Jack Frost brunnera gets well-deserved spotlight

Gardening

This Perennial of the Year has good looks and stamina.

Nancy Brachey

Posted: Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012

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Nancy Brachey

Nancy Brachey writes about gardening for The Charlotte Observer's weekly Home & Garden section.

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The Brunnera macrophylla named Jack Frost tolerates shade and has early baby-blue flowers. The heart-shaped, silvery leaves make it stand out in a bed. Walters Gardens
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Nancy Brachey

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Q: I have two forsythias that are overgrown and not blooming very well. I'd like to preserve them. What's the best way to do this?

You need to do some rejuvenation pruning. That is a fancy title for removing the oldest stems that don't bloom well to make way for and even encourage new, more productive ones. You can do this work during or just after this spring's show of flowers, poor as it may be. But that will help guide you to the stems that are old and unproductive.

The first thing to know is that forsythias produce long, arching stems from the base of the plant. These stems are of varying ages and a close look will show that the newer ones look lighter and fresher, the oldest, bigger in diameter, darker and tougher. The oldest ones tend to bloom not so well and should be cut off just above where they emerge from the base of the plant. While you are down there, you may see new stems beginning to emerge. Take care not to disturb them. Keep also the taller, but newer stems as the foundation for your rejuvenated plant.

By no means, and if you do, please don't tell me you did, cut the forsythias in a round shape with all the stems cut into a rounded meatball shape. A forsythia should have a loose billowy look with upright then arching stems to create a fountain of flowers.

The Perennial Plant Association honors one special plant annually with the title Perennial of the Year, and this honor has raised the attention of gardeners to some of our most valuable garden flowers. These include the Becky Shasta daisy, Goldsturm rudbeckia, David phlox, Rozanne geranium and many others that are essentials of flower beds in the Piedmont.

Now comes the winner for 2012: Jack Frost brunnera.

Its attributes are wonderful: Light blue flowers in spring, silvery leaves with distinctive green veins, a tolerance for shade and a low, mounded shape.

All that should be more than sufficient to attract interest in this brunnera as gardeners shop for perennials this winter and spring. I am thrilled to see this honor because brunnera is not as well-known as Shasta daisies, phlox or rudbeckia.

This Brunnera macrophylla named Jack Frost is also more tolerant of heat that earlier kinds of brunneras. It still requires care in planting. The association reports that studies show the plants thrive in the shade but will tolerate morning sun if soil remains moist. In southern gardens, shade is essential starting at midday. Good soil, well-laced with compost to retain moisture, is key to keeping the plants going to a mature height and width of 18 inches each.

This plant has lots possibilities for combinations. The heart-shaped foliage is more silvery-white than green, which will make it stand out in flower beds after the flowers, which resemble forget-me-nots, are over in late spring. This good foliage, with an attractive rough texture, merits its place near the front of a bed in combination with small to medium-sized hostas, hardy ferns and epimediums, all great perennials for shade gardens.

The association, a group of perennial growers, educators and enthusiasts, selects the award winner each year among perennials that thrive in a wide range of conditions. The winners are not brand-new in the marketplace but have shown themselves to be reasonably low in maintenance and relatively free of pests and diseases and to possess beauty and interest for more than one season.

And while Jack Frost is the named winner, other modern brunneras such as Looking Glass and King's Ransom also possess the interesting pale foliage with green veins, blue flowers and improved heat tolerance that makes them worth a place in your shady flower beds.