Plant Introductions from the MCI Lab

Please download our Plant introductions from the Mountain Crop Improvement Lab handout while we update the plant introduction web pages.

	Pearl Glam™ Beautyberry (Callicarpa ‘NCCX2’ PPAF) A striking compact beauty berry hybrid with dark foliage and hot pink/purple fruit.
	Little Ruby™ Dogwood (Cornus ‘NCCH1’ PP26,542) A little gem! Small in stature with outstanding appeal. Pink bracts, maroon fall color, and exceptional disease resistance.
	Carolina Sweetheart™ Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘NCCC1’ PPAF) A carnival of color in early summer as new leaves emerge.
	Mercury™ Magnolia (Magnolia ‘NCMX1’ PPAF) A late-blooming magnolia tree with huge fragrant flowers.
	Pink Cascade™ Flowering Cherry (Prunus ‘NCPH1’ PPAF) A dramatic weeper with bright pink flowers.
	Yuki Cherry Blossom™ Deutzia (Deutzia ‘NCDX2’ PPAF) Pink flowers and a low, ground-cover habit.
	Double Take™ Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Scarlet Storm’ PP20,951; ‘Orange Storm’ PP20,950; and ‘Pink Storm’ PP20,920) Unique thornless and fruitless quince with large, heavy double flowers and a range of colors.
	‘Crystalina’ Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia ‘Crystalina’ PP21,561) A diminutive and refined summersweet with showy, fragrant flowers.
	Invincibelle™ Spirit Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA1’ PP20,765) A breakthrough shrub – the first ever pink mophead ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea.
	Invincibelle™ Spirit II Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA2’ PPAF) A major upgrade – darker pink, bigger flowers, and stiffer stems on a compact plant.
	Invincibelle™ Ruby Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA3’ PPAF) The darkest pink flowers ever in Annabelle-type hydrangea. Ruby buds and pink flowers on a compact plant.
	Incrediball™ Blush Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA4’ PPAF) Bodacious big pink/lavender flowers on stiff stems.
	My Fair Maiden™ Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘NCMS1’ PP26,387) A graceful new triploid miscanthus specifically bred for non-invasiveness.
	‘Sweet Tea’ Mountain Gordlinia (xGordlinia grandiflora ‘Sweet Tea’) A rare intergeneric hybrid between Franklinia and Gordonia with semi-evergreen foliage and huge 5 inch diameter flowers.
	My Monet® ‘Sunset’ Weigela (Weigela florida ‘Sunset’ PP23,212) A dwarf Weigela with unique multicolored foliage.
	‘Blizzard’ Pearlbush (Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ PP23,329) A compact and refined pearlbush with a blizzard of large flowers at the first hint of spring.
	‘Aphrodite’ Sweetshrub (Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’ PP24,014) A sweetshrub with large magnolia-like flowers and light fruity fragrance.
	‘Venus’ Sweetshrub (Calycanthus ‘Venus’ PP15,925) A 3-species hybrid with magnolia-like flowers and fruity aromas of melons and strawberries.
	‘JC Raulston’ Mahonia (Mahonia ‘JC Raulston’) Spectacular plumes of golden flowers on a new native hybrid.
	Expressionistic™ Tutsans (Hypericum androsaemum ‘Pollock’, ‘Matisse’, and ‘Picasso’) An artistic series of seedless, non-invasive Tutsan with creative foliage colors and patterns.

Introductions from Friends and Colleagues

	‘Borderline’ Boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica ‘Borderline’) Feels like I’m going to lose my mind – a new boxwood with gilded leaves. From Clarence Towe
	‘Swamp Hobbit’ Florida Anise (Illicium floridanum ‘Swamp Hobbit’) A native, shade-tolerant, evergreen ground cover with showy flowers and good deer resistance. From Ron Miller.
	‘Southern Cerise’ Piedmont Rhododendron (Rhododendron minus var. minus ‘Southern Cerise’) An exceptional southern form of R. minus with vivid pinkish-red (i.e., cerise) flower buds and tubes that open with bright, pinkish-violet petals. From Ron Miller.
	‘Betty Stiles’ Harlequin Glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum ‘Betty Stiles’) Exceptional, cold hardy, tree form with fragrant flowers and showy fruit. From Hollis Wild and Betty Stiles.
	‘Summer Cascade’ River Birch (Betula nigra ‘Summer Cascade’ PP15,105) A cascading form of our native river birch. From John and Danny Allen at Shiloh Nursery.
	‘Shiloh Splash’ River Birch (Betula nigra ‘Shiloh Splash’ PP16,362 ) A shrub form with a splashing variegation. From John and Danny Allen at Shiloh Nursery.
	‘Bryson City’ Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Bryson City’) An upright, fastigiated street-tree form of Ginkgo. Brought from China by Mary Bryson Tipton in 1941.