Variety Notebook

Hibiscus ‘Satellite’
Hibiscus × moscheutos ‘Satellite’ from Fleming’s Flower Fields stands only 1½-2½ feet tall. It blooms profusely from the top to bottom during summer through fall.

Part of Fleming’s Seven Dwarves series, ‘Satellite’ is an easy care, drought-resistant perennial. It requires less water and produces many 10-inch bright reddish flowers accented by tiny purple maple-shaped leaves. It can be used in landscape plantings and containers. ‘Satellite’ is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-11.
 
For more: Fleming’s Flower Fields, (559) 920-0161; www.flemingsflowers.com

Tricyrtis ‘Pink Freckles’
‘Pink Freckles’ tricyrtis from Cultivaris, is a carefree perennial for delicate and enduring late-season color, flowering for weeks on end. It is an interspecific hybrid, combining the virtues of various Japanese species.

‘Pink Freckles’ is compact and bushy, well-behaved and graceful. The softly spotted foliage remains healthy and green right up until a hard frost. The soft pink, orchid-like flowers with maroon spotting appear for weeks starting in August and continue non-stop until frost. Highly suitable to specialist pot production, plants can be grown in quart and gallon containers.
 
For more: Cultivaris, (760) 695-1398; www.cultivaris.com

Alternanthera ‘Brazilian Red Hots’
GroLink’s ‘Brazilian Red Hots’ alternanthera has brilliant color and good heat tolerance. This tender hybrid perennial is fully evergreen and boasts vibrant variegated foliage with purplish centers and fuchsia edges. Each elliptical leaf has a wavy texture.

For best foliar color, it should be planted in full sun. Bright light and heat improve the intensity of the foliage color. A well-drained but moist growing medium is ideal.

This selection is frost sensitive and can only be grown as an outdoor perennial in subtropical to tropical areas. It can be grown as a seasonal annual in temperate areas with cold winters. 
 
For more: GroLink, (800) 451-6319; www.grolink.com