Prunella grandiflora is available as a perennial in different parts of the world. With the new Freelander series, Prunella grandiflora appears for the first time in the category first year flowering perennials. This new series includes the colours white, blue and pink and for its early flowering as well as its good pack performance, the Fleuroselect judges awarded Prunella grandiflora Freelander Mixture with a Gold Medal 2006.
In detail
Prunella grandiflora is native to Europe. The plant originates in mountainous areas such as the Alps and the Dolomites. In the wild the colour of the flowers is usually violet blue. The cultivated varieties, however, are available in different colours such as pink, blue and white. These same colours can be found in the first year flowering Freelander series. These start to flower as early as May. This means that the series can be offered a lot sooner in the season than the more common perennial Prunella grandiflora, until now the only Prunella on the market. For the Fleuroselect judges this was reason enough to award Freelander Mixture the Gold Medal 2006. In judging this new 'annual' prunella each of the judges had their own thoughts. One especially noticed the compact habit, whilst another did not just see that 'Freelander Mixture' flowers really early but also noticed the profuseness of its flowering. A third member of the panel of judges foresees a future as a pot plant for this new series. Prunella grandiflora is a labiatae. Within the genus labiatae, this plant is surrounded by a whole host of plants that are well known in horticulture such as Coleus, Lavandula, Thymus, Lamium, Salvia and Stachys. Of this list, Lavandula and Salvia are already well represented in the category first year flowering perennials. This has contributed to these plants becoming even more popular. Freelander could make Prunella grandiflora just as popular. Because of its compact and basal branching habit, Freelander Mixture is well suited for use as a ground covering plant edging the border or in the rock garden. The only requirement for success is a well-drained moist soil. Prunella grandiflora will look its best in a sunny position that also gets some shade.