The effort is starting to market products directly to homeowners, but still does most of its business with landscape contractors.

Chicagoland Grows is a partnership between The Morton Arboretum, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois. Its goal is to provide outstanding, dependable plant material for northern Illinois landscapes.

Chicagoland Grows was launched in 1986, but not a lot of homeowners are familiar with it.

“The thrust of our marketing has been more toward landscape contractors,” said Ken Doty, owner of Hinsdale Nursery.

The plants from Chicagoland Grows are tested extensively.

Before a plant can be introduced, it has been evaluated under a variety of landscape and nursery conditions for up to 10 years, says the program’s brochure. Plants must offer not only fine ornamental characteristics, but be proven dependable for both landscape professionals and home gardens.

“We’re trying to find the best plants for the Chicago market: Test them, make sure they’re good, find out how to propagate them, find out if they can economically be brought to the market, and then grow them,” Doty said.