A few of my garden favorites (and some I wish I'd never planted)... post #4

Syringa x chinensis 'Lilac Sunday'

Abundant blooms which in addition to branch tips, occur from 

lateral buds quite far down the stems, creating a mass of bloom.

Arching habit to twelve feet high, ten feet wide.

Very fragrant.
Flower buds may be susceptible to spring frost damage but zone 4 hardy or colder.
The mass of bloom makes up for the small floret size.
Named for the Lilac Sunday Festival at Arnold Arboretum which houses
 one of the oldest and largest lilac collections in the United States
In a word... spectacular...
(YES)

*****

William Baffin Rose
From the Explorer series out of Canada
Yes, this is very hardy and as such could be a blessing to 
folks living in zones as far north as 3 or colder
Seven to ten feet in height.
Not a blessing for me... here's why...
Lots of leaf disease in our climate.
Suckers like crazy!
The plants pictured here have been removed but the story is far from over...
 we'll be digging out suckers for years to come I suspect!
Often rated as excellent in various trials... for me, a big...
(NO)

*****

Giant Darwin hybrid tulips

Introduced to the United States in 1951.

These are generally perennial for me... I actually have bulbs that 

I first planted 20 + years ago with one division in all that time.

Lots of sun, good drainage, and foliage left to cure seem to be the secret.

Some sources stress fertilization, but I never fertilize except at planting.

(YES)

*****

Picea abies 'Pendula'
This is a plant that will be what you want it to be if you're willing to put in the effort.The name 'Pendula' probably is to some extent a catch-all term for a variety of weeping Norway spruce cultivars.... several will have a cultivar name other than 'Pendula'.
Some create leaders on their own without staking, while others 
would be a ground cover if given the choice.
Bring out the inner sculptor in you and train 
your spruce to be what you imagine it can be!
These are easy and fun plants.
Generally doesn't do very well south of zone 6.
Occasional beautiful pink cones on my plants.
(YES)

Take care, Larry

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A few of my garden favorites (and some I wish I'd never planted)... post #3

It's actually getting harder to find plants in my gardens that I wouldn't plant again...

 it just doesn't make sense in many cases to hold on to things that don't work for me, so many less appreciated cultivars are disposed of

as they demonstrate problematic qualities...

Hesphestos Tree Peony

Tree peonies are a highlight of this gardener's year.

I consider the blooms to be a short-lived precious garden gem.

I enjoy the lovely foliage all season.

My Hesphestos is particularly important to me since it was started as a new graft, created for me by Bill Seidl.

Tree peonies are heavy feeders... if possible, dig in aged manure in a trench at the perimeters of the plant once a season...

 I simply spread aged manure on the ground since my tree peonies are entangled in the roots of Pinus strobus 'Torulosa'.

Give tree peonies a bit of shade to insure longer lasting blooms as they prefer being out of hot afternoon sun.

Were I to start over, I'd use beach umbrellas supported in PVC tubes 

buried to the top vertically in the soil, thus giving the plant good sun 

when not in bloom and shade when in bloom.

Enrich the soil (if sandy this is especially important)... 

they need lots of nutrients

Provide neutral to slightly alkaline soil.

Provide a situation with good drainage.

Tree peonies are at least zone 4 hardy.

Do not remove old wood unless dead in spring.

(YES)

Bartzella Intersectional Peony
(Tree peony x herbaceous peony)

Everything noted above applies to Intersectional peonies with the exception 
of cutting them back to healthy stem buds in the fall... 
normally this will be to the 6" area on intersectionals.
Bartzella will easily reach 3' x 3'
Bloom period for a mature Bartzella can be as much as 6 weeks.
Well over a hundred 9" blooms is not unheard of on a mature Bartzella.
(YES!!!) 
(Some folks get married and want lots of kids... two kids were enough for me, but I do want lots of Bartzellas.  I tried dividing one this fall and found no obvious division points... I chickened out and simply moved the plant to a spot where I will be better able to appreciate it.)

Fagus sylvatica 'Roseo-marginata'

('Tricolor', 'Purpurea Tricolor')

A purple leaf form of European beech with a border of rose and pinkish white

There is apparently some confusion in terms of the names listed above and they may all actually be the same plant, although tricolor supposedly has more distinct cream and pink borders to the foliage. Not worth obsessing over in my opinion.

This form of european beech has been known since 1883.

Some shade during the hottest times of the day will help to prevent leaf scorch, although  

I see scorching of foliage towards the end of the season most years, as with many trees with variegated foliage.

Probably not a tree for zone 8 or warmer and can be damaged or killed 

in a bad year in the midwest

(YES)

Roseo-marginata coupled with  Celestial flowering dogwood

Iris Germanica 'Stepping Out'

This is an older variety that has done well for me overall.

Two major concerns with tall bearded irises in my mind...

a. Tall bloom stalks often need staking.

b. Big concerns with iris borer in my gardens

I've never treated for borer although 'Merit' would probably do the trick.

Regarding Tall German iris... I'll keep the ones I have, but won't likely add more.

I do use intermediate iris as a substitute that doesn't require staking.

(NO)

All for today... take care, Larry

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A few of my garden favorites (and some I wish I'd never planted)... post #2

Over the years, some of my most exciting garden visits have been spent walking through southern gardens and feeling enclosed in a cocoon of flowering dogwoods with azaleas in full bloom up to the waist. Last time I discussed a few of the problems with flowering crab apples, including leaf diseases, fungal attacks such as fireblight, suckering, and frequent need of pruning. Despite all of these concerns I know of no other way to come close to the sensibilities of those southern gardens, and that special feeling that accompanies them when they are in full bloom, than through the use of flowering crab apples. It is they that are dependably hardy in this climate and beautiful in resplendent bloom and heavy fragrance as well. Bottom line is that one needs to be careful in regard to which cultivars are planted and also location. I have found that my Spring Glory is completely disease free in one part of the gardens while the same cultivar suffers with scab in another, presumably because of more restricted air flow. Despite these concerns, I refuse to remove many of the 30 year old trees that have some problems because I simply can't be without their spring bloom, to which these photos attest.

Vanguard Flowering Crab

Lovely in bloom, bare in June

I've removed two of these as the amount of scab was 

well in excess of what I could tolerate

(NO)

Sargent's Flowering Crab Apple

Spreading to 15'

Height 8' to 10' 

later blooming

very small fruit

Extremely amenable to pruning and shaping

I have never had a sign of any disease concerns with this plant 

and it's been in the garden about thirty years

(YES)

Tina Flowering Crab Apple
Mine is not a high graft and gets quite large over time so I prune it back every so often
With a sargentii background, there is no obvious apple scab
This plant is outstanding as it goes from dark pink buds, 
to the 'in between stage' pictured here, to total white
This does get much larger than is sometimes suggested 
(YES)

Mary Potter Flowering Crab Apple

Also with sargentii in the background

No disease problems here.

Always attractive but alternate years spectacular in bloom and fruit.

Because of where I have it, I keep it very well pruned.

Pruning is the secret to making flowering crab apples a four season plant.

(YES!!)

Lathyrus vernus
"Spring vetchling"
Hardy perennial of the pea family.
Clump former that is hardy to zone 3.
Native to Europe.
Difficult to divide...resents disturbance and grow a clump of roots like iron! 
Plant where you want it to grow.
Seeds about some, but you'll never hear me complain.
Blooms with my Magnolia soulangiana 'Brozzoni', but it's difficult to get it into new locations 
as I tend to forget to protect it from those rascally rabbits.
The darker plants seem to come in a variety of fine gradations of color but the pink ones are really special, and to my eye, more consistent in color.
Long bloom period, especially in cooler climates.
Easy, trouble-free other than being rabbit fodder, 
although they don't seem to bother my larger clumps
(YES)

Clematis recta 'Purpurea'
"ground clematis"
very hardy
The blooms are plentiful and attractive enough.
2'- 4' x 2'- 4'
A flopper that without support lays on the ground.
If cutting back is forgotten after the main bloom period there will be seedlings,
 copious in number... and as if that wasn't bad enough, they can be very difficult 
to extract from the soil or the crowns of other more worthy specimens, 
particularly if missed in their infancy.
Pictured immediately below to the left of the young fringe tree.
(NO)

See ya! Larry

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A few of my garden favorites (and some I wish I'd never planted)... post #1

In considering what to post on through the winter, I've decided that it might be an interesting concept to feature plants from my gardens and to share my personal feelings and experiences with them. At the end of each profile I will feature a YES, MAYBE, OR NO in reference to whether this is a plant I am happy with or not (would plant again)... most will be Yes as I generally remove plants I'm not happy with... anyway, you get the point... so here goes...

 Picea pungens 'Moerheim' (above)

My personal favorite large blue spruce due to its exceptional color year round 

Some of this cultivar tend to be irregular growers

Smaller spruce to 40'

Plantings of Picea pungens cultivars should carefully considered as they are 

very diseased prone after about twenty-five years... 

there are other spruce varieties that have less disease concerns, 

such as Picea omorika and orientalis selections

(Yes!)

*****

Acer plantanoides 'Emerald Queen'

To 45' in width by 50' in height

What can I say... we were young and wanted a shade tree

I would never have planted a Norway Maple knowing what I know now...

Shallow roots/ crotches tend to split

Attractive flowers in spring but the samaras are a pain to deal with...

This is an invasive plant in many places!

(No!)

Cornus x Rutgers 'Stellar Pink'

to 25' or more

I expect this to be hardy here in colder parts of zone 5

New addition but I've seen good sized plants in bloom (bracts actually)... amazing sight!

(Yes! (so far))

*****

Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold'

An evergreen sweet flag out of Japan

My first attempt at growing sedges

I know it prefers average to moist soil/ love the mounded form  

If it does well here in zone 5, I'll be adding many as they really light up the garden!

(Yes! (so far))

Magnolia kobus va. loebneri 'White Rose'

This will eventually get quite large (15-20' ht and 12-15' in width)

Tiny buds open to small blooms that resemble gardenias or roses

zone 4 hardy and the fall color is excellent for a magnolia!

(Yes!) although it may get large for where I have it

Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki'

This a fairly fast growing Japanese maple renown for its fall color which is said to be the very best red of the Japanese maples... the problem is, mine gets hit by hard frost every year before it gets to its best color. It is still pretty however as can be seen by the photo below even if it doesn't make it all the way to 'really red'.

Zone 5 hardy with an ultimate size of 18' in colder climates 

Possible spread of 15' or more although considered an upright tree

Foliage color is a rich green all season until fall color begins

Color progresses through brownish brick reds to red and very red

I really like the look of this tree, including the summer foliage

(YES) 

(although I have restless nights out of concern over early 

spring frosts once the leaf buds have expanded and I'm always on the 

lookout for fungal diseases)

2nd photo is of my friends plant which colors better because 

100 miles south of here and is also a more mature tree)

Magnolia x 'Elizabeth'

Elizabeth is an excellent magnolia first hybridized in1956 

at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden by Evamaria Sperber.

I would personally rate it in my top five (along with about 20 other magnolias!!)

I personally feel that Elizabeth is zone 4 hardy despite what one generally reads.

I also have seen plants approaching 50' by up to 35' wide despite what some sources say.

Elizabeth is a fast grower, and I was pleased to see lots of bloom this 

year after the original round of blossoms froze.

Elizabeth has minmal disease concerns.

This year's fall color is pictured below as well as blossoming habit.

As I have repeated often on this blog, 

and directly from Dennis Ledvina (my magnolia hybridizing friend)... 

to be sure of hardiness, look for acuminata in a cultivar's background...

Elizabeth is Magnolia acuminata x M. denudata

(YES (YES and YES again!))

Malus 'Snowdrift'

Wow... talk about mixed emotions! This is a beloved plant in Spring and almost detested in mid-summer through fall...winter's ok.

Like so many other flowering crab apples, Snowdrift has problems with apple scab... now if you research dealing with this situation, you'll get all sorts of totally unrealistic in real life methods of dealing with the fungus. I should know... for years I sprayed twenty-five flowering crab apples and was successful in delaying the leaf drop two or three weeks. It was simply not worth 

the effort, the expense, or the risk.

When you've had a flowering crab for 35 years, it's difficult to let go... after all, the spring show is 'to die for' on Snowdrift and it has been developed with a form that I really appreciate. So I keep it... with some other flowering crabs, leaf drop occurred as early as mid-June... they are now gone, I guess you could say that Snowdrift has "some" resistance to scab unlike those others I've just referred to.

The main issues in limiting scab problems involve excellent air circulation and getting rid of the diseased fallen leaves where the spores live over winter... in some cases this isn't all that difficult while in other circumstances it's next to impossible. Finally, I decided twenty years ago that my health was more important than losing leaves on crab apples mid-summer, so I no longer spray.

Snowdrift has a spread of 20' and the height may be in that range as well. I've learned through experience that it is somewhat resistant to the dreadful Fire Blight that took many of my apple and crab trees years ago. With appropriate pruning practices, I was able to save Snowdrift after about two years of difficult maintenance.

(NO)

That's it for today! Larry

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