As a young gardener, the chance of growing the high elevation North American native quaking aspen in NC was always nothing more than a random thought that kept popping in my mind, being quickly dismissed, until we spotted one a few years ago at South Carolina’s Spartanburg Community College Garden. Garden director, Dr. Kevin Parris,
Not Quaking from the Heat – Aspens in NC? Read More »
Flowering now at JLBG is the handsome Jack tree, Sinojackia xylocarpa ‘La Grima’. Sinojackia, named after the late Arnold Arboretum staffer with three first names, John George Jack, is a Chinese native that is quite rare in the wild. In cultivation, this styrax relative matures at a compact 20′ tall. The cultivar ‘La Grima’ is
You don’t know Jack Read More »
Jeremy Schmidt’s amazing collection of Aesculus sylvatica, that he named ‘Sylvan Glow’ is looking quite spectacular in the early spring garden. The new growth emerges a screaming coral pink. Now four years old, it’s finally approaching 3′ tall. We’ve taken in few cuttings this spring, in the hopes we can get this to root, so
One of our most spectacular winter-flowering trees is the Chinese sassafras. Sassafras tzumu (pronounced Zoomo). It can eventually reach 100′ tall in the wild, but we rarely see this exceed 35′ in cultivation. The clusters of bright yellow flowers adorn the plant, starting for us in mid-February, providing a welcome feast for honeybees when the
The thuds on the roof of our nursery office isn’t the hooves of eight reindeer, but instead is that of the roof height citrus trees planted nearby, dropping their newly ripened fruit. Here are two Citrus ‘Ichang Lemon’ fruit that dropped into my pocket on a recent garden walk. Well aided by gravity, these dense,
One of our favorite small trees for summer interest in the garden is the purple-leaf peach, Prunus persica ‘Bonfire’. Although the fruit is edible, it wasn’t selected for fruit quality, so don’t expect grocery store quality. We’re far more interested in the amazing foliage, which remains looking great during the summer. The other highlight is
One of favorite native trees is looking stunning in our parking lot. Acer rubrum ‘Schocking Gold’ was discovered by NC plantsman Richard Schock near his home in Boonville, NC. Richard shared his find with us in 1993, and we subsequently named the tree after him. Occasionally, when we’ve seen it offered, it’s listed incorrectly as
Back in 2018, I spotted a listing for Korean germplasm of Magnolia sieboldii on the seed exchange list for the International Magnolia Society. For those who don’t know magnolia species, Magnolia sieboldii is considered one of the most beautiful in the genus, but it’s widely known not to grow in hot, humid climates. I had
Siebold’s Magnolia…Defeated or De-Heated? Read More »
Our garden specimen of Acer palmatum ‘Geisha Gone Wild’ is looking quite fabulous. Not only is it great from a distance, but a closeup of the foliage is simply amazing. Our 10 year-old plant has reached 10′ in height.
Looking lovely in our parking lot this week is the Southeast US native, Halesia diptera var. magniflora ‘Pine Apple’. This is a seed strain we named from a 2011 collection in Wilcox County, Alabama. Hardiness is Zone 5b-9a, at least.
