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The current hunger for succulent plants of all kinds has increased awareness of this tough, fascinating genus. But do folks who’ve recently discovered it realize how long it’s been in cultivation? Mankind’s love for this genus goes back centuries. The name is Latin for “always living,” a testament to its durability. In antiquity, it was used in medicine and magic. Its juicy flesh was said to heal stings and sores, much like Aloe.Some say only two things can kill a Semp: Shade, and poor drai

About the Rock Star AwardOur Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others.This month’s winner, by popular demand among her peers and supervisors: Jennifer Hilley.For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mantra was “Whatever it takes.” That attitude isn’t just for sports. It’s essential to a successful horticultural business, too. And it’s what Jennifer brings to the job every day, wherever her job takes her.Here’s what the people who wo

That which we call a weasel snout, by any other name...Lamiastrum ‘Herman’s Pride’ is a lovely ground cover that excels even in one of the toughest landscape niches: The dreaded dry shade.Colorful and sturdy, it spreads slowly, clump by clump, to colonize tricky slopes and other barren places. Hardy in Zones 4 – 8, it stands about a foot tall when in bloom.This interesting, useful plant has two common names. Both are interesting, but only one is useful. “Yellow archangel” resonates at retail: An

How low can you go? When you hear the word “groundcover,” what comes to mind? After “Ho-hum,” probably a few too-familiar genera, right?It doesn’t need to be that way. There are strikingly different, even fascinating, perennials that blanket the ground without putting you to sleep. And low-growing does NOT have to mean low margin.Here’s the lowdown on a low-growing species we think highly of. Lamium maculatumSeldom rising above 8”, this pretty genus sports deceptively delicate looking folia

A rhinoceros with an elephant?A Heuchera with a Tiarella?Let’s answer the second question first: Those two North American native genera pulled off a trick that’s pretty rare in the plant kingdom.Heuchera (Coral bells) and Tiarella (Foamflower) crossed to form the intergeneric hybrid xHeucherella. The first known example was the work of matchmaking French breeder Emile Lemoine in 1912.There’s nothing unusual about species within the same genus getting together to form new hybrids. With or without