Viburnums are versatile landscape shrubs that flower, fruit, and fall color. Several species have fruit that attracts birds and may persist most of the winter. To have the best cross-pollination and fruit display plant in groups rather than as specimens. Viburnums tend to prefer slightly acid soil. They have few pest or disease problems and need […]
Archive for the ‘winter hardiness’ Category
Tulip Poplar
Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), aka yellow poplar and tulip tree, is a large stately deciduous tree of eastern North America (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). This fast growing native typically grows 60-90 feet tall and it is not unusual to see tulip trees over 100 feet. It is also an important timber tree. A member of the magnolia family, […]
Foamflowers For Your Shade Garden
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is a low-growing, clump-forming woodland perennial groundcover. It grows naturally in moist forests, coves, and well-drained bottomlands where it spreads by slender runners (stolons) to form dense, 1-2 feet wide clumps of foliage or colonies. Small spikes of creamy white spring flowers and its attractive bright green foliage are solid pluses in […]
Christmas Fern
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is an evergreen native fern that grows tough as nails. This native fern, also called the Christmas dagger fern, is indigenous to much of eastern North America; it grows in every U.S. state east of the Rocky Mountains (USDA hardiness zones 3 – 9). This durable fern has long been associated […]
Why Newly Planted Trees Die
The loss or decline of a newly planted tree or shrub is usually a result of multiple factors. One of the worst mistakes is planting trees or shrubs too deeply – whether they are planted by a home gardener or a landscape professional. I’ve witnessed both. Surface roots are deprived of oxygen the deeper trees […]
New USDA Hardiness Zone Map
The USDA Plant Zone Hardiness Zone Map is an important garden reference to anyone who gardens in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating this valuable tool for gardeners and researchers for the first […]
Vines Worth Growing
Vines add a vertical dimension in your garden. With many vines, you don’t need to construct expensive arbors and trellises for them to climb. Borrowing an idea from nature, vines love to ramble or attach readily onto shrubs and trees. Some vines like periwinkle (Vinca minor) and English ivy (Hedera helix) make attractive ground covers […]
Recent PHS Gold Medal* Perennial Picks
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 […]