Each year the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) recognizes six outstanding plants that a group of nursery owners, horticulturists, expert gardeners, and professional growers singe out as among the best performing and most beautiful for inclusion into the Mid-Atlantic Region Gold Medal program. All seven perennials perform equally well in the mid-South (Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and Northern Counties […]
Archive for the ‘Summer heat tolerant’ Category
Recent PHS Gold Medal* Perennial Picks
Posted by Hugh on December 12th, 2023
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn flowering, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Ground cover, Heuchera (coralbells), Indian pink (Spigelia), Iris tectorum, Ironweed (Vernonia), Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Non-native, Perennials, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Purchasing Plants, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summer phlox (P. paniculata), Tiarella (foam flower), Turtlehead (Chelone), watering tips, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Recent PHS Gold Medal* Perennial PicksSnowdrops (Galanthus)
Posted by Hugh on December 6th, 2023
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring. Depending on the region where you live, snowdrops appear in the early days of spring; often snow still blankets the ground. Snowdrops are tiny plants (3 – 6 inches tall) that produce multiple small showy, white, bell-shaped flowers, which hangs off the ends […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Bulb Crops, Cold tolerance, Container garden, Fertilizing plants, Galanthus (snowdrops), Ground cover, Landscape ideas, mulching, Non-native, Perennials, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Purchasing Plants, Snowdrops (Galanthus), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, Winter flowering, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness Comments Off on Snowdrops (Galanthus)Foster Holly
Posted by Hugh on November 30th, 2023
Foster holly (Ilex x attenuata) is an old holly favorite which has not lost its sizzle. Cultivars of Foster Hollies were selected by E.E. Foster of Foster Nursery in Bessemer, Alabama in the 1950s. It is utilized in a number of landscape options across the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7), including in containers in […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bees and other pollinators, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Foster holly, Green Privacy Screen, Ilex (hollies), Landscape ideas, Large shrub, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Small landscape tree, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Foster HollySubstitutes For Callery Pear
Posted by Hugh on November 15th, 2023
The end to planting Callery pears (Pyrus calleryana), aka Bradford Pear, is almost within sight as more states are banning sales of the tree at garden centers and box store garden departments. Recently, Ohio, South Carolina and Pennsylvania have banned further plantings. This March blooming flowering tree has been determined to be invasive. It produces […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Autumn foliage color, Autumn Fruiting, Bees and other pollinators, Bradford Pear, Crabapple, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Dogwood (Cornus), Drought tolerant, Environmental issues, Invasive plant, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Non-native, Pear (Ornamental), Prunus (Cherry), Purchasing Plants, Redbud, Serviceberry (Amelanchier), Silverbell (Halesia), Small landscape tree, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Weak branching, Weak wooded, Weed control, Winter flowering, winter hardiness, winter injury Comments Off on Substitutes For Callery PearRattlesnake Master
Posted by Hugh on October 31st, 2023
Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) is mostly at home in a hot sunny prairie environment in the Southeast and Midwest (USDA hardiness 3-8). Its spiny nature gives it a desert spiny yucca-like appearance. Some Indian groups were known to brew the plant’s roots as an antidote to rattlesnake venom. Some native peoples also used the dried […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fall Garden Interest, Flower Arranging, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Purchasing Plants, Rattlesnake master (Eryngium), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Rattlesnake MasterJanuary Blooming Vernal Witchhazel
Posted by Hugh on October 21st, 2023
This winter – follow your nose to Vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis), aka Ozark witchhazel. (USDA zones 4-8). This U.S. native witchhazel grows as a deciduous shrub to small tree. It may produce the smallest flowers of all witchhazel species, but they’re highly fragrant when little else is blooming. It naturally inhabits a wide area encompassing […]
Posted in acidic soil, Balled and Burlapped (b&b), Bees and other pollinators, Chlorosis (yellowing), Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Landscape ideas, Large shrub, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Vernal witchhazel (H. vernalis), Winter flowering, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness Comments Off on January Blooming Vernal WitchhazelUniquely Different Weeping Mulberry
Posted by Hugh on October 3rd, 2023
Common (White) mulberry (Morus alba) is a fast-growing, medium sized, deciduous tree that typically grows to 30-50 feet tall and wide. It usually develops a wide-spreading rounded crown with age. This native to China is utilized either as a landscape shade and/or a fruit tree. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). White Mulberry prefers a rich, moist, […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Aphids, Attracting birds, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Dioecious, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Landscape ideas, Mulberry (Morus), mulching, Non-native, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Scale, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Weeping habit, winter hardiness Comments Off on Uniquely Different Weeping MulberryGooseneck Loosestrife
Posted by Hugh on September 22nd, 2023
Gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) can be both a delight and a weedy nuisance – depending on where you garden. (USDA hardiness zones 3 – 8). This native of southeast Asia grows aggressively in some locations in the U.S. where it has escaped into woodlands, wet areas, and on sunny, sheltered mountainous slopes. The perennial has […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Drought tolerant, Gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia), Invasive plant, mulching, Non-native, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Regional, Root suckering, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Wind protection, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Gooseneck LoosestrifeThree Salvias To Try
Posted by Hugh on September 16th, 2023
Back in early spring you may have planted several kinds of salvias (sages). The arrival of the cool autumn weather turns up the flower power of sages. They’re members of the mint family and the leaves emit a mild anise scent when crushed. Looking ahead to summer of 2024, here are three salvias that you […]
Posted in acidic soil, Annuals, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn flowering, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Blue anise sage (S. guaranitica), Butterflies, Container garden, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fall Garden Interest, Flower Arranging, Flower arrangments, Heat Tolerance, Honey bees, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Non-native, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Sage (Salvia), Salvia, Salvia leucantha, Salvia oxyphora, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Texas Sage (Salvia), Wind protection Comments Off on Three Salvias To TryPerennials With Great Fall Color
Posted by Hugh on September 10th, 2023
In general, perennials are not rated very high for their fall leaf color. This is very wrong as some produce stunning autumnal foliage colors. In addition, some ornamental grasses produce colorful floral heads (inflorescences).The first six are perennial dicots and the next six are grasses with awesome inflorescenses. Bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) – short 9-12 […]
Posted in acidic soil, Amsonia (blue star), Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn fern (Dryopteris), Bees and other pollinators, Bin bluestem (Andropogon), Calamagrostis, Cold tolerance, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Landscape ideas, Muhly grass, mulching trees, Native Plant, Ornamental Grasses, Planting tips, Plumbago (Leadwort), Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Solomon's seal, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Switchgrass (Panicum), winter hardiness Comments Off on Perennials With Great Fall Color
