Archive for the ‘Attracting birds’ Category

Summer – Fall Care Of Oakleaf Hydrangeas

Oakleaf hydrangea is an upright, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub that is native in the Southeastern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Oakleaf hydrangea should be planted in a sheltered location and winter protection (e.g., mulch, burlap wrap) in northerly areas USDA Zone 5, particularly when not fully established. Oakleaf grows in moist, fertile, well-drained soil in sun […]

Ten Powerhouse Summer Flowering Perennials

For many years of floral beauty in your perennial garden, get off to a good start. Plant in an area in full or partial sun along with good air circulation to avoid mildew and leaf spot disease problems. Before planting, generously amend soil with compost and well-drained ground. Irrigate the first year to establish the landscape planting. […]

Mimosa Tree – A Different Option

Over the hot spring and summer months, weedy Mimosa trees (Albizia julibrissin) stand beautiful along U.S roadsides. During the rest of the year, people pay very little attention to this arboreal Asian beauty that inhabit a vast area from Iran to China (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). YES, this tree can be invasive. Read on. From […]

Some Summer Perennials Reach New Heights

Celebrate this 4th of July with three giant flowering perennials: Giant coneflower, Joe Pye weed and Queen Of The Prairie Filpendula. Giant / Large coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima) is an herbaceous perennial that is grows in average, moist, well-drained soils in mostly full-day sun (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). Also called “Dumbo’s Ears”, it tolerates light shade, […]

‘Sun King’ Aralia Glows In the Summer Heat

Plants with golden foliage can brighten up almost any drab garden patch. Sun King golden aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’) is no exception, hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-9. It is also known as Japanese spikenard and mountain asparagus. Under ideal conditions this thornless, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial grows rapidly to 3-5 feet tall and as […]

Indian Pinks

Indian Pinks (Spigelia marilandica) is a strikingly beautiful native wildflower throughout central and southeastern U.S. It is sometimes called “woodland pinkroot”. This perennial grows well in many parts of the U.S. (Zones (5b-9). Plants emerge in mid-spring. Sometime in June, depending on locality, their bright red tubular flowers flare open, crowned by five sharply pointed […]

MT. Cuba Evaluates BlueStars (Amsonia)

MT. Cuba Center is located near Hockessin Delaware, near Wilmington (USDA hardiness zone 7a.). It has recently published a new trial report on bluestars (Amsonia spp.) for the mid-Atlantic region. BlueStars are a genus of popular, long-lived herbaceous perennials. Most are native to the U.S. and Mexico in addition to one Asian species (A. elliptica) […]

Rethink Before Planting These Five Groundcovers

Initially, these 5 groundcovers were alluringly beautiful. But, over time, each grow very aggressively and become a major chore to restrained in the garden. Several states have declared one or more species as invasive and ban them for sale and interstate transportation.  The most effective way to eliminate these aggressive groundcovers is to cut plants […]

Sweetbay Magnolia Cultivars

Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) is a U.S. native tree that is finally catching on with landscape designers. Sweetbay often grows 20-30 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide as a large shrub or multi-stemmed small tree. Discovering a 50-60 feet sweetbay near by a lake or pond is not unusual to find (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). […]

Chinese Fringetree

Gardeners are waking up to the tough as nails Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus). (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). It has gorgeous foliage, showy snow-white flowers in the spring, and exfoliating bark. Native to Korea, China, and Japan, this low maintenance multi-stemmed large shrub or small deciduous tree is becoming easier to purchase at U.S. garden centers […]