Tree Plants for the New Year

New, Unusual and Unique Plant Varieties for 2008 Gardens

Jan 7, 2008

Snow White Sensation Mock Orange Tree, Novalis Inc

See the best of the new shade and ornamental trees available to home gardeners in 2008. Healthy plants, unique forms and beautiful colors.

Lavender Twist Redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Covey') – Zones 5-9. An amazing new redbud introduction from Monrovia, the 'Lavender Twist' is a weeping redbud tree with gracefully cascading branches. This spring blooming deciduous tree is a favorite in many states where redbud flowers are one of the first signs of spring. 'Lavender Twist' is a true, deep-pink flowering redbud that is a compact size for small gardens since it only grows about 8' tall. Plant 'Lavender Twist' redbud in an area of full sun and water well until established when it will tolerate brief periods of drought.

Golden Raindrops Crabapple (Malus 'Schmidtcutleaf') – Hardy to zone 3. This unique crabapple is a J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. introduction and is a great choice for home gardens and landscapes. 'Golden Raindrops' will have a vase shaped growth habit and will reach 20' tall and 15' wide. As part of the Cutleaf series of crabapples, this ornamental tree has deeply cut, almost oak like foliage for an unusual effect in the garden. Pure white, spring flowers cover the tree, while bright yellow fruit lasts into the winter months. The Golden Raindrops crabapple rated excellent disease resistance against everything except Fireblight which ranked “poor”.

Tri-Splendor Dogwood (Cornus kousa var. chinensis 'Tri-Splendor') – Zones 5-8. Another PlantHaven introduction, this dogwood has beautifully colored variegated foliage. The leaves of 'Tri-Splendor' are green and white dappled and have bright fall color. As a compact dogwood the 'Tri-Splendor' grows only about 10' tall and 5 ½' wide and it prefers sun or part shade and needs well-drained soil.

Drew's Blue Russian Arborvitae (Microbiota decussata 'Candrew') – Zones 3-8. A new conifer introduction by Conard-Pyle, this lovely Arborvitae has blue-gray foliage that becomes a lovely maroon color in the fall. A perfect evergreen tree for small, shade gardens, the 'Drew's Blue' conifer will only grow 5-6' tall and wide. The arborvitae prefers part shade and moist, but well-drained soil, and is a great specimen plant for rock gardens, Japanese theme gardens or in any planter where evergreen winter color is needed.

'Snow White Sensation' Mock Orange Tree (Philadelphus 'Snow White Fantasy') – Zones 5-8. Like all mock orange trees, the fragrant white flowers appear each spring and 'Snow White Sensation' reblooms in the summer. The leaves are a dark green so the mock orange flowers stand out in vivid contrast. The mock orange tree is introduced by Novalis and described as having a “fountain-like” growth habit. Grow your mock orange in sun or part shade and provide moist but well-drained soil.

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The copyright of the article Tree Plants for the New Year in Trees is owned by Angela England. Permission to republish Tree Plants for the New Year must be granted by the author in writing.