Giant Alumroot, Featured Plant of The Day

Heuchera villosa 'Night Watch'
    Giant Alumroot,  Hairy Alum Root,  Hairy Alumroot

Type    Perennial
Hardy range    6A to 9A
Height    12" to 36" / 30cm to 90cm
Spread    12" to 18" / 30cm to 45cm
Growth rate    Average
Form    Upright or erect
Exposure    Full shade to partial sun
Persistence    Evergreen

Bloom Color    Pink and white
Bloom Time    Summer

The flowers are showy and suitable for cut flowers.

Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is  a neutral soil.

Leaf Color    Purple
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
This plant prefers shaded, rocky areas and ledges of the appalachian mountains.  It should be grown with some protection from the sun.  It also prefers soil rich in organic matter.  Generally speaking, H. villosa grows taller and blooms later than other Heucheras.  Deadhead spent blossoms. 'Night Watch' has dark purple/brown foliage.

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Black Chokeberry, Deciduous Shrub Of The Day

Aronia melanocarpa 'Autumn Magic'

Black Chokeberry, Black Berried Aronia

Type Shrub, woody plant

Hardy range 4B to 9A

Height 4' to 6' / 1.20m to 1.80m

Spread 36" to 4' / 90cm to 1.20m

Growth rate Average

Form Oval

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color Pink and white
Leaf Color Green
Fall Color Red

Bloom Time Spring
 This plant has attractive fall colors.

Environment

This plant tolerates some drought and occasional wetness. This plant will grow in dry to occasionally wet soil. Suitable soil is sandy or clay. The pH preference is an acidic to slightly alkaline (less than 6.8 to 7.7) soil.

Culture Notes
Spreading by seeds and suckers, Chokeberry transplants well, has a moderate growth rate and is very hardy. Attractive in borders and clumps, Chokeberry thrives in moist soil but will tolerate dry soils in sun or partial shade, also growing in coastal areas. Chokeberry is much prized for natural landscapes due to its easy care and the popularity of the berries to wildlife, especially birds.
Planting and establishing shrubS The most common cause of young plant failure is planting too deep. Plant the root ball no deeper than it was in the nursery. In most instances, the root flare zone (point where the top-most root in the root ball originates from the trunk) should be located just above the landscape soil surface. Sometimes plants come from the nursery with soil over the root flare. If there is soil over this area, scrape it off. The planting hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball, preferably wider. In all but exceptional circumstances where the soil is very poor, there is no need to incorporate anything into the backfill soil except the loosened soil that came out of the planting hole. Never place ANY soil over the root ball. If a row or grouping of plants is to be installed, excavating or loosening the soil in the entire bed and incorporating organic matter enhances root growth and establishment rate.

Weed suppression during establishment is essential. Apply a 3-inch thick layer of mulch around the plant to help control weed growth. Keep it at least 10 inches from the trunk. If you apply it over the root ball, apply only a one or two inch layer. This allows rainwater and air to easily enter the root ball and keeps the trunk dry. Placing mulch against the trunk or applying too thick a layer above the root ball can kill the plant by oxygen starvation, death of bark, stem and root diseases, prevention of hardening off for winter, vole and other rodent damage to the trunk, keeping soil too wet, or repelling water. Regular irrigation through the first growing season after planting encourages rapid root growth, which is essential for quick plant establishment.

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Persian Violet, Perennial Of The Day

Cyclamen coum

Persian Violet, Sowbread, Alpine Violet

Type Perennial
Hardy range 6A to 9A
Height 4" to 6" / 10cm to 15cm
Growth rate Average

Form Rounded

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun

Bloom Color Pink
Bloom Time Spring and Winter

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.


Environment

This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is an acidic to slightly alkaline (less than 6.8 to 7.7) soil.

Leaf Color Green

This plant has attractive foliage.


Culture Notes

Plant in late summer when this cyclamen goes dormant Water during growing period and sparingly during dormancy. Protect from winds, do not cultivate around roots and mulch in the cooler zones.
Please feel free to comment on any post at any time all feedback is welcome and we’d love to hear it.

Chinese Holly, Featured Evergreen Tree, Woody Plant of The Day

Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii'
    Chinese Holly,  Horned Holly

Type    Tree, woody plant
Hardy range    7A to 9A
Height    15' to 25' / 4.60m to 7.60m
Spread    15' to 25' / 4.60m to 7.60m
Growth rate    Average
Form    Rounded and vase shaped
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence    Evergreen

Bloom Color    White
Bloom Time    Spring

Environment
This plant tolerates drought, flooding and some salt.
This plant will grow in very dry to wet or submerged soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay.
The pH preference is an acidic to alkaline (less than 6.8 to more than 7.7) soil.

 

Leaf Color    Green
Fall Color    No change in fall color

 

 Culture Notes
Burford Holly does well in full sun or part shade and is very tolerant of drought. In fact they are so resistant to drought that cut stems last a long time and can be used in flower arrangements. Flowering and subsequent fruiting is reduced in shady locations. It is well suited for low-maintenance landscapes which receive little or no irrigation or fertilizer after trees are established. Burford Holly is surprisingly flood tolerant - better than any other hollies tested. This plant is considered mostly allergy free and causes little or no allergy problems in most people. Plants in containers tolerate moderate soil salt solutions up to about 4 mmhos/cm according to the saturated media extract method.

Plants can be limbed up to form a multi-trunked small tree well suited for the patio or in another location requiring a small tree. The canopy fills with a dense thicket of foliage which makes a good rousting site for birds. Trees have also been used along streets where overhead power lines limit usage of large trees. It also does well in small sidewalk cutouts. This plant grows too tall to be used as a hedge. The Dwarf Burford is better suited for this purpose although this too grows to more than 15 feet tall.

Wood is considered diffuse porous meaning that there is little difference in size of pores between spring and summer wood.

Use as a street tree

This plant can be grown as a multi-trunk tree for use in highway median strips and in landscapes, or can be used as a street tree where there is not a need for tall-vehicle clearance beneath the crown.  The small stature and low, spreading, branching habit makes pruning for vehicular clearance difficult unless it is properly trained from an early age to develop one main trunk. The effort required initially to train this tree for street tree use, however, may be offset by its advantages.

Planting and establishing shrubs

The most common cause of young plant failure is planting too deep.  Plant the root ball no deeper than it was in the nursery.  In most instances, the root flare zone (point where the top-most root in the root ball originates from the trunk) should be located just above the landscape soil surface. Sometimes plants come from the nursery with soil over the root flare. If there is soil over this area, scrape it off.  The planting hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball, preferably wider.  In all but exceptional circumstances where the soil is very poor, there is no need to incorporate anything into the backfill soil except the loosened soil that came out of the planting hole.  Never place ANY soil over the root ball. If a row or grouping of plants is to be installed, excavating or loosening the soil in the entire bed and incorporating organic matter enhances root growth and establishment rate.

Weed suppression during establishment is essential.  Apply a 3-inch thick layer of mulch around the plant to help control weed growth.  Keep it at least 10 inches from the trunk.  If you apply it over the root ball, apply only a one or two inch layer.   This allows rainwater and air to easily enter the root ball and keeps the trunk dry.  Placing mulch against the trunk or applying too thick a layer above the root ball can kill the plant by oxygen starvation, death of bark, stem and root diseases, prevention of hardening off for winter, vole and other rodent damage to the trunk, keeping soil too wet, or repelling water.  Regular irrigation through the first growing season after planting encourages rapid root growth, which is essential for quick plant establishment.