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.

Plants for the Week of May 21st 2019

The Blizzard Mockorange blooms lots of fragrant white flowers in late spring. It reaches about 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. It works well with summer blooming perennials to lengthen out seasonal interest. You can also plant it near areas where the breeze can waft the fragrance to nice sitting spots. Some light pruning keeps it’s shape after it blooms. Every couple of years a hard pruning is a good idea of taking out older stems to keep the plant fuller and blooming lots.

Amber Jubilee Ninebark reaches about 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. It’s greatest attribute is the multi colored foliage. The new growth is orange red and matures to the yellow you see in the photo. It does bloom white flowers like other Ninebarks that attract butterflies in May. Put this in front of green conifers like arborvitae for a great contrast. Can be used as a colorful hedge too. Easy to maintain with a light annual pruning.

Both of these plants do well in full sun!

Plants for the Week of May 7th 2019

Blazing Glory Bidens are an annual that will give lots of color for flower pots that are in hot sunny spots! The compact, mounding habit pairs well in front of Spikes or Purple Fountain Grass with it yellow to orange blooms. You can also mix it with petunias or calibrachoas for contrast. This type of bindens do not need trimming to keep blooming, it’s free flowering! Grows up to 10 to 12 inches tall and spreads 14 inches wide. Handles full sun conditions and prefers to be on the drier side or in well drained soils.

Lemon Meringue False Indigo is a perennial for sunny hot spots. It flowers lemon yellow blooms in late spring to early summer. False Indigo do best in well drained soils and play nicely with black eyed susans, purple coneflowers, russian sage, blanket flower and lavender. A combination of several of these would give a dry, hot, flower bed some nice rotating seasonal interest. Lemon Meringue grows to about 3 feet tall and wide.

Plants of the Week for April 30th

Lavender Twist Redbud is a small weeping tree that can handle full sun to part shade.  These trees flower pink in April along their branches.  They grow to about 8 feet tall and wide, but can be kept smaller with trimming.  After they flower green, heart shaped leaves emerge to cover the tree.  Lavender Twist Redbud works well where Japanese Maples don’t like to grow as a focal point surrounded by perennials and small shrubs.

Purple Fountain Grass is great for height in flower pots as well as in the garden.  Though it doesn’t last through our winters; the show is worth it to replant every year.  They rapidly grow to about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.  Purple Fountain Grass prefers full sun and plays well with millionbells, petunias, allysums or bidens for flower pots.

Plants for the Week of April 23rd

The Pink Flowering Almond is an old time spring bloomer. Simple cherry blossom-like flowers in April cover the branches. They grow to 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. They enjoy full sun to partial shade. I would use this as a backdrop plant because after it blooms it’s a plain green shrub and pairs well summer bloomers like daylilies, spirea, salvia, barberry or panicle hydrangeas.

Diana Clare Lungwort is a afternoon shade loving perennial that can brighten up shady areas with it’s frosted green leaves. It’s doesn’t grow very tall about 1 foot. This allows it to go in front of Japanese Maples, Hydrangeas or Hinoki Cypress. In spring it blooms a rich blue blooms adding another level of interest.

Plants of the Week of April 16th

This week the nursery is starting to come alive with foliage and flower color!

Evening Star Superbells is a mounding type of Million Bells that has a wonderful color combo of purple and yellow. I have been very impressed by the “Punch” series of Superbells that I think the “Star” series will do just as well. This annual is great for spilling out of pots with blooms all summer long. You also don’t have to trim them unless you have a water oops. Just remember to water and fertilize regularly. Great for planters in all day sunny spots.

The Scarlet Storm Quince aka Double Take Scarlet is a thornless, fruitless quince that in April gives you these wonderfully deep red blooms. They grow to about 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. Quince due well in as little as 4 hours of sun to all day sun. The red covers the branches of last year growth, so don’t prune them until after the annual show to maintain size.