Leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei), aka Beale’s barberry, is a holly-like evergreen shrub which appears in your garden uninvited. It is a member of the barberry family (Berberidaceae) (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). It has no sharp thorns on the stems, but leaf tips are sharply pointed. Leatherleaf mahonia is a princely evergreen shrub which blooms in […]
Archive for the ‘Flowers’ Category
Leatherleaf Mahonia – Love It Or Don’t Plant It
Posted by Hugh on January 30th, 2013
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Evergreen, Heat Tolerance, Mahonia, Privacy Screen, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter flowering, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Leatherleaf Mahonia – Love It Or Don’t Plant ItAdd Some Gold to Your Landscape
Posted by Hugh on January 30th, 2013
Is your garden awash in green foliage? A few well placed bright gold-leaf shrubs or perennials can awaken almost any dull green landscape spot. Here are two shrubs, Mellow Yellow® spirea and Gold Nugget barberry, plus one perennial (‘All Gold’ hakone grass) that may add some flair. Mellow Yellow® Spirea (Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon’) forms small white flowers which cover […]
Posted in acidic soil, Barberry (Berberis), Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Hakone grass, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spirea (Spiraea), Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips Comments Off on Add Some Gold to Your LandscapeVernal Witchhazel and New Cultivar ‘Quasimodo’
Posted by Hugh on January 24th, 2013
Vernal witchhazel (H. vernalis) is a dense growing 8 to 12 foot native shrub which blooms in mid-winter in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). It is winter hardy to zone 4. Small ½ inch wide yellow flowers, flushed red at the base, emit a pleasant witchhazel aroma in the February […]
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn flowering, compact shrub, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Root suckering, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness, Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Vernal Witchhazel and New Cultivar ‘Quasimodo’Fragrant Honeysuckle Is Long-Lived Heirloom Shrub
Posted by Hugh on January 21st, 2013
Fragrant honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) has creamy white flowers which open in January during a brief warm-ups and continues, off and on, through February and March in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). It is an old heirloom shrub indigenous of China. It’s hardy in USDA hardiness zones 4-8. Fragrant honeysuckle is […]
Posted in acidic soil, Disease resistant, Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Privacy Screen, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Winter bark, Winter flowering Comments Off on Fragrant Honeysuckle Is Long-Lived Heirloom Shrub‘Otto Lukyen’ Cherry Laurel Exhibits Better Winter Hardiness
Posted by Hugh on January 17th, 2013
Otto Luyken (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Otto Luyken’) is a very compact form of cherry laurel. It produces showy, fragrant, erect white spike flowers primarily in the spring, and repeats with light blooming thru the summer months. Its fragrant white flowers are showy racemes which rise several inches above the foliage in mid-spring. Its glossy pointed tip […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Bee Favorite, Cherry Laurel (Prunus), compact shrub, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreens, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, Planting tips, Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on ‘Otto Lukyen’ Cherry Laurel Exhibits Better Winter HardinessSkip (Schipka) Laurel Creates Dense Evergreen Privacy Screen
Posted by Hugh on January 14th, 2013
Schipka laurel (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Schipkaensis’) is a dense growing evergreen shrub with lustrous evergreen foliage and clusters of small white flowers in the spring. It is rated as one of the cold hardiest of cherry laurels (USDA hardiness zone 6-8). In the garden center it is often labeled ‘skip laurel”. Skip laurel grows 10 to […]
Witchhazels Invent Their Own Season
Posted by Hugh on January 7th, 2013
Witchhazels (Hamamelis spp.) are medium to large shrubs which can be shaped into small trees by judicious pruning. In general, all witchhazels grow in full sun but can prosper with moderate amounts of shade. Other than pruning, they require little extra care. Plant in any soil type as long as it is adequately drained and mildly acidic. Species native to the Eastern […]
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn flowering, compact shrub, compact tree, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Green Privacy Screen, Heat Tolerance, Pruning, Root suckering, Summer heat tolerant, Winter flowering, winter hardiness, Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Witchhazels Invent Their Own SeasonAmur Maple Excellent Medium Sized Tree For Urban Landscapes
Posted by Hugh on December 13th, 2012
Amur maple (Acer ginnala) (now A. tataricum ssp. ginnala) is a lovely small sized tree from China, Manchuria and Japan. It has long been popular in residential areas in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and is slowly being planted in the mid-South (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). Extreme summer heat may limit its use. […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Amur maple (A. ginnala), Bee Favorite, compact tree, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Green Privacy Screen, Ornamental fruit, Planting tips, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips Comments Off on Amur Maple Excellent Medium Sized Tree For Urban Landscapes‘Beni kawa’ Japanese Maple for Winter Bark Color
Posted by Hugh on December 10th, 2012
Beni kawa Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Beni kawa’) is a smaller version of the popular coral bark maple ‘Sango kaku’. It was introduced by Greer Gardens Nursery in Oregon in 1987. ‘Beni kawa’ matures to 12-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide, compared to 20-25 feet tall for ‘Sango kaku’. Both cultivars form a vase-shaped branched small […]
Posted in acidic soil, compost, Japanese maple, Maples (Acer), mulching, Planting tips, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, watering tips, Winter bark, winter hardiness Comments Off on ‘Beni kawa’ Japanese Maple for Winter Bark ColorAre You Growing A Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?
Posted by Hugh on November 27th, 2012
If your “Christmas cactus” is blooming on Thanksgiving Day, it is likely not a true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) which flowers a month or more later. Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata) is frequently sold as “Christmas cactus”. Holiday shoppers often decorate with what’s in the store after Thanksgiving and the plants are frequently mislabeled. Christmas […]
Posted in Autumn flowering, Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera), Failure to Bloom, Fertilizing plants, Interior (house) Plants, Potting Mix, Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Tropical Plants (non-hardy) Comments Off on Are You Growing A Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?
