Featuring The Dianthus

Dianthus gratianopolitanus syn. Dianthus caesius 'Spotty'

Cheddar Pink, Rock Garden Pink

Type Perennial

Hardy range 3A to 9A

Height 4" to 6" / 10cm to 15cm

Spread 18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm

Growth rate Slow

Form Rounded

Exposure Full sun

Persistence Semi-evergreen

Bloom Color Red and white

Bloom Time Summer

The flowers are fragrant and 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 Blue and silvery
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes Seeds can be gathered after flowering, but the plant will loose some vigor if allowed to seed. For the best appearance remove all the flower heads when most of the flowers are finished. Trim to the congestion of foliage. Division can be made after flowering. Plant with: Iberis, Armeria, Artemisia, and Phlox subulata. 'Spotty' has bicolored red and white blossoms.

Dianthus gratianopolitanus syn. Dianthus caesius

Cheddar Pink, Rock Garden Pink

Type Perennial

Hardy range 3A to 8A

Height 9" to 12" / 23cm to 30cm

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

Growth rate Average

Form Rounded

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Semi-evergreen

Bloom Color Pink and red

Bloom Time Spring and Summer

The flowers are fragrant and suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant tolerates some drought.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is a neutral to slightly alkaline (6.8 to 7.7) soil.

Leaf Color Blue and silvery
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes Seeds can be gathered after flowering, but the plant will loose some vigor if allowed to seed. For the best appearance, remove all the flower heads when most of the flowers are finished. Trim to the congestion of foliage. Division can be made after flowering. Plant with: Iberis, Armeria, Artemisia, and Phlox subulata.

 

Dianthus plumarius 'Ideal Violet'

Cottage Pink

Type Perennial

Hardy range 4A to 9A

Height 6" to 12" / 15cm to 30cm

Spread 12" to 18" / 30cm to 45cm

Growth rate Slow

Form Rounded

Exposure Full sun

Persistence Deciduous and evergreen

Bloom Color Purple

Bloom Time Spring and Summer

The flowers are fragrant and suitable for cut flowers.

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

Leaf Color Silvery
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes 'Ideal Violet' was chosen by All-America Selection as a 1992 winner. It was the first dianthus to receive this honored bedding plant award. It has purplish-violet blossoms with a white eye. In warmer climates, the mother plant will sometimes live through the winter. Treated as an annual, this plant is often times confused for a perennial. Division should be made from first year plants. Seeds will differ from mother plant and can be collected after blooming in the summer. Plants go well with: Myosotis, Asclepias, and Gaillardia sp.

 

Dianthus gratianopolitanus syn. Dianthus caesius 'Dottie'

Cheddar Pink, Rock Garden Pink

Type Perennial

Hardy range 3A to 9A

Height 4" to 6" / 10cm to 15cm

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

Growth rate Fast

Form Rounded and spreading or horizontal

Exposure Full sun

Persistence Semi-evergreen

Bloom Color White

Bloom Time Spring and Summer

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant tolerates some drought.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy.
The pH preference is a neutral to slightly alkaline (6.8 to 7.7) soil.

Leaf Color Green
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes Seeds can be gathered after flowering, but the plant will loose some vigor if allowed to seed. For the best appearance, remove all the flower heads when most of the flowers are finished. Trim to the congestion of foliage. Division can be made after flowering. Full sun is acceptable in the northern United States; however, light shade is a must in the southeast. Plant with: Iberis, Armeria, Artemisia, and Phlox subulata. Deadheading spent blossoms will increase the number of blooms.

 

Dianthus deltoides 'Zing Rose'

Maiden Pink

Type Perennial

Hardy range 4A to 8A

Height 4" to 6" / 10cm to 15cm

Spread 18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm

Growth rate Fast

Form Rounded and spreading or horizontal

Exposure Full sun

Persistence Deciduous and evergreen

Bloom Color Red

Bloom Time Summer

The flowers are fragrant and 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 to alkaline (6.8 to more than 7.7) soil.

Leaf Color Green

Culture Notes Cut spent flowers to maintain neatness of the plant and to promote growth. This Dianthus can seed itself readily, so plant it where it can be allowed to spread. Plant in a gritty well-drained soil. Plants go well with: Other Dianthus sp., Thymus, Sempervivum, and Teucrium sp. D. deltoides forms loose spreading mats and blooms continuously for up to two and a half months. It's excellent when used as a ground cover.

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Willow-leaf Magnolia, Featured Tree Of The Day

Magnolia salicifolia 'Wada's Memory'

Anise Magnolia, Willow-leaf Magnolia

Type Tree, woody plant

Hardy range 4B to 7B

Height 25' to 50' / 7.60m to 15.20m

Spread 25' to 35' / 7.60m to 10.60m

Growth rate Average

Form Oval, pyramidal and upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color White
Bloom Time Spring

The flowers are fragrant and showy.

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

Leaf Color Green
Fall Color Yellow

This plant has attractive fall colors.

Culture Notes Kobus Magnolia should be grown in full sun or partial shade on any well-drained soil. Probably not for poorly-drained areas but supposedly tolerant of soil with an alkaline pH. Although the plant takes as long as 25-30 years to flower, it is well worth the wait. This would make an incredible street tree.

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

Maintain adequate mulch area Clear all turf away from beneath the branches and mulch to the drip line, especially on young trees, to reduce competition with turf and weeds. This will allow roots to become well established and keep plants healthier. Prune the tree so trunks and branches will not rub each other. Remove some secondary branches on main branches with included bark. This reduces the likelihood of the main branch splitting from the tree later when it has grown to become an important part of the landscape. Locate the tree properly, taking into account the ultimate size, since the tree looks best if it is not pruned to control size. The tree can enhance any landscape with its delightful spring flush of foliage. It can be the centerpiece of your landscape if properly located.

Tree establishment specifications Choose good quality trees for planting. The most common cause of young tree failure is planting too deep. In most instances, the point where the top-most root in the root ball originates from the trunk (referred to as the root flare zone or root collar) should be located just above the soil surface. You may have to dig into the root ball to find the root flare. If there is nursery soil over this area, scrape it off. Never place ANY soil over the root ball. The planting hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball, preferably wider because roots grow best in loose soil. In all but exceptional circumstances where the soil is very poor, extensive research clearly shows that there is no need to incorporate any amendments into the backfill soil. Simply use the loosened soil that came out of the planting hole. Simply planting with the topmost portion of the root ball slightly higher than the surrounding soil might still install the tree too deep - be sure to locate the root flare.

Weed suppression during establishment is essential. Apply a 3-inch thick layer of mulch to at least a six-foot diameter circle around the tree. This area should be at least two feet in diameter for each inch of tree trunk diameter and maintained during the establishment period. Apply a thinner layer of mulch directly over the root ball but keep it at least 10 inches from the trunk. This allows rainwater, irrigation and air to easily enter the root ball and keeps the trunk dry. Placing mulch against the trunk and 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 after planting encourages rapid root growth that is essential for tree establishment. Trees provided with regular irrigation through the first growing season after transplanting require about 3 months (hardiness zones 9-11), 6 months (hardiness zones 7-8), or one year or more (hardiness zones 2-6) per inch of trunk diameter to fully establish roots in the landscape soil. Trees in desert climates may take longer to establish. Trees that are under-irrigated during this establishment period (and most trees are) often require additional time to establish because roots grow more slowly. Be prepared to irrigate through the entire establishment period, especially during periods of drought.

Irrigation also helps maintain and encourage the desirable dominant leader in the tree canopy on large-maturing trees. Instead of a dominant leader, trees that are under-irrigated during the establishment period often develop undesirable, low, co-dominant stems and double leaders that can split from the tree later.

Unlike established plants, which do best with deep, infrequent irrigation, research clearly shows that recently transplanted trees and shrubs establish quickest with light, frequent irrigation. For trees planted in spring or summer, provide one (cooler hardiness zones) to three irrigations (warmer hardiness zones) each week during the first few months after planting. Daily irrigation in the warmest hardiness zones provides the quickest establishment. Following the initial few months of frequent irrigation, provide weekly irrigation until plants are fully established. With every irrigation, apply one (cool climates) to two (warm climates) gallons of water per inch trunk diameter (e.g. 2 to 4 gallons for a 2-inch tree) over the root ball only. In most landscapes that receive more than 30 inches of rain or irrigation annually, if the mulch area is maintained weed-free, irrigation does not need to be applied outside of the root ball. Never add water if the root ball is saturated.

In cooler hardiness zones, in all but the driest years, irrigation of spring- and summer-planted trees usually can be discontinued once fall color has begun. Irrigation of fall planted trees, however, should be continued until foliage has dropped from the deciduous trees in the region. In warmer climates, irrigate fall-and winter-planted trees as described for the spring- and summer-planted trees.

In drier, desert climates there is benefit to be gained from applying additional irrigation outside of the root ball area. This is best done by making a large diameter berm four to six inches high, then filling it with water so it percolates into the soil. For the first two years, irrigate twice each week through the spring, once per week in summer provided monsoons arrive, and twice each week again in fall if it remains warm. Taper off watering to once or twice each month in winter and resume twice weekly next spring. For years three to five, water twice per month in spring, summer, and fall and once or twice per month in winter. During years five through seven, water once every three weeks in warm weather and once every six weeks in winter. After this, the drought-tolerant desert trees should be able to survive on natural rainfall.

Trees with good, strong structure need no pruning at planting, except to remove broken twigs. Do not remove branches to compensate for root loss - research has shown that this can be detrimental to establishment.

*** SPRING TRANSPLANT IS BEST**

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