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Have you noticed how complicated it has become to buy yogurt? What used to be a fairly straightforward decision is now a positively Herculean task. In the old days, all you had to do was choose between plain and flavored, fat and non-fat. Now an entire wing of the supermarket is devoted to yogurt. Greek or cow's milk. Splenda or sugar. Extra Lactobacillus acidophilus. Square container or round. Buying plants has become like buying yogurt. Ever since the garden catalogue avalanche began in January, I have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, wracked by indecision as I debated the merits of amsonia hubrechtii vs. amsonia tabernaemontana, the nuances among the different varieties of flowering tobacco, and all those new buddleia introductions. Meanwhile, the pressure is mounting as the calendar marches inexorably toward spring. I have an unusually large number of decisions to make this year. Nature has blessed me with a bumper crop of garden bare spots, as well as two little garden beds that require complete makeovers. Ordinarily, I would be delighted by the chance to try new plants and fix past design disasters. Instead, I am paralyzed. There are too many choices.  Raspberry Dazzle. Photo by Monrovia Proven Winners. To narrow things down, though, I have made one resolution: no new introductions. Sometimes it takes a few years to find out that the latest and greatest is not really all it's cracked up to be. A case in point: one of the beds in need of a makeover is currently occupied by three Hot New Plants circa 2006. "Raspberry Dazzle" dwarf crape myrtles was part of the first wave of shorter (3 feet), more cold hardy (zone 6) crape myrtles developed by plant guru Michael Dirr and marketed as the Razzle Dazzle series. My philosophy is that you can never have too many crape myrtles, especially when they are compact enough to fit into a border and remind me of my all-time favorite Crayola crayon, magenta. So naturally I snatched them up.  Berry Dazzle. Photo from Wayside Gardens. It turns out that nobody's perfect, not even Michael Dirr. Raspberry Dazzle is a dud. In six years, I have never, ever seen as much as one bud on any of them. An online garden forum confirmed my suspicions: when it comes to blooming, Raspberry Dazzle would prefer not to. Now it has been booted from the market to make way for a better Hot New Plant. Its name? "Berry Dazzle." If you don't think it's different, check the patent number. I'll bet it blooms, too.
Back in the living room, the catalogues are everywhere and my decision-making is nowhere. My current fixation is that fabulous new Buddleia, Miss Molly. Or is it Miss Ruby? No matter. I love them both. They're compact enough to fit into a border and remind me of my all-time favorite Crayola crayon, magenta. If they are still on the market in 5 years, I may just spring for one.
25 Comments
2/14/2013 06:53:41 am
Oh, I agree with the plethora of choices that exist for the gardener! And I have experienced my share of duds. One of my new "rules" is to focus on edible landscaping. That narrows my choices somewhat. Good luck! 2/14/2013 09:08:48 am
I would think even with edible landscaping you have far too many choices. I saw a pink blueberry recently, and a raspberry for a container!
I know well the feeling of paralysis brought on by too many choices. Excluding new introductions is a wise approach. Let other gardeners find out whether or not they will stand the test of time. There is no shortage of varieties, not to mention straight species, that have proved their garden-worthiness. 2/14/2013 09:10:26 am
Haven't you heard? Dannon has changed its packaging to mimic the popular brand of Greek yogurt (whose name I forget). If it's not exactly a square, it's pretty darn close!
Anne Himmelfarb
2/15/2013 08:17:09 am
It's like technology--the early adapters experience the glitches. 2/15/2013 01:36:39 pm
I have never been an early adopter - I like to wait until something is already obsolete until I use it.
Anne Himmelfarb
2/15/2013 08:36:47 pm
Like fashion: the first two years I see people wearing a new style, I hate it. The second two I don't mind it. By the time I decide I like it and begin to wear it, it's out of style. 2/15/2013 02:08:01 pm
Good luck with choosing what will be best for your garden. It seems all the older, reliable varieties are harder to find, with only the latest "improved" versions being sold. And they are so expensive! I would much rather have the tried and true, plain vanilla variety at a much less cost than some of these odd looking plants they're touting these days. 2/16/2013 12:30:27 am
At least they are still making Magnus coneflower! After all is said and done, it is the only one that you really need.
Believe it or not but I have a 'Cherry Dazzle' in my zone 6 garden that gets covered with flowers. They must be from the same introduction. Maybe you want to give it a try. 2/16/2013 10:06:13 am
Funny you should mention Cherry Dazzle. I got two last year to replace another shrub that never broke dormancy, and they bloomed their first year no problem. I realized then that I had just picked the wrong "Razzle Dazzle" flavor when I picked raspberry. 2/19/2013 03:23:03 am
Oh! Oh! Oh! I could not agree with you more. I've worked in a specialty nursery and display garden for many years, and have seen so much come and go. And your analogy to yogurt could not be more perfect. Some intro's are great but even more are a disappointment. I made a rule for myself not to bring home new intros until successful 2 years in the nursery. I'm not saying I never break that rule, but I try. 2/19/2013 04:23:20 am
Thanks for confirming my suspicions. It's great to know that a nursery pro like you agrees!
A crape myrtle that doesn't bloom?! That is a rip-off. I'm sorry it didn't work out. 2/22/2013 01:32:18 am
I was at the same Plant Delights sale and saw everyone snapping up Miss Molly. It sure was hard to resist. Thanks for the advice on the amsonia. Now I just need to find a spot for them. 2/23/2013 03:22:38 pm
You can count me as another person who is cautious about adopting the latest craze -- whether in technology or in plants. Even so, I've been bitten by my share of impulse purchase duds. I remember especially the Alstromeria cultivar 'Laura' that was claimed to be hardy to zone 4. Yeah, right. No big surprise that it never reappeared after that first summer in the garden. 2/24/2013 12:13:50 am
It makes you wonder who exactly is doing the plant trials - real people, or the people who are making and selling the plant. 8/17/2013 08:27:55 am
Happily browsing through your back catalog of posts, I just wanted to say I thoroughly agree on the virtues of buying plants that are tested and proven. 8/17/2013 10:42:26 am
I totally agree. Although you have to admit it's tempting when you flip through a plant catalog, especially when is photographed so that it looks drop-dead gorgeous. 9/6/2013 06:14:02 am
You could add, why it is becoming increasingly difficult to find plain old cow's milk yogurt. What if I like the taste better than Greek yogurt, and don't want to spend twice as much? Oh right - the whole point is to make me spend more.
Jill Davidson
6/11/2014 10:41:37 am
I'm not a fan of Proven Winners. I spent $110 or so on a dozen plants, only to have every one of them arrive dead. As for Proven Winners reimbursement policy: I received a check for $20 and a tub of plant food. I'll stick with highcountrygardens.com. 6/12/2014 01:33:01 am
Interesting. I have never ordered plants directly from Proven Winners - only purchased them at garden centers, which usually have a better reimbursement policy. I've heard good things about High Country Gardens but have never ordered directly from them. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorThe Galloping Horse Gardener is a native New Yorker who packed it in in 2005 to live under the radar in Cary, North Carolina. In 2014, she removed to a new secure location somewhere in Raleigh. Archives
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