Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) is a landscape shrub offers four seasons of landscape interest. Also called Japanese allspice, this deciduous mid-sized shrub typically grows 10-15 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide and blooms during winter (USDA zones 7-9). You can also risk planting wintersweet in a protected courtyard garden in Zones 6 to minimize freeze injury […]
Archive for the ‘Pruning’ Category
Winter-blooming Wintersweet
Posted by Hugh on February 6th, 2021
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Fragrant, mulching, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness, Wintersweet (Chimonanthus) 
Comments Off on Winter-blooming WintersweetSeven Shrubs That Bloom In February
Posted by Hugh on February 1st, 2021
If you have ever dreamt of creating a year-round landscape garden, here are seven fine shrubs to start with. These shrubs bloom in late winter and are also important to early insect pollinators — native ground bees, bumble bees, and butterflies. In USDA hardiness zones 7-9, winter temperatures begin to moderate and some shrubs burst into floral […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Chinese witchhazel, container shrub, Daphne odora, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Edgeworthia, Environmental Conservation, Evergreen, Evergreens, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Flowering shrub, Fragrant, Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Jessamine (Gelsemium), Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Sweetbox (Sarcococca), Trees & Shrubs, Winter flowering, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness, Wintersweet (Chimonanthus), Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Seven Shrubs That Bloom In FebruaryEvercolor® Series Of Japanese Sedges
Posted by Hugh on January 26th, 2021
Japanese sedges (Carex oshimensis) are fine-textured variegated sedges that typically grow in a low, grass-like mounded clump to 10-16” tall and wide. This tough colorful sedge was originally found growing in dry woodlands and rocky slopes throughout Honshu Island, Japan. Brownish flower spikes, mostly inconspicuous, form on triangular stems in spring. Japanese sedge are evergreen […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Carex (Sedges), Container garden, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Environmental Conservation, Evergreen, Fall Garden Interest, Fertilizing plants, Ground cover, Landscape ideas, mulching, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Sedges (Carex), Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Evercolor® Series Of Japanese SedgesNew Landscape Roses With Exceptional Fragrance
Posted by Hugh on January 15th, 2021
Over a century of rose breeding has rewarded gardeners with so many gorgeous garden roses: hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda and shrub types. Rose breeders have concentrated on plant vigor, flower color, disease resistance, and greater numbers of flowers over the growing season. Over the years, floral fragrance has been mostly ignored. In the past two […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Breeding Plants, compact shrub, Container growing, container shrub, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Flower Arranging, Flowers, Fragrant, mulching, Planting tips, Powdery mildew, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Roses, Roses (Shrub type), shrub roses, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, watering tips Comments Off on New Landscape Roses With Exceptional FragranceCalamint – 2021 Perennial Plant of The Year (PPOY)
Posted by Hugh on January 1st, 2021
Too begin a new gardening year, the Perennial Plant Association has named calamint (Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta) as the 2021 Perennial Plant of the Year. One landscaper designer describes calamint as “a cloud of confetti, tiny white flowers”. Plants are dotted with masses of tiny white (or pale blue) flowers from early summer to fall. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, Calamint, Container garden, deadheading, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fall Garden Interest, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Landscape ideas, mulching, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Calamint – 2021 Perennial Plant of The Year (PPOY)Caring For Thanksgiving/Christmas Cacti
Posted by Hugh on December 26th, 2020
Holiday cacti are not true cactus plants. They are native to tropical rainforests of South America and their care is much different than desert cacti. Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti refers to the time that they bloom in Fall. Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (S. bridgesii are available in several flower colors: red, salmon, pink, purple, orange and […]
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn flowering, Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera), Evergreen, Fertilizing plants, Flowering house plant, Landscape ideas, Mealy bugs, Photoperiod (Daylength), Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Repotting plants, Scale, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Thanksgiving cactus, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips Comments Off on Caring For Thanksgiving/Christmas CactiThree Common Witchhazel Varieties
Posted by Hugh on December 6th, 2020
Common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is likely the last native woody shrub or tree to bloom in the northern areas of the U.S. and Canada (USDA hardiness zone 3-8). This autumn blooming deciduous shrub or tree grows in open woodlands, often near a lake or a stream bank. Common witchhazels grow 15-20 feet tall as a large […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Autumn flowering, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Common witchhazel (H. virginiana), compact shrub, compact tree, Container growing, container shrub, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Environmental Conservation, Fertilizing plants, Japanese beetles, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Privacy Screen, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (layering), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Shade Gardening, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, watering tips, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness, Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Three Common Witchhazel VarietiesCoast Leucothoe a Better Choice
Posted by Hugh on November 16th, 2020
Compared to other doghobble species, coast leucothoe or doghobble (Leucothoe axillaris) is a best choice for Southern U.S. landscapes (USDA zones 6 -9). This species is native to open woodland areas of the Southeastern U.S. The species grows along woodland slopes usually nearby a water source. However, its roots do not tolerate perennially damp ground. Doghobbles are […]
Posted in acidic soil, Anthracnose, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Deer resistant, Doghobble (Leucothoe), Environmental issues, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Ground cover, Landscape ideas, Leaf retention, Leaf/needle spots, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Scale, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Coast Leucothoe a Better ChoicePersimmon – Native Fruit Tree
Posted by Hugh on November 11th, 2020
Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is a deciduous U.S. native that grows 35 to 60 feet tall and 25-35 feet wide (USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9). Mature trees have a rounded oval crown. Ovate to elliptic, 2-6 inch long leaves, alternative along the stem, are glossy dark green above. Autumn leaves turn yellowish-green, infrequently reddish purple. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Dioecious, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Edible fruits, Fall Garden Interest, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, Medium sized Tree, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Persimmon (Diospyros), Planting tips, Pollination needs, Propagation (Seed), Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Shade tree, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Winter bark Comments Off on Persimmon – Native Fruit TreeStandout Ornamental Grasses Inflorescences
Posted by Hugh on November 6th, 2020
Ornamental grasses standout in the landscape most of the year. These six ornamental grasses showoff spectacular seed heads (inflorescences) in late summer or fall. These grasses are also beautiful and effective landscape screens. PAMPAS GRASS (Cortaderia selloana) – are seen planted at the beach, city parks or in your neighbor’s yard. The big feathery plumes […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Attracting birds, Autumn flowering, Bees and other pollinators, Calamagrostis, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, Miscanthus grass, mulching, Native Plant, Pampas Grasss (Cortaderia), Pennisetum spp., Perennials, Propagation (dividing), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Switchgrass (Panicum), winter hardiness Comments Off on Standout Ornamental Grasses Inflorescences
