Plumleaf azalea (Rhododendron prunifolium), a deciduous azalea native to Georgia and Alabama, is a particular summer favorite (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). It’s hardy even in Boston, NY City, and Philadelphia. Its bright orange-red blooms surprise in late July to early August. Compared to many fragrant spring blooming native species, flowers emit no scent. Its autumnal […]
Archive for the ‘Summer flowering’ Category
July Blooming Plumleaf Azalea
Posted by Hugh on July 28th, 2019
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Azalea (deciduous), Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Breeding Plants, Butterflies, Container garden, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Rhododendrons, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on July Blooming Plumleaf AzaleaWhy My Hydrangeas Are Not Blooming
Posted by Hugh on July 23rd, 2019
Thankfully, this is not a very common problem that few gardeners run into. U.S. gardeners grow four (4) species of hydrangeas: smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla), and panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata). There are five reasons why some hydrangeas don’t bloom: 1. Type of hydrangea… Bigleaf hydrangeas, those that […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bees and other pollinators, Bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla), compact shrub, Container garden, container shrub, Deciduous, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Flower arrangments, Flowering, Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens, Hydrangeas, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Rabbit/deer Protection, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, watering hydrangeas, watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Why My Hydrangeas Are Not BloomingFive Shrubs Make Wonderful Small Trees
Posted by Hugh on July 18th, 2019
With some aggressively growing shrubs, it frequently comes down to you (and your pruners) versus the plant. Technique: a sharp pair of hand pruners along with 3-4 times annually to train a large unruly shrub into a behaved small tree. Here is a list of 5 great shrub candidate that may become a great small tree: […]
Posted in acidic soil, Althea (Hibiscus), Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, compact tree, Container garden, Container growing, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, Harlequin glorybower, Landscape Construction, Landscape ideas, mulching, Ninebark, Panicle hydrangea, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Staking, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, Vitex (Chaste tree), watering tips, Wind protection, winter hardiness Comments Off on Five Shrubs Make Wonderful Small TreesPerennial Favorites For The Summer Garden
Posted by Hugh on July 8th, 2019
If someone was to create the Garden Performance Hall of Fame for summer flowering perennials, I would nominate this list of ten (10). I have had experience growing many of them in my Northeast Tennessee garden (USDA hardiness zone 6-b). In a few instances, I have selected a variety that grows in friends’ or a […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Butterflies, compost, Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Coreopsis, Coreopsis 'Gold Standard, Daylilies, deadheading, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Heuchera (coralbells), Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Phlox, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Re-Bloomers, Russian sage (Perovskia), Sage (Salvia), Sedum (Shrub type), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Stonecrop sedums, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summer phlox (P. paniculata), Tennessee Coneflower, watering tips Comments Off on Perennial Favorites For The Summer GardenSix Flowering Perennials For Downtown Areas
Posted by Hugh on July 3rd, 2019
Here is what some downtown areas in the Southeast and Midwest U.S. were planting this spring: Rudbeckia lacinata ‘Herbstonne’ aka ‘Autumn Sun’ is a long-blooming butterfly favorite with clusters of bright yellow ray flowers with large green cones from mid to late summer. Leaves are large, glossy, deep green, deeply cut along the stems. Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Biennial, Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), compost, Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Container garden, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Ground cover, Heuchera (coralbells), Landscape Construction, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Propagation (Cuttings), Purchasing Plants, Rudbeckia 'Herbstonne', Sage (Salvia), Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum), Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Switchgrass (Panicum), winter hardiness Comments Off on Six Flowering Perennials For Downtown AreasThree High Performance Coneflower Series
Posted by Hugh on June 28th, 2019
Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are very popular perennials (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). Their colorful flowers will attract a multitude of beneficial pollinators to your garden. Some cultivar series come in a myriad of colors. For the best and biggest flowers, coneflowers perform at their best in full sun and in well-drained soils. After planting echinaceas grow […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Container garden, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Wildflowers, winter hardiness Comments Off on Three High Performance Coneflower SeriesJune Blooming Japanese Tree Lilac
Posted by Hugh on June 23rd, 2019
Chinese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata) is an under-planted small multi-trunked tree or large flowering shrub (USDA hardiness zones 3-7). In tree form, it grows 20- 30 feet tall and 15- 20 feet wide with a rounded crown. Mature 70 year old plus specimens at Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC are 50 feet or taller. Its […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Balled and Burlapped (b&b), Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Flower Arranging, Fragrant, Landscape ideas, Lilac (Syringa), mulching, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Shade tree, Small landscape tree, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Street tree, Summer flowering, Trees & Shrubs, Winter bark, winter hardiness Comments Off on June Blooming Japanese Tree LilacAttractive Butterfly Weed
Posted by Hugh on June 18th, 2019
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), aka milkweed, is a long-lived summer blooming perennial. In the wild milkweed may be found growing in dry/rocky open woodlands, prairies, farm fields, and along roadsides in the southeastern U.S and mid-western U.S. and Canada (USDA hardiness zones 3 -9). Established plants typically grow as a clump to 2- 3 feet high and 1 […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, Butterfly weed (Asclepias), Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Flower Arranging, Garden ecology, Landscape ideas, Milkweeds (Asclepias), mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Uncategorized, winter hardiness Comments Off on Attractive Butterfly WeedSummersweet Shrub – Underplanted And Underappreciated
Posted by Hugh on June 11th, 2019
Summersweet clethra (Clethra alnifolia), aka sweet pepperbush, is a deciduous summer blooming shrub that ranges from coastal Maine to Florida (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). This delightful shrub grows 3-6 feet, although some cultivars grow 8 feet or higher. Flower colors (depending on variety) range from white, pink, and rose pink. The sweetly fragrant flower clusters ( 4- 6 inches […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, compost, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summersweet (Clethra), Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Summersweet Shrub – Underplanted And UnderappreciatedGrow Crocosmias In Your Summer Garden
Posted by Hugh on June 6th, 2019
Crocosmias are bulbous summer blooming flowering perennials that are closely related to gladiolas, also called montbretia and sword lilies. They’re actually corms, not bulbs, and are indigenous to South Africa (USDA hardiness zones 5b to 9). Crocosmias enjoy lots of sun, soil moisture, and hot temps to produce flowers. Plants prefer nutrient-rich, slightly acidic, moist, […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Bulb Crops, Container garden, Corms, Crocosmia (Montbretia), Disease resistant, Flower Arranging, Flowering Bulb, Flowers, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Insect (Pest) Problems, Landscape ideas, Mites, mulching, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Thrips, Uncategorized, watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Grow Crocosmias In Your Summer Garden
