Black Snakeroot, Deciduous Perennial of the Day

Cimicifuga ramosa 'Hillside Black Beauty'
    Black Snakeroot

Type    Perennial
Hardy range    4A to 8A
Height    6' to 7' / 1.80m to 2.20m
Spread    24" to 4' / 60cm to 1.20m
Growth rate    Average
Form    Upright or erect
Exposure    Full shade to full sun
Persistence    Deciduous

Bloom Color    Pink and white
Bloom Time    Fall

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

Leaf Color    Purple
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
The long bottlebrush flower spikes of this plant give it its height and erect form.  C. ramosa is a later flowering species.  It performs wonderfully when planted as a woodland border as it is very shade tolerant.  Divisions can be made in early spring, and seeds can be gathered in late fall.   Plant goes well with: Rodgersia, Ligularia, Astilbe, gold-leafed hostas and ferns.  'Hillside Black Beauty' (Patent # 9,988) has very dark, purplish-black leaves and pinkish-white blossoms.  Asexual propagation of this plant is prohibited.

Please feel free to comment on any post at any time all feedback is welcome and we’d love to hear it.

Seven Son Flower, Deciduous Woody Plant of the Day

Heptacodium miconioides
    Seven Son Flower

Type    Tree, shrub, woody plant
Hardy range    5A to 8B
Height    6' to 20' / 1.80m to 6.00m
Spread    4' to 10' / 1.20m to 3.00m
Growth rate    Fast
Form    Irregular or sprawling, upright or erect and vase shaped
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence    Deciduous

Bloom Color    Red and white
Bloom Time    Summer and Fall

The flowers are fragrant.

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 neutral (less than 6.8 to 7.2) soil.

Leaf Color    Green
Fall Color    Yellow
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
Heptacodium miconioides is the only one of the four Gold Medal 1995 selections not native to North America.  It is a rapid growing plant that is very adaptable to a variety of cultural conditions.  It is tolerant of sun or shade, wet or dry soils, and a wide range of pH levels. Plant in the southern portion of its range are best in some shade. Plant can be grown as a multi stemmed shrub or trained as a single stem.

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.

Please feel free to comment on any post at any time all feedback is welcome and we’d love to hear it.

Spider Flower, Annual of the Day

Cleome hassleriana 'White Queen'     syn. Cleome spinosa
    Spider Flower,  Spider Plant

Type    Annual
Height    36" to 4' / 90cm to 1.20m
Spread    18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm
Growth rate    Fast
Form    Upright or erect
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Bloom Color    White
Bloom Time    Summer and Fall

The flowers are fragrant and suitable for cut 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
Seeds can be gathered after flowering in the summer and sown in the spring, but this plant self seeds very easily.  When removing the plants at the end of the season, gloves may be necessary as the stems are rather thorny.  Known for their long-lasting, spider-shaped blossoms, deadheading spent blooms will prolong this process.

Please feel free to comment on any post at any time all feedback is welcome and we’d love to hear it.

Fragrant Viburnum, Deciduous Shrub of the Day

Viburnum carlesii 'Aurora'
    Koreanspice Viburnum,  Fragrant Viburnum

Type    Shrub, woody plant
Hardy range    4B to 8A
Height    5' to 8' / 1.60m to 2.40m
Spread    5' to 8' / 1.60m to 2.40m
Growth rate    Average
Form    Oval 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 drought and some salt.
This plant will grow in very 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    Purple and red
This plant has attractive fall colors.

Culture Notes
Likes acid soil kept moist for best development.  Korean Spice Viburnum grows best in a sunny, open location with loose, well-drained soil.  Transplanting may be difficult and poor growth results from overcrowding or shading.  Korean Spice Viburnum has a moderate growth rate and is 4 to 8 feet tall and spreads 6 to 8 feet.  The fragrant, pink-tinged white flowers are produced in early spring and the fall color is reddish to wine red.  Fruits are produced but are usually eaten by the birds. This plant is considered mostly allergy free and causes little or no allergy problems in most people.

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.

Rabbit Resistant Perennials

Rabbits are becoming more and more of a nuisance in landscape plantings. I am sorry to say there is no perfect list of plants that are rabbit resistant. Animals that are hungry will eat almost anything. Here are some things you can do to help keep bunnies and other small critters out of your landscape.

o Remove protective cover such as brush piles where rabbits hide and nest.

o Keep some open areas in the landscape. Smaller critters normally avoid areas of open space to steer clear of predators.

o Repellents don’t always work and what works in one yard may not work in another. Read the labels and make certain the product specifies rabbit. Rabbits don’t respond to odor repellents as deer do so most deer repellents won’t affect rabbits.

o Newly introduced plantings or recently moved perennials are more apt to be nibbled because of curiosity. So repellents can help to detour curiosity. Once the plants are more mature they are less likely to be eaten.

Please be patient and remember what is resilient in one yard may not be in another. Rabbits in one region will have different tastes than rabbits in another. There is no perfect list and we can not guarantee that rabbits will not eat the below listed perennials.

The list below was compiled from 3 different reputable lists of rabbit tolerant perennials. However ‘Beechwood Landscape Architecture and Construction’ is not responsible for any plants that may be eaten by rabbits.

Common Name

Alumroot or Coral Bells

Anemone

Astilbe

Aster

Bee balm

Bergenia Heartleaf

Blanket Flower

Bleeding Heart

Bugbane

Bugle Weed

Bugloss

Cat Mint

Columbine

Cornflower

Crocosmia

Daylilly

Dead Nettle

Foxglove

Geraniums or Cranes Bill

Goat’s Beard

Goldenrod

Hosta

Hyssop

Iris

Joe Pye Weed

Jupiter’s Beard

Knot weed or Fleece Flower

Lady’s Mantle

Lamb’s Ear

Lavender

Lilly of the Valley

Lenten Rose

Lung Wart

Lilyturf

Ornamental onions - Chives Yarrow

Penstemon

Peony

Creeping Phlox

Pincushion Flower

Evening Primrose

Red Hot Poker

Rodger’s Flower

Stone Crop

Spiderwort

Speedwell

Spurge

Sweet Woodruff

Yarrow

Blue Fescue Grass

Maiden Grass

Mondo Grass

Pampas Grass

Latin Name/Common Name

Achillea/Yarrow

Agastache/Hyssop

Ajuga/Bugle Weed

Alchemilla/Lady’s Mantle

Allium/Ornamental onions or Chives

Anemone/Windflower

Aquilegia/Columbine

Aruncas/Goat’s Beard

Aster/Aster

Astilbe/False Spirea

Bergenia/Heartleaf

Brunnera/Bugloss

Centaurea/Cornflower

Centranthus/Jupiter’s Beard

Cimicifuga/Snakeroot or Bugbane

Convallaria/ Lilly of the Valley

Corcosmia/Montbretia

Chrysanthemum/Mums

Dicentra/Bleeding Heart

Digitalis/Foxglove

Eupatorium/Joe Pye Weed

Euphorbia/Spurge

Gaillardia/Blanket Flower

Gallium/Sweet Woodruff

Geranium/Cranes Bill

Helleborus/Lenten Rose

Hemerocallis/Daylilly

Heuchera/Coral Bells

Hosta/Plantain Lily

Iris/Iris

Kniphofia/Red Hot Poker

Lamium/Dead Nettle

Lavandula/Lavender

Monarda/Bee balm

Nepeta/Cat Mint

Oenothera/Evening Primrose

Paeonia/Peony

Penstemon/Beard Tongue

Polygonum/Fleece Flower

Phlox/creeping Phlox

Pulmonaria/Lung Wart

Rodgersia/Rodger’s Flower

Scabiosa/Pincushion Flower

Sedum/Stone Crop

Solidago/Goldenrod

Stachys/Lamb’s Ear

Tradescantia/Spiderwort

Veronica/Speedwell

Cortaderia/Pampas Grass

Festuca/Blue Fescue Grass

Miscanthus/Maiden Grass

Ophiopogon/Mondo Grass