Archive for August, 2023

About Penstemons

Some 40 years ago, Dr. Dale Lindgren, plant breeder at the University of Nebraska released ‘Husker Red’ penstemon (Penstemon digitalis). This pioneering variety has purple-green foliage and white flowers. New penstemon varieties continue through the breeding pipeline with larger and colorful blooms, more compact habit, or dark foliage. (Z 3-8). Penstemons (Beardstongue) belong to the […]

Why Crape Myrtles Is Not Blooming

No flowers On Your Crape Myrtles? Look at these five common problems: 1. Not Adequate Sunlight Crape myrtles need 6-8 hours of full sun a day. Too much dry heat will cause poor flowering as well as leaf scorch.  2. Too much /Too Little Soil Moisture Crape myrtles are tolerant of moderate drought, dry weather spells […]

Summerific Hibiscus Are Awesome

Among my favorite summer flowering perennials are the hardy herbaceous hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos). During the early days of August, Walters Gardens, a premier perennial plant breeder, requests garden writers to celebrate and promote their awesome product line of Summerific hardy hibiscus. Last week, the first week of August, was dubbed Summerific Week. It’s never too […]

Creeping Jenny – Accent /Weed

Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’, aka creeping yellow loosestrife, golden moneywort, and several more colloquial names). It is an herbaceous, semi-evergreen perennial in the primrose (Primulaceae) family native to Europe (USDA hardiness zones 3-8). Introduced in North America this ornamental ground cover grows aggressively.  Be careful what you invite into your garden as this fast-growing plant […]