Plants of Week for July 2nd

Queen of Hearts Oakleaf Hydrangea is a sun loving type that has year round interest. In the winter it has cinnamon peeling bark. The spring brings out large oak leaf leaves that are well textured. Late spring/early summer brings white flowers that stand out against the dark green foliage. If you leave the flowers, they age to pink extending the bloom season into late summer. Then in fall the leaves turn to a mahogany red. It grows to 6.5 feet tall and 9 feet wide. They can handle full sun to partial shade. With it’s size you can use it for along a fence with perennials or small shrubs in from of it that could contrast the dark green foliage.

Curly Fries Hosta is a wrinkled thin leaf hosta that are chartreuse green. It stands out in shade gardens with both color and texture. It doesn’t grow too large only reaching 6 inches tall and 16 inches wide. Great for tight spaces or in front of dark green plants like Hydrangea or Hinoki Cypress. It can handle morning sun but needs to be shaded from noon to 6 pm.

Featured Plants for The week of June 25th 2019.

Mr. Goldstrike Aucuba is an evergreen that brightens dark shade gardens with it’s gold splashed leaves. It prefers full shade to some morning sun. Mr. Goldstrike grows to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. It works well to contrast against green trees that are shading the area. You can plant it with Astilbe, Hinoki Cypress or hollies. It works well to provide year round color in shade gardens. Where it is hard to find flowering plants that enjoy a lot of shade.

Tropical Lightning Climbing Rose is a striped rose with orange and cream. It grows to 10 to 12 feet tall and wide. Like other climbing roses it can be a stand alone shrub or trained on a trellis. This variety continues flowering from spring into late fall. Tropical Lighting works as a backdrop to other roses or perennials with yellow or white blooms. You can use this a focal point or as a privacy block that flowers most of the growing season.

Plants of the Week for June 18th

The Ruby Spider Daylily is a larger flower daylily with awesome color! The yellow centers darken to deep red. It grows to 32 inches and 24 inches wide. It blooms early to mid summer, not throughout summer like Stella D’Orro. While it lacks in length of bloom season, the flowers are bigger and the color more intense for the annual show. Like other daylilies they enjoy full sun and can handle drier conditions. These work well in a group of three with catmint or cranesbill in the foreground.

The City Line Mars Hydrangea is a shade loving dwarf Hydrangea, best with afternoon shade 12 to 5 pm. It grows to 1 to 3 feet tall and wide. The flowers are very pretty with pink/blue (depending on soil pH) edged with white. If you want it blue/white simply add Cottonseed meal, Aluminum Sulphate or Sulfur to the soil. If you want it pink just leave it be in our alkaline soils. This works well with Hostas and in front of Hinoki Cypresses for a wonderful balance of year round interest.

Plants for the Week of May 21st 2019

The Blizzard Mockorange blooms lots of fragrant white flowers in late spring. It reaches about 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. It works well with summer blooming perennials to lengthen out seasonal interest. You can also plant it near areas where the breeze can waft the fragrance to nice sitting spots. Some light pruning keeps it’s shape after it blooms. Every couple of years a hard pruning is a good idea of taking out older stems to keep the plant fuller and blooming lots.

Amber Jubilee Ninebark reaches about 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. It’s greatest attribute is the multi colored foliage. The new growth is orange red and matures to the yellow you see in the photo. It does bloom white flowers like other Ninebarks that attract butterflies in May. Put this in front of green conifers like arborvitae for a great contrast. Can be used as a colorful hedge too. Easy to maintain with a light annual pruning.

Both of these plants do well in full sun!

Plants for the Week of May 7th 2019

Blazing Glory Bidens are an annual that will give lots of color for flower pots that are in hot sunny spots! The compact, mounding habit pairs well in front of Spikes or Purple Fountain Grass with it yellow to orange blooms. You can also mix it with petunias or calibrachoas for contrast. This type of bindens do not need trimming to keep blooming, it’s free flowering! Grows up to 10 to 12 inches tall and spreads 14 inches wide. Handles full sun conditions and prefers to be on the drier side or in well drained soils.

Lemon Meringue False Indigo is a perennial for sunny hot spots. It flowers lemon yellow blooms in late spring to early summer. False Indigo do best in well drained soils and play nicely with black eyed susans, purple coneflowers, russian sage, blanket flower and lavender. A combination of several of these would give a dry, hot, flower bed some nice rotating seasonal interest. Lemon Meringue grows to about 3 feet tall and wide.

Plants of the Week for April 30th

Lavender Twist Redbud is a small weeping tree that can handle full sun to part shade.  These trees flower pink in April along their branches.  They grow to about 8 feet tall and wide, but can be kept smaller with trimming.  After they flower green, heart shaped leaves emerge to cover the tree.  Lavender Twist Redbud works well where Japanese Maples don’t like to grow as a focal point surrounded by perennials and small shrubs.

Purple Fountain Grass is great for height in flower pots as well as in the garden.  Though it doesn’t last through our winters; the show is worth it to replant every year.  They rapidly grow to about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.  Purple Fountain Grass prefers full sun and plays well with millionbells, petunias, allysums or bidens for flower pots.

Plants for the Week of April 23rd

The Pink Flowering Almond is an old time spring bloomer. Simple cherry blossom-like flowers in April cover the branches. They grow to 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. They enjoy full sun to partial shade. I would use this as a backdrop plant because after it blooms it’s a plain green shrub and pairs well summer bloomers like daylilies, spirea, salvia, barberry or panicle hydrangeas.

Diana Clare Lungwort is a afternoon shade loving perennial that can brighten up shady areas with it’s frosted green leaves. It’s doesn’t grow very tall about 1 foot. This allows it to go in front of Japanese Maples, Hydrangeas or Hinoki Cypress. In spring it blooms a rich blue blooms adding another level of interest.

Plants of the Week of April 16th

This week the nursery is starting to come alive with foliage and flower color!

Evening Star Superbells is a mounding type of Million Bells that has a wonderful color combo of purple and yellow. I have been very impressed by the “Punch” series of Superbells that I think the “Star” series will do just as well. This annual is great for spilling out of pots with blooms all summer long. You also don’t have to trim them unless you have a water oops. Just remember to water and fertilize regularly. Great for planters in all day sunny spots.

The Scarlet Storm Quince aka Double Take Scarlet is a thornless, fruitless quince that in April gives you these wonderfully deep red blooms. They grow to about 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. Quince due well in as little as 4 hours of sun to all day sun. The red covers the branches of last year growth, so don’t prune them until after the annual show to maintain size.

Plants for the Week of April 9th

This week I feature two Magnolia trees that bloom in April with great color! Magnolias in our area prefer full sun but some wind protection. Neighboring mature trees, houses, or other buildings work great to shield them from hot summer wind from the south to west. Magnolia are not drought tolerant, they prefer to be watered regularly. They also prefer to be fed regularly with a fertilizer for acid loving plants like a Rhododendron fertilizer.

Black Tulip grows to 15 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide. It has large dark burgundy, tulip shaped flowers that begin in early spring before the leaves. It’s smaller habit works well in smaller yards that need some spring impact!

Felix Jury Magnolia grows to 16 to 22 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide. It boasts 12 inch wide blooms of hot pink. Another tree that would work well small spaces that need lots of spring color!

Plants of Week for April 1st 2019

This week’s featured plants shine bright all winter long providing color when there is not. Both of these handle full hot sun!

Winter Sun Pine is a type of mugo that reaches 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. In the warmer months it’s a standard pine green but come winter it’s an electric yellow. It’s very cold hardy and tough to handle our hot summers. Winter Sun Pine works well for along a fence or house corner for a winter focal point. This would work well with redtwig dogwoods, or blue spruces for winter interest.

Golden Sword Yucca are great for hot sunny spots. They get 3 to 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. White bell shaped flowers appear in the late spring. The yellow variegated blades pair well with russian sage, lavender, ornamental grasses, red barberry or mugo pines.

Featured Plants for the Week of March 25th

The snow is gone and here somethings that are in bloom! Helebores prefer afternoon shade (12 to 5) to all day shade. They enjoy alkaline soils making our area very welcoming to them. These perennials flower from January to March, this year of course it was March to April. Helebores are great for in front of Hostas Hydrangeas, Hinoki Cypresses and Rhodies. They also contrast Hostas and Coral bells well too with their dark green foliage. Maintenance for them is easy. Simply fertilize, cut out spent blooms and remove older leaves.

Camelot is pink one that reaches 12 to 15 inches tall and 20 inches wide. It starts with pink buds and opens to pink cream.

Double Fantasy is a double white that grow to 8 to 12 inches and 16 inches wide. The clean white is striking.

Here is a video from Garden Answers going over Helebores.