Best of the Hardiest

by Kathy Purdy on February 4, 2006 · 5 comments

Have you ever had to choose between several attractive cultivars of one plant, and wished you knew which one was the hardiest? Me, too. That’s why I’ve created this page. Every time I find out about the hardiest cultivar or species of a plant, I’ll put the information here. I expect lots of help from the reading public here! You don’t have to have grown it yourself if you can cite your source of information. (This was originally called Name That Plant!)

Botanical Name	Common Name	Hardy to zone	Source/Comments
Arisaema amurense subsp robustum, green form	none–it’s an Asian relative of Jack-in-the-Pulpit	3	Seneca Hill Perennials
Caryopteris X clandonensis ‘Arthur Simmonds’		5	Forestfarm
Cotinus coggyria ‘Nordine Red’	‘Nordine Red’ purple-leaved smokebush	5	“I have planted Cotinus in several locations and have planted both Purple Smoke Bush varieties. I have found that all may die back to ground in harsh winters and ‘Nordine’ is weaker than the standard form. The nice thing about the dieback is that new growth always has more brilliant leaf color. There probably won’t be any flowers but I grow it for the foliage anyway. By the way, we have one huge Cotinus in Oneonta in the yard of the public library (not purple) that looks like a spot of fog in the lawn when it is in full bloom. Spectacular.”–Penny K. See also my experience here. I can’t seem to find my notes that indicate what gave me the notion that it was hardier than the others (maybe Dirr?), but several sources on the internet echo this idea.–Kathy
Clematis ‘Prairie Traveller’s Joy’		1	“I have been growing this ironclad hardy huge (15′ tall ) white clematis in Edmonton, Alberta for years now. The late summer blooms are the size of a quarter, and have a lovely light almondy scent. …You can also easily take shoots from the bottom for new plants.”–Pamela M. Source: Rundle Wood Gardens

cold weather garden I am considering relocating to a colder clime (UP of Michigan) and I have never gardened further north than Wichita, KS so am wondering if I can have a koi pond if I run the heater (I do this now to keep a spot open in in the ice) and what plants do well.. I love iris, daylilies, peonies, shrub roses, daffodils, japanese maple, bee balm, phlox, clematis, hosta, etc. all of which I have now. not finding much information with my first quick search. Anyone have any comments or help for me with a web site reference? Thanks in advance for your time.

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