… upright oval tree that can reach a height of 50 feet with a spread of 35 feet. The sugar maple is an excellent shade tree for lawns and parks. Tiny yellowish-green flowers appear in spring … emerge. The tree's winged fruit, or samaras, matures in the fall. Autumn color is orange red to red. One of the best known trees of eastern North America, sugar maple is as prized for its ornamental value as …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Gitty Up Dahlia, introduced in 2012, is a novelty or anemone-type dahlia. The pincushion-like flowers have numerous crimson petals … and can be planted when all danger of frost has passed. They can be started indoors in pots to achieve earlier blooming. They require at least eight hours of sun to be at their best. Dahlias are ot hardy in the Chicago area, and tubers must be dug, cleaned, and stored for …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Spike gayfeather or marsh blazing star ( Liatris spicata ) is becoming more popular with gardeners for perennial, meadow, and prairie gardens. The … grassy-looking at the base of the flower spikes; the spikes have smaller leaves all the way up to the tip. Floristan violet is a consistent rich orchid color. Use it as an accent in the formal garden, or plant it in wet meadows or at marsh edges. It is one of the best plants for butterfly gardens and is a beautiful, spiky addition to prairies or meadows. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Orange flowers appear in late summer into early fall much to the delight of hummingbirds and gardeners. This un-described species hails from Brazil where it grows in full sun on grassy hillsides. Unlike other species, the older leaves begin to curl up with age creating a very unique form. Full sun and dryish conditions appear to be the best approach for containers. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Nippon eulalia grass is a dwarf form hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 9. Rose to violet-red flowers emerge in late June and … species has done so well that some cultivars are invasive, particularly Purpurascens. It's best to look for late-flowering clones that will not have time to set seed. It is resistant to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Green lawns can also be "green" (as in ecofriendly) lawns. In fact, some of the best tips for lawn care actually reduce our carbon footprint. For example, watering and mowing less often generally is more beneficial for grass. Tom Tiddens, plant health care supervisor at the Chicago Botanic … the care and maintenance of more than 80 acres of grass, and he offers an array of tips to care for your lawn. These are turf tips that will turn your neighbors green with envy, and …
Type: Plant Info
… into fall. Plant this flower in full sun, average soils, and allow one year for the plant to establish its root system for best displays. It's hardy and perennial in the Chicago region and a magnet for honeybees and gold …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Siloam June Bug daylily is gold with a dark maroon eye zone and a green throat. The flowers are miniature, measuring only … and several stalks on each plant. The buds open in series, so a single plant will continue to bloom for 2 weeks or more. It is easy to grow and does well in full sun to part shade. Siloam June Bug has been awarded the Donn Fischer Memorial Award for the best miniature under 3 inches by the American Hemerocallis Society. It has also been awarded the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Pineapple lilies are bulbs native to South Africa with large tufted flower heads that resemble pineapples. The broad, glossy, … leaves. The flowers grow in eight-inch spikes atop sturdy burgundy scapes. Atop each spike is a tuft of red-purple bracts. The six-petaled flowers match the scape color as buds. They open to a rosy pink, and become creamy white when fully open. Pineapple lilies are best grown in summer containers in this area. They require full sun and need to be kept …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… beneath a tuft of leaves; visually, their inflorescence resembles a pineapple. This is one of the best cultivars among all of the Fritillaria imperialis offerings for naturalizing in the Chicago … through early summer and then dry throughout the rest of the year. The bulbs, and the foliage to some extant, smell like skunk spray and are great for planting among tulips, crocuses, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
