Here is an idea that I picked up at Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, Pennsylvania and pollinators will also love you for it. When planting a deciduous tree, make good use of the ground area beneath the tree by planting shade tolerant ground covers. Evergreen trees don’t work here. You can also create a beautiful planting […]
Archive for the ‘Garden Problems’ Category
Planting Under Trees
Posted by Hugh on November 7th, 2023
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Barrenwort (Epimedium), Bees and other pollinators, Brunnera 'Jack Frost', Carex (Sedges), Cranesbill (Geranium), Dead nettle (Lamium), Deciduous, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Ferns, Ground cover, Hakone grass, Hellebores, Heuchera (coralbells), Heucherella (foamy bells), Hosta, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Pulmonaria, Purchasing Plants, Sedum (Groundcover types), Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Sweet flag (Acorus), Tiarella (foam flower), Trout lily (Erythronium), Twinleaf (Jeffersonia), Virginia bluebell (Mertensia), watering tips, Winter aconite (Eranthis) 
Comments Off on Planting Under TreesRattlesnake 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 WitchhazelBurls on Tree Trunks
Posted by Hugh on October 12th, 2023
An unusual swelling on trunks of trees and occasionally on large branches are “burls”. They’re round, swollen-looking growths on tree trunks and large scaffold branches. Should or shouldn’t you be concerned? Burls are not uncommon and can be found on cherry, maple, oak, buckeye, ash, willow, locust and walnut in Eastern forests. Root burls may […]
Posted in Ash (Fraxinus), Birch (Betula spp.), Burls, Deciduous, Elms (Ulmus), Garden Tools, Landscape ideas, Maples (Acer), Oaks (Quercus spp.), Poplar (Populus spp.), Pruning, Prunus (Cherry), Rhododendrons, Robinia (Black Locust), Shade tree, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, Walnut, White oak (Quercus), Willows (Salix) Comments Off on Burls on Tree TrunksUniquely 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 LoosestrifePerennials 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 ColorSwamp Hibiscus
Posted by Hugh on September 5th, 2023
Swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus), aka scarlet rose mallow, is a hardy perennial plant that grows in swamps, marches and roadside ditches in the Southeastern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). It can grow 6 to 8 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. Its 5- to 6-inch-long leaves are palmately lobed into 3, 5, or 7 parts. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, Aphids, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Hardy hibiscus, Hibiscus (mallow) sawfly, Hummingbird, Japanese beetles, Landscape ideas, Leaf/needle spots, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Staking, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, Wind protection, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Swamp HibiscusAbout Penstemons
Posted by Hugh on August 30th, 2023
Some 40 years ago, Dr. Dale Lindgren, plant breeder at the University of Nebraska released ‘Husker Red’ penstemon (Penstemon digitalis). This pioneering variety has purple-green foliage and white flowers. New penstemon varieties continue through the breeding pipeline with larger and colorful blooms, more compact habit, or dark foliage. (Z 3-8). Penstemons (Beardstongue) belong to the […]
Posted in acidic soil, Beardstongue (Penstemon), Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Bumble bees, deadheading, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower arrangments, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, Native Plant, Native Plant, Penstemon, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (dividing), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on About PenstemonsWhy Crape Myrtles Is Not Blooming
Posted by Hugh on August 23rd, 2023
No flowers On Your Crape Myrtles? Look at these five common problems: 1. Not Adequate Sunlight Crape myrtles need 6-8 hours of full sun a day. Too much dry heat will cause poor flowering as well as leaf scorch. 2. Too much /Too Little Soil Moisture Crape myrtles are tolerant of moderate drought, dry weather spells […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, compact tree, Container garden, Container growing, container shrub, Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia), Crape myrtle aphid, Crape myrtle bark scale, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Landscape ideas, mulching, Non-native, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness Comments Off on Why Crape Myrtles Is Not Blooming
