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Detroit trip successful in finding new variety of annual

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Know It Grow It
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I got to make my annual spring run to a few of Detroit’s largest garden centers this past weekend.  It has been a cool spring there as well as for us, so they were not fully stocked if the plants were not grown on site.  I still managed to find a few plants that wowed me that I haven’t been able to get locally. So I considered the trip a success. 
A new wonderful annual that was introduced two years ago was digiplexus. I found the variety Illumination Flame in a favorite greenhouse in Detroit and last year, I found the second in the series called Berry Canary, and this year I’ll add Illumination Raspberry. This plant is the result of crossbreeding our hardy foxglove and the tropical foxglove, resulting in a sterile plant that will not produce seed.  The flowers come on tall spikes and are borne continuously throughout the summer. The total height is 2 to 3 feet. Digiplexus grows in full sun and is a good plant to use as a thriller in large planters or planted directly in a flower bed. The only maintenance required is removing the bloom spike when it’s finished, but the new spikes will already be on their way. Finding this plant is not easy, but if you’re not afraid to ask around, you will find it.
The lilacs are about ready to bloom, so this is the right time to apply pre-emergence herbicide to prevent crab grass in your lawn. Crab grass is an annual grass, so it reseeds itself each year, and if we have a hot dry summer, it tends to take over the lawn when our good grasses are dormant or struggling to hang on. Once the soil temperature gets warm, the seed germinates and a pre-emergence herbicide is totally ineffective. If you wait too long, your only option is to use a spray labeled for crab grass control.
I recommend that you wait for another 10 days to plant tomatoes, beans, melons, and other tender vegetable plants. The soil temperature has not warmed up enough, and planting some of those seeds too early in cool soil will result in the seed rotting instead of germinating.

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