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Chicagoland Grows®, Inc. Plant Introduction Program
With fine ornamental character and proven dependability, Chicagoland Grows® selections offer the landscape professional and the home gardener alike an appealing array of quality plants. Established in 1986, Chicagoland Grows is a unique partnership among the Chicago Botanic Garden, The Morton Arboretum and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois (OGA). Collectively, the partners work with other industry professionals throughout North America to select, evaluate, produce and market new and recommended plant cultivars with proven performance under Northern growing conditions.
The program’s success has been greatly enhanced by the reputations of the three founding partners. For decades, The Morton Arboretum has been known for its trees, as well as for breeding new and improved cultivars for landscape use. The Chicago Botanic Garden, although 30 years young, has established itself as one of the preeminent botanic gardens in the United States; the Garden's plant collections and garden design have served as examples for countless new institutions. The O.G.A. consists of established, often family-owned and -operated nurseries and garden centers with generations of plant knowledge. The combination of experience, knowledge and reputation we receive from our partners enables Chicagoland Grows to introduce and market new introductions with a level of success many new programs strive to achieve for years.
New varieties of maple, birch, boxwood and viburnum are among the plants introduced by Chicagoland Grows. These cultivars, and others to come, are selected from the fields of production nurseries, as well as from the collections and breeding programs of the Chicago Botanic Garden and The Morton Arboretum.
Before a plant can be introduced through Chicagoland Grows, it has been evaluated under a variety of landscape and nursery conditions for up to 10 years. Once approved, these plants may be produced under license for open market sales. Chicagoland Grows plants are sold through wholesale as well as retail nurseries and garden centers throughout the United States.
Introductions for 2004
Rhus copallina var.latifolia ‘Morton’
Prairie Flame ™ Shining Sumac
A deciduous multi-stemmed shrub with a refined, compact habit making it much smaller than the species. Prairie Flame has extremely glossy, attractive foliage, creamy-white blooms in late July and striking deep red fall color. This compact sumac can be grown in a wide variety of soils and landscape conditions. It is very drought tolerant and grows best in full sun.
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Syringa pekinensis ‘Morton’
China Snow® Peking Lilac
This tree lilac was selected for its amber-colored exfoliating bark, fragrant late spring blooms and graceful rounded habit. The parent tree measures 45’ tall with a 40’ spread after 75 years of growth.
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Echinacea ‘Art’s Pride’ P.P.A.F.
Orange Meadowbrite™ Hybrid Coneflower
The first orange coneflower ever in cultivation. This plant is truly novel with its brightly colored, deep orange ray florets, dark maroon cone and intensely sweet fragrance. A vigorous plant with lance shaped, semi-glossy, deep green foliage, reaching a height of 2 _ to 3’.
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Have you discovered or bred a new plant?
Chicagoland Grows®, Inc. welcomes your suggestions of unusual plants. If you know of a plant that would be a good candidate, please contact the Program Manager at (847) 835-8301 or clg@chicagobotanic.org. Let us give your plant the recognition it deserves. Our in-depth knowledge and expertise, as well as our many national and international contacts, make us the natural choice for new plant introductions.
Plant index < Sources for Chicagoland Grows® plants < Further program information
Chicagoland Grows®, Inc. Plant Introduction Program
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