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 […]
Archive for the ‘Garden Problems’ Category
Summer Chocolate™ Mimosa Tree Worth A Try
Posted by Hugh on June 12th, 2013
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, alkaline soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Disease prone, Drought tolerant, Fragrant, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, plant nutrition, Pruning, Soil Conservation, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Summer Chocolate™ Mimosa Tree Worth A TryGive Lots of Space To Bottlebrush Buckeye
Posted by Hugh on June 4th, 2013
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 […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, Bee Favorite, Bottlebrush buckeye, Butterflies, Native Plant, Pruning, Root suckering, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Give Lots of Space To Bottlebrush BuckeyeWhy Some Vines Do Not Bloom
Posted by Hugh on June 1st, 2013
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 […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, Climbing hydrangea (H. anomala), Failure to Bloom, Heat Tolerance, Hydrangeas, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Vine, winter injury, Wisteria Comments Off on Why Some Vines Do Not BloomPest Alert – Gardeners Should Avoid Planting Garden Impatiens
Posted by Hugh on May 23rd, 2013
Downy mildew in impatiens (Plasmopara obducens) infects garden impatiens, double impatiens and balsam. However, New Guinea impatiens, SunPatiens™, and most annual summer flowering plants are not susceptible. Impatiens are the favorite flowering annual used in shady garden areas. Double impatiens and balsam are favorites in hanging pots and other types of containers. U.S. greenhouse growers […]
Posted in Disease prone, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Downy mildew, Flowers, Garden Problems, Impatiens, New Guinea impatiens, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Sunpatiens, Torenia (wishbone flw.) Comments Off on Pest Alert – Gardeners Should Avoid Planting Garden ImpatiensPest Alert- Protect Young Trees and Shrubs From Cicadas
Posted by Hugh on May 20th, 2013
No insect creates more newspaper headlines than the periodical cicada (Magicicada spp.). Their sudden emergence, every 13 or 17 years reads like a chapter from a science fiction novel. Their high-pitched noise or “mating call” fills the late spring air. Both the 13-year and 17-year cicadas are uniquely common in the eastern U.S., found no […]
Posted in Apple tree, Cicada, Garden Problems, Insect (Pest) Problems, Pear (Pyrus spp.), Pests, Plum, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs Comments Off on Pest Alert- Protect Young Trees and Shrubs From Cicadas‘Bikini-tini’ Colocasia Creates Movement in The Garden
Posted by Hugh on May 15th, 2013
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. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Colocasia, Fertilizing plants, Foliage plant, Heat Tolerance, mulching, Perennials, plant nutrition, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, Winter Protection Comments Off on ‘Bikini-tini’ Colocasia Creates Movement in The Garden‘Thailand Giant’ Elephant Ears A Tropical Wonder
Posted by Hugh on May 7th, 2013
In many areas of the U.S.’Thailand Giant’ elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) is classified as an annual (USDA hardiness zone 8-10). It grows best in full to partial sunlight (6-hours minimum) and planted in a compost-rich well-drained garden soil or good container potting media. A young plant should be moved outdoors and brought back indoors when […]
Posted in Colocasia, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips, winter injury, Winter Protection Comments Off on ‘Thailand Giant’ Elephant Ears A Tropical WonderSnow Fountains® Weeping Cherry Fits Small Gardens
Posted by Hugh on April 30th, 2013
Snow Fountains® (Prunus x ‘Snofozam’) is a slow-growing, weeping ornamental cherry that grows compact. It develops into a 8 to 15 feet tall and 5 to 12 feet wide tree. This cultivar is also listed as ‘White Fountains’ in some nursery catalogs. The cascading branches flow downward or may take on a green mound form. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, compact tree, Disease prone, Hummingbird, Insect (Pest) Problems, Ornamental cherry (Prunus), Planting tips, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Weeping habit, winter hardiness Comments Off on Snow Fountains® Weeping Cherry Fits Small Gardens‘Shaina’ Japanese Maple
Posted by Hugh on April 23rd, 2013
The foliage of ‘Shaina’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Shaina’) starts out hot red in early spring. The deeply cut leaves are bunched together for a tufted or layered look. From mid-spring thru summer, the foliage, now maroon red, holds its color. Shaina grows naturally as a shrub, 8 feet high and 4 to 5 feet […]
Posted in acidic soil, compact tree, container shrub, Japanese maple, Maples (Acer), Planting tips, Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips Comments Off on ‘Shaina’ Japanese MapleWhy Peonies Do Not Bloom
Posted by Hugh on April 20th, 2013
Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia x lactiflora) are among the easy to care for and long-lived garden perennials. If you plant them correctly in compost rich, well-drained soil and a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight, they will bloom for the next 30+ years. If peonies fail to bloom, here are 8 probable causes: 1. Planting crowns […]
Posted in acidic soil, Failure to Bloom, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Peonies, Peony, Perennials, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, winter injury Comments Off on Why Peonies Do Not Bloom
