Archive for the ‘Flowers’ Category

Leather Flower Clematis- Hot Pink Summer Flowering Vine

Leather flower (Clematis glaucophylla) is native to moist woodlands in the Southeastern U.S. This lovely flowering vine is covered with one inch hot pink flowers tipped in yellow. The solitary, 1- inch bell shaped flowers are on 6- inch long stalks which reach out for support. It is called “leather flower” because the petals are […]

Calliope™ Dark Red Geranium- One of the Best

Garden performance is very important. Calliope™ Dark Red geraniums have it!! Calliope geraniums are interspecific hybrids with zonal-type leaves and huge vibrant red flowers. Plant breeders crossed ivy geraniums (the kind commonly used as hanging baskets) and zonal geraniums (found growing in pots, window boxes, and as bedding plants). Calliope is a vigorous grower with a mounding to semi-trailing […]

Stewartia- A Tree for All Seasons

    Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) is a truly beautiful 20-30 foot small tree or multi-trunked shrub. Stewartia may be finicky to grow, but a great plant nonetheless. Although rarely seen in U.S. gardens, Japanese stewartia is the most commonly grown of the six stewartia species. All are winter hardy in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 […]

Wild Epaulette Tree Can Be Tamed

Epaulette tree (Pterostyrax hispida) is a small flowering tree which quickly grows to a mature height of 20—25 feet. Winter hardiness here in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7) is no problem.  A newly planted tree grows an average of 15-18 inches per year and blooms early. Epaulette prospers in a moist well-drained […]

Is Paulownia Invasive?

Paulownia or Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) is a medium to large 30-50 foot tree. It is extremely fast growing, brittle wooded tree, as much as 4 feet per year.  Across the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7), the large pale violet flowers of paulownia are easily visible in May, perched on branch tips. Its […]

Yellowwood Not Every Year Bloomer

  American yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) is a medium-sized flowering tree. In the month of May, a beautiful yellowwood tree is in bloom somewhere in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zone 6 and 7). The 1- 1 1/2  inch white pea blossoms comprise the 8-14 inch long wisteria-like panicles which drape from branch and twig tips. Yellowwood may bloom 2 to 3 consecutive years […]

Summer Wine™: The Taming of The Ninebark

Over the past 25 years our native Eastern ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) has been reborn. Its overly vigorous nature has been tamed. Latest up is Summer Wine™ ninebark with small, deeply cut, wine burgundy leaves, quite different from the medium green foliage of old-fashioned ninebarks. Summer Wine is a more compact (5-6 feet in height and width) grower. Grow ninebark in […]

Gordlinia- Nothing Like it Before!

  ‘Sweet Tea’ resulted from crossing franklinia (F. alatamaha) and loblolly bay or gordonia (G. lasianthus). Sweet Tea is still abit finicky like franklinia, but is more resistant to Phytophthora disease (soil pathogen). This new intergeneric cross possesses huge (5 inch diameter), showy flowers that look like big fried eggs. Sweet tea exhibits semi-evergreen foliage with large, […]

A Perfect Small Garden Tree– ‘Ace of Hearts’ Redbud

Ace of Hearts redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Ace of Hearts’) is an arboreal treasure, a compact form of our native redbud. Heavy clusters of light purple pea-like flowers cover twigs and branches from late March into early April, depending on your locality. Ace of Hearts grows 12 by 15 feet in height and spread, roughly one-third […]

Double Take™ Flowering Quinces

Photo credit: Dr. Tom Ranney, NCSU Research Horticulturist Flowering quince (Chaenomeles spp) is an early spring flowering shrub, treasured for its brightly colored blooms (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Old fashioned quince shrubs produced small amounts of fruits which were gathered and prepared into yummy jelly in the autumn kitchen. These often large 10-12 foot tall shrubs produced small sharp […]