Joe Pye weed (Eutrichum purpureum) is a native perennial commonly spotted onthe edge of farm fields in the eastern and northern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9). The wild species grows 5-7 feet high and 2-4 feet wide. It blooms from late July to September and is a magnet to attract bees and butterflies. Over the past two […]
Archive for the ‘Flowers’ Category
Sorting Through The Joe Pye Cultivars
Posted by Hugh on June 7th, 2017
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, Container growing, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Eupatorium 'Gateway', Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate', Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Staking, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Sorting Through The Joe Pye CultivarsSee Your Perennials Blooming Again
Posted by Hugh on June 4th, 2017
Deadheading is the removal of old spent flowers and stems of many perennials. Many (not all) perennials will respond and bloom a second and even a third time. Deadheading also refreshes the plant’s appearance and reduces or eliminates the threat of seed dispersal. It redirects the plant’s energy away from seed production toward root and vegetative growth. […]
Posted in Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Blanket flower (Gaillardia), Butterflies, Butterfly weed (Asclepias), Columbine (Aquilegia), Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Container garden, Coreopsis, Culver's Root (veronicastrum), Delphinium, Dianthus (Pinks), Fertilizing plants, Flowers, Gaura, Heat Tolerance, Helenium, Heliopsis (False sunflower), Hummingbird, Indian pink (Spigelia), Lavender (Lavandula), Milkweeds (Asclepias), Monarda (Beebalm), mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Phlox, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Platycodon (Balloon flower), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Re-Bloomers, Red hot Poker (Kniphofia), Russian sage (Perovskia), Sage (Salvia), Sanitation, Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Stokesia, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summer phlox (P. paniculata), Sunflower (Helianthus), Torch lily (red hot poker), Tradescantia (Spiderwort), Veronica (speedwells), watering tips, Weed control, Yarrow (Achillea) Comments Off on See Your Perennials Blooming AgainFall In Love With Haas’ Halo® Hydrangea
Posted by Hugh on June 1st, 2017
Anyone walking through your garden will stop to see Haas Halo®) hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens Haas Halo®). This native smooth hydrangea has intense blue-green, leathery foliage and huge pure white wide lace cap blooms (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Flowers stand tall on stout sturdy stems. Shrub branching is upright. This new hydrangea was found by Frederick H. Ray, […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, compact shrub, Container growing, container shrub, deadheading, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, Hydrangea arborescens, Hydrangeas, mulching, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Re-Bloomers, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering hydrangeas, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Fall In Love With Haas’ Halo® HydrangeaSpring – Summer Care of Herbaceous Peonies After Flowering
Posted by Hugh on May 26th, 2017
Summer weather can be tough on the foliage of tree and herbaceous peonies tree (P. lactiflora). Here are some tips to ensure your peony plants will prosper for many years to come. Keep foliage disease-free and prune off all badly infected with mildew or black spotted. Some varieties naturally shed their leaves (go dormant) early. Itoh hybrids and most […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Botrytis disease, Container growing, deadheading, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, mulching, Overcrowding, Peony, Perennials, Powdery Mildew, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Staking, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips Comments Off on Spring – Summer Care of Herbaceous Peonies After FloweringFive Perennial Staples For Your Summer Garden
Posted by Hugh on May 23rd, 2017
If you are designing a new perennial garden, here are five proven perennials to start out with. All varieties are standout garden performers known for their long blooming period and showy flowers. Coreopsis and veronica are often utilized for edging along a sunny border. All can be planted in mixed containers. ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ coneflower (Echinacea […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, compost, Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Container garden, Coreopsis, deadheading, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Veronica (speedwells), watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Five Perennial Staples For Your Summer GardenFive Reliable Summer – Early Fall Flowering Perennials
Posted by Hugh on May 18th, 2017
Planning a new perennial garden this summer?Include these five very dependable flowering perennials. All are low maintenance and are U.S. natives (USDA Zones 4–8). ‘Zagreb’ (Coreopsis verticillata) has a very uniform plant habit and finely dissected foliage. Plant grows only about 20 -24 inches tall, and is blanketed with bright yellow (gold) flowers coupled with […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aster, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn flowering, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, compost, Container garden, Coreopsis, deadheading, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Goldenrod (Solidago), Heat Tolerance, Heliopsis (False sunflower), Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Phlox, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Five Reliable Summer – Early Fall Flowering PerennialsChinese Fringetree Is Versatile Landscape Tree
Posted by Hugh on May 8th, 2017
Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus) is native to China, Korea and Japan (Zone: 6 to 9a). Related to native U.S. species (C. virginicus), fringetrees are noted for their profuse spring bloom of fragrant white flowers. It is most often seen in cultivation as a large, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub growing to 15 – 20 feet tall with a […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Borers, compact shrub, compact tree, Container growing, container shrub, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fragrant, Fringetree (Chionanthus), Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, Mites, mulching, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Scale, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness Comments Off on Chinese Fringetree Is Versatile Landscape TreeU.S. Native Bleeding Hearts Dazzle In Woodland Garden
Posted by Hugh on May 5th, 2017
One of nature’s delights in the late spring – early summer garden is the wonder of bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.) in bloom (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Fringed bleeding heart (D. exima) is a U.S. native to the Appalachian Mountains. Fringed bleeding heart exhibits deeply-cut, fern-like, grayish-green foliage on 10-15 inch tall plants. Dangling bright pink pendant (or heart) flowers […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Aphids, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra), compost, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Hummingbird, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Slugs, Snails, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, Wildflowers, winter hardiness Comments Off on U.S. Native Bleeding Hearts Dazzle In Woodland GardenBigroot Geranium
Posted by Hugh on May 3rd, 2017
Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum), aka “cranesbill”, is a clump-forming perennial ground cover from Southern Europe (USDA Zones 3–8). It is one of the easiest geraniums to grow. Plants spread by thick rhizomes to form a dense ground cover. Individual plants grow 12 to 18 inches high and 18-24 inches spread. The 1-inch wide, 5-petaled dark […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Cranesbill (Geranium), deadheading, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Ground cover, Perennials, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Bigroot GeraniumKorean Maple Substitute For Fullmoon Japanese Maple
Posted by Hugh on April 30th, 2017
At first sight Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum), aka Korean fullmoon maple, is very similar in appearance to fullmoon Japanese maples (A. japonicum var. Acontifolium). If you live in a northern U.S. such as the upper Midwest, growing Japanese maples will likely become an unfulfilled wish. Korean maple is a hardier choice for northern locales (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aphids, Borers, compact tree, compost, Container growing, container shrub, Disease resistant, Korean maple, Mites, mulching, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Scale, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips Comments Off on Korean Maple Substitute For Fullmoon Japanese Maple
