I walked outside a few days ago and immediately spotted my monster foxglove. It is a cream yellow, growing in a fairly shady spot where the color just glows. But what made it really stand out is the large uncharacteristic flower at the top of the inflorescence (flower stem).
After a bit of work on the computer, I learned that this is a rare peloric mutation.
I just returned from the grocery store and they had blue orchids for sale; both dendrobium and phalaenopsis. These colors are not natural on orchids so I decided to find out how they are produced. How long will the colors last? Do they need any special care?
I love moss on rocks and trees, and even growing on the ground, provided it is in the right spot – as determined by my aesthetic sensibilities. It is not nearly as welcome in the lawn although I don’t really mind having it there. Moss in the lawn is considered by many as a big problem and this has led to a number of myths about moss.
Some people try to grow moss, but that is not as easy as it sounds. Moss is kind of strange that way; some people are constantly trying to kill it, while others are trying to grow it.
My goal for this post is to understand moss better by exploring the many moss myths.
Hoe, hoe, hoe ….. it’s Christmas time and a good time to expose myths about Christmas trees. How do you keep Christmas trees hydrated? Should you add diapers to the tree stand? Are artificial trees more eco-friendly? Do they still contain lead? Can you reuse trees grown in pots? How do you cut the bottom of the tree? These and many more questions will be answered in this holiday gift to you.
My two Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ are coming into bloom, but one shrub was several weeks ahead of the other with respect to flowering. I was wondering why, until I remembered that one was pruned in spring and the other was not. It was the perfect opportunity to make a short video about how pruning affects … Read More
Society has been planting trees for hundreds of years and yet we still don’t know how to do it properly. The average landscape tree is not planted correctly – but that long discussion is for another post. Today I would like to show you what happens when you do not remove string, burlap and wire baskets.
Allium karataviense ‘Ivory Queen’ is a very unusual onion. The leaves are extra wide, grow close to the ground and cup a large head of white flowers. Even in flower, the plant is only about 8 inches tall. Common names include kara tau garlic and Turkistan onion.
Syringa pekinensis is a small multi-stemmed tree that would fit most gardens. It has large clusters of cream-white flowers and exceptional exfoliating bark. If it had great fall color it would be one of the most popular trees on the market, but unfortunately the leaves just go brown.
Heptacodium miconioidesis a small tree or large shrub that provides year long interest, especially in late summer and fall when it appears to flower twice; once in white and then again in red. The white flowers form in bunches of 7 which gives the plant its common name of seven sons plant. After flowering, it forms small fruits and red calyx that are as large as and showier than the flowers.
Colchicum autumnale, commonly called the fall crocus has one of the most unusual life cycles of any plant in my garden. It flowers with no leaves and it’s seeds are stored underground for part of the year. In a given gardening season it flowers first, then rests, and then makes leaves. This is one mixed up plant that has developed a very unique and interesting life cycle.
When should you move the corms – they are not bulbs? When can you collect the seed? Important information like this becomes clear once you understand how Colchicum autumnale grows – their life cycle.
Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ is a wonderful little plant for the rock garden. It is not a show stopper, nor does it have big flashy flowers, but it does have a very unique look that gets people talking. It requires almost no care and has few pests.
Almost every gardener grows spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus. Millions of new bulbs are sold every year and yet people do not agree on the best time to plant them. Some want to plant early, as soon as they arrive in shops. Others say that you should wait until the ground gets an early frost. Some wait until the ground is fully frozen, but that is usually because they forgot to plant earlier.
A couple of years ago I was in a large nursery that specialized in spring bulbs. It was early September in a zone 5 climate and a manager told me not to plant the bulbs for a couple of months until we had a light frost. I looked him in the eye and asked about the bulbs I had planted in prior years – they were already in the ground. Do they need to be dug up so I could re-plant them after frost? He did not have an answer.
Lets have a look at the science and figure out when you should plant spring bulbs.
