with the exception of ‘Misty Lilac Wave’, which performs very well. ‘Lavender Wave’ bloomed heavily throughout the summer and held its foliage and flower color. Overall: 8.6	Begonia 'DragonWing Pink' - performed just as well as its sister, ‘Dragonwing Red’. While ‘Pink’ did not tolerate as much direct sunlight as ‘Red’, it flourished in the shade. Both foliage and flower color remained excellent throughout the heat. Overall: 8.7
Geranium ‘Maverick Red’- A heat tolerant geranium! Each color in this series performed well throughout the summer months Overall: 7.8	Periwinkle 'Heatwave Blue with Eye'-had a nice compact growth habit and remained full and vigorous all summer. Flower color was excellent; blooms are deep periwinkle blue to lavender. We are usually wary of periwinkles in this area due to persistent problems with Phytophthora, but this variety performed very well. Overall: 9.3
Angelonia 'AngelMist Purple Stripe' -So far the best of the Angelonias I’ve tested. Very low maintenance with blooms from spring through fall. Has a loose form and a “wildflower’ look. Makes a good cut flower. Overall: 8.9	Ornamental Pepper 'Chilly Chili'-is the best dwarf ornamental pepper we’ve trialed yet. The plants were very vigorous and lush; fruit was large and very colorful. While most other dwarf peppers perform better for us as container plants, ‘Chilly Chili’ works great as a bedding plant as well Overall: 9.5
Petunia 'Misty Lilac Wave' - has been a winner three years running. Outstanding blooms throughout the summer. Huge, pale lavender to white colored blooms. Spreads quickly- each plant spreads to 3 feet in diameter. Overall: 7.9	Tapioca Plant Manihot esculenta Variegated Tapioca" has deeply lobed leaves with radiating bright yellow central stripes. A great accent tropical for containers or the landscape. Heat tolerant.
Hedgiflora Petunia ‘Tidal Wave Cherry’- has been an excellent performer for the last couple of years. Very heat tolerant and blooms continuously all summer. Forms a large mound and spreads quickly. Dark, hot pink blooms. Overall: 8.5	Hedgiflora Petunia ‘Tidal Wave Hot Pink’-- has been an excellent performer for the last couple of years. Very heat tolerant and blooms continuously all summer. Forms a large mound and spreads quickly. Blooms are a shade lighter than ‘Tidal Wave Cherry’. Overall: 8.4
Hedgiflora Petunia ‘Tidal Wave Silver’ – AAS Winner 2002- was the best of the new “hedgiflora” petunias this summer. ‘Silver’ produced masses of blooms and maintained excellent foliage and flower color despite the heat Overall: 9.0	Supertunia ‘Mini Blue Veined’ –a super petunia indeed. This compact groundcover petunia bloomed heavily throughout the hot summer months. Foliage and flower quality remained excellent. Overall: 8.9
Standard Petunia ‘Storm White’-A standard petunia, one of the few that has performed well into the heat of the summer. Giant white blossoms, compact growth habit. Overall: 7.9	Standard Petunia ‘Fantasy Light Lavender’ –This is a petite, mounding, petunia Most of the ‘Fantasy’ petunias have not performed well for us – this color was a pleasant surprise. Bloomed from spring until frost. Overall: 9.0
Dianthus ‘First Love’-clump-forming dianthus with flowers that change from pure white to deep rose. There is a constant succession of blooming almost year-round. Amazingly, this dianthus blooms all summer long. Intensely fragrant with attractive mounds of foliage in winter. Overall: 8.2	Dianthus ‘Melody Pink’- AAS 2000 Winner – Overall look and performance was very similar to ‘First Love’. Blooms all summer, solid pink blooms. Great performer. Overall: 8.6
Dianthus ‘Melody White’-– Overall look and performance was very similar to ‘First Love’. Blooms all summer, solid white blooms Overall: 8.3	Perennial Verbena ‘Wildfire Deep Lavender’- Glossy deep green foliage with showy lavender blooms. Continuous bloomer Overall: 8.2
Graptophyllum 'Chocolate' - an interesting tropical foliage plant, really held up great all summer. By the looks of it, I expected ‘Chocolate’ to crash and burn in the full sun. In spite of my doubts, the foliage remained healthy and colorful through the heat and growth was vigorous Overall: 9.5	Perennial Phlox ‘John Fanick’- High tolerance to powdery mildew; Blooms continuously from spring through fall with a very sturdy growth habit. Overall: 8.3
Perennial Verbena ‘’Aztec Red’- So far this is one of the best red verbena we’ve trialed. Outstanding color. Overall: 8.2	Perennial Verbena ‘Tapien Light Lavender’-Its lovely lavender flower clusters and low growing habit make Tapien Lavender a great ground cover and. Grows best in full sun. Overall:
Pentas ‘Butterfly Deep Pink’-Texas Superstar- Highly heat, soil, and pest tolerant, this very low maintenance tropical annual provides a profusion of bright pink blooms spring through late fall. Excellent for mass plantings and containers Overall:	Torenia ‘Summer Wave Amethyst’- was also a surprise. ‘Amethyst’ grew vigorously and flowered all summer, despite the full-sun conditions. Foliage and flower color were excellent Overall: sun 8.5, shade 7.8
Dwarf Maiden Grass Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’- A great dwarf ornamental grass. Deep green foliage with profuse blooms from summer through fall. Great winter interest. Overall: 9.9	Dwarf Mexican Bush Sage Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’- Brand new to the trade, this variety looks and acts like its parent except that it reaches the manageable size of 2’ by 3’ without pruning. Great, compact fall color. Overall: 7.5
Copyright: Jimmy L. Turner, Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Society, 2002 Information or photos may not be reprinted without permission. Please contact.