Those of us attending the Young’s Plant Farm Annual Garden Tour in Auburn, Alabama, always have our eyes open to new plants, applications, or recipes. One plant that demanded attention this year was Golden Cascade Baby Sun Rose. Know upfront: It is NOT a rose. It’s from Proven Winners and marketed under their Proven Selections label. I hope they take it full scale to Proven Winners because it is a real looker.

While on the tour, son James and I did some quick research and saw it was botanically Aptenia cordifolia. The research also showed that this was the same botanical name as Mezoo Trailing Red Livingstone Daisy. They certainly looked the same, except Mezoo Trailing Red is a variegated green and white selection with red flowers while Golden Cascade Baby Sun Rose is a dazzling chartreuse or lime green with similar red flowers. The funny thing is that the botanical name supposedly has already changed.

Three years ago, The Garden Guy wrote a column challenging you to jump on board the Mezoo Madness trend and use this plant in your mixed container designs and landscape bed combinations.

I am happy to say Mezoo Madness continues in more ways than you imagined. It has been a wild, fun and in some ways a crazy ride since then. The recipes and color partnerships have been more beautiful than you ever dreamed. Now with Golden Cascade Baby Sun Rose the combos will be even greater.

But the real question is do you know the plants we call Mezoo Trailing Red, Livingstone Daisy and Golden Cascade Baby Sun Rose? They are drought-tolerant, heat-loving succulents reaching up to 8 inches tall with a spread up to 24 inches. We grow them for their trailing habit, which yields red flowers, but those flowers are more of a conversation item. They are mostly considered annuals that may be perennial in zones 9 and warmer. They are worth every penny for habit and the unique texture they provide.

When I wrote the column three years ago, Mezoo Trailing Red’s botanical name was "Dorotheanthus bellidiformis," and you may find that name still connected to the plant. But remember earlier I told you Proven Winners had them both labeled as Aptenia cordifolia. You will find many tags and info sheets with that information. Remember what I couple of weeks ago: “Taxonomists have to eat too.”

The taxonomists must be having a feast—a real smorgasbord. I’m not sure when the Aptenia cordifolia nomenclature took effect, but it has supposedly already been replaced. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden the new name is Mesembryanthemum cordifolium. That’s just what I would have named them. JUST KIDDING!

What I am not kidding about is that Mezoo Trailing Red Livingstone Daisy and Golden Cascade Baby Sun Rose can transform your designs. Your friends and neighbors will think that on the weekend when you were supposedly visiting Gran, you really went to a special class.

The Young’s Plant Farm Annual Garden Tour showed me that while the spiller effect in mixed containers and baskets was indeed special, the ability to create a dazzling ground cover is certainly not to be overlooked.

As you might expect, a drought and heat tolerant succulent needs plenty of sun and well-drained soil. Boggy soil is not your friend; after all they are from the CARROT family.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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