… Annual plants reach up to 5 feet in height and are topped by cascading masses of coral colored flowers (bracts) from summer … through early fall. Plant outdoors only after the soils have warmed (June first or later) in well drained soils in full sun. Once established the plants thrive during the hot, humid, droughty summers. Young …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… aloe ( Aloe castanea ) features dark orange-brown flowers that adorn the curved flower spike in mid-winter. The gray-green leaves have darker teeth along the edges and can reach 5 feet in length. With age, this single-trunked aloe species can grow to 12 feet in height. The nectar is a rich chestnut brown color, which is distinctive in the genus. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… short flowering spikes above the low-mounded foliage produce red-orange tubular flowers tipped in gray. The leaves are gray green and feature a multitude of white spines throughout the leaf surfaces, leading to the common name of hedgehog aloe. Grow this plant in exceptionally well-drained soils and in full sun for best flower production. Once established, watering is required only during …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Meadow anemone ( Anemone canadensis ), a perennial in the buttercup family, prefers moist soil, colonizing along rivers and low, moist meadows. White, five-petaled flowers with yellow centers dance above bright green foliage in spring. The leaves are deeply cleft into five toothy lobes; leaves on the flowering stems, in opposite pairs, appear to encircle the stem. This rhizomatous perennial grows from 1 to 2 feet …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… flowers on sturdy stems held well above. This anemone is recommended as a cool season annual in Chicago-area gardens, in shaded to full sun locations. Adventurous gardeners might be able to have them return in following years, if they plant them in a sheltered microclimate, moisture-retentive, …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This tropical perennial thrives in low light, high humidity, warm temperatures, and growing conditions where it produces magenta … throughout the year. It is pollinated by a number of tropical bees that visit the pollen sacs in a spiral up the inflorescence. The seeds are contained in a berry with juicy, sticky sap that birds try to remove by wiping their bills on surrounding …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This mounded shrub grows to 5 feet in height with erect, thorny stems. It is successfully used as a hedge or in a shrub border. Small yellow flowers open in early spring; they are attractive but not very showy. The shrub also boasts nice yellow-red …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… shrub that is usually killed back to ground level each winter. Plant this butterfly bush in full sun and in moist, well-drained soil in a location in your garden from which you can observe the droves of butterflies and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… species of acacia has been a favorite of the florist industry for decades. Grow this plant in full sun and in dry-ish soils that are neutral to slightly acidic—this is one of the few acacias that can not tolerate soils with high alkalinity. It flowers in midwinter in the northern hemisphere. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… deciduous tree that typically grows to a height of 20 to 30 feet. Although it is rarely seen in cultivation, it is easily grown in average, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade but is happiest in cool summer climates. The tree is dioecious (there …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
