Gardeners are frequently scared about making pruning mistakes. There are lots of gardening books filled with lots of before and after photos. Let’s face facts…your yard tree or shrub does look like the ones pictured in the pruning book. Here are my simple 5 steps for pruning: Why and When to prune: You can prune a […]
Archive for the ‘Flowering’ Category
Five Simple Pruning Tips For DIYers
Posted by Hugh on January 11th, 2017
Posted in Amur maple (A. ginnala), Ash (Fraxinus), Birch (Betula spp.), Buddleia (Butterfly bush), Certified Arborist, compact tree, container shrub, Crabapple, Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia), Dogwood (Cornus), Elms (Ulmus), Flowering, Forsythia, Fothergilla, Garden Maintenance, Green ash (Fraxinus), Hibiscus syriacus, Honeylocust (Gleditsia), Hydrangea, Hydrangeas, Insect (Pest) Problems, Kwanzan cherry, Lacebark elm, Large Shade trees, Lilac (Syringa), Linden (Tilia), Mealy bugs, Oaks (Quercus spp.), Okame cherry (Prunus), Ornamental cherry (Prunus), pin oak, Pruning, Redbud, river birch, Scale, Small landscape tree, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Sweetgum (Liquidambar), Trees & Shrubs, Vitex (Chaste tree), Yoshino cherry (Prunus), Zelkova 
Comments Off on Five Simple Pruning Tips For DIYersSaving Heirloom Seeds
Posted by Hugh on December 16th, 2016
At the end of each growing season, you may choose to collect seeds from favorite flowering annuals and vegetables to holdover and plant in next year’s garden. Some may be heirloom varieties that you have saved for many years because you like their productivity or flavor. Note: these seeds should not be “hybrids”. Hybrids represent a cross between […]
Posted in Cold tolerance, Disease resistant, Dogwood (Cornus), Edible fruits, Fall Garden Interest, Flowering, Flowers, Fruits & Vegetables, Goldenrod (Solidago), Green Recycling, Harvest and Storage, Maples (Acer), Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Propagation(grafting), Seed Storage, Southern Appalachian Region, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Saving Heirloom SeedsButtonbush Offers Year-round Interest
Posted by Hugh on June 13th, 2016
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), aka Button-willow or Honey Bells, is a medium to large native shrub with many fine landscape attributes. This unique flowering shrub is a favorite in attracting beneficial wildlife. It populates bogs, swamps and pond areas, as well as dry limestone bluffs in the eastern U.S. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Buttonbush (Cephalanthus), Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Flowering, Fragrant, Heat Tolerance, mulching, Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Privacy Screen, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Buttonbush Offers Year-round InterestThree Native Flowering Shrubs For Your Summer Landscape
Posted by Hugh on June 1st, 2016
Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) flowers in late spring with dark green, pest-free summer foliage that turns brilliant red in fall (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). It thrives in full sun to partial shade, and in moist mildly acidic soils. It is also highly drought tolerant once established. Fertilize […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, compost, Container growing, container shrub, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, Hummingbird, mulching, Native Plant, Planting tips, Plumleaf azalea, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summersweet (Clethra), Trees & Shrubs, Virginia sweetspire, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Three Native Flowering Shrubs For Your Summer LandscapeChinese (Kousa) Dogwood
Posted by Hugh on April 27th, 2016
Chinese dogwood, aka kousa dogwood, (Cornus kousa) is a small 25 to 35 foot flowering tree (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). It grows in either full or partial sunlight (4-hours sunlight minimum). Depending where you garden, kousa dogwood begins blooming from late April or in May, almost two weeks after our native […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, compact tree, Disease resistant, Dogwood (Cornus), Drought tolerant, Edible fruits, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, mulching, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter bark, winter hardiness Comments Off on Chinese (Kousa) DogwoodFothergillas Are Topnotch
Posted by Hugh on March 17th, 2016
In the Eastern U.S. two species, dwarf fothergilla (F. gardenii) and large fothergilla (Fothergilla major), are native. They are also labeled “witch alder”. Both species appear almost identical, except for flower and leaf size, and overall shrub size. Large fothergilla is indigenous to the mountain and Piedmont Regions […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, compact shrub, container shrub, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Flowering, Fothergilla, Fragrant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Privacy Screen, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Fothergillas Are TopnotchARS Selects ‘Oso Easy Lemon Zest’ Rose For Award of Excellence
Posted by Hugh on July 13th, 2015
The American Rose Society (ARS) announced at the 2015 National Conference that Proven Winners received the Award of Excellence for its Oso Easy Lemon Zest shrub rose. To receive this honor, a rose must prove its toughness and beauty in six different no-spray trial locations across the U.S.(USDA hardiness zones 5-9). “Oso Easy Lemon Zest rose is a […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, Container growing, container shrub, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, Flowers, mulching, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Roses, shrub roses, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, winter hardiness Comments Off on ARS Selects ‘Oso Easy Lemon Zest’ Rose For Award of ExcellenceFlame Azalea Favorite Among Native Azaleas
Posted by Hugh on May 26th, 2015
Flame azalea (R. calendulaceum) is a spectacular sight when it flowers in early May through June (depending on location). The mountainsides across the Appalachian region seem to be afire with their yellow, orange or red flowers (USDA hardiness zones 5 thru 8). Its native habitat is in open, dry sites in woods, on the hillsides, and […]
Posted in acidic soil, Azalea (deciduous), Bee Favorite, Butterflies, compost, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flame azalea (R. calendulaceum), Flowering, mulching, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Shade Gardening, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Flame Azalea Favorite Among Native AzaleasJapanese Kerria Beautiful Old-fashioned Shrub
Posted by Hugh on April 23rd, 2015
Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica) is an old fashioned shrub that never seems to go out of style (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Some call it the “Yellow Rose of Texas”, although kerria originates from eastern Asia. Its showy yellow buttercup-like flowers bloom in spring, after the forsythias have […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, Bee Favorite, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering, Kerria, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Winter bark, winter hardiness 1 Comment »Ground Nesting Bees Are Beneficial Pollinators
Posted by Hugh on April 10th, 2015
Spring signals the return of many species of birds and the bees to yards and gardens. In early spring increased activity by ground nesting bees cause alarm for many people; dirt pile nests start appearing in bare patches in the lawn. They are beneficial pollinators in the garden. Bees in the families Colletidae and Andrenidae represent the ground nesting […]
Posted in Bee Favorite, Flowering, Flowers, Ground nesting bees, Pollination needs, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Uncategorized, watering tips Comments Off on Ground Nesting Bees Are Beneficial Pollinators
