Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is treasured for its billowy masses of fragrant white flowers in the spring. It commonly grows as a large 15-20 foot tall shrub, but can be easily trained into a 20-25 foot multi-stemmed small tree. Most gardeners call this native “fringe tree” or fringetree. Regionally, it goes by a number of colloquial […]
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Floral Fragrance Of Native Fringetree Fills The Spring Air
Posted by Hugh on May 10th, 2013
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn Fruiting, Bee Favorite, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fringetree (Chionanthus), Native Plant, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Floral Fragrance Of Native Fringetree Fills The Spring AirChenille Plant Hot For The Summer Garden
Posted by Hugh on May 4th, 2013
Chenille plant (Acalypha hispida), aka firetails and redhot cattail, is a hot tropical plant which has jumped from house plant to garden plant use. Their pendulous vibrant red (other colors are available) tassel-like flowers mimic the furry tails of pets. Its lush dark green foliage is heart-shaped. Stems arch downward under the weight of the […]
Posted in acidic soil, Chenille plant (Acalypha), deadheading, Flowers, Heat Tolerance, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering tips Comments Off on Chenille Plant Hot For The Summer GardenSnow Fountains® Weeping Cherry Fits Small Gardens
Posted by Hugh on April 30th, 2013
Snow Fountains® (Prunus x ‘Snofozam’) is a slow-growing, weeping ornamental cherry that grows compact. It develops into a 8 to 15 feet tall and 5 to 12 feet wide tree. This cultivar is also listed as ‘White Fountains’ in some nursery catalogs. The cascading branches flow downward or may take on a green mound form. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Butterflies, compact tree, Disease prone, Hummingbird, Insect (Pest) Problems, Ornamental cherry (Prunus), Planting tips, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Weeping habit, winter hardiness Comments Off on Snow Fountains® Weeping Cherry Fits Small GardensWhy Peonies Do Not Bloom
Posted by Hugh on April 20th, 2013
Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia x lactiflora) are among the easy to care for and long-lived garden perennials. If you plant them correctly in compost rich, well-drained soil and a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight, they will bloom for the next 30+ years. If peonies fail to bloom, here are 8 probable causes: 1. Planting crowns […]
Posted in acidic soil, Failure to Bloom, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Peonies, Peony, Perennials, plant nutrition, Planting tips, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, winter injury Comments Off on Why Peonies Do Not BloomSummer Flowering Heleniums Should Not Make You Sneeze
Posted by Hugh on April 18th, 2013
Helenium, named for Helen of Troy from Greek mythology, is U.S. prairie perennial. In times past powdered disk flowers and leaves of some heleniums were used as snuff, hence the common name. It’s difficult to sell ‘sneezeweed” and many garden catalogs now list it as “helenium”. A number of good hybrid selections have been introduced […]
Posted in Butterflies, deadheading, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Helenium, Native Plant, Perennials, Pruning, Rabbit/deer Protection, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, watering tips Comments Off on Summer Flowering Heleniums Should Not Make You SneezeA Marigold Revival
Posted by Hugh on April 14th, 2013
Over the past 2-3 years marigolds are regaining their popularity. Marigolds are easy to grow and come in vibrant shades of yellows and oranges. Tall African type marigolds grow 24-42 inches tall and belong in garden beds. Intermediate (15-24 inch height) and dwarf French types (10-12 inch height) are suited for both bedding and container plantings. Plant marigolds in […]
Posted in acidic soil, Autumn flowering, Bee Favorite, Disease prone, Flowers, Heat Tolerance, Insect (Pest) Problems, Marigold, Mites, mulching, plant nutrition, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, watering tips Comments Off on A Marigold RevivalU.S. Native Pagoda Dogwood Wonderful Woodsy Tree
Posted by Hugh on April 11th, 2013
Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), aka alternate leaf dogwood, is a small deciduous tree or large multi-stemmed shrub. It typically grows 15-25 feet tall and spreads slightly wider than tall. It exhibits a very distinctive layered horizontal branching. Small creamy white non-bracted flowers appear as flattened cymes in mid to late spring, about 3-4 weeks after […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Butterflies, Cornus alternifolia, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Dogwood (Cornus), Native Plant, Planting tips, Pruning, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness Comments Off on U.S. Native Pagoda Dogwood Wonderful Woodsy TreeHardy or Not– Grow Agapanthus
Posted by Hugh on April 8th, 2013
Lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus praecox orientalis) is native to South Africa (USDA Zones 8–11), and is not reliably hardy in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zone 6 and 7). However, many gardeners are successfully growing it as a “tender perennial”. Agapanthus grows in an outdoor flower bed or in a container. The ball shaped light blue or white […]
Posted in acidic soil, Agapanthus (Lily of-the Nile), deadheading, Heat Tolerance, Mite susceptible, Mites, Perennials, Planting tips, Repotting plants, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Uncategorized, watering tips, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Hardy or Not– Grow AgapanthusSilverbell Tree Are Great Additions To Your Garden
Posted by Hugh on April 6th, 2013
Carolina silverbells (Halesia spp.) bloom as the last bracts of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) have fallen. Clusters of white or pale pink bell-shaped flowers open along the branches. Flowers appear first and medium green leaves emerge a few days later. Silverbells vary tremendously in the wild. Some grow large shrub-like, or as small multi-trunked trees […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, Native Plant, Silverbell (Halesia), Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips Comments Off on Silverbell Tree Are Great Additions To Your Garden‘Appalachian Spring’ Dogwood Highly Disease Resistant
Posted by Hugh on April 1st, 2013
This may be old news, but definitely worth repeating. Twenty five years ago a dreaded dogwood disease threatened to eliminate our beautiful spring flowering tree from our gardens. Appalachian Spring flowering dogwood (Cornus florida ‘Appalachian Spring’) was found at the Camp David Presidential Retreat atop Catoctin Mountain in Maryland. Currently, Appalachian Spring is the only dogwood cultivar […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Dogwood (Cornus), Dogwood borer, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Heat Tolerance, mulching, Ornamental fruit, plant nutrition, Spring flowering, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on ‘Appalachian Spring’ Dogwood Highly Disease Resistant
