Dependable and resilient — although often overlooked — is how Bob Henrickson describes the 2024 GreatPlants selections.
The plants of the year are chosen annually by members of the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association. Henrickson coordinates the initiative for the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, where he is horticulture program coordinator.
“What the program is centered on is promoting plants that can be in every yard,†he said. “We’re highlighting plants that deserve to be planted.’
He’s not sure why the five choices are overlooked other than maybe their names are not well known or they haven’t been planted enough. Some are newer varieties.
But don’t let that dissuade you from adding one to your yard, he says.
The perennial of the year, Blue Fortune Hyssop, is a winner of a plant, Henrickson said. It supports pollinators, is easy to grow, is tough as nails and has a long bloom time.
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“It has it all,†he said. “It’s a great garden plant.â€
The Shadblow Serviceberry is becoming a very popular landscape choice among native plant enthusiasts, which can sometimes make it hard to find.
It can take a lot of shade but also does well in full sun. It handles both wet and dry conditions.
“It starts off looking more like a shrub and eventually grows into a small tree,†Henrickson said.
The 2024 GreatPlants selections:
Perennial of the year
Blue Fortune Hyssop (Agastache Blue Fortune): Blue Fortune is a European hybrid hyssop known for its vigor, cold hardiness and adaptability, qualities that make it an excellent choice for Great Plains gardens.
A cross between Agastache rugosa and our native Agastache foeniculum, Blue Fortune hyssop’s lavender, bottle brush-like flower spikes are highly attractive to bees and butterflies.
Growing 3-4 feet high with a spread of 2 feet wide, it thrives in either moist or dry soils and full sun. In addition to long-lasting blooms, Blue Fortune hyssop is known for its mint-scented foliage, which can be dried and made into an aromatic tea.
Tree of the year
Shadblow Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis): This native tree starts off as a relatively slow-growing, multi-stemmed shrub, eventually maturing into a small tree (15-20 feet high) that thrives best in medium to moist well-drained soil and full sun to part shade.
One of the first trees to flower in early spring, its fragrant white blooms in drooping clusters attract bees just emerging from their winter nests. In late spring, the flowers give way to bunches of blueberry-size fruit, which turn red and then a dark, purple-black in the fall.
Offering fiery red-orange color in autumn and a graceful, sculptural structure during the winter, Shadblow serviceberry offers four seasons of beauty in the landscape.
Shrub of the Year
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus): Although not especially showy or dramatic, snowberry is a very adaptable, durable native shrub that does well planted as groundcover, massed on slopes for erosion control or as a filler shrub in front of taller, leggier plantings.
Its dainty, pink flowers are small but attract a significant number of pollinating insects. After its leaves drop in the fall, clusters of snowy white berries offer some winter interest in the yard and garden.
Snowberry is versatile, thriving in moist or dry well-drained soil and full sun to part shade.
Conifer of the year
Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora): This slow-growing evergreen is an excellent choice for small landscapes or properties with limited space.
Growing to a height of 25 to 40 feet with a 20- to 40-foot spread, Japanese white pine has a dense, pyramidal form when young that broadens over time into open branching and a flat-topped crown.
Its bundles of blue-green needles form stiff, brush-like tufts on strong, horizontal branches. Japanese white pine performs best in full sun and is relatively tolerant of a wide range of soils if they are well-drained.
Grass of the year
Blackhawks Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Blackhawks): Shorter and more upright than the typical big bluestem species, this new cultivar emerges in early spring with dark green foliage that turns purple at the tips in late summer.
As summer progresses into fall, flowering seed stalks emerge, each topped with dark, reddish-purple seed heads. By late September, Blackhawks’ blue stem deepens to a rich, dark purple that can look nearly black by the end of the season.
Easy to grow and long-lived, Blackhawks thrives in full sun, growing to 4 to 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide and very adaptable to a wide variety of soil types
For more information about the and a full list of GreatPlants selections since 1998, visit .
About those redbuds
Reader Janet Armknecht wondered about the wisdom of planting redbuds in a front yard, as mentioned in a recent column.
Redbuds are an understory tree, she said, and will not do well in hot full sun spots.
“I learned that the hard way when trying to grow a redbud on the south side of my house next to my driveway,†she said.
Tim Dungan from said Armknecht is right that redbuds prefer the shelter under canopies of larger, taller trees such as cottonwoods or elms or at the edge of a woodlands.
“Full sun is generally OK around here,†Dungan said. “They can be a bit unhappy if it is really hot and dry. I’m guessing our extended drought of the last couple of seasons has probably stressed them a bit.â€
Their native range extends from southern Canada south through Oklahoma and into parts of Mexico.
“One can find nursery stock grown from northern seed sources as well as southern seed sources, so growers are trying to adapt to different growing conditions,†he said.
Help with tomatoes
My tomato plants had some issues last summer, and reader Eric Rost suggested companion planting.
He recommended basil, which is supposed to repel insects and prevent fungal infections if planted next to tomatoes.
“Also, start pruning off the top growth and new runners in August,†he said. “They will never bear fruit that ripens and they draw energy from the rest. Late in the season, pull off the small green tomatoes for the same reason.â€
Watering woes
Scott Yahnke has six 4-by-8-foot raised beds on the south side of his house, two for wildflowers and the others for veggies.
Like me, he had some issues with his tomatoes. But he said summer just wouldn’t be summer without tomatoes and fresh greens, especially for a salad topped with salmon and Dorothy Lynch dressing.
He agreed he needs to add mulch for that sunny area where he put his raised beds, although things improved once he fixed his sprinkler line.
“Good news on that decision is that I’ve harvested greens unto December by covering them at night,†he said. “Bad news, especially this past summer, is trying to keep veggies watered enough in hot weather.â€
Last summer, he also had to drag 250 feet of hose down to the corner, where he coordinated the addition of an entrance monument to his neighborhood.
He’s added trees, planted dozens of bulbs and transplanted some grass clumps from his yard.
“It’s been interesting experiencing some folks’ reactions to change at the corner of Bennington Road and Ashwood Drive,†he said, “but I feel things will look better and better over time. With enough rain, that is.â€