Brant Teafoe, buying team manager for Heinz Brothers Greenhouse Garden Center,
St. Charles.

Roy Klehm, owner of Song Sparrow Nursery, Avalon, Wisconsin.

“The new annual I’m most excited about is the new white alyssum from Proven Winners called Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’. It’s larger than the typical alyssum and the flowers are a more vibrant white that really stand out. It’s a plant you can ignore and it will still look good—in containers or in the garden. It blooms well into autumn too.”

“A garden-worthy 2010 new plant introduction is Magnolia ‘Spring Petticoat’. This is the progeny of two rather well qualified landscape Magnolias: M.’Leonard Messel’ and M.’White Rose’. ‘Spring Petticoat’ has numerous, fragrant ivory blossoms with soft pink undersides and inner rose flares. The plant habit is upright with good, symmetrical branching. Plant in a sunny location with good soil preparation. Hardy in zones 4-9.”

Paul G. Witry, General Manager of Sid’s Greenhousesin
Palos Hills.

“I’m a sucker for old-fashioned plants and Shasta daisy is about as old-fashioned as it gets. ‘Banana Cream’ puts a new spin on an old favorite. Lush, dark green foliage and long-lasting lemon-yellow to butter-yellow flowers all on an attractive compact plant will make this a great addition to the garden.”