Perennial Plant of the Year 2024
Phlox paniculata
“Jeana”
Every year the Perennial Plant Association sends each member a ballot to select a Perennial Plant of The Year. These plants tend not to be new introductions to the garden world, but plants that have been tested and thus proven worthy for nomination. They need to be suitable for a wide range of climatic zones. The plant chosen must be low maintenance, relatively pest free, and disease resistant. It must have multiple seasons of ornamental interest and be readily available for the year of promotion. After the selection the plant is promoted all across Canada and continental U.S.A.
“And who is the Perennial Plant Association,” you might ask? Mostly, it is a large group of greenhouse growers, retailers, landscapers, horticultural teachers, and “plant geeks” that work in our huge industry. The membership is large, and people join from all around the world and meet once a year at an annual convention. Here, we listen to speakers, tour greenhouses and nurseries, have a trade show, and in general, find out what the others in the industry are up to.
It began in 1990, when the first Plant of the Year was Phlox stolonifera. Next was Heuchera micrantha “Palace Purple” and from that time on each year another perennial was picked and promoted.
Most of the time the plants selected by the Perennial Plant Association are very hardy. With the exception of a very few plants that are not hardy at all, Vale's Greenhouse has always been very pleased with the choices. The Perennial Plant of the Year, for the 2024 gardening season Phlox “Jeana” has beenchosen.
Garden phlox is a staple of the perennial border they mix well with other perennials and provides a long summer of colour. 'Jeana' is a lovely herbaceous perennial with large, multi-stemmed branched support tiered clusters of dainty pink/purple flowers with a neat and tidy habit. Blooming for weeks from mid-summer to early fall, the fragrant flowers are rich in nectar and visited by hummingbirds and butterflies. Phlox paniculate “Jeana” also is untouched by deer and rabbits which makes it a great selection for the unfenced garden and thus earning accolades from gardeners worldwide and was named the 2024 Perennial Plant of the Year.
This phlox loves to grow in a sunny garden and is extremely hardy with little to no winter kill found in the spring. Growing about 3 feet (91.44 cm) tall and 2 feet (60.96 cm) wide this phlox will be the star of the garden. To encourage reblooming cut back stems after they have finished flowering by about half. This will maintain dense growth and attractive habit for the summer months this will also encourage rebloom later in the summer. This phlox is a sought-after selection and prized for its exemplary resistance to powdery mildew and with its magnetic attraction for pollinators it will become the standard in every prairie garden.