Archive for the ‘Summer heat tolerant’ Category

Stop Ignoring And Start Planting Hophornbeam

Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) is a medium sized tree native to the eastern half of North America (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). The tree is practically ignored by landscape designers and installers. Few nurserymen grow it. Hophornbeam is often confused with the true hornbeams (Carpinus spp.). Both are called “ironwood”, referring to the hard muscular wood of […]

Summer Chocolate™ Mimosa Tree Worth A Try

Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) is treasured as a four month landscape tree for its tropical-like foliage and flowering. This small deciduous tree grows 20 to 25 feet tall and its horizontal branching reaches out widely. Mimosa leafs out in late May with lush green, tropical-looking pinnately compound foliage and growth is very rapid. From mid-June […]

Give Lots of Space To Bottlebrush Buckeye

If you have lots of planting space, aggressive bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parvifolia) is what you want. This deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub grows 8 to 12 feet tall and 8 to 15 feet wide.A Southeastern U.S. native, bottlebrush buckeye is a late spring flowering shrub and requires little extra attention other than pruning. Plant in full sun […]

Why Some Vines Do Not Bloom

Why doesn’t my wisteria (Wisteria spp.) or climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) vine bloom? There are primarily four (4) reasons why these vines have not flowered. In order of importance they include: 1. The flower buds, which usually formed on the previous summer’s wood, may have been pruned off. Do not prune vine after […]

‘Bikini-tini’ Colocasia Creates Movement in The Garden

Colocasia (Colocasia esculenta), aka taro, ape plant, and elephant ear, among other names, is marginally hardy in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). The 2011 colocasia introduction ‘Bikini-tini’ has garnered high praise from neighbors and friends visiting my garden in the summer.  Bikini-tini is a strong stemmed thick-leaved plant that grows 4 to 5 feet in height. […]

Australian Fanflower A Hot Choice in U.S. Southern Gardens

Fanflower (Scaevola aemula) is a relatively new annual bedding plant choice. This Australian native thrives in tough environmental conditions, including the hot, humid summers in the Southern U.S. Fanflower grows well in hanging baskets, containers or garden beds. It grows in average, moderately acidic, well-drained soil and prefers full or partial sunny areas in the […]

Floral Fragrance Of Native Fringetree Fills The Spring Air

Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is treasured for its billowy masses of fragrant white flowers in the spring. It commonly grows as a large 15-20 foot tall shrub, but can be easily trained into a 20-25 foot multi-stemmed small tree. Most gardeners call this native “fringe tree” or fringetree. Regionally, it goes by a number of colloquial […]

‘King Tut’ Papyrus Adds Texture To The Summer Garden

Standard sized Papyrus in Flower Bed at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio Over thousands of years papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), aka Egyptian paper plant, was essential for food, medicine, fiber and shelter in ancient Egypt. Today, we utilize papyrus, as many other aquatic and bog-like plants, to add texture to the garden. Papyrus is classified as a non-hardy […]

Hardy or Not– Grow Agapanthus

Lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus praecox orientalis) is native to South Africa (USDA Zones 8–11), and is not reliably hardy in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zone 6 and 7). However, many gardeners are successfully growing it as a “tender perennial”. Agapanthus grows in an outdoor flower bed or in a container. The ball shaped light blue or white […]

Silverbell Tree Are Great Additions To Your Garden

Carolina silverbells (Halesia spp.) bloom as the last bracts of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) have fallen. Clusters of white or pale pink bell-shaped flowers open along the branches. Flowers appear first and medium green leaves emerge a few days later. Silverbells vary tremendously in the wild. Some grow large shrub-like, or as small multi-trunked trees […]