This

program began in an effort to identify hardy plants for

Georgia and to create new interest in gardening. Here's a

list of plants from 1995 to 2001.

Annuals

Sun coleus

- Plant breeders at the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and elsewhere have taken advantage of the

coleus species discovered in tropical Asia and selected

new cultivars for American gardeners. These coleus plants

thrive in the heat of the tropics and in full sunlight.

After a few years of trials, Sun Lover coleuses were

released. Now they have been identified as the Gold Medal

annual for 2000.

There are

now more than a dozen Sun Lover coleus. The selection

includes Amazon, Solar Sunrise, Alabama Sunset, Red

Ruffles, Cranberry Salad and Solar Flare. The colors

range from blood red to sunset orange. There are bicolor

and tricolor forms and some combinations of deep brick

red and tan.

One

favorite is Solar Flare. It grows fast and can reach

three feet. This dense coleus bush has deep brick-red

leaves with light tan centers that gradually blend to

yellow and then white.

Care: Sun

coleus is easy to grow. They are warm soil plants. Best

time to plant is late April and early May when the soil

temperatures are above 65 degrees. They love consistent

fertility and ample moisture. Use general 10-10-10

fertilizer every three weeks. These plants prefer evenly

moist but not soggy, well-drained soil. The plants will

need watering every other day in the extreme heat and

would benefit from drip irrigation and a pine straw

mulch.

Pinch all

new growth just after plants recover from planting. A tip

pinch is best. It will insure a well-branched mount by

midsummer. The plants are fast-branching and will improve

with tip inching through the summer.

Plants need

two feet of growing space. A few will go a long way.

These

plants are pest-free. Mealy bugs may be seen but can be

washed off with a spraying of water. Few diseases affect

the coleus. It is important to water in the morning and

not crowd them. Unlike the shade coleus, they do not need

much deadheading. These plants do not produce many

flowers and they can be removed or left on the plants.

In late

fall, you can take a six-inch tip cutting from the

nonflowering stems and root them in a glass of water, and

then transplant the plants for placement in a sunny spot

in the house during the winter months.

Perennial

"David"

and "Robert Poore" phlox

These

summer blooming perennials will be a stand-out in the

garden. They grow well together.

Place

"David" two feet in front of "Robert

Poore." David is a great white phlox that grows

upright and has a fairly large flower head. Robert Poore

is a deep purple.

When

planting these plants with annuals, you can use vinca and

other upright annuals in front of David for a nice color

effect. Davis is the perfect plant to brighten a dark

garden corner. It requires several hours of sun, but will

bloom well in partial shade (three to four hours of

sunlight).

Care: These

plants prefer to be planted in the fall and lightly

fertilized in early March just as the rosettes emerge

from the bases of the stems. Use a general 10-10-10

all-purpose fertilizer. For best results fertilize again

during the plant's rapid growth phase just after the

blooms fade.

Phlox are

tough but must be watered thoroughly in extreme heat.

Even though they resist mildew, it is important not to

water too often or too late in the evening. Water only in

the morning, then let the plants dry out. Don't be

tempted to water late in the afternoon if the plants look

wilted. These plants naturally wilt in the late afternoon

and will revive when the hot sun subsides.

Divide

phlox in the late fall or very early spring. Clumps of

three to five rosettes produce the best flower show. You

can propagate phlox from root cuttings by cutting four-

to six-inch lengths of roots and laying them on a flat

filled with moistened potting soil or a peat-lite mix.

Cover them lightly with vermiculite or perlite to prevent

drying or exposure to too much light. Keep moist and the

roots will generate shoots in a few months.

In the

fall, after the frost, cut back summer phlox to within

two inches of the soil. Do not damage the bases of the

stems. Do not mulch phlox heavily in the winter as next

year's rosettes need sunlight all winter.

"Alice"

oak leaf hydrangea

This oak

leaf hydrangea is a striking bold deciduous shrub. The

large, oak-shaped leaves and 12-inch spikes of white

blooms will get you hooked. These shrubs fit into

borders, mass plantings or edgings along the fringe of

woods and are really under-used in Georgia gardens.

Alice will

create interest in the garden year-round. So it can be

used as a specimen shrub or a border. Because it is a

native shrub, at home at the edge of the woods,

particularly when it gets the afternoon shade, it forms

an effective summer screen.

The plant

is hardy from zones 5 to 9. It is a large shrub that will

mound up to 12 feet and is nearly as wide when it

matures. In the spring, the plants are covered with

leaves six to eight inches long, with five to seven

lobes. Then, starting in June, the plant will be nearly

covered for three to four weeks with 10- to 14-inch

spikes of white flowers. The petals are creamy white and

one inch across. As the petals age, they fade to rosy

pink with a more subdued look.

The large,

dark green leaves change in the fall to a rich wide or

burgundy. The fall color holds until November or

December.

As the

leaves fall, the branches with their exfoliating bark are

revealed. The once dense shrub becomes open and airy with

branches covered with strips of papery cinnamon bark.

These shrubs now look like winter sculpture.

Care: Alice

will grow in full sun but are happiest in partial shade.

They require well-drained, acid soils that are irrigated

during drought. The plants are fairly drought tolerant

once established. Plant at their original depth, being

careful not to plant too deep. Add two to three inches of

organic mulch to the planting beds and water the shrubs

weekly until they are established. Fertilize lightly with

10-10-10 in mid-spring and again in midsummer to

encourage growth.

Prune the

shrubs after they flower. The flowers are produce on old

woods but will not appear until late spring or early

summer. The plants will set new buds in the early fall

for next year's blooms. Prune young plants to encourage

low branching on the stems.

Little Gem

Southern magnolia - Only the flowering dogwood may

be more strongly associated wit the South than is the

magnolia. The Little Gem is a cultivar of the Southern

magnolia. It flowers in the first year, whereas the

Southern magnolia may take up to 15 years to flower. The

Little Gem grows only 10 to 20 feet tall, whereas the

Southern may grow from 60 to 80 feet tall with a spread

of 40 to 50 feet. An evergreen specimen tree, the

magnolia has dark, glossy, green foliage. The flowers are

large, white and very fragrant. They appear from late

spring to early summer. The tree produces a fruit that

has an unusual, pineapple-like texture. These trees

prefer sun to partial shade and prefer rich, moist,

acidic soil.

Care: For

best results the tree can be planted in the fall while

the ground is still warm or in the early spring when the

ground will soon become warm. Midsummer is not the best

time to plant since the tree's leaves require more

moisture than its roots can provide during this time of

year.

Plant a

hole at least five times larger than the root ball and no

deeper than the container is tall. Add one cup of lime

per foot of hole diameter and one cup of 10-10-10

fertilizer to the soil before planting. Add organic

matter to the planting area as well to create

well-drained soil.

Use at

least two inches of mulch over the entire planting area.

Small amounts of fertilizer applied regularly will help

the young tree grow throughout the summer. In the spring

an application of azalea fertilizer will benefit the

magnolia as it likes the acidity and the iron contained

in this fertilizer mixture. Measure the thickness of the

trunk four inches from the ground. Apply one cup of

10-10-10 per inch of thickness late in March, May and

September.

Once the

tree becomes mature, little fertilizer is needed. Some

people like to remove the lower limbs of this tree, which

can be done in January or February. Others like the

magnolia to have branches from the ground level up.

Watering should be done at least during the first two

seasons after planting.

During the

summer, the tree should be watered once a week, less

often during wet or cool seasons, and during the winter

if the water levels are low. A magnolia will require more

water in the winter than will a deciduous tree. Summer

watering may be necessary on established trees (older

than two years) during a drought. Water the tree deeply,

applying the hose for two to three minutes for each foot

of height of the tree. Be sure to water over the entire

bed area of the tree.