I vowed this past summer not to buy any new plants that are introduced. I've been burned too many times by hearing how great they were supposed to be. Then a year later I'd read how other gardeners were having bad luck with them too. If I see a new one I really like, I'll wait 3 yrs and see what people here say about them. I'm going to transplant several of the ones I have now and maybe buy a couple of different perennials this summer, but they are ones that have been around for a few years.
I did look up Tiki Torch echinacea you mentioned and saw it at the Terra Nova website. It really is a beautiful color.

Kat

Being a conifer addict with a small yard, the following dwarf and miniature conifers will be ordered this year:

Abies concolor 'Birthday Broom'
Abies koreana 'Gait'
Abies lasiocarpa 'Duflon
Abies lasiocarpa 'Prickly Pete'
Picea sitchensis 'Thomas'
Pinus mugo 'Picobello'
Sciadopitys verticillata 'Sternschnuppe'

tj

tsugajunkie, where do you order your dwarf/mini conifers from? I'm just starting to get interested in them too.

tufameister- I always keep an eye out at local nurseries, you'd be surprised what some have to offer (especially right around Mother's Day in small 5" trial pots). In-state there is Yahara Nursery and Stonewall Nursery both south of Madison. I've been meaning to check out Read's Creek Nursery in Readstown, but haven't made it there yet. Rich's Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock, Ill is good, but a bit pricy. On line, Coenocium Gardens, Girard's, and Greer Gardens have proven reliable for me.

tj

tj, thanks for the great information! I will definitely check some of those out.

I have my order in for echinacea tiki torch, coconut lime, and merlot. I love my echinaceas. I normally wouldn't order the new varieties, because like Kat said a lot of them never really make it. However last year I ordered from garden crossings, and all of them arrived huge and very healthy. So I am trying them again.

Being the hosta/shade person I also ordered some new Heucheras like Miracle and Tiramisu. I also had to order the hosta named Jen, since that's my name. I have a few more hostas on my list too.

Komodo Dragon is a beautiful hosta. I would highly recommend it! It gets to be pretty big also.
Jen

Since I'm starting fresh in my very first yard, all my plants will be new...at least to me! Margo, if you're interested, I'm hosting a plant swap at my house this spring and I have an abundance of common hostas I want to give away.

Last year I divided up all my common hostas and sold them in a plant sale. My hostas were so big I made 4-6 big divisions out of each of the hostas I had. I thought they wouldn't sell, but they were the first things to go. So if no one ends up swapping you for them you may want to consider having a plant sale.

I am a hosta addict (Hello, my name is Jen, and I am a hosta addict) so right now I have 275 different varieties. I am running out of room, and am now borrowing some of my neighbor's yard.