FROM THE GARDEN: Now is the perfect time to add native plants to your landscape
Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008
COURTESY The bright red fruits of American Cranberry Bush viburnum make a beautiful scene in the fall.
After a killing frost and the leaves begin to fall, most gardeners clean and store their tools, close the garden for the winter and watch for the seed catalogs to arrive. But wait … this is one of the best times to plant woody perennials. Our soil is cool but doesn’t freeze thus providing optimum conditions for root growth. This allows plants to get a head start on growing before hot weather comes.
Native plants and their cultivars are ideal for landscapes because they are already well suited to our local growing conditions and climate extremes. They provide flower, fruit, shelter and fall color in the garden and attract birds, butterflies, bees and other critters to your garden.
Viburnums could be called the horticultural equivalent of the little black dress — they look good in every season, and fit in anywhere and in any style of garden. Their adaptability makes them perfect for your landscape. The five below are native shrubs.
Possumhaw viburnum cultivar ‘Pink Beauty’ (V. nudum) has showy white flowers, colorful fruit, ranging from pink to black, and excellent fall color. At 6- to 10-feet, it is a good shrub for small gardens and will grow in sun or part shade.
Blackhaw viburnum (V. prunifolium ) is similar to ‘Pink Beauty’ but its height of 10- to 15-feet makes it an excellent small tree. Blackhaw grows well in dry soil in either sun or shade.
Arrow-wood viburnum (V. dentatum), at the same height but with dark-blue fruit, makes an attractive multi-stemmed tree and will grow in alkaline soil.
American Cranberry Bush viburnum (V. trilobum ) is of the same height as black-haws, but prefers moist sites and is best used for screening due to its suckering habit. The showy red fruit is edible and relished by wildlife.
Mapleleaf viburnum (V. acerifolium ) is a smaller shrub, from 2- to 6-feet tall, that grows well in dry shade.
I’ve grown a cultivar of the native chokeberry in my garden for several years. My Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima ’ has survived three moves. It is still small, but has already flowered and put on fruit. It has lustrous foliage and red berries. The fall foliage is a bright red, which compares well with the invasive non-native Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus). It grows well in both wet and dry areas and in sun or part shade.
Several other natives I grow and recommend are:
• Crossvine ‘Tangerine Beauty’ Bignonia capreolata
• Horsehobble ‘ Girard’s Rainbow ’Leucothoe fontanesiana
• Strawberry Bush or Hearts-a-busting Euonymous americana
• Deciduous Holly ‘Warren’s Red’ Ilex decidua
• Sweetspire ‘Henry’s Garnet’ Itea virginica
• Bottlebrush Buckeye Aesculus parviflora
• Fragrant Sumac Rhus aromatica
• Shrubby St. Johnswort Hypericum frondosum
Recently I saw a fabulous hybrid from Carolina Allspice. ‘Hartlage Wine’ was featured on an episode of A Gardener’s Diary on HGTV. It is a cross between two genera of allspice and exhibits hybrid vigor, which means it is bigger and better than either parent. Joanne Sorn, owner of Between the Rivers Nursery in Eureka Springs, has one with my name on it. Raulston’s Allspice xSinocalycalycanthus raulstonii is a mouthful to say, but this shrub’s 4-inch, wine-colored flowers are worth the trouble. Both the leaves and flowers are supposed to be fragrant so I’ll plant it near the patio so we can enjoy its spicy fragrance.
Oftentimes landscaping with native plants requires some legwork because you can’t find them easily at your local big box store. More nurseries, however, are beginning to carry native shrubs, so make some calls to see if they have the plants you want. In addition to our local nurseries, the ones below are reliable and carry a good selection of plants:
• Arnold’s Greenhouse, LeRoy, Kansas, (620) 964-2463
• Between the Rivers, Eureka Springs, (479) 253-8716
• Custom Landscapes and Nursery Inc., Mount Vernon, (501) 849-3147
Lynn Rogers is a former biology and Spanish teacher who has a passion for gardening, traveling and singing. She is a Washington County Master Gardener and enjoys helping people with their garden problems.
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