If you garden in USDA zone 6, certain crape myrtle cultivars are rated as reliably winter hardy perennials. Most dependable are the U.S. National Arboretum cultivars released starting in the 1980’s to date. Each one is named for an Indian tribe. Most of the National Arboretum cultivars are selected for cold hardiness as well as for disease and insect resistance. Among the […]
Archive for the ‘Disease resistant’ Category
Winter Hardiness of Crape Myrtles
Posted by Hugh on August 25th, 2012
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, compact shrub, compact tree, Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia), Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Heat Tolerance, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Winter Hardiness of Crape MyrtlesStar Zinnias Handle Heat and Dry Weather
Posted by Hugh on August 21st, 2012
Wanting two seasons of spring-summer color, heat and drought tolerant, and no disease or pest problems? You should be planting Profusion and Zahara zinnias, also called “star zinnias”. They are very resistant to powdery mildew, a disease which plagues many kinds of zinnias. Profusion and Zahara zinnias bloom non-stop for almost 6 months (mid-May thru October) in the […]
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn flowering, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowers, mulching, plant nutrition, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Star zinnia, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips Comments Off on Star Zinnias Handle Heat and Dry WeatherThe Boys Or Girls of Summer
Posted by Hugh on August 3rd, 2012
Gardeners are looking for simple plant combinations and this photo, shot at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio, shows three easy to grow perennials, “no-brainers” as some might call them. Originally, all three plants emigrated from the prairie where each coped with hot summers without much rainfall. In the hands of modern plant breeders, each perennial has been greatly improved. All are disease and pest resistant. Some […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowers, Heat Tolerance, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum), Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Weed control Comments Off on The Boys Or Girls of SummerDawn Redwood Is Back From Extinction
Posted by Hugh on August 1st, 2012
Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) was thought to be extinct until the mid-twentieth century. In 1948 dawn redwood was re-introduced into North America from Sichuan-Hubei Provinces in China. Dawn redwood grows in full sun and in well-drained, compost-rich soil. The tree struggles in dry or high pH soils. Dawn redwood will tolerate standing water for a […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bald cypress (Taxodium), Dawn redwood (Metasequoia), Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Heat Tolerance, Japanese beetles, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering evergreens Comments Off on Dawn Redwood Is Back From ExtinctionBoxwood Blight Discovered on Pachysandra
Posted by Hugh on July 30th, 2012
In June 2012 plant pathologists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have confirmed a natural infection of pachysandra in the landscape by boxwood blight (Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum), the boxwood blight fungus. The infection originated from recently installed balled and burlapped (B&B) boxwood plants. A plant inspector in Fairfield, CT noticed that an established bed of pachysandra […]
Posted in Boxwood (Buxus), Disease prone, Disease resistant, Evergreen, Ground cover, Pachysandra, Southern Appalachian Region Comments Off on Boxwood Blight Discovered on Pachysandra‘Sunburst’ Golden St. John’s Wort
Posted by Hugh on July 16th, 2012
Our native golden St. John’s wort (Hypericum frondosum) deserves more planting space in U. S. gardens (USDA hardiness zones 5-8). ‘Sunburst’ is the leading cultivar and exhibits superior traits over the species. Golden St. John’s wort forms a small, dense growing deciduous shrub, noted for its showy golden yellow flowers and attractive blue-green foliage. Sunburst grows more compact […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Butterflies, compact shrub, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreens, Flowering, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Ornamental fruit, Pruning, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, St. John's Wort (Hypericum), Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Winter bark Comments Off on ‘Sunburst’ Golden St. John’s WortGrowing Mountain Laurels in Your Landscape
Posted by Hugh on May 14th, 2012
Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is a U.S. native evergreen broadleaf shrub (USDA hardiness zone 5). Mature sizes range from 5 feet (dwarf cultivars) to 12 feet in height and with equal spread. Over the past 30 years, mountain laurels have so improved, thanks to breeding efforts of Dr. Richard Jaynes*. He has released several dozen […]
Posted in acidic soil, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreens, Mountain laurel (Kalmia), Native Plant, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness Comments Off on Growing Mountain Laurels in Your LandscapeExceptional Describes ‘Major Wheeler’ Climbing Honeysuckle
Posted by Hugh on April 25th, 2012
Climbing or coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is a native vine. It can be spotted growing on fence rows along roadsides and in woodlands from Connecticut to Nebraska, and south to Texas and Florida. ‘Major Wheeler’ is one of the better climbing honeysuckles noted for its non-stop production of bright red trumpet flowers and green mildew resistant foliage. Red […]
Posted in Aggressive grower, Butterflies, Climbing honeysuckle (Lonicera), Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Native Plant, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Staking, Summer flowering, Uncategorized, Vine Comments Off on Exceptional Describes ‘Major Wheeler’ Climbing HoneysuckleFountain Grasses Are Summer Sizzlers
Posted by Hugh on April 21st, 2012
Purple Pennisetum Grass in Hot Parking Lot Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ) is a warm season grass native to Northern Africa (USDA zones 8-10). It is a dense clump-forming grass with several topnotch cultivars. Most popular are purple fountain grasses (varieties ‘Purpureum’ and ‘Rubrum’) for their heat resistant dark reddish purple foliage. The pink to […]
Posted in acidify soil, alkaline soil, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flowers, Fountain Grass (Pennisetum), Heat Tolerance, Ornamental Grasses, plant nutrition, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips Comments Off on Fountain Grasses Are Summer SizzlersThe Right Rhododendron for the Right Location
Posted by Hugh on March 2nd, 2012
Rhododendrons (Rhododendron catawbiense) were born in the cool of the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains. Hundreds of lovely hybrids have been bred by dedicated plantsmen. Winter hardiness is rarely an issue, but rhododendrons are challenged by summer heat and disease problems in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). Your most important decision is […]
Posted in acidic soil, acidify soil, compost, Disease prone, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flowers, plant nutrition, Rhododendrons, root injury, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness, winter injury Comments Off on The Right Rhododendron for the Right Location
