Q. What is the best way to care for clematis? A. It is important to plant clematis in a location where the top of the plant will receive full sun and the roots will be shaded and cool. Organic matter such as compost and leaf mold can be added to the soil to help retain moisture. A two- to three-inch layer of mulch will also help retain moisture, but take care to keep the mulch away from the stem. …
Type: Plant Info
Q. I have an established planting of peony bushes that are attacked by blight every year. What is the best way to prevent this disease from recurring? A. Peonies can suffer from several fungal blight problems, including botrytis and bud blast. The leaves and stems develop dark spots or streaks, and the flower buds turn black and never open. These fungal problems favor damp, crowded conditions …
Type: Plant Info
This evergreen shrub native to the South Pacific islands grows to a height of 10 feet in full sun with moderate moisture conditions. The leaves are large, broad and toothed with a coarse texture and milky sap. In some varieties the leaves are crowded together and cupped or twisted. They are grown for their colorful foliage, which for this cultivar is a blotchy blend of light and very dark red …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Cimicifuga ramosa 'Brunette' has recently been reclassified as Actaea simplex 'Brunette', based upon results of DNA studies. In spite of the name 'Brunette', its leaves mature to purplish black.A stunning perennial plant for shade, the handsome, dark-colored leaves are the perfect background for the tall spikes of white (fading to pink) flowers. All plants in this genus need moderately moist …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Aloe cryptopoda produces brilliant red and yellow flower buds that open to reveal yellow flowers from short-stemmed plants with narrow succulent leaves. The species is widespread across much of southern Africa, but this particular color form is sometimes named Aloe wickensii , after the South African farmer who discovered it in 1914. Tough and durable, this plant requires full sun and arid …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Black Sea dogwood hales from southeastern Europe or western Asia. It produces small white flowers, followed by almost black fruits. It is best suited for a naturalized setting at woodland's edge. 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 …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Camassia leichtlinii ‘Caerulea’ produces spikes of soft lavender-blue flowers up to 36 inches tall in late spring andearly summer. Each spike can carry between 20 and 80 flowers. It is one of the few North American native bulbs that are widely available for gardeners to plant that thrive in moist to wet soils. Free of most insect and disease pests, this taxon will flower well in full sun or …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
One look at the striking red-purple color of the foliage and you can see why this Dyckia is named Grape Jelly. You can also see why the common name for Dyckias is the sawblade plant. Dyckias are survivors. They're native to arid, rocky terrain high in the mountains of Brazil, so they're very drought tolerant, and more cold tolerant than any other Bromeliad. In fact, they're considered to have the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Flowering spurge ( Euphorbia corollata) produces so many small, white baby’s breath-like flowers from summer through fall that the plants often tilt to one side. Too much fertilizer encourages the plant to become even more top heavy. As with its relative the poinsettia, the flowers are actually modified leaves; the "real" flowers are small, golden structures in the middle of the white bracts. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
We know spring has arrived in northern climes when we see the cheery yellow blooms of the ubiquitous forsythias in April. Named after William Forsyth, one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in the 18th century, forsythias are medium to large shrubs that produce four- petaled clusters of bell-shaped flowers in the axils of the stiff, rough branches. These Asian shrubs are very …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
