… it originated. The Spiraea japonica species includes the greatest range of cultivars available to the home gardener within the Spiraea genus. They all have a compact mounding habit in sizes ranging from 18" to 5' that makes them useful in borders and smaller spaces. The cultivars also offer foliage … are quite small, they occur in clusters of inflorescence that can be very showy. Spireas are best used in groupings in a shrub or mixed border, where they are valued as tough, reliable and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… were puzzled by the sudden decline and loss of hundreds of ash trees, which they attributed to a nonnative, highly destructive beetle, Agrilus planipennis , commonly called the emerald ash … entered the United States in packing materials such as wooden crates made out of ash. It is now believed that the emerald ash borer has been in the United States since 1990 or 1991. The … lifetime. Eggs hatch in approximately seven to ten days. After hatching, larvae chew their way through the tree's bark and tunnel into the cambium layer where they continue their …
Type: Plant Info
… Flowers are one of the best antidotes to the icy winds of winter, and growing a houseplant that buds and blooms inside while all is dormant outside is particularly satisfying. This winter, as an alternative to the brightly …
Type: Plant Info
… They’re blue, right? Not so fast. Blueberries have dark red pigments in their skin to match their reddish pulp. Researchers at the University of Bristol decided to unpeel the … tiny external structures in their wax coating that scatter blue and ultraviolet light, which is why we see them as blue. Read on to discover more plant stories that caught our eye. … that sunflowers growing together exhibited a “dancing” behavior, with flowers moving in a way that maximized their place in the sun—but without overshadowing (literally and figuratively …
Type: Blog
… My main research is the comparative evaluation of ornamental plants, predominantly herbaceous perennials, to determine the best garden plants for the Upper Midwest and areas with similar climatic conditions. The …
Type: Staff bio
… Advice from our horticulturist as the Rose Garden "Be brave." Tom Soulsby says it's the best advice he has for rose gardeners. As the senior horticulturist at the Rose Garden, Tom knows how to deal with roses at every stage of their lives: young and old, tended and in need of pruning, … want to be open at ground level—the better to get a good dose of sunshine. An overgrown rose is thick and congested at ground level, which results in lots of fuzzy tip growth instead of …
Type: Plant Info
… College student Jessica Tillery came to the Chicago Botanic Garden for the summer to work in a plant science lab, hoping to jump start … research alongside the Garden’s conservation scientists and graduate students. The science is the core of the REU program, explained conservation scientist Jeremie Fant, Ph.D., but the … , a group of programs that create a clear pathway from middle and high school all the way through to professional science work. Since the REU program began in 2004, more than 50 …
Type: Blog
… Training plants is a garden art form. At its most ornamental and intricate, the art of training plants becomes … shrubs grown either as standards or as tightly pruned topiaries. A standard is a plant trained to a single trunk or stem with a distinct shape created by its leaves and flowers at the top of … produce lush foliage and even fruit in its restricted environment. Espalier is also a creative way to grow fruit-producing trees in limited space. Parterre Tightly clipped or sheared low …
Type: Plant Info
… Everyone can use a little privacy in their garden from time to time. After all, a garden is a place to retreat from the outside world, a place to sit and sip coffee, read a book, do some … fast-growing evergreen that can be sheared to keep it in bounds if necessary. These shrubs are best grown in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. To create a screen, …
Type: Plant Info
… ...and this year's fall colors It’s hard to think of fall without picturing a mosaic of trees with warm-colored hues. Amber browns, golden … Garden. At the Garden, peak fall color emerges around mid-October. This year’s fall color show is not a drastic change, but the colors are a little “off,” according to Boyce Tankersley, … tree walk begins at the Visitor Center and proceeds south along the Garden’s East Road on the way to the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center . Given the fluctuation in …
Type: Blog
