Plant idents - week 3

Salvia leucantha x chiapensis 'Phyllis's Fancy'

Type: Herbaceous (1.5x1.2m) | Features: Downy white open-mouthed blooms flushed mauve with dark blue-purple calyces (June-Nov), aromatic semi-evergreen foliage, drought tolerant, deer resistant, full sun, sheltered spot with well-drained soil, needs winter frost protection.

Salvia microphylla 'Wild Watermelon'

Type: Herbaceous perennial (75x75cm) | Common: Shrubby sage | Features: Magenta-pink flowers with small white throat on arching stems (summer-autumn), aromatic leaves, tidy clump-forming habit, full sun, light well-drained soil.

Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro'

Type: Herbaceous (30cm) | Common: Daylily | Features: Profuse ruffled yellow flowers with deeper yellow throats, exceptionally long flowering season, compact historic 1975 hybrid by Walter Jablonski, adaptable to any soil.

Artemisia 'Powis Castle'

Type: Herbaceous perennial (60x90cm) | AGM | Common: Wormwood | Features: Fine fern-like silver aromatic foliage prized over insignificant yellow-tinged silver flowers in August, woody stems, needs full sun and sharp drainage, short-lived in wet soil.

Geranium sanguineum var. striatum

Type: Herbaceous perennial (H15cm) | AGM | Common: Bloody cranesbill | Features: Compact low-growing habit flowering continuously to autumn, pale pink flowers with darker pink veins, deeply cut dark green leaves, drought tolerant once established.

Dicksonia antarctica

Type: Evergreen tree fern (slow to 4m) | AGM | Origin: Australia & NZ | Features: Broad fibrous trunk with crown of arching deeply divided fronds up to 3m, deciduous in cold areas, partial to full shade in moist soil, hardy to -5°C, protect crown in winter with straw or fleece.

Laurus nobilis

Type: Evergreen shrub / tree | AGM | Common: Bay laurel / Culinary herb | Features: Aromatic leaves, small yellow flowers (March-May), inedible black berries, suitable for topiary/standards, fertile moist well-drained soil sheltered from cold desiccating winter winds.

Nassella tenuissima

Type: Ornamental grass / Semi-evergreen (60x30cm) | AGM | Formerly: Stipa tenuissima | Features: Wispy pale yellow-green leaves topped with fluffy silver-green flower plumes maturing blonde-buff, creates motion in wind, self-seeds, ideal for gravel and perennial borders.

Ageratina ligustrina

Type: Evergreen shrub (2.5-4m) | Formerly: Eupatorium ligustrinum | Common: Privet-leaved Ageratina | Features: Compact daisy-family shrub from Mexico/Central America, valued for fragrant late-summer and autumn flowerheads, full sun to partial shade, well-drained soil.

Geranium psilostemon 'Catherine Deneuve'

Type: Herbaceous perennial | Features: Small star-shaped rich cerise-pink flowers held above low lush mounds of mid-green leaves, excellent ground cover, sun or shade, tolerates most conditions except waterlogged soil.