Geranium ‘Rozanne’ Named 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year
Tuesday January 8, 2008
Both Elizabeth Licata, at Garden Rants, and Graham Rice, at the Transatlantic Plantsman, express some scepticism about the choices for Perennial Plant of the Year being predictable and boring. I would agree that not every plant chosen is a unique standout, but the purpose of the award is to expand the knowledge and taste of the average plant buyer, these are good plants to get to know. Rubeckia 'Goldsturm' won’t cause a double-take, but few plants are as dependable in the garden. And how many of us would have thought to plant Russian Sage a decade ago if it hadn’t been touted by the press?
In the interest of full disclosure, I have recently killed the 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year, Geranium 'Rozanne'. It was my own doing, no fault of the plant. So as a lover of hardy geraniums, I have no qualms about Geranium 'Rozanne' being named 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year.
Photo: © Blooms of Bressingham. Used with Permission.
Comments
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is definitely an improvement over the landscape staple Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’. It handles the combination of winter rains and summer droughts that make gardening in California difficult at times. Usually the landscape trade is very slow to switch from a standard to something new and improved, but I haven’t had a call for ‘Johnson’s Blue’ since the introduction of ‘Rozanne’ -Matthew Gnat, Vine & Branches Wholesale Nursery
All things considered, I think Rozanne is a great pick –it grew very well for me when I planted it in PA and I have seen it doing very well in southern California, too. It is gorgeous (!) and an absolute advance over the old standard… that being said, the program and award is a marketing ploy and has to be understood as such. The plants have to be widely available, easy to propagate, and also perform well over a range of growing conditions. So accept it for what it is and understand that the rarest plant might be exquisite but it will never be in the running for this particular honor. That’s ok with me, I am not looking for exceptional and rare plants under this program.
I feel the program has merit as a way to introduce decent plants to the mass retail market — so more gardeners have the opportunity to learn about and try growing them. Since they are selected to be easy to grow, this program helps raise the odds that gardeners will succeed with their new perennials and maybe ultimately become skilled perennial gardeners who will also be interested in the newest and rarest with more finicky requirements….. in other words, it’s all good. LOL