Archive for the ‘Perennials’ Category

New ‘Black and Bloom’ Salvia Lovely Touch To Late Summer Garden

Blue anise sage (Salvia guaranitica) is native to central South America (USDA hardiness zones 7-10). It primarily utilized as a garden annual in the U.S., but is rated a tender perennial in protected locations with winter mulch cover in zone 6. Plants exhibit a shrubby, somewhat open habit with upright branching, to 3-5 feet tall as a perennial and 2 ½ […]

10 Winter Care Tips For Landscape Plants

              Fall-planted perennials, shrubs and trees need some additional attention. Here are 10 basic tips to help plants get past potential winter woes: Select balled-and-burlapped (b&b) or container-grown plants rather than bare-rooted stock. Most bare-root plants are planted in late winter or early spring when plants are still dormant. Evergreens, […]

Foxtail Lilies Are Uniquely Different

  Foxtail lilies or desert candles (Eremurus spp.) are beginning to find an audience with U.S. gardeners. Foxtail lilies are indigenous to the grasslands and semi-arid parts of Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan (USDA hardiness zones 5–8). Tall spires of brightly colored flowers emerge in late spring; small individual flowers are densely packed together. Each showy […]

Should You Plant In Fall?

            Should you plant in the Fall? It depends what region you live in, what month in fall, and what species you’re planting. If you live in the mid-Atlantic, coastal New England, or Southeastern U.S., fall is an excellent time to set most hardy plants. Most (not all) trees, shrubs, perennials, […]

Critter-Resistant Flower Bulbs

              Who doesn’t love colorful flowering bulbs in the early spring garden? Unfortunately, many gardens are terrorized by flower-devouring deer or bulb-chomping squirrels, voles and other critters. When utilizing smelly sprays, expensive fencing, or firearms are not options, plant a wide choice of flower bulbs that critters don’t like. […]

‘Victory’ Chosen Hosta Plant Of The Year For 2015

The Hosta Growers Association has selected ‘Victory’ the Hosta of the Year for 2015 (USDA Zones 3–9). ‘Victory’ is a large hosta cultivar with gold edged variegated leaves and an upright vase-shaped plant habit. Victory hosta is a sport of H. nigrescens ‘Elatior’, distinctive also for its beautiful, upright form. Plant develops into a broad 3 – […]

Italian Arum Returns Every Autumn

Italian arum (Arum italicum) is a long-lived woodland perennial native to Italy and much of the Mediterranean region. Several members of the arum family (Araceae), including this species, are also known as “Lords and Ladies”. It typically grows 9-18 inches tall (depending on location) and slowly spreads over many years. Shoots first emerge from beneath the woodland leaf […]

Mid-Summer Blooming ‘Happy Days’ Sunflower

The cheerful golden yellow flowers of Happy Days sunflower (Helianthus ‘Happy Days’) should brighten your garden during the waning days of summer (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). This perennial sunflower has a long 4 to 6 week blooming period. In its first season new plants grow 24-30 inches tall and almost as wide. In subsequent years, tack on an additional 12-18 inches in […]

Fall Planting of Peonies

Fall is the perfect time to plant peonies either from bare-root plants or from pre-potted plants at garden centers. Fall planted peonies will adapt to their new garden spot over the winter and usually will bloom in the spring. There are three types of peonies: herbaceous, tree, and intersectional (hybrids of herbaceous and tree types). […]

‘Purple Dome’ Aster Reliable In The Late Summer Garden

    New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is indigenous to a wide geographic area that encompasses moist prairies, meadows, valleys and stream banks in most Eastern and midwest states as far south to New Mexico. ‘Purple Dome’ is a very popular dwarf cultivar introduced by Dr. Richard Lighty, former director of Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville, Delaware. […]