Plant of the Week for March 20th 2020 The Black Tulip Magnolia

The Black Tulip Magnolia is just so fun this time of year with it’s large, dark purple flowers! They flower one bloom per branch while creating a sense of wonder when people walk by. They enjoy full sun but need some wind protection from hot summer winds. They grow to about 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. After it’s done blooming it has large medium green leaves.

Plant of the Week of March 9th 2020

This week’s featured plant is the Leonard Messel Magnolia just before flowering. As the flowers begin to swell in February they resemble a pussywillow bloom. The added bonus is that unlike the pussywillow blooms, the Magnolias open up to a light pink flower! Extending the seasonal interest from February to the end of March depending on the weather. At the 2020 Regional Home and Garden show this Magnolia was one of the most touched plants that brought on memories being shared with us of past adventures or family in the garden. The Leonard Messel can get to about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. This week they should be opening their flowers for the pink show.

Plant of the Week for February 23rd 2020

The Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel is a welcomed site at the nursery because it shows us that spring is around the corner. It started flowering this year about Feb 5th in the greenhouse. It will remain in bloom for another week or so. While not a fast grower, it does eventually get 15 to 20 feet tall and wide.

Plant for the Week of October 15th 2019

The Sun Valley Maple is not only very colorful in the fall but is also sterile (no helicopters)! Sun Valley grows to about 40 feet tall and 35 feet tall. This is a good sized shade tree for city lots. In summer they are a medium green. To keep it’s vibrant colors in fall and summer fertilize the tree in spring and late summer. It’s shape is rounded. It colors up in our area from early to mid October.

Plant of the Week for October 2nd, 2019

Pumpkin Hypericum provides yellow flowers in spring and pumpkin orange berries in fall. It enjoys full sun but can handle some shade. Pumpkin gets 2.5 to 3 feet tall and wide. It works well to add in landscape beds that need compact fall impact!

Plant of the Week for September 24th 2019

Fire Light Hydrangea is a sun loving hydrangea that blooms white in July. Then they age over summer to a vibrant “red” pictured above. Fire Light grows to about 6 to 8 feet tall and wide making it a large shrub. A plant like this can be used as a colorful privacy block or as a focal point with perennials and smaller shrubs in front. It would go nicely along a fence lined up with a window that is part of the main living space like great room or kitchen. Where it can be seen and enjoyed through it’s long show season. After the flowers have faded, remove them and to keep size in check prune back harder in early spring. They can handle all day sun to as little as 4 hours of direct sunlight.

Plant of the Week for September 17th 2019

Angel Hair Silver Mound is so soft that you cannot resist petting it! This distant relative to Sagebrush is much more yard friendly than it’s cousin because of it’s compact habit and is far less scratchy. It’s grows to 6 to 12 inches tall and about 2 feet wide. Silver Mounds enjoys full sun, exposed areas and well drained soils. In fact they like it on the drier side. These plants work well in front of yarrows, sedums, barberry, junipers and black eyed Susans.

Plants of the Week for August 26th 2019

Twilight Magic Crape Myrtle is purple leafed crape myrtle that flowers bright pink blooms in August! The contrast is striking! It grows to 16 feet tall and 8 feet wide, so give it some space to grow. Like other crape myrtles they prefer a sunny spot that provides at least 6 hours of direct sun. Twilight Magic is rated to zone 7 or 0 degrees Fahrenheit. In our colder winters they may freeze back to the ground, my tip is to mulch them like a rose bush for winter. Twilight Magic could be used in a combination privacy fence or as a focal point flanked by smaller shrubs and perennials. With both the foliage color and the flowers, you definitely get multi-season interest.

Miss Molly Butterfly Bush is a medium sized butterfly bush of 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. It is also one of the sterile varieties so it’s not prone to reseeding. The red pink blooms come on in July and blooms until fall with the summer heat. Butterflies and other pollinators love their abundant flowers. Miss Molly can be deadheaded to keep it flowering faster between bloom cycles or left alone. Miss Molly is great when added to smaller pollinator gardens as well as mixed flower gardens for mid to late summer color.

Plants of the Week for August 13th 2019

The Stargazer Lily is a type of Oriental Lily that stands 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide at peak season. The combination of pink and white on it's flower is striking. They have a strong lily fragrance when in bloom in July thru August. It is actually a bulb like a dahlia. They prefer sunny spots but can handle some shade. Use this plant where you need impact and fragrance. It can work in front of larger shrubs or as the focal point in a perennial garden.

Aphrodite Rose of Sharon is a sun lover like other members of the hibiscus family. They grow to about 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide. It is one of the first varieties of Rose of Sharons to be mostly seedless and sterile. Rose of Sharons have a long bloom season of July through September. Aphrodite has clear pink and red centered flowers. They can be used as part of hedge combination that alternates between an evergreen for a little more interesting privacy barrier. Or a tall focal point that attracts pollinators!

Plants of Week for July 2nd

Queen of Hearts Oakleaf Hydrangea is a sun loving type that has year round interest. In the winter it has cinnamon peeling bark. The spring brings out large oak leaf leaves that are well textured. Late spring/early summer brings white flowers that stand out against the dark green foliage. If you leave the flowers, they age to pink extending the bloom season into late summer. Then in fall the leaves turn to a mahogany red. It grows to 6.5 feet tall and 9 feet wide. They can handle full sun to partial shade. With it’s size you can use it for along a fence with perennials or small shrubs in from of it that could contrast the dark green foliage.

Curly Fries Hosta is a wrinkled thin leaf hosta that are chartreuse green. It stands out in shade gardens with both color and texture. It doesn’t grow too large only reaching 6 inches tall and 16 inches wide. Great for tight spaces or in front of dark green plants like Hydrangea or Hinoki Cypress. It can handle morning sun but needs to be shaded from noon to 6 pm.

Featured Plants for The week of June 25th 2019.

Mr. Goldstrike Aucuba is an evergreen that brightens dark shade gardens with it’s gold splashed leaves. It prefers full shade to some morning sun. Mr. Goldstrike grows to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. It works well to contrast against green trees that are shading the area. You can plant it with Astilbe, Hinoki Cypress or hollies. It works well to provide year round color in shade gardens. Where it is hard to find flowering plants that enjoy a lot of shade.

Tropical Lightning Climbing Rose is a striped rose with orange and cream. It grows to 10 to 12 feet tall and wide. Like other climbing roses it can be a stand alone shrub or trained on a trellis. This variety continues flowering from spring into late fall. Tropical Lighting works as a backdrop to other roses or perennials with yellow or white blooms. You can use this a focal point or as a privacy block that flowers most of the growing season.

Plants of the Week for June 18th

The Ruby Spider Daylily is a larger flower daylily with awesome color! The yellow centers darken to deep red. It grows to 32 inches and 24 inches wide. It blooms early to mid summer, not throughout summer like Stella D’Orro. While it lacks in length of bloom season, the flowers are bigger and the color more intense for the annual show. Like other daylilies they enjoy full sun and can handle drier conditions. These work well in a group of three with catmint or cranesbill in the foreground.

The City Line Mars Hydrangea is a shade loving dwarf Hydrangea, best with afternoon shade 12 to 5 pm. It grows to 1 to 3 feet tall and wide. The flowers are very pretty with pink/blue (depending on soil pH) edged with white. If you want it blue/white simply add Cottonseed meal, Aluminum Sulphate or Sulfur to the soil. If you want it pink just leave it be in our alkaline soils. This works well with Hostas and in front of Hinoki Cypresses for a wonderful balance of year round interest.