We love the fall foliage of the evergreen Southeast US (Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas) native, Croton alabamensis. This lanky, 5′ tall shrub is a member of the Euphorbia family. In early winter, it drops its summer, fruity-scented leaves, but not before they turn pumpkin orange. This has been considered by many botanists to be one
Show your team colors with a Croton Read More »
Here are three of the more unusual mahonias in our collection that are looking good currently. Mahonia oiwakensis hails from Taiwan, and three adjacent mainland Chinese provinces. The foliage is narrower than Mahonia lomarifolia, and the winter hardiness seems better also. We’ve never seen a cultivated plant more than 7′ tall, but in the wild, it
Looking lovely in December are the Japanese Laurels of the genus, Aucuba. If you’ve hung around any southern gardeners, you already know that we often have some peculiar pronunciations. I’m from the south and still remember thinking, whaaat, the first time I heard someone talking about the A Coobers in their garden. Perhaps many folks
You’d need to be a pretty serious plant nerd to grow members of the obscure evergreen genus, Eurya, in your garden. Of the 160 species in the genus, we’ve tried four, which is possibly some sort of record. Eurya‘s family, Pentaphyllaceae, tells us that it has some other better known relatives, such as Ternstroemia and
Those of us of an advanced age remember the old, but ubiquitous 1950s/1960s television commercials from the late John Cameron Swayze, extolling the toughness of Timex watches. I have flashbacks to that tagline every time I look at our plants of Rhododendron ‘Elizabeth Ard’ (sold as Southgate Grace). Through the years, I’ve killed far more
Rhodies that Take a Lickin’ and Keep on Tickin’ Read More »
We love the evergreen Viburnum ‘Moonlit Lace’, a hybrid between Viburnum davidii and V. tinus, but are disappointed at the growth sizes given by on-line vendors. The largest mature size I found on-line is 4′ tall x 5′ wide. Our 8 year old plant below is now 7′ tall x 10′ wide. This is growing
Moonlit Lace – Supersize Me Read More »
We all flock to the Internet to find information about plants, but not all information sources are created equal. Without question, the finest source of information about woody plants for researchers and plant geeks is Trees and Shrubs Online. What started as an effort to digitize one of the worlds best woody plant books, W.J.
Trees and Shrubs On-Line Read More »
Here are a couple of our favorite winter-flowering mahonias currently in bloom at JLBG. The first is the North American native, Mahonia gracillis, which is virtually unknown in cultivation. Without several collections from the former Yucca Do Nursery, this probably wouldn’t even be known by US gardeners. The 8′ tall, unkempt form is adorned, starting
When people first hear the name, Daphniphyllum, they immediately think, Daphne, and obviously, when this was named by Blume in 1826, he thought the same. Daphniphyllum, however, couldn’t be more different. First, it’s completely unrelated. Daphne is in the Thymelaeaceae family, while Daphniphyllum sits alone in its own family, Daphniphyllaceae. Daphniphyllum is a small genus
Looks like a Daphne, but… 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,
