St. John’s Wort’s (Hypericum spp.) are terrific landscape shrubs and ground covers with bright yellow flowers in late spring and colorful berry fruits starting in late summer (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Bees and birds are attracted to flowers and fruits respectively. Hypearls® are a new series of hypericums. Cultivars are available in four compact growing […]
Archive for the ‘acidic soil’ Category
Hypearls® St. John’s Wort Worth The Hype
Posted by Hugh on March 15th, 2014
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, compact shrub, Container growing, container shrub, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Ornamental fruit, Southern Appalachian Region, St. John's Wort (Hypericum), Summer flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips 
Comments Off on Hypearls® St. John’s Wort Worth The HypeStart Spring Out with Easy To Grow Japanese Pieris
Posted by Hugh on March 12th, 2014
Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica) offers a year-round show in a garden with evergreen foliage and showy bell-shaped blooms (USDA hardiness zones 5- 8). New spring foliage starts out bronze-colored and matures to dark green. Attractive, pendulous branches if ivory white flower appears in early spring. Remnants of the old seed heads generally persist into the […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, compact shrub, Evergreen, Flowering, Pieris japonica, Planting tips, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Start Spring Out with Easy To Grow Japanese PierisPlant Native Allegheny Spurge More
Posted by Hugh on March 6th, 2014
Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) is a popular ground cover for partly shaded landscape areas. Our native pachsandra, called Allegheny spurge (P. procumbens), is less known and utilized. The glossy dark evergreen leaves are wider than Japanese pachysandra. Clusters of white bottlebrush flowers emerge 2-4 inches high in early spring; flowers mature pale pink as […]
Posted in acidic soil, Deer resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Fertilizing plants, Ground cover, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Pachysandra, Purchasing Plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Plant Native Allegheny Spurge MoreEarly Spring Flowering Okame Cherry
Posted by Hugh on March 3rd, 2014
‘Okame’ Cherry is a hybrid between Taiwan Cherry (Prunus campanulata) and Fuji Cherry (P. incisa) (USDA hardiness zones 6-8). Okame is the first ornamental cherry to bloom in the Southern Appalachian Region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). In the midst of a mild winter, Okame often starts blooming a few days after Valentine’s Day […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, compact tree, Disease resistant, Heat Tolerance, Okame cherry (Prunus), Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Street tree, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter bark, Winter flowering, winter hardiness Comments Off on Early Spring Flowering Okame CherrySweetbox – Excellent Evergreen Shrub For Shady Areas
Posted by Hugh on February 28th, 2014
Few evergreen shrubs grow in the shade. Sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) is a compact dwarf evergreen shrub or ground cover which is easy to grow (USDA hardiness zone 5-b to 8). Foliage remains lustrous dark green year-round. Sweetbox grows in partial to full shade, 1 to 2 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Ground cover, seeding lawn, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Sweetbox (Sarcococca), Trees & Shrubs, Winter flowering Comments Off on Sweetbox – Excellent Evergreen Shrub For Shady AreasTips On Growing Sourwood Trees
Posted by Hugh on February 22nd, 2014
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) is one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the U.S. Trying to establish one in your landscape can prove quite challenging. In the wild sourwood grows in shallow soils on steep craggy or rocky ground. Dry ground seems to be the rule. It grows either multi-stemmed (shrub-like) to 20-30 feet or […]
Posted in acidic soil, Fertilizing plants, Medium sized Tree, Native Plant, Sourwood (Oxydendrum), Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Trees & Shrubs Comments Off on Tips On Growing Sourwood TreesPrune to Rejuvenate Old Foundation Shrubs
Posted by Hugh on February 18th, 2014
Eventually, old foundation shrubs around your home grow too tall and spindly and need to be started over. Rather than digging them up, most deciduous and a few broadleaf shrubs respond to rejuvenation pruning. Sorry, evergreen conifers do not respond to this form of pruning. Get started with a sharp pair of pruning loppers or tree […]
Posted in acidic soil, Evergreen, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Nandina, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Trees & Shrubs Comments Off on Prune to Rejuvenate Old Foundation ShrubsGive Edgeworthia A Try In Your Winter Garden
Posted by Hugh on February 16th, 2014
To begin, I must thank South Carolina nurseryman, Mr. Ted Stephens, who gifted me a Chinese paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) 12 years ago. Most plant authorities rate its winter hardiness to USDA zones 7 and 8, but no one told this to my edgeworthia in zone 6-b. People who see it blooming in my early March […]
Posted in acidic soil, compact shrub, compost, Disease resistant, Edgeworthia, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Winter flowering, winter hardiness Comments Off on Give Edgeworthia A Try In Your Winter Garden‘Thunderhead’ Pine
Posted by Hugh on February 14th, 2014
Thunderhead Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’) is a dwarf compact form of Japanese black pine (USDA hardiness zones 5b-8). Expect this slow-growing conifer to reach 5 feet high and 4 feet wide in 10 years. Whereas Japanese black pine grows 60 to 80 feet tall, Thunderhead matures to 20 to 25 feet in height […]
Posted in acidic soil, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreens, Green Privacy Screen, Japanese Black Pine, Pine (Pinus spp.), Planting tips, Privacy Screen, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness Comments Off on ‘Thunderhead’ PineHepaticas Bloom In The Early Spring Garden
Posted by Hugh on February 12th, 2014
Hepatica (Hepatica spp), from the Latin word “Hepaticus” meaning liver, is sometimes cataloged as “Liverleaf” or “Liverwort” (USDA hardiness zones 4 – 9). It is one of the first spring wildflowers to bloom (March-April). H. americana, native to the eastern U.S. and Canada, bear showy white flowers that are sometimes tinged pink or blue. H. […]
Posted in acidic soil, compost, Disease resistant, Hepatica, Native Plant, Perennials, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Wildflowers, winter hardiness Comments Off on Hepaticas Bloom In The Early Spring Garden
