The end to planting Callery pears (Pyrus calleryana), aka Bradford Pear, is almost within sight as more states are banning sales of the tree at garden centers and box store garden departments. Recently, Ohio, South Carolina and Pennsylvania have banned further plantings. This March blooming flowering tree has been determined to be invasive. It produces […]
Archive for the ‘Autumn Fruiting’ Category
Bird Friendly Trees And Shrubs
Birds visit trees, shrubs, and vines for five things: fruits (berries), sweet nectar (flowers), insects (particularly caterpillars), nuts and seeds, and shelter. This list is a compilation from the North Carolina and Tennessee chapters of the Audubon Society of ornamental plants common in the Southern Appalachian region. Trees and Shrubs (26) Maples (Acer spp.) Downy Serviceberry […]
New Compact Anise Hybrid Shrubs
Two new hybrid anise (Illicium) shrubs have been released by the NCSU Mountain Crop Improvement Lab in Mills River, NC. These new star anise shrubs, bred by Dr. Tom Ranney, are hybrids between Illicium floridanum and I. mexicanum. These native evergreen shrubs are low-maintenance and adapt to a wide range of growing conditions (USDA hardiness zones 6b-9a […]
Favorite Native Shrub Pollinators
These eight (8) shrubs amaze me by the numbers of bees and other pollinators that their flowers attract when blooming. Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is an erect, rounded, broad-spreading, deciduous shrub with arching branches. Itea grows 3-4 feet (less frequently to 5 feet) tall with similar spread. Fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes […]
Ten Native Shrubs Possessing Great Fall Leaf Color
Some native U.S. landscape shrubs are not only great spring/summer flowering shrubs, but their fall foliage color(s) are an added attraction. Here are ten of my favorites listed alphabetically by genus: Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parvifolia) – foliage of this summer flowering shrub turns bright yellow in fall. (zones 4-8) Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) – under-planted native shrub that […]
Live Cut Foliage And Berries For Home Holiday Decorations
Many conifers make great cuts for indoor and outdoor Christmas decorations. Foliage choices: Eastern red cedar and many other junipers, white pine, Norway spruce, Colorado spruce, Balsam fir, Canadian hemlock, Arizona cypress (and cultivars ‘Carolina Sapphire’ and ‘Blue Ice’), and False cypresses (C. pisifera). Needle retention varies among species. For example, Norway spruce and balsam […]
List Of Dioecious Trees And Shrubs
Some tree species are dioecious, that is produce single sex flowers (either male and female). Male flowers produce pollen and no fruits. Female flowers bear seeds or fruits. You may purchase male clones to avoid picking up messy seed pods or capsules in the fall. If you are allergic to certain tree pollens, avoid […]
Staghorn Sumac’s Reliable Fall-Winter Assets
Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is known by several names, including velvet sumac and hairy sumac. This large shrub or small tree is native to northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada (USDA hardiness zones 3-8). Staghorn sumac often arrives uninvited into a landscape and its aggressive suckering root system makes it difficult to eradicate. For landscape use […]