This year’s stylish landscapes and gardens will feature specimen shrubs that deliver bold and bountiful blooms. We’re growing the following 2023 new shrub varieties that deliver all the benefits!
Be sure to check out our next blog, when we will feature Loma Vista Nursery’s new perennials for 2023. For more information, visit our online catalog.
Invincibelle Sublime™ Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) – (Proven Winners Photo)
Invincibelle Sublime™ Smooth Hydrangea
“Sublime” is the perfect word to describe this inspiring hydrangea, which is sure to capture the grandeur of any landscape. Invincibelle Sublime™ Smooth Hydrangea features clusters of fluffy lime green, cloud-like flowers that rise above richly textured foliage on sturdy stems. The flowers’ soft appearance comes from four-petaled dainty florets with creamy-white edges and light green button centers. Continuous blooms outdoors make this a perfect selection for indoor fresh and dried cut-flower arrangements.
In the landscape, Invincibelle Sublime™ Smooth Hydrangea is a versatile specimen shrub that blooms from summer through fall. Its compact, 5-foot height and spread makes it an ideal choice as a perennial border or edging plant. It is stunning when planted en masse. Maintenance is easy for this hydrangea, which blooms on new wood. Plant in sun to full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 9.
First Editions® Matcha Ball® Ash Leaf Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Levgreen’) – (Bailey Nurseries Photo)
Matcha Ball® Ash Leaf Spirea
Matcha Ball® Ash Leaf Spirea is petite at only 3-feet tall with a 4-foot spread, but don’t let its size fool you. This spirea has a tight round form that is mighty big on personality. Its pretty shape comes from fresh-green, fern-like foliage that inspires the shrub’s name – reminiscent of matcha tea.
Leaves and petioles are light green during the growing season, but emerge in early spring with notes of red and orange-peach. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Sparse, astilbe-like blooms are creamy white to very light pink. Matcha Ball® Ash Leaf Spirea doesn’t develop suckers, so it holds its form throughout the growing season. This spirea prefers moist, well-drained organic soil. It likes full sun but tolerates light shade. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7.
Endless Summer® Pop Star® Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bailmacsix’) – (Bailey Nurseries Photo)
Pop Star® Bigleaf Hydrangea
The curtain is rising on this 2023 lace-cap introduction – certainly a rock-star hydrangea for Midwest landscapes and gardens. With all the benefits design pros and their clients are looking for – Pop Star® Bigleaf Hydrangea brings glamor and vitality to perennial beds, border gardens, landscapes, containers and even indoors as cut flowers. In shades of either blue or pink, this hydrangea is only 3-feet tall and wide when flowering. Its mounded habit softens the edges of patios and sidewalks. Use it as a thriller in container designs.
Pruning is no-fuss as this hydrangea blooms on new wood. Thick green leaves support heat tolerance in warmer climates while protecting buds in cooler zones. Provide shrubs with one inch of moisture per week, either applied or through rainfall. Pop Star® Bigleaf Hydrangea likes morning sun and dappled afternoon shade. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.
Midnight Sun™ Reblooming Weigela (Weigela florida) – (Proven Winners Photo)
Midnight Sun™ Reblooming Weigela
New in 2023, Midnight Sun™ Reblooming Weigela is a visual delight. Sporting the Pantone Color of the Year – magenta – this weigela’s foliage is magnificent in sunset hues of yellow, orange, purple and red. The small shrub maintains its color show from summer through fall as it produces pink flowers in spring.
Midnight Sun™ Reblooming Weigela attracts hummingbirds, so consider including it in pollinator gardens. It is a good border and foundation plant and has use as filler in containers. Height and spread is 1 foot to 1½ feet. This weigela requires full sun and tolerates light shade. Plant it in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 8.
Puffer Fish® Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) – (This and cover shot – Proven Winners Photos)
Puffer Fish® Panicle Hydrangea
“Huge” is the word to describe this simply stunning panicle hydrangea! Kin to Bobo® Panicle Hydrangea, Puffer Fish® Panicle Hydrangea is puffed up and even larger. In early summer, panicles are lime green, giving way to fresh sprigs of white flowers at the tip. As they mature, fluffy, pristine-white blooms cover the entire shrub, making its foliage barely visible. In fall, white panicles take on a green tint. Stems are sturdy and strong to hold the large blooms on its tight, compact habit.
Include this hydrangea as a specimen shrub in the landscape and use its blooms as cut flowers in the home. This first-class performer is jaw-dropping when planted en masse. It is long-blooming from early summer through fall. Puffer Fish® Panicle Hydrangea maxes out at 5 feet tall and wide when in bloom at maturity, but starts out with a circumference of about 3 feet. Blooming on new wood, maintenance is easy. Plant in part sun to full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Tiny Quick Fire® Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) – (Proven Winners Photo)
Tiny Quick Fire® Panicle Hydrangea
From the very “huge” to the smallest “tiny” – Tiny Quick Fire® Panicle Hydrangea delivers the intensity of large, prolific blooms but in a miniature, compact package. This kin to the popular Quick Fire® Panicle Hydrangea is 1½ to 3-feet tall when in flower and has a similar spread. It is an ideal selection for front-of-the-border landscape designs and provides visual excitement when planted in drifts. This tiny hydrangea attracts bees and butterflies, making it a perfect addition to pollinator gardens.
Tiny Quick Fire® Panicle Hydrangea blooms on new wood in May and continues blooming through late summer. Petite, cupped florets make up the shrub’s upright, tightly-packed panicles. Flowers engulf this plant, making foliage nearly invisible. Blooms begin white and age to pastel and then deep pink. Plant this tiny hydrangea in part sun to full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Learn More About Landscape Plants from Loma Vista Nursery
Loma Vista Nursery’s staff members are experts in the field. We love helping people learn and understand more about healthy plants that perform well in Midwest landscapes. For more information about trees, shrubs and plants that are ideal for Midwest landscapes, visit our plant catalog. Feel free to email us at sales@lomavistanursery.com or call us at (785) 229-7200 to get answers to your plant-related questions.
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