Plant of the Week: Gardenia jasminoides
Gardenia sp. - No one can deny the sweet, distinct fragrance of gardenias that cloak southerners in the warm late spring. This leads to high demand in residential properties and the synonymous bewilderment by those who journey to their local nursery and dig their spade in with great expectations.
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Size/Habit/Lifetime: Being such a cultivated plant, many varieties are available that produce slightly different statures and shape. Member of the Rubiaceae family, relative of coffee and ixora. Generally, 4-6′ tall by 4-6′ wide dense evergreen shrub.
Plant of the Week: Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis: This Fabaceae family member has prolific pink woodland flowers that can be seen just out of arms reach. A favorite among myself, nurserymen and homeowners, the redbud offers a variety of leaf color throughout the season with exceptional blooms that note the rise of spring. Many international readers may be familiar with its European/Mediterranean counterpart Cercis siliquastrum, Judas Tree, or Far East relative, the smaller and showier Cercis chinensis.
Plant (Designer) of the Week: Piet Oudolf
By having an affinity to plants, I generally enjoy talking about them; hence Plant of the Week. But I often find myself in a predicament when friends, family and acquaintances want to know what shrub they should use to fill in their yards and how to plant a perennial garden. The answer is never what they want to hear and I cannot bring myself to shouting out a name and feeling comfortable about it.
Plant of the Week: Serenoa repens (Saw Palmetto)
Serenoa repens: Saw palmettos are indicative of many ecosystems in the Southeast and particularly Florida. These small, multi-branching, hardy palms may be the scourge of your hike if you don’t remember to wear pants as spiny stems carve ‘saw’ like lacerations across a leg. Slow growing and difficult to transplant, saw palmettos on a property are often worked into schemes rather than spec’d due to their abundance naturally and their slow-growing habit with transplant difficulties. Never the less, nurseries across the SE stock them in several sizes and varieties.
Plant of the Week: Pink Saucer Magnolia
Magnolia x soulangeana: This update is more of a premonitory post yearning for soft spring breezes and vibrant statements from spring flowers. The Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) is one of those late winter early spring bloomers in the south. Unfurling mauve and subtle pink petals before it leafs out its light green foliage.
Saucer Magnolias can be interchanged often with Lily Magnolia – M. liliifloria (One of saucers’ two parents) and Star Magnolias – M. stellata. These magnolias vary slightly in size, habit, and color.
Plant(s) of the Month: Fall Foliage Part 2 of 2
To follow up on the previous post here are some hues of red from our native landscapes.
Reds: Purples: Browns
Pyrus sp. – The ‘Bradford’ Callery Pear, is an exotic, naturalized species in zones 5-9. Very popular in the last few decades, almost becoming overplanted by many accounts. Habit is pyramidal to oval and fast growing to 30-50 ft. In age, trunk splits kill off mature trees and can be large downside.
Plant of the Week: Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Acer rubrum: Native across the southeast US, the red maple affords deep crimson fall color and beautifully conspicuous seeds. Numerous cultivars produce fairly reliable color variations for plantings in parks, lowlands, lawns, forests, and streets.
Plant of the Week: Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Ilex vomitoria: More commonly known as yaupon holly, this southeast native is well adapted to all site conditions. It has a large habitat range with an even larger number of cultivars.
Nascar goes ‘Green’, or does it?
The drop of the checkered flag and win by Kevin Harvick at Michigan International Speedway this past Sunday, marked the one year anniversary of the National Association for Stock Auto Racing’s (NASCAR) “NASCAR Green Clean Air” program. Announced days before the race at Michigan International Speedway in 2009, NASCAR revealed a new program of planting trees to capture the exhaust emissions of the race cars and help to minimize the organizations carbon footprint. The ceremonial tree planting began in the Irish Hills area of Michigan were the speedway has more than 1,400 acres of land some of which is preserved wetlands. NASCAR intends on planting 20 acres of trees each year.
