… Royal Star magnolia is perhaps the most popular of all magnolias. Pink buds open to abundant fragrant white flowers in early spring. It is considered to be more vigorous and faster growing than the species. Members of the genus Magnolia are known for the stunning beauty of their usually large flowers, which emerge prior to the foliage in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Q: How can I overwinter coleus plants so I don’t have to buy new ones each spring? A: The easiest method is to pot up stem cuttings. Most growers and home gardeners use this method in late fall to … so bring the plants inside if cold nights threaten. By mid-May, the plants should be ready for your garden or containers. Cuttings may also be taken from a large, healthy plant in late …
Type: Plant Info
… RENAISSANCE REFLECTION® is a cultivar of the iconic paper bark birch tree reported to be resistant to bronze birch borer, which is known to infect the species in the southern portion of its native … ornamental feature is the usually colorful golden fall foliage. Given their preference for cool weather and acid soil and their susceptibility to bronze birch borer infestations, birch …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… as a beacon of color on a cold, leafless winter day. Though this species has a bad reputation for robbing eggs from other birds' nests, squirrels and crows, in turn, raid the nests of jays. There's much to admire about the blue jay, which belongs to the Corvidae family, one of the most intelligent of bird families. The blue jay builds a bulky …
Type: Birding
… the astilbe is one of these prized garden plants. Multidimensional, versatile and adaptable to a variety of settings, it is one of the "steeples and spikes" in a panoramic garden. At the … are integrated throughout many garden vignettes, from the high-volume Waterfall Garden to the serene pond plantings of the Landscape Gardens, and along vast stretches of the Lakeside … Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal' (red) Astilbe thunbergii 'Straussenfeder' (salmon pink) For a dramatic statement, the tallest of the genus, Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii …
Type: Plant Info
… short-petaled flowers 2 inches across in a tasty blend of orange and red. It grows to 4 feet tall with long stems and upright growth. Dahlias are not hardy in the Chicago area, and … cultivars of dahlias that have been bred from about 30 wild species, all native from Mexico to Columbia. They are considered tuberous-rooted perennials and they are in the aster family. One … species, Dahlia excelsa , grows up to 18 feet tall, but modern breeders seek shorter varieties for the home garden. The American Dahlia Society organizes the many cultivars, estimated at …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… is a midseason bloomer. It takes on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the fall. Plant in sun to part shade with the eyes no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. It is deer resistant. Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Circus’ is an early bloomer. It takes on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the fall. Plant in sun to part shade with the eyes no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. It is deer resistant. Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms and habits. They are divided into two main groups: herbaceous, which die to the ground in the fall, and tree peonies, deciduous plants with woody stems which they retain … classified as early, mid and late – ‘Miss Congeniality’ is a mid-late season bloomer. It grows to 36” tall, taking on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… in September and October when the large (6-inch tall by 5-inch wide) double flowers begin to open. Reliably hardy in the Chicago region, the plant has broad green leaves that are produced in spring and die back in early summer, so the flowers appear to spring from the bare soil in fall. Deer and rabbits dislike the chemicals in the sap, but slugs, for some reason, appear resistant to the chemicals (only a problem in wet falls). Plant these …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
