Our bank of false yew, Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Brooklyn Gardens’ is ready to release its pollen, aka: conifer sperm. Conifers grew up before flowering plants were invented, so they can’t rely on insects like bees and butterflies to assist them with sex. In the old days, plants depended on wind to assist with sex, so surviving
Yew Sperm, Coming Soon Read More »
We’ve long lusted to grow the US West Coast native, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, but our summer rains cause root disease that take them out at a far too young age. Several years ago, I was thrilled to find a West Coast wholesaler who was grafting these on a disease resistant Lawson cypress root stock. Adhering to
Longing for Lawsons Read More »
Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla) are popular house plants, but we always longed for being able to grow araucarias outdoors in central NC. Since this native of the region around Australia/New Zealand has poor winter hardiness, our obsession focused in on the more winter hardy, South American species, in particular, Araucaria araucana, known as Monkey
The Monkey’s Puzzle Read More »
Looking lovely in the gardens this month is the dwarf Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii ‘Banshosho’. Our five year old plant is now 2′ tall x 4′ wide. Most catalogs list this Japanese selection as maturing at 3′ tall x 5′ wide, but based on the growth rate we’re seeing, that seems to be quite
Watch for Banshoshos in the Garden Read More »
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Nana’ is a dwarf form of Japanese cedar and is looking quite lovely in the winter garden. Dwarf conifers are a great addition to the garden for winter interest. The evergreen foliage takes on a bronze tint during the winter. It is also adorned with a great crop of decorative male cones,
Looking lovely in the garden now is Cryptomeria japonica ‘Sekkan’. This amazing, full-size selection of Japanese cedar has long been a personal favorite. It has solid green foliage all year until cool nights arrive, at which time, the yellow tips brighten to create a truly amazing sight in the garden. Commercially, it is often sold
Here’s an early November shot from the garden, just prior to our first freeze. By using lots of evergreens, the garden continues to have interest and structure into the less active seasons.
Looking great in the garden despite our high temperatures is the Siberian native, Microbiota decussata. While the species typically struggles in our climate, the cultivar ‘Prides’ has been outstanding. Microbiota is essentially a groundcover juniper replacement for shade. For us, it matures with a 4′ wide spread, after 10 years. We have found that it
Most of us plant geeks marvel at the genetic diversity of plants as we drive, and one of my passions is studying the incredible diversity our our native red cedar, Juniperus virginiana. Below is an exceptional been pole-like form, Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’, selected from a population in Taylor, Nebraska, and released in 1992 by the
The North American native Thuja plicata ‘4Ever’ is looking particularly stunning in the garden this summer. Of all the forms of Thuja plicata we’ve trialed, this is undoubtedly the brightest. Reportedly maturing at 12′ tall x 3.5′ tall, I’m left to wonder what they used the measure the size. Our 4 year old specimen is
4Ever and Ever, Amen Read More »
