Archive for the ‘Attracting Butterflies’ Category

Check Out These Four Plant Select® Picks

If you’re search for top performing plants, especially very drought tolerant, take a look at the picks from Plant Select®. This is a nonprofit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and professional horticulturists. Their mission is to seek out and distribute the very best plants for landscapes and gardens from the intermountain region to […]

Less Invasive Butterfly Bush Identified

Butterfly bush (Buddleia) is a popular garden shrub in many areas of the U.S. Buddleia invasiveness is a serious issue in the Pacific Northwest. The Oregon Dept of Agriculture, Plant Division, has approved for sale these buddleia cultivars in the state. The approved varieties produce 2% or less viable seed, meeting Oregon’s standards for sterility. The […]

Tidy Up These Perennials After Blooming Is Finished

Deadheading, the practice of removing the old spent flowers from perennials, is a way to improve a garden’s appearance and reduce overcrowding. Secondarily, many (not all) will rebloom after deadheading. Not all perennials respond to deadheading by reblooming. Most daylilies (Hemerocallis x.), coralbells (Heuchera spp.), and hostas (Hosta spp.) are prime examples of perennials that do not […]

Sorting Through The Joe Pye Cultivars

Joe Pye weed (Eutrichum purpureum) is a native perennial commonly spotted onthe edge of farm fields in the eastern and northern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9). The wild species grows 5-7 feet high and 2-4 feet wide. It blooms from late July to September and is a magnet to attract bees and butterflies. Over the past two […]

See Your Perennials Blooming Again

Deadheading is the removal of old spent flowers and stems of many perennials. Many (not all) perennials will respond and bloom a second and even a third time. Deadheading also refreshes the plant’s appearance and reduces or eliminates the threat of seed dispersal. It redirects the plant’s energy away from seed production toward root and vegetative growth. […]

Fall In Love With Haas’ Halo® Hydrangea

Anyone walking through your garden will stop to see Haas Halo®) hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens Haas Halo®).  This native smooth hydrangea has intense blue-green, leathery foliage and huge pure white wide lace cap blooms (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Flowers stand tall on stout sturdy stems. Shrub branching is upright. This new hydrangea was found by Frederick H. Ray, […]

Five Perennial Staples For Your Summer Garden

If you are designing a new perennial garden, here are five proven perennials to start out with. All varieties are standout garden performers known for their long blooming period and showy flowers. Coreopsis and veronica are often utilized for edging along a sunny border. All can be planted in mixed containers. ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ coneflower (Echinacea […]

Five Reliable Summer – Early Fall Flowering Perennials

Planning a new perennial garden this summer?Include these five very dependable flowering perennials. All are low maintenance and are U.S. natives (USDA Zones 4–8). ‘Zagreb’ (Coreopsis verticillata) has a very uniform plant habit and finely dissected foliage. Plant grows only about 20 -24 inches tall, and is blanketed with bright yellow (gold) flowers coupled with […]

Chinese Fringetree Is Versatile Landscape Tree

Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus) is native to China, Korea and Japan (Zone: 6 to 9a). Related to native U.S. species (C. virginicus), fringetrees are noted for their profuse spring bloom of fragrant white flowers. It is most often seen in cultivation as a large, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub growing to 15 – 20 feet tall with a […]

U.S. Native Bleeding Hearts Dazzle In Woodland Garden

One of nature’s delights in the late spring  – early summer garden is the wonder of bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.) in bloom (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Fringed bleeding heart (D. exima) is a U.S. native to  the Appalachian Mountains. Fringed bleeding heart exhibits deeply-cut, fern-like, grayish-green foliage on 10-15 inch tall plants. Dangling bright pink pendant (or heart) flowers […]