… a creamy white with a hint of green. Leaves can be 4-6” long, with a rough texture. Shrubs can get quite large, up to 8 feet, and suckering may occur. Plant in full sun or partial shade, in well-drained soil. Native to the southern states, it blooms on new growth, so do not prune until after flowering. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… scent. The flowers are an unusual shade of dark red and sit atop short branchlets. Shrubs can get quite large, up to 8 feet, and suckering may occur. Plant in full sun or partial shade, in well-drained soil. Native to the southern states, it blooms on new growth, so do not prune until after flowering. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Many gardeners remove the oldest stems in early spring, because the younger ones provide the best color. Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home garden for their multi-season interest -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage, and/or bark -- and their range of forms from small trees to suckering shrubs. The dominant display, however, varies among the species. Dogwoods are native …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The American elderberry is an attractive and useful plant whose only vice is the tendency to send out runners and pop up where you didn't plant it. The cultivar 'York' is a compact selection about 6' tall. It is best paired with 'Nova' as a pollinator for better fruiting. The leaves are compound with usually 7 toothed leaflets. The light brown …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… want a brown, unruly patch of land. Conservation scientist Becky Barak, Ph.D., is looking to change that assumption. By studying alternatives to traditional turfgrass, she and her … for lawns,” Barak said. “We can help by hopefully showing which of these alternatives function best for different ecosystem services. People are already talking about lawn alternatives; now, … near their house,” Barak said. “[This research is] only helpful to the extent that it’s used!” Visit Rethinking Lawns —a website designed by Kozik in collaboration with Barak, Tonietto, and …
Type: Blog
… After severe winter weather, gardeners face bigger challenges than usual in the spring, due to a “perfect storm” of weather conditions that scorch evergreens, protect plant predators, … from a severe winter burn, and gardeners must decide on a case-by-case basis whether it’s best to remove the specimen. Unfortunately, some evergreens will be a total loss. This is … the situation by evening out the bush. Branches that have been girdled—or chewed all the way around—are likely to die and should be pruned back. White drifts can also promote snow molds, …
Type: Blog
… We love nature here at the Chicago Botanic Garden, so we looked to the natural world for inspiration on how to enjoy the eclipse— here at the Garden , or in your … with the sun every day, actually—is don’t look directly at it with the naked eye . A fun way to indirectly “see” the eclipse is with a pinhole projector, and one of the best natural projectors is a leaf. Leaves often have holes that can act as natural projectors. …
Type: Blog
… ending in red spoons surrounding a golden yellow disc. It is a strong upright grower and is best grown as a spray (none of the lateral buds are removed). Plant this mum in full sun and provide staking as needed or pinch back the growing tips in June and early July to produce a bushier, shorter plant. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… in August and extending well into September, or perhaps later. This cultivar tolerates cool to cold fall temperatures better than most mums. Flowers attract late-season pollinators. Best grown in full sun, moderately fertile, well-drained soils. 2020 – Ball Horticultural …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The onset of fall brings pale blue flowers to grace the top of this mounding shrub with striking green-and-white variegated foliage … while this particular cultivar appeared in a garden setting. Full sun brings out the best foliage color. This plant is fine in average soils; it is disease- and deer-resistant. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
