Archive for the ‘Powdery mildew’ Category

New Landscape Roses With Exceptional Fragrance

Over a century of rose breeding has rewarded gardeners with so many gorgeous garden roses: hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda and shrub types. Rose breeders have concentrated on plant vigor, flower color, disease resistance, and greater numbers of flowers over the growing season. Over the years, floral fragrance has been mostly ignored. In the past two […]

Beebalm (Monarda) Varieties Attract Hummingbirds, Butterflies And Moths

In 2016 Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville DE enlisted a team of trained volunteers to monitor the visitation of hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies in the 40 cultivar beebalm (Monarda) trial. Their goal was to systematically observe and note the cultivars that were most frequently visited by these pollinators. Below is a listing of the five […]

Queen Of The Prairie Or Meadowsweet

Q “Tall and pretty spectacular” very much describes Queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra) (USDA hardiness zones 3 to 8). Twelve species comprise this genus of U.S. perennials (USDA hardiness zones 3-8). Best known species are meadowsweet (F. ulmaria).dropwort (F. vulgaris), both native to Europe, and queen-of-the-forest (F. occidentalis) and queen-of-the-prairie (F. rubra), both native […]

Garden Phlox Attract Pollinators

Phlox (Phlox spp.) are popular perennials that are also U.S. natives. A multitude of species and hybrids are available to landscapers and gardeners for almost any type of garden environment, including containers. Here is a list of the intermediate garden species: Border phlox (Phlox paniculata),  Meadow phlox (P. maculata), Carolina phlox (P. carolina), Smooth phlox […]

Peony Care in the Fall

October and November are ideal for fall herbaceous peony bed cleanup and to get ready for winter. Fall is the ideal time to dig up and divide old clumps of peony roots and to plant new plants. Old yellow and brown foliage comes off easy with hand clippers. Don’t pull or yank off the foliage! […]

‘Henry Eilers’ Coneflower (Rudbeckia)

Called “sweet coneflower” (Rudbeckia subtomentosum), this U.S. Midwest prairie species is a long-lived perennial that grows in a variety of soils (USDA hardiness zones 4-8).  Sweet coneflower prefers full or partial sun (6 hours minimum) and a moist well-drained loamy soils. It is highly drought tolerant after its first year in the garden. Established plants emerge in mid-spring as a […]

Fill Summer Flower Beds With Annual Rudbeckias

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a native wildflower. Annual or biennial forms are also called gloriosa daisy and brown-eyed Susan. In recent years public urban gardens are growing annual types. From summer into early autumn,  brown-eyed Susans produce showy daisy-like blossoms up to 3-inches across with light or deep yellow rays and brownish-purple centers (“buttons”). Their cut flowers will decorate households. This coarse weedy […]

American Basswood Tree

American basswood (Tilia americana) is a common deciduous native tree in midwestern and eastern U.S. forests (USDA hardiness zones 2-11). This large majestic tree is remarkably fast-growing but not weak wooded. Basswood is planted as a large residential shade tree, street tree along wide avenues, or tall privacy screen. A mature specimen may grow 50 […]

Simple Care of Crape Myrtles

Crape Myrtle Hardiness: Know how hardy the cultivar is. USDA hardiness zones 6 to 9). Site Location: Crape myrtles love sunlight. Flower numbers decline in light to medium shade. Plant in average soil that is well-drained. Select the right cultivar that fits the allotted planting space. Mulch plant and water as needed the first growing season. […]

Winter Honeysuckle Totally Ignored In The landscape

Winter honeysuckle, aka fragrant honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) is a treasured old-fashioned shrub (USDA hardiness zones 4 to 8). It can still be found growing in older urban neighborhoods and parks. Winter blooming fragrant honeysuckles are a harbinger of spring. Budded branches may be cut and forced indoors. This vigorous durable shrub grows 6 -10 feet in […]