2019 Perennial of the Year : Stachys monieri ‘Hummelo’

Each year the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) designates one perennial as the “Perennial Plant of the Year”. Selection is based on multiple seasons of interest, suitability for a wide range of climates, low maintenance, pest & disease resistance and ease of propagation. Therefore, if you want to create an attractive, long blooming garden of reliable perennials this list is an excellent starting point. With very few exceptions these are outstanding garden plants.

In 2019 the Perennial Plant of the Year is Stachys ‘Hummelo’. This exceptional plant was honored in 2011 by being selected as the Wisconsin Perennial of the Year through the Wisconsin Green Industry Federation and has now moved on to national recognition.

Its assets are many. Firstly, it has a clean, clump forming habit composed of slightly crinkled green basal foliage that forms a compact mound. In addition, it produces abundant vertical spikes of bright purple-pink flowers on 15”-24” stems for many weeks in summer, beginning in late June and continuing through most of the summer if deadheaded. Moreover, it is a favorite of pollinators and was the highest rated Stachys in the Chicago Botanic Garden Evaluation Trials for its consistently heavy flower production, healthy foliage and uniform habit.

Previous Perennial Plant of the Year selections:

2018 – Ornamental Onion (Allium ‘Millenium’)
2017 – Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
2016 – Japanese Anemone (Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’)
2015 – Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokova’
2014 – Panicum ‘Northwind’
2013 – Variegated Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegata’)
2012 – Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’
2011 – Threadleaf Bluestar (Amsonia hubrechtii)
2010 – False Indigo (Baptisia australis)
2009 – Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’)
2008 – Geranium ‘Rozanne’
2007 – Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’
2006 – Dianthus ‘Firewitch’
2005 – Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus)
2004 – Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium nipponicum ‘Pictum’)
2003 – Becky Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum ‘Becky’)
2002 – Phlox ‘David’ (“David Summer Phlox”)
2001 – Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’*
2000 – Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’
1999 – Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’)
1998 – Magnus Purple Coneflower (Echinacea ‘Magnus’)
1997 – Salvia ‘May Night’
1996 – Penstemon ‘Husker Red’
1995 – Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
1994 – Astilbe ‘Sprite’
1993 – Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’
1992 – Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’
1991 – Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’
1990 – Phlox stolonifera