Golden Gate French Marigold, Featured Plant of The Day

Tagetes patula 'Golden Gate'
    French Marigold,  Dwarf French Marigold

Type    Annual
Height    10" to 12" / 25cm to 30cm
Spread    18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm
Growth rate    Average
Form    Upright or erect
Exposure    Full sun

Bloom Color    Orange
Bloom Time    Summer and Fall

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers and suitable for dried flowers.

Environment
This plant tolerates some drought and a little salt.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is  a neutral soil.

Leaf Color    Green
This plant has fragrant foliage.

Culture Notes
'Golden Gate' was chosen by All-America Selection as a 1989 winner. These plants do very well in hot, dry climates.  Seeds can be sown under glass in early spring.  Dead head frequently to encourage more blooms.  This species has a larger flower head than the Tagetes erecta.  These tender annuals are killed by frost and will sometimes self sow.  In addition to the ability to deter white flies from tomato plants, via its scent, the root of the French Marigold is also able to exude secretions which repel the potentially destructive eelworm.  This plant has several decorative and aromatic uses as well.

Brilliant Ice Plant, Featured Plant of The Day

Hylotelephium spectabile 'Brilliant'

 syn. Sedum spectabile

Sedum,  Ice Plant,  Stonecrop

Type    Perennial, succulent
Hardy range    4A to 9A
Height    12" to 24" / 30cm to 60cm
Growth rate    Average
Form    Rounded
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Bloom Color    Pink
Bloom Time    Summer and Fall

The flowers are suitable for dried flowers.

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

Leaf Color    Green
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
In general, Sedums are tough, low-maintenance plants that are able to grow in just about any place and in any type of soil.  Because of their soft, fleshy foliage, however, they are easily crushed with excessive foot traffic.  Self propagation is just as common as the established forms of propagation (stem cuttings, seeds and division of plants), and can take place any time of the year.  The clump can be dug and divided in the spring and cuttings can be rooted in the summer.

'Brilliant' has greenish-gray foliage and flat clusters of pink flowers.  These sedums grow quite well in our southern states.  Even in the winter, the dried flower clusters are ornamental.

Gold Band Liriope, Featured Plant of The Day

Liriope muscari 'Gold Band'

 syn. Liriope graminifolia densiflora
    Lilyturf,  Border Grass,  Blue Lilyturf,  Liriope,  Bigblue Liriope

Type    Perennial
Hardy range    6A to 10A
Height    12" to 18" / 30cm to 45cm
Spread    12" to 36" / 30cm to 90cm
Growth rate    Slow
Form    Rounded
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence    Evergreen

Bloom Color    Lavender
Bloom Time    Summer

The flowers are showy and suitable for cut flowers.

Environment
This plant tolerates drought and some salt.
This plant will grow in moist 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, variegated and yellow
Fall Color    No change in fall color
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
This plant usually is slow spreading.  The plant should be sheared back in the early spring to enjoy a flush of new growth.  Easily propagated by division in the early spring.

Unlike Liriope spicata, this plant usually is slow spreading.  The plant should be sheared back, usually with a sharp lawn mower blade, in the early spring to enjoy a flush of new growth.  Please do this before new growth emerges or you will live with the cut foliage for the rest of the year. Easily propagated by division in the early spring.

Attractive, violet-blue flowers give this plant its charm. Lilyturf is a 6- to 12-inch-tall herbaceous perennial that is useful in the landscape as a ground cover and accent plant.  This plant spreads slowly by rhizomes and forms thick tubers that look like small potatoes.  The 8- to 20-inch-long, grass-like leaves arise from a central crown.  The small, purple flowers of Lilyturf occur in terminal racemes that sit atop an 8-to 10-inch tall, violet-brown scape.  These flowers appear in the summer and are followed by blue-black berrylike fruits.  Flowers are mostly inconspicuous due to the brightly colored foliage. This plant is considered mostly allergy free and causes little or no allergy problems in most people.

Lilyturf is a great plant for bordering a sidewalk or as an edging for a landscape bed.  It will grow well underneath trees or around shrubs.  However, it will not tolerate foot traffic. Liriope will grow in a sunny location, but prefers one that has partial shade or full shade.  It prefers well-drained soils and is moderately tolerant of drought and salt spray.  This plant does have a negative reaction to high temperatures and can melt out in warm weather.

Autumn Purple White Ash, Featured Plant of The Day

Fraxinus americana 'Junginger (Autumn Purple®)' 

 White Ash

Type    Tree, woody plant
Hardy range    3B to 9A
Height    50' to 75' / 15.20m to 22.80m
Spread    35' to 50' / 10.60m to 15.20m
Growth rate    Fast
Form    Oval and rounded
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence    Deciduous

Bloom Color    Green
Bloom Time    Spring

Environment
This plant tolerates some drought and occasional wetness.
This plant will grow in dry to occasionally wet 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    Purple
This plant has attractive fall colors.

Culture Notes
Existing trees do not tolerate soil compaction or construction injury due to an extensive root system.  The tree appreciates good soil and is probably not a good choice for poor, urban soils. It tolerates high soil salt concentrations originating from de-icing salt applications better than many other plants. Plants in containers tolerate moderately-high soil salt solutions up to about 6 mmhos/cm according to the saturated media extract method. It does not tolerate heavy clay soil with standing water in the planting hole. Established plants tolerate flooding well.

White Ash is resistant to heat, although it is native to moist locations, including river bottoms and well-drained upland sites. There is no fruit production on this cultivar but pollen from this male tree causes significant allergy symptoms.

The potential disease and insect problems limit use to parks and other areas where the tree will not be missed if it dies.  White Ash which have not been properly pruned can break apart in wind storms, but it has better branch structure than seedling Green Ash. Ash are among those susceptible to summer branch drop according to surveys in California. Summer branch drop is a phenomena resulting in failure and breakage of large diameter branches typically on calm summer days. Can be used as a street tree where there is plenty of soil space for root expansion and where cultural conditions are met.  Used as a street and parking lot tree in central California.  Wood is considered ring porous.

Goblin Blanket Flower, Featured Plant of The Day

  

Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Goblin'

Blanket Flower

Type Perennial

Hardy range 3A to 10A

Height 8" to 12" / 20cm to 30cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Full sun

Bloom Color Red and yellow

Bloom Time Spring through Fall

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant tolerates drought.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.

Leaf Color Green

Culture Notes This cultivar is of the "Monarch Strain" of Gaillardias. These plants can grow in sandy, dry soil in the warmer plant zones. In late summer, cut back to encourage a fall bloom. Do not remove foliage from the plant in late fall. This helps to protect the plant in colder climates.

 Stem cuttings can be taken in late summer, and seeds can be collected after flowering. Spring cut dead foliage only, and deadhead after blooming to keep plant attractive. Plants serve as hosts for butterfly larvae. Plants go well with: Coreopsis, Stokesia, Caryopteris, and Platycodon. 'Goblin' has gorgeous red blossoms with bright yellow margins.

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Creeping Thyme,Featured Plant of The Day

Thymus praecox 'Purple Beauty'

Creeping Thyme, Woolly Thyme

Type Perennial
Hardy range 5A to 7A
Height 2" to 3" / 5cm to 8cm
Spread 12" to 18" / 30cm to 45cm
Growth rate Average
Form Prostrate and spreading or horizontal
Exposure Full sun
Persistence Evergreen

Bloom Color Purple
Bloom Time Spring and Summer

The flowers are suitable for dried flowers.

Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.
Leaf Color
Green
This plant has fragrant foliage.

Culture Notes

This dense, mat-forming, aromatic plant is easy to grow and quite attractive when used in rock gardens, on terraces or between walking stones. Honey bees love the nectar-rich flowers of Thymus. Keep its mat-forming growth clipped to maintain compactness and vigor.
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