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Fragrant Abelia has very fragrant pink tubular flowers with white centers that bloom in May and June. The glossy green foliage turns orangey red in fall. Abelia mosanensis is very hardy and easy to grow. It is prized for its fragrance and may be used as a hedge. This species is more winter hardy than other Abelias and that's a good thing because it blooms on old wood. This plant was introduced from Latvia. (New name is Zabelia tyaihyonii).
Abelia x grandiflora 'Rose Creek' provides a wonderful presence in the landscape with its plentiful fragrant white flowers and red-tinged stems on new growth. 'Rose Creek' Abelia will bloom beginning in May and last through the summer into September. Blooms on new wood. Named ‘Rose Creek’ in reference to a creek of the same name located in Oconee County, Georgia. An introduction by Dr Michael Dirr. (New name is Linnaea × grandiflora 'Rose Creek'.)
A spreading, rounded shrub, 'Little Richard' Abelia has glossy dark green leaves that sometimes will be tinged bronze. Provides wonderful white, fragrant flowers through the summer until frost. The blooms attract numerous butterflies (New name is Zabelia dielsii 'Little Richard').
Few trees are as showy as the Paperbark Maple, with its cinnamon colored exfoliating bark. The fine-textured leaves have 3 leaflets and change from dark green with silvery undersides in summer to shades of red and bronze in fall. Acer griseum makes a neat oval-shaped small tree which fits into both small and large scale landscapes well. Originating from Central China, Paperbark Maple prefers full sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. It will grow in a variety of soil types, including sand, loam, or clay and is adaptable to a variety of pH levels. One of the last Maples to develop fall color and the leaves persist into winter.
Armstrong Gold® ('JFS-KW78') Columnar Red Maple comes from the extensive selection work done at J Frank Schmidt's nursery in Oregon. Acer rubrum Armstrong Gold® has bright golden orange fall foliage on a very tight upright form. The branches grow at a steep, upward angle. Besides having good tolerance for a wide range of environmental conditions (as do Red Maples in general), Armstrong Gold® makes an excellent street tree because of the dense columnar form. The tiny red flowers appear in April and are followed by red winged samaras (seeds).
October Glory® Red Maple has green leaves following the attractive red flowers which are one of the earliest signs of spring for us in the Northeast. The fall color of October Glory® is a deep rich red and occurs 2 weeks later than other cultivars. The glossy dark green leaves with red stems have 3-5 lobes and are 3-6” across. This plant species plays larval host to the coral hairstreak butterfly. October Glory® is an oval-shaped, wet site tolerant tree that was found by our father, William Flemer III and has proved to be one of the best cultivars for southern hot summers.
Redpointe® ('Frank Jr') Red Maple is an attractive introduction of this very adaptable native tree, developed by J Frank Schmidt and Son Nursery in Oregon. They chose this selection because of its broad but upswept branching pyramidal habit. Acer rubrum Redpointe® has a strong central leader and leathery dark green foliage. The crowning glory is the vivid red early fall color, followed by a regular tidy silhouette in winter. One of the fastest growing Red Maples in the marketplace.
‘Green Mountain’ Sugar Maple comes from William Flemer III of Princeton Nurseries, from an original outstanding tree found by him in Vermont. Acer saccharum ‘Green Mountain’ is probably a hybrid between the Northern and Southern (nigrum) Sugar Maples, exhibiting both good heat and drought tolerance. ‘Green Mountain’ has a very regular oval silhouette and very showy orange to yellow fall color. With its superior heat tolerance and hybrid vigor, ‘Green Mountain’ can be used in urban situations as long as there is a good amount of soil for the roots.
Acer saccharum Legacy® is a large, oval shade tree prized for the fiery red and orange autumn colors that adorn its dense crown of foliage. This sugar maple is tolerant of drought conditions, and its thick, glossy leaves are resistant to tattering caused by wind, as well as leafhopper damage. Utilized both for its ornamental value in the landscape as well as for the syrup produced by its sap, this particular cultivar of sugar maple is a fast grower and great for use as a specimen tree, shade tree, or street tree where it will not interfere with electrical wires or be heavily impacted by salt spray.
Creamy white flowers on Aesculus parviflora appear in summer on long panicles. Bottlebrush Buckeye offers golden yellow fall color. A dense, mounded, suckering, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub which produces pear-shaped nuts (buckeyes) after flowering. Aesculus parviflora is a wonderful addition to the landscape to attract hummingbirds. Our neighbor nurseryman Dick Karkalits says it is an absolutely foolproof plant for just about any location, and we agree.
PRN Preferred: This shrub has everything - tolerant of sun, shade, dry or wet soil, showy flowers and native!
We grow our own selection of Red Buckeye, selected by us from a field of mature trees at Princeton Nurseries. The characteristics that guided our choices were clean, disease-free foliage, very dark showy 5" upright panicles in May, and a strong tree-form habit. We propagate our selection 'Splendens' from the seed of the five trees we moved to Pleasant Run Nursery. The resulting plants have the outstanding qualities of their parents, and we grow them as tree-form. Aesculus pavia 'Splendens' makes a tough beautiful small tree. Besides the flower display and the attractive dark green summer foliage, the fall color is a clean yellow and the brown chestnuts feed the wildlife.
Amelanchier laevis has white flowers in early April. The reddish purple fruit of Allegheny Serviceberry is loved by birds. Good reddish orange fall color of Amelanchier laevis makes it a wonderful landscape choice to provide interest for each season. A wet site tolerant plant, A. laevis has an added attribute of retaining its leaves throughout the summer unlike A. canadensis, and it also has heavier and fewer stems forming the clump.
Spring Flurry® (‘JFS-Arb’) Alleghany Serviceberry is an introduction from J Frank Schmidt Nursery in Oregon. Amelanchier Spring Flurry® produces lots of white racemes in April, followed by purple blueberry-like fruit in June (great bird food). The habit is an upright oval, making Spring Flurry® a good candidate for small yards and street tree plantings. The fall color is attractive shades of orange. This would be an excellent replacement for Callery Pears.
Small white flowers of Amelanchier x grandiflora Autumn Brilliance® emerge from pink buds in April. Apple Serviceberry has berries in June that will turn magenta to purple and are prized by many birds, including Mocking birds. Autumn Brilliance® has brilliant orange-red fall color (hence the cultivar name). A wet site tolerant plant introduced by nurseryman Bill Wandell of Illinois. This Amelanchier has an added attribute of retaining its leaves throughout the summer unlike A. canadensis.
‘Robin Hill’ Apple Serviceberry blooms in early spring, producing pink flower buds that open to soft pinkish white. The flower clusters mature to bluish purple fruit in early to mid summer, which is rapidly consumed by birds. The berries were an appreciated source of fruit for early settlers. The green summer leaves take on orange and red shades in fall. Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Robin Hill’ is compact and resilient, both as a multi-stem and a single-stem tree. It is a cross between Amelanchier canadensis and Amelanchier laevis and supposed to be more resistance to mildew. We just started growing this cultivar in 2022 and have been very impressed with it. This is a good choice for urban and tight locations.
'Massachusetts' Bearberry has small shiny evergreen leaves with small pinkish white bell-like flowers in April and May, often followed by red fruits. The berries provide winter forage for many mammals, including bears. Arctostaphylos is a prostrate, flat-growing plant best grown in acid soil and sandy, well drained sites. Grows well in poor infertile soils. There are large colonies of Bearberry in the NJ Pinelands. 'Massachusetts' produces abundant flowers and fruits; it has smaller leaves than the species. The leaves feed several species of caterpillar, such as the Hoary Elfin. Selected by Bob Tichnor of Oregon from seed collected in Massachusetts. It is also salt tolerant.
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' is a deciduous shrub with white flowers in May. The bright red fruit of this Red Chokeberry ripens in late summer and persists into winter. The glossy foliage turns brilliant red in fall. This cultivar differs from the species; it is more compact, produces larger and more numerous fruit plus has superior red fall color. It forms a suckering colony and is wet site and salt tolerant.
Ground Hug™ Black Chokeberry ('UCONNAM012') was developed in Connecticut by Dr Mark Brand, to answer the need for tough native groundcover shrubs. Aronia melanocarpa Ground Hug™ stays low while suckering to a wide, densely branched groundcover thicket. The delicate white spring flowers are followed by glossy black fruit in late summer (an important food source for wildlife). Then the crowning glory is the vivid orange and red fall foliage. Because of Ground Hug's™ vigorous spreading habit it would work well as a slope stabilizer. (used to be Ground Hog)
Low Scape Hedger® Black Chokeberry ('UCONNAM166') is a selection of our native Aronia, chosen for its compact upright habit. In mid spring Low Scape Hedger® produces a quantity of showy white racemes held above the lustrous green foliage. During the summer the dense habit makes a good choice for short hedges. In the fall the leaves turn striking shades of orange and red, brightening up the landscape for a prolonged period before dropping. Fruit production is limited, but native pollinators benefit. Developed by Dr. Mark Brand and Dr. Bryan Connolly of U. Conn.
Low Scape Mound® Black Chokeberry ('UCONNAM165') is an unusual Aronia melanocarpa form produced by Drs. Mark Brand and Bryan Connolly of U. Conn. Low Scape Mound® performs as a groundcover instead of an upright shrub, so it works well as an erosion control plant as well as an edger. The green spring foliage is topped by lots of attractive white racemes. The showy flowers are followed by shiny black fruit in late summer, providing important food for wildlife. The fall color is a deep red, persisting for several weeks. A good native sub for Deutzia.
PRN Preferred: The habit of this versatile native is both low and broad, and the foliage is beautiful throughout hot summers and cool falls.
'Viking' Black Chokeberry has glossy dark green leaves which turn a striking red in fall. The white, spring flowers are followed by large purplish black fruit, which birds love (and they are full of anti-oxidants). The site adaptability (Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking' likes both wet and dry conditions) and the suckering habit make it an excellent shrub for reclamation use, as well as an attractive landscape plant. Dr. Mark Brand of Connecticut found this native beauty. 2020 PHS Gold Medal Plant!
PRN Preferred: A good shrub for wetland reclamation plantings, a more compact variety with very large glossy foliage.
'Mango' Pawpaw is a slow growing tropical looking tree which bears delicious yellow fruit in October. The fruit is large and smooth skinned, with delicious soft flesh surrounding a few brown seeds. All Pawpaws are significant hosts for butterflies and moths, and are still commonly found in patches in old farmyards because settlers depended on Asimina triloba for the delicious fruit.
'Pennsylvania Golden' Pawpaw is an early ripening form of our largest native fruit. The flesh is yellow and the taste is reminiscent of mango, banana and pineapple. Pawpaw ice cream is one of the greatest desserts we have ever eaten. Asiminas are important hosts for the larvae of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly, as well as the Pawpaw Sphinx Moth. Pawpaws are often found colonizing shady riverbanks along the Mid Atlantic and Southern plains.
'Prolific' Pawpaw has large delicious early ripening fruit in early fall. The flavor is complex, with hints of banana and mango, resulting in the old common name of 'Poor Man's Banana'. The 3 lobed hanging flowers in early spring are among the more interesting bloom forms, with 3 fleshy brown petals and a somewhat unpleasant odor (since they need flies and beetles to pollinate them). The leaves are large and tropical looking.
'Sunflower' Pawpaw, a somewhat self-fertile variety of a wonderful but under utilized native fruit tree. Asimina triloba 'Sunflower' Pawpaw's yellow fruit is ready in October.
'Sweet Alice' Pawpaw was found by Homer Jacobs in West Virginia in 1934, and became a common farmyard fruit tree because of its large sweet orange yellow fruit produced in September and early October. The habit is somewhat more compact than some other selections and the fruit set is plentiful. All Pawpaws fruit best when planted near 1 or more other cultivars, because cross pollination between different clones is important for a good fruit set. The interesting purple brown flowers appear in April and May.
'Wilson' Pawpaw was found in the wild in Kentucky. The fruit is medium to large sized and has golden yellow flesh when ripe in the fall. The interesting purple brown flowers are produced in early spring and are set all along the branches. Since all Pawpaws except 'Sunflower' are "self-incompatible", it is best to plant 2 or more cultivars for good fruit set. The harvest period is fairly long for Pawpaws, as the fruit ripens over a month.
We grow a broad selection of these wonderful but underutilized native Pawpaws. They are all ultimately 25' and perform best in full sun. Their delicious yellow fruits ripen in September or October and taste like a combination of mango and banana custard. The fruit production is the most prolific when they have a pollinator. The interesting tri-lobed purple brown flowers appear along the stems in mid spring. The beautiful Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly and the Pawpaw Sphinx Moth depend on Asiminas in order to reproduce. Contact us for our cultivar list.
'Hosoba Hoshifu' Aucuba is a showy evergreen for shady locations, with long narrow shiny green leaves speckled liberally with bright yellow spots. 'Hosoba Hoshifu' is a female Aucuba, which produces shiny red long lasting fruit when planted near a male form (most green and yellow Aucubas are male). The fruit is large and very showy as it persists throughout the winter. Plant in a sheltered spot protected from winter winds and afternoon sun.
'Rozannie' Aucuba is a compact evergreen form which has large, very lustrous green leaves. They look almost artificial because they are so shiny and perfect. Even more amazing are the enormous bright red berries which remain on 'Rozannie' for several months. Since birds (and deer) do not eat the fruit, the show goes on for a long time. A compact female form, tolerant of a wide range of soils. Per landscape designer Lisa Fernandez, the plant looks lush and gorgeous, even planted in the dreaded super shady corner of Collins Park in Philadelphia. Nothing had survived there in the past and Aucuba 'Rozannie' has flourished.
Aucuba japonica 'Variegata' has shiny green leaves sprinkled with gold spots, and is evergreen. Variegated Japanese Aucuba is often called 'Gold Dust' Aucuba. Best foliage colors generally occur in part shade locations; the gold spots on the may fade in too much shade.
Dura-Heat® ('BNMTF') River Birch has lighter bark than Heritage® Birch, showing lovely whitish tan exfoliating bark at a young age. Since it hails from Georgia, its heat tolerance is excellent, with the result that its compact dark green leaves are retained all summer. The fall color is yellow, and its striking bark makes it a particularly welcome addition to the winter landscape. Like all River Birches, Dura-Heat® is very tolerant of wet sites and resistant to typical Birch diseases.
Heritage® ('Cully') Riverbirch is one of the best Birches for the Northeast. Discovered in a St. Louis suburb and tested and introduced by the extraordinary plantsman Earl Cully. Noted for it's cold hardiness, beautiful creamy exfoliating bark, disease and borer resistant, wet site tolerant, fast growth habit, we could go on and on...
'Black Knight' Butterfly Bush boasts fragrant purplish violet flowers starting in late June. This Buddleia has a vigorous and large habit, and blooms all summer into fall.
'Miss Molly' Butterfly Bush starts blooming in July and continues all summer without deadheading. The fragrant flowers are pinkish rub red and plentiful. Buddleia davidii 'Miss Molly' is a midsized Butterfly Bush, so it works well in the back of perennial beds as well as a low hedge. Butterflies and hummingbirds consume the nectar all summer. Another beauty from Dr Dennis Werner of NC State, who crossed 'Miss Ruby' with 'Attraction' to produce 'Miss Molly'.
Flutterby Petite® 'Blue Heaven' ('Podaras #8') Butterfly Bush is a new introduction to the groundcover Buddleia world, with blue fragrant flowers all summer over low growing silvery foliage. It is largely sterile, and is a great nectar source for hummingbirds, butterflies and other insects. A Ball Ornamentals introduction from hybridizing work by Peter Podaras.
PRN Preferred: Although quite compact in habit, Petite® ‘Blue Heaven’ is a very heavy bloomer all summer and shows better cold tolerance than many other ‘dwarf’ Buddleias.
Lo & Behold Ruby Chip® (‘SMNBDD’) Butterfly Bush has the same shocking pink blooms as Buddleia ‘Miss Molly’, but on a dense compact habit. The flowers start in June and are produced all summer, especially if occasionally deadheaded. The green deer resistant foliage is dense and tight, so Buddleia Ruby Chip® makes a great addition to sunny perennial borders. Megan Mathey of Spring Meadows Nursery is the breeder of this dwarf beauty.
'Purple Haze' Butterfly Bush is an exciting new groundcover Buddleia with a low mounding habit and an all summer display of bluish purple fragrant flowers. The foliage is green, the flowering branches are arching, and the flowers are sterile. Another breakthrough from Dr. Dennis Werner of NCSU.
Pugster Blue® ('SMNBDBT') Butterfly Bush blooms throughout the summer and into the fall, producing large blue flowers on sturdy short stems. The growth habit of Buddleia x Pugster Blue® is very compact, making this a good candidate for containers and perennial borders. The blooms are fragrant, and attract butterflies and other pollinators all summer. The Pugster® series from Spring Meadow shows better winter cold tolerance than other dwarf Buddleias.
Pugster Pinker® (‘SMNBDB’) Butterfly Bush has large deep pink fragrant flower spikes on a compact, sturdy plant all summer. The Pugster® series shows good cold tolerance and does not require pruning because of the neat compact habit. Megan Mathey is the breeder and Spring Meadow Nurseries is the introducer through the Proven Winners® program.
Pugster White® (‘SMNBDW’) Butterfly Bush is a compact but sturdy Buddleia, with large fragrant white flowers. The short stature means that the Buddleia x Pugster White® does not need the pruning that earlier large cultivars have required. Also, the Pugster® series is somewhat more cold tolerant than several earlier Buddleia cultivars. This would make a good potted plant for sunny patios in summer.
Pugster® Amethyst ('SMNBDL') Butterfly Bush is a more cold tolerant compact Buddleia, with large lavender purple blooms on short sturdy stems. Pugster® Amethyst starts blooming in June and keeps on flowering until early fall. A Spring Meadows introduction, this Buddleia is recommended for use in rock gardens, perennial beds and tighter sites than most Buddleia can handle.
As many of you are already aware, the threat of Boxwood Blight is increasing in our area. At PRN, we are taking additional steps to provide healthy Boxwoods. First, we only source from growers who can provide Boxwood Compliance Certificates. Additionally, we are limiting access to our Boxwoods at the nursery. This is being done to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to healthy plants. Boxwood Blight is often transmitted through spores carried on shoes and clothing, and resistant but healthy Boxwoods have been shown to carry the disease as well. Customers will be able to view and order Boxwoods from PRN but they will be a “PRN Pull Only”. These extra precautions will keep PRN clean from Boxwood Blight so you can feel reassured that you are purchasing healthy, disease free Boxwoods which will thrive at your job site.
NewGen™ Freedom® (‘SB300’) Boxwood comes from years of testing by Saunders Brothers Nursery of Virginia, in their Boxwood Blight resistance trials. Freedom® and Independence® are both highly resistant to both Blight and Boxwood Leafminer. Buxus NewGen™ Freedom® is the taller of the two, with a rounded but vigorous habit. It makes a beautiful green hedge or foundation planning, and benefits from a light yearly pruning to maintain the tight shape.
New Gen™ Independence (‘SB108’) Boxwood was found as a chance seedling near Williamsburg, VA. The Boxwood Kings of Saunders Brothers selected it after years of observing Independence® because of its proven excellent resistance to both Boxwood Blight and Boxwood Leafminer. Buxus New Gen™ Independence® is the best replacement for English Boxwood in size and shape. The evergreen foliage maintains its deep green color well in the winter.
'Little Missy' Little Leaf Boxwood is an excellent substitute for Buxus 'Justin Brouwers' is areas where Boxwood Blight is increasingly a problem. The Buxus microphylla cultivars are much more resistant to the effects of the blight, and 'Little Missy', with it's compact mounding habit and diminutive size works well where really small Boxwoods are needed. The leaves are lustrous dark green and tolerate sun well. Buxus 'Little Missy' does well with trimming, so it can be used to make knot gardens and short formal hedges.
Baby Gem™ ('Gregem') Little Leaf Boxwood is a sport of Buxus 'Winter Gem' with a tighter habit and neater foliage. Although Buxus Baby Gem™ eventually reaches the size of its parent, it is slower growing and needs little pruning. The summer color is a good dark green, and Baby Gem™ does not bronze in winter. An introduction from Greenleaf Nursery of Oklahoma.
'Jim Stauffer' Little Leaf Boxwood is a vigorous and formal microphylla cross, with good cold tolerance. Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Jim Stauffer' maintains a neat rounded habit with little pruning, and makes an attractive foundation plant or tight hedge. This Boxwood has shown good resistance to both Boxwood Blight and Leaf miner.
'Winter Gem' Little Leaf Boxwood has large glossy evergreen leaves with bronze backs and an upright rounded habit. Winter color is a bronzy green.
'Dee Runk' Common Boxwood has glossy dark green foliage that makes its conical shape a standout. It is evergreen, disease resistant and slow growing and is an exciting newcomer to the Boxwood scene.
Fastigiate Common Boxwood has dark green foliage which often has a bluish cast to the evergreen leaves. The habit is a neat upright cone, somewhat wider at the base than B. 'Dee Runk'. Buxus s. 'Fastigiata' shows minimal bronzing in the winter, and makes an impressive formal specimen.
'Vardar Valley' Common Boxwood is an unusually tough Buxus sempervirens, with excellent insect and disease resistance coupled with attractive green foliage that has a distinctive bluish cast. It was found by Edgar Anderson of the Arnold Arboretum and Missouri Botanical Garden in 1945, along a river in Macedonia. After years of observation it was named and released by the Arnold Arboretum because of its proven excellence. Slow growing and compact, it forms an excellent low maintenance shrub for shady locations.
A cross between B. sinica var. insularis and B. sempervirens, 'Green Gem' Boxwood is a slow growing round evergreen that combines excellent hardiness with good winter color. An introduction by Sheridan Nurseries of Ontario, Canada.
'Green Velvet' Boxwood is a very hardy selection from Sheridan Nurseries in Canada. Glossy evergreen foliage on a round maintenance free shrub.
American Beautyberry has pinkish lavender flowers in June and July that produce magenta violet fruit along the stems for a spectacular fall show. It is best to remove old canes for rejuvenation of the shrub because the flowers and fruits appear on new shoots. Best fruiting is in full sun but plants will tolerate light shade. Callicarpa americana berries are a good food source for songbirds and small mammals.
'Early Amethyst' Beautyberry abounds with large quantities of small lilac fruits in the fall. Originally from Brookside Gardens in Maryland. This is the same plant as C. 'Issai', per Barry Yinger. Purple beautyberry is easy to grow and low maintenance and once established are quite drought tolerant. Planting in mass improves cross-pollination and fruit production. Small mammals and birds eat the fruit.
Calycanthus floridus has dark maroon flowers in May and June that are often fragrant. Plants will vary from no scent to highly fragrant; the flower fragrance has been described as a combination of melon, pineapple, strawberry, and banana. Sweetshrub is wet site and dry shade tolerant and the fall color is yellow. Sweetshrub is also referred to as Carolina Allspice and is native from Virginia to Florida. Sweetshrub's leaves are aromatic when bruised and the shrub will sucker and often forms colonies in the wild. Calycanthus is distantly related to Magnolias.
'Athens' ('Katherine') Sweetshrub has yellow flowers in May and June that are consistently fragrant. A great introduction from Dr. Michael Dirr in Athens, Georgia; originally provided to him by Mrs. Symmes. It was named after his daughter Katherine. It is wet site tolerant. Cut branches can be brought inside to provide strong fragrance.
'Michael Lindsey' Sweetshrub has reddish brown flowers that are consistently, gorgeously fragrant, blooming for a prolonged period in April and May over dark, lustrous green foliage. Fall color of is clear yellow to gold. Selected by Allen Bush of Holbrook Farm & Nursery in North Carolina and named after the young son of one of his staff members. Per Dr. Michael Dirr, “Calycanthus floridus 'Michael Lindsey' is the standard by which other introduction will be measured." It is also wet site tolerant. Extremely verticillium resistant per Rick Darke.
PRN Preferred: Heavy bloomer, fragrant flowers, lustrous foliage with good fall color. Reblooms sporadically throughout the summer.
'Burgundy Spice' Sweetshrub represents a radical color change in Calycanthus foliage, with lustrous deep burgundy leaves throughout the summer. We selected for darker foliage over a number of years, coming up with 2 beautiful purple colored sports. We chose the best one to name Calycanthus floridus var purpureus 'Burgundy Spice'. The maroon flowers appear in May and June, and have the classic mango and pineapple fragrance of good Sweetshrub selections. The fall foliage adds another season of enjoyment, turning attractive shades of yellow and amber.
'Hartlage Wine' Sweetshrub has amazing reddish maroon flowers with yellow centers starting in May and continuing to fall. A very exciting Sweetshrub named after an extraordinary plantsman, Dr. J.C. Raulston, developed by Richard Hartlage and the JC Raulston Arboretum. It used to sport my favorite plant name, xSinocalycalycanthus x raulstonii.
PRN Preferred: The showy red and yellow flowers are produced throughout the summer.
'Korean Fire' Camellia has bright red single flowers on an upright plant. A very cold-hardy Camellia, considered one of the best of the C. japonica cultivars. Introduction found by Barry Yinger in Korea. Blooms in April and May and is evergreen.
Camellia ‘Victory White’ is a spring blooming japonica selection which produces large white anemone-form flowers in April and May. ‘Victory White’ Camellia was introduced from Japan by K Sawada in the 1930s. The habit is vigorous and upright, with lustrous evergreen foliage. The semi-double white flowers have bright yellow stamens crowning the centers.
‘Kanjiro’ Camellia blooms in late fall and early winter, producing masses of semi-double cerise pink flowers. The evergreen foliage is lustrous and dark green. Camellia sasanqua ‘Kanjiro’ is a zone 7 Camellia, so it needs to be planted in a protected location, avoiding exposure to afternoon sunlight and winter winds. The reward for siting it correctly will be lots and lots of flowers.
‘Yuletide’ Camellia blooms in late fall and early winter (hence the cultivar name). The single red flowers have showy yellow stamens in the centers of the flowers. Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ has an upright but compact habit, with lustrous dark green evergreen leaves. Since ‘Yuletide’ is a zone 7 Camellia, it should be planted in a sheltered spot and protected from winter winds and afternoon sun.
Camellia x 'April Blush' has semi-double blush pink flowers with yellow anthers in April and May. An introduction from Dr. Clifford Parks, 'April Blush' is an evergreen spring blooming Camellia.
Camellia x 'April Kiss' has rosy red formal double flowers and an upright habit and heavy bud set. 'April Kiss' is a Dr. Clifford Parks selection that blooms in April and May and is evergreen.
'April Remembered' Camellia is an early spring blooming evergreen, at its peak in April. The large semi-double flowers are a creamy soft pink, with yellow stamens accenting the centers. This is another zone 6 beauty from Dr. Clifford Parks and Camellia Forest Nursery, and it is equally useful as a specimen or as a hedge. Just make sure it has wind and sun protection in the winter.
Camellia x 'April Rose' has double rosy pink formal flowers and blooms in April and May. 'April Rose' Camellia is an introduction from Dr. Clifford Parks and is evergreen.
Camellia x 'April Snow' has white rose-form flowers and blooms in April and May. 'April Snow' Camellia is an introduction from Dr. Clifford Parks and is evergreen.
Camellia x 'April Tryst' has showy red anemone-form flowers, and is an introduction from Dr. Clifford Parks. It is spring blooming and evergreen.
'Arctic Rose' Camellia has rosy red formal double flowers displayed on an upright plant. It is evergreen and blooms in April and May. From Dr. Ackerman's breeding work.
‘Ashton’s Pride’ Camellia is one of the hardier fall blooming Camellias, producing semi-double soft pink flowers in November and December. Pollinators take advantage of the pollen producing yellow stamens. Camellia x ‘Ashton’s Pride’ is a cross between Camellia japonica and Camellia oleifera, hybridized by Dr. William Ackerman at his farm in Ashton, Maryland. Protect from winter sun and wind for best results.
‘Londontowne Blush’ Camellia is a hardy C. oleifera cross with C. japonica, and produces single soft pink blooms in November and December. The shiny evergreen foliage is displayed on a rounded compact habit. Camellia x ‘Londontowne Blush’ is another cold tolerant hybrid from Dr. Ackerman and the National Arboretum.
Camellia x 'Long Island Pink' has single pink flowers that bloom in the fall and a nice compact habit. 'Long Island Pink' Camellia was found on Long Island, NY and is evergreen.
PRN Preferred: A compact neat form, very cold tolerant.
'Northern Exposure' Camellia blooms for an extended period in late fall and early winter. The pale pink flower buds open to large white blooms set off by bright yellow stamens. 'Northern Exposure' always sets multiple buds, and since they open progressively over several months, the flower display is a very showy addition to the late fall garden. Like all Camellias, 'Northern Exposure' has lustrous green evergreen leaves and prefers shade and protection from winter winds.
'Snow Flurry' Camellia produces a large quantity of double and semi-double white flowers in late fall and early winter. Resulting from a complex series of crosses by Dr. William Ackerman and the National Arboretum, 'Snow Flurry' has shown excellent cold tolerance. The habit is somewhat floppy when young, and periodic pruning before the emergence of new growth would help with that. Evergreen and shade loving, Camellia x 'Snow Flurry' is a great addition to the winter garden.
Camellia x 'Spring's Promise' has single reddish salmon flowers in spring, with some blooms opening consistently in the fall. It has glossy evergreen foliage.
PRN Preferred: Blooms in both spring and fall.
'Survivor' Camellia blooms in early fall, with large single white fragrant flowers that start out tipped by soft pink on the ends of the petals. It is evergreen and upright in habit. Its name indicates its excellent cold hardiness, and it results from a C. sasanqua and C. oleifera cross made by Dr. Clifford Parks.
Camellia x 'Winter's Joy' has a semi-double fuchsia pink flower on a narrow upright form. Makes a good hedge in shady locations. From Dr. William Ackerman, Camellia x 'Winter's Joy' is fall blooming and evergreen.
The flowers of 'Winter's Snowman' Camellia are a white, semi-double anemone-form. From Dr. William Ackerman, Camellia x 'Winter's Snowman' is fall blooming and evergreen with a narrow upright habit.
'Winter's Star' Camella has light pinkish lavender single flowers starting in October on an open habit. From Dr. William Ackerman, Camellia x 'Winter's Star' is fall blooming and evergreen. Makes an excellent hedge for shady locations.
‘Winter's Star White’ Camellia comes from the prolific work of Dr. William Ackerman of Maryland fame. Camellia x ‘Winter’s Star White’ is a cross between Camellia oleifera and Camellia hiemalis, which gives it excellent cold tolerance. The flowers appear in late fall and early winter, crowning the lustrous evergreen foliage. They are single white blooms, and they bloom earlier than Camellia japonicas, so they tend not to be affected by winter freezes.
European Hornbeam has been used often and very effectively as a tightly pruned hedge or screen in formal settings in Europe, and this application is being used increasingly here in the US. Carpinus betulus is a tough, fine twigged tree which takes pruning very well and tolerates a wide variety of soil conditions. We are growing it as a low branched shrub for hedging and screening. Examples of this use can be found at Brooklyn Botanical Garden and also on Eastern Long Island.
Emerald Avenue® (‘JFS-KWICB’) European Hornbeam is another great tree from Keith Warren’s tireless work at J Frank Schmidt and Son Nursery. Carpinus betulus Emerald Avenue® has a tight habit of ascending branches around a strong central leader. The dark green leaves are small and disease-free in summer, making this a good choice for street plantings. The fall color is an attractive yellow. Emerald Avenue® tolerates a wide range of soil conditions.
Fastigate European Hornbeam is an excellent tree for urban or formal sites because of its tight, extremely regular form and excellent disease resistance. When young, Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' is narrow and very upright, but it broadens into a dense tight pyramidal oval as it matures. The leaves are neat and relatively small, and since the form never needs pruning, Carpinus is a maintenance-free tree. Even without foliage, the dense branching makes this an excellent screening tree in winter.
'Frans Fontaine' European Hornbeam is more columnar than Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata', but is equally resilient in urban and suburban conditions. The narrower habit makes Carpinus 'Frans Fontaine' a good candidate for narrower spaces or street tree applications. The fall color of the tidy foliage is a clear yellow, and winter interest is provided by the upright, densely branched form. Since all Carpinus varieties are a fall digging hazard, container production makes the planting season much longer.
American Hornbeam is a tough, beautiful native tree which performs well in a wide variety of site conditions. Its green veined leaves and habit look somewhat like American Beech trees, and its interesting 2" hanging winged seed bracts add to its appeal in summer. It performs very well when transplanted from containers, and can be used in full sun or shade locations as well as sites which are periodically flooded. Native to the US, Carpinus caroliniana can handle full shade and is often found as an understory plant in forests and along rivers. The fall color is attractive, varying from yellow through orange to reddish purple hues. It can be pruned to make a good tight hedge, like its European cousin, C. betulus. 2020 PHS Gold Medal Plant!
Rising Fire® (‘Uxbridge’) American Hornbeam originated in Ontario and was introduced by J Frank Schmidt and Sons. Carpinus Rising Fire® has all the great attributes of Carpinus caroliniana, but the habit is columnar and tight. Its neat green summer leaves take on shades of orange and red in fall, and its 2” hanging seed bracts provide food for wildlife in the fall and winter. American Hornbeam is a very adaptable tree which will thrive in both woodland and urban sites.
Beyond Midnight® Bluebeard ('CT-9-12') produces abundant deep cobalt blue flowers in late summer to early fall. The foliage is lustrous and disease resistant, growing on a compact habit. Caryopteris Proven Winners® Color Choice® Beyond Midnight® need excellent drainage to thrive, and should not be cut back until spring. The foliage has an attractive minty fragrance, which may be why deer and rabbits leave it alone. A good plant for full sun containers.
'Dark Knight' Bluebeard has deep blue-purple flowers in mid summer and grayish green aromatic foliage. It has consistently shown good disease resistance. Clandonensis hybrids were discovered as an accidental cross between C. incana and C. mongholica. The flowers are very attractive to butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects.
'Longwood Blue' Bluebeard has bluish violet flowers and grayish green aromatic foliage. 'Longwood Blue' blooms later than other Caryopteris, in mid to late summer. Dry site tolerant, crowns may rot in wet, poorly-drained soils. A selection from Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.
New Jersey Tea is a tough, adaptable native shrub with pretty white fluffy lilac-shaped flowers in June and July. The flowers have a lovely delicate fragrance. The fruits of Ceanothus americanus are subtle but interesting 3-sided capsules and the seeds are consumed by turkeys and quail. It does very well in seashore settings and dry sites. The name New Jersey Tea was coined during the American Revolution because its leaves were used as a substitute for imported tea.
Prairie Sentinel® (‘JFS-KSU1’) Common Hackberry is a member of the Elm family which has excellent tolerance of all kinds of soil conditions and temperature challenges. Prairie Sentinel® was found in Kansas by Kansas State University and introduced by J. Frank Schmidt Nursery of Oregon. It was selected for its tightly columnar habit, which makes it an excellent street tree option. The green coarse foliage is disease free, and the operative word to use about Celtis Prairie Sentinel® is “tough”, according to Dr. Michael Dirr.
Sugar Shack® ('SMCOSS') Buttonbush is a more compact version of our interesting native Cephalanthus. The white puffball flowers appear in mid to late summer, attracting butterflies and other pollinators. The blooms are followed by red mace shaped fruit and burgundy foliage in the fall, providing food for wildlife as well as visual interest. Buttonbush is a host plant for titan sphinx moths and hydrangea sphinx moth caterpillars. Cephalanthus is very wet site tolerant (we first saw it while canoeing as little children), so it is an excellent bog, bioswale or rain garden shrub.
Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Duke Gardens' has dark evergreen foliage and a tight, compact form. 'Duke Gardens' Plum Yew is excellent in shade but will tolerate sun as well. Originally found at The Sarah P. Duke Gardens in North Carolina by Richard Fillmore in the late 1950s, as a branch sport of C. 'Fastigiata'.
Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata' has evergreen foliage and a wide columnar habit. It makes a good pillar-like conifer for foundation and formal plantings. Easily pruned and maintained as columnar specimens. Fastigiate Plum Yew is a slow growing alternative to upright Taxus in deer country.
Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata' has dark evergreen foliage and looks like Taxus baccata 'Repandens' on steroids. Its long shoots can gracefully cascade over stone walls. Prostrate Plum Yew loves shady, dry locations. Best substitute for low growing Taxus in deer situations.
Cercis canadensis is a classic harbinger of spring, with pinkish lavender pea-shaped flowers covering its branches in April ("cauliflory"). The green heart-shaped leaves of this Eastern Redbud turn yellow in the fall, and the zigzag branching habit in the winter adds to the appeal of this large shrub or small tree. Per Dr. Michael Dirr "A native tree with a touch of class." The flowers are actually edible, so they make an attractive addition to spring salads.
'Ace of Hearts' Eastern Redbud is a long-awaited dwarf form of Cercis canadensis with magenta pink flowers in April and May. More shrub-like, typically half the size of the straight species. The form is similar to the ace in a deck of cards. It was found and introduced by Paul Woody of Morganton, North Carolina.
'Alley Cat' Eastern Redbud has foliage liberally splashed with white, and its striking variegation is stable and scorch resistant. The dark pink pea-shaped flowers emerge in April just before the leaves begin to show in shades of copper pink and soft green. As the foliage matures, the white emerges and makes a lovely contrast to the green. Alan Bush found Cercis 'Alley Cat' in an alley near his home in Kentucky, and gave it to Harald Neubauer of Hidden Hollow Nursery to introduce.
'Appalachia' Red Eastern Redbud has deep reddish purple buds that open to bright neon pink flowers in April and May. Cercis canadensis 'Appalachia' is more vibrant than the straight species and very eye-catching. It was found growing along a roadside in Maryland by Dr. Max Byrkit. 2021 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
Burgundy Hearts® ('Greswan') Eastern Redbud is a refinement of the 'Forest Pansy' theme, with pinkish lavender April flowers followed by reddish purple lustrous foliage. The heart-shaped leaves hold their dark color longer in the summer, taking on reddish wine tones towards the fall. Introduced by Greenleaf Nurseries from a selection of over 3,000 seedlings.
Carolina Sweetheart® ('NCCC1') Eastern Redbud is an unusual new Cercis, from NCSU in partnership with the North Carolina nurserymen. The heart-shaped leaves emerge in April, in shades of bronzy purple with vivid pink and white margins. The tri-color effect is striking, and since it follows the classic lavender purple flower display, Cercis Carolina Sweetheart® is a dramatic standout in the landscape for a long period. By mid summer the foliage is primarily bronze green, but the new growth continues to be colorful.
Flame Thrower® (‘NC2016-2’) Eastern Redbud came from JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. They’re onto something new and different, as the leaves emerge reddish burgundy and rapidly mature to yellow and green, giving a multicolor effect. The pink pea-shaped blooms appear on the bare stems before the foliage emerges. A really striking small specimen tree, especially in late spring and early summer.
PRN Preferred: This is the most striking of the tri-colored Redbuds, with foliage that progresses from reddish burgundy to yellow and green, changing from early spring to mid summer.
'Forest Pansy' Eastern Redbud has rose purple flowers and reddish purple foliage in April and May changing to bronze by fall. The foliage is strikingly beautiful in spring and early summer. Originally found in a seedling block at Forest Nursery in McMinnville, TN in 1947.
Golden Falls® (‘NC2015-12’) Eastern Redbud is an introduction from the JC Raulston Arboretum. The large heart-shaped leaves appear in spring in shades of chartreuse and yellow. They follow the display of pink pea-shaped flowers which cover the weeping branches. Cercis canadensis Golden Falls® tolerates summer sun without scorching as much as other yellow Cercis do, so the foliage is showy all summer. The strong weeping habit makes Golden Falls® a good candidate for tight locations.
Lavender Twist™ ('Covey') Eastern Redbud has purplish rose flowers in April and May on an umbrella-shaped crown. Lavender Twist™ is a great introduction from Tim Brotsman, found by him in New York State in the garden of Mrs. Covey.
'Royal White' Eastern Redbud is a classic white flowering Cercis which was selected by the late great Dr. JC McDaniel of the University of Illinois. He chose it for the large, plentiful pea-shaped flowers produced abundantly in April. Since the parent tree was found in Bluffs, Illinois, the cold tolerance is excellent. 'Royal White' is vigorous and faster growing than other white forms, and we're glad to be able to keep this tried-and-true selection in circulation.
'Ruby Falls' Redbud is a weeping form of 'Forest Pansy', long awaited by avid plantsmen and brought to us by Dr. Dennis Werner of NCSU. The velvety purple foliage is displayed on graceful weeping branches, making a spectacular show in spring and early summer before it ages to greenish bronze. Its rosy purple flowers emerge before the leaves unfold. The name was chosen by 5 year old Porter Neubauer of Tennessee, undoubtedly a great future nurseryman.
PRN Preferred: A great combination of habit (weeping) with color (deep velvety purple).
Summer's Tower™ ('JN7') Eastern Redbud was found by Ray Jackson of Belvidere, Tennessee as a chance seedling on his nursery. The habit is upright rather than broad, so its vase-shaped form works well in confined spaces. The lavender pink pea-shaped flowers cover 'Summer's Tower' in April and May, when the green heart-shaped leaves are first emerging. The upright shape in maturity is almost reminiscent of Zelkova 'Mushashino', but Cercis 'Summer's Tower' is of course much smaller at maturity.
The Rising Sun™ ('JN2') Redbud is one of the most stunning plants we have ever seen, with foliage that starts as peachy apricot, maturing through chartreuse-yellow to a final deep green. Since all three color phases are present at the same time in late spring and summer, the effect is spectacular. The blooms are the classic Redbud lavender in April and May. It was found and introduced by Ray Jackson of Belvidere, Tennessee.
The stems of White Chinese Redbud are covered in white flowers in April, followed by attractive heart-shaped leaves. Cercis chinensis 'Alba' ('Shirobana') is a hard-to-find Chinese Redbud.
Cercis chinensis 'Don Egolf' has branches that are absolutely covered with pinkish lavender flowers in April, followed by heart-shaped neat glossy foliage. 'Don Egolf' does not bear seed pods like the other cultivars, which makes it a very sought after cultivar. Due to is compact size and slower growth rate it is very suitable for containers. 'Don Egolf' Chinese Redbud is a wonderful plant named after one of the world's greatest plantsmen, Dr. Don Egolf, who is much missed in the plant world.
'Kay's Early Hope' Chinese Redbud was named after NC State's wonderful Women's Basketball Coach Kay Yow, because its pinkish lavender flowers appear at the same time as NC State's basketball tournaments. Upright and vase-shaped in habit, 'Kay's Early Hope' is covered with blooms for a longer period than most Cercis chinensis cultivars. It was introduced by the JC Raulston Arboretum from a plant grown in their extensive collection for many years.
'Oklahoma' Redbud has rosy magenta flowers in April and May, followed by leathery green heart-shaped leaves. Coming originally from Oklahoma and Texas, it shows better heat and wind tolerance than other Cercis. Warren and Son Nursery first found this tough plant in the mountains of Oklahoma, which may explain its greater hardiness than other texensis varieties of Redbud.
'Pink Pom Poms' Redbud is another beautiful introduction from the work of Dr Dennis Werner of NCSU and Alex Neubauer of Hidden Hollow Nursery. The double flowered Cercis c. 'Flame' was crossed with Cercis r. Oklahoma, resulting in much bigger, showier double dark pink to purple flowers. When in bloom in April and May, 'Pink Pom Poms' is absolutely breath taking, and the huge flower display is not followed by seedpods because the blooms are completely sterile. The green heart-shaped leaves appear after the blooms, and are glossy and attractive.
The Double Take® Orange Floweringquince series comes from the work of Dr. Tom Ranney of NCSU's Mountain Research Station in Ashville, N.C. It has very large bright orange double flowers on compact thornless plants. The blooms appear in April for an extended period, with some sporadic reblooming in summer.
Double Take® Pink Floweringquince is another beauty from Dr. Tom Ranney, with very large double deep pink flowers in April. The blooms resemble Camellias in their size and color intensity. The compact plants are thornless, and their branches make lovely cut flowers to bring inside in early spring.
Double Take® Scarlet Floweringquince is the third release from Dr. Tom Ranney's team in Ashville, NC, with very large dark red double flowers. The thornless plants bloom for an extended time in April, sporadically reblooming in summer.
White Fringetree has intensely fragrant, fluffy white panicle flowers in May, followed by bird attracting bluish purple fruit if plant is female (dioecious). Although fruit only appears on the female plants, the flowers on the male plants are showier due to their longer petals. The foliage hosts many butterfly and moth caterpillars, including several sphinxes. Fall color ranges from a yellowish green to to a bright golden yellow. Chionanthus virginicus is also wet site tolerant.
'Spring Fleecing' White Fringetree has fragrant white flowers in large fluffy panicles on an upright plant with dark green narrow leaves. Male, so it blooms consistently and heavily every year. Chionanthus virginicus 'Spring Fleecing' is a selection by Sam Allen of Tarheel Native Trees. It is also wet site tolerant.
American Yellowwood is a beautiful native tree that should be used in more landscapes. The flowers are very fragrant, with lovely white pea-shaped flowers appearing in May and June on long pendulous panicles. They provide excellent food for bees and other insects, and they resemble a more refined Wisteria flower. The foliage emerges in spring as a chartreuse green during the summer, finishing up as a bright yellow in fall. The bark is an attractive grayish brown, very smooth textured and closely resembling Beech bark. Cladrastis kentukea tolerates both acidic and alkaline soils, and prefers adequate moisture.
'Tom's Compact' Summersweet is the most compact we have seen of the Summersweets. This fragrant white flowered beauty was found and introduced by a great nurseryman of our area, Tom Dilatush. We've been waiting a long time to get our hands on Clethra alnifolia 'Compacta' and to top it off, it is wet site and salt tolerant. The tight branching structure provided excellent shelter for birds throughout the year.
PRN Preferred: Compact dense habit, never needs pruning. Loved by pollinators.
'Hummingbird' Summersweet has very fragrant white flowers that cover the plant in June and July. This selection is a compact form that is both wet site and salt tolerant. It spreads vigorously by rhizomes to form colonies. The leaves are narrower than the species and the fall color is lovely shades of golden yellow. Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird' is an introduction from Calloway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA where it was planted along Humminbird Lake, hence the name.
'Ruby Spice' Summersweet has very fragrant dark pink flowers in June and July. It is both wet site and salt tolerant. Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' was found by Andy Brand formerly of Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut.
'Sherry Sue' Summersweet has very fragrant white flower spikes which are displayed on pinkish red new growth stems. Clethra alnifolia 'Sherry Sue' blooms in July and August, providing nectar for a number of pollinators. It is found naturally in boggy areas throughout the Northeast, and is particularly useful because of its deer resistance and suckering habit. Introduced by the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina.
'Sixteen Candles' Summersweet has very fragrant white flowers in June and July. It is both wet site and salt tolerant. Clethra alnifolia 'Sixteen Candles' was introduced by Dr. Michael Dirr and has an improved upright growth habit and is compact in size. Per Michael Dirr "white flowers are held upright like candles on a birthday cake".
Summer Sparkler, formerly Einstein® ('Novacleein') Summersweet blooms in July and August, producing 12" white flower spikes. The blooms are fragrant and somewhat curly because of their unusual length. Clethra alnifolia Summer Sparkler is a compact form of Summersweet, making a good deer resistant shrub groundcover. Introduced by Star Roses in 2015.
Sweetfern is a small but widely suckering shrub that energetically colonizes dry, acidic, sterile areas. Hair catkins crown the ends of the stems in late April and early May. Foliage is green and fragrant (it's in the Bayberry family), with a fern-like texture. It prefers more acid soil and is a nitrogen-fixing species. The semi-evergreen leaves of Comptonia peregrina turn bronzy green in late fall. It is an important host for butterfly and moth larvae, including several Sphinx moth species and the Gray Hairstreak butterfly.
Ivory Halo™ ('Bailhalo') Tatarian Dogwood has brightly variegated leaves that emerge in spring with green centers surrounded by large ivory white margins. The flat topped creamy flowers in May and June are followed by white summer fruit. The fall color is pink and reddish purple, and the winter stem color is dark red and showy. Prune out older canes in the spring to maintain the winter stem show. An introduction from Bailey Nurseries.
Pagoda Dogwood is a lovely, subtle woodland native tree with attractively layered horizontal branching. The flat fluffy ivory flowers appear in late May to early June and are powerfully fragrant. They are followed by bluish black fruit in August which are attractive to birds. The fall color of Cornus alternifolia is often a mild reddish purple, followed by a winter interest element provided by the purplish horizontal twigs and branches.
'Appalachian Spring' Flowering Dogwood has white flowers in April and May and good red fall foliage. 'Appalachian Spring' is resistant to Dogwood Anthracnose! Introduced by the University of Tennessee. Blooms heavily at a young age, but is a slow starter as a young tree. The parent plant was found in the wild in Maryland, where all the surrounding C. floridas were dead of Anthracnose.
PRN Preferred: A more disease resistant native Dogwood cultivar.
Cherokee Brave™ ('Comco No. 1') Flowering Dogwood blooms in mid to late spring, producing dark pink bracts with white centers. The leaves emerge in shades of burgundy in early spring and mature to green in summer. The fall color is attractive shades of maroon and red, accented by the bright red fall fruit, much prized by wildlife. Cornus florida Cherokee Brave™ shows good resistance to mildew, which is one of the reasons why Commercial Nurseries of Tennessee selected it. Cornus florida fruit is an important food source for migrating birds.
'Cherokee Princess' Flowering Dogwood is a vigorous disease resistant selection which has large white flowers followed by bright red bird-attracting fruit. The fall color is a good red, and plantsman Don Shadow says that it is his favorite classic white Dogwood because of its beauty and ease of growth. Introduced by J C Higden of Kentucky.
‘Cloud 9’ Flowering Dogwood is a showy example of one of our most beautiful native trees. The flat flowers, consisting of 4 white overlapping 2” bracts, appear in quantity in April. The white flowers complement both Cercis and Prunus which bloom at the same time. The habit is somewhat ‘Japanese’ because the branching appears in tiers, like ‘cloud pruned’ trees. The green summer leaves are followed by reddish purple fall color and shiny red fruit (an important food source for wildlife). Cornus florida ‘Cloud 9’ was patented in 1961 by Chase Nursery of Alabama.
‘Dixie Colonade’ Flowering Dogwood was found by Don Shadow in Alabama. The flower parts are surrounded by the classic white bracts, but Cornus florida ‘Dixie Colonade’ is unusual in that its habit is distinctly columnar. The red fruit in fall is complimented by reddish foliage. This is a Cornus florida for small gardens and tight spaces.
‘Erica’s Appalachian Sunrise’ Flowering Dogwood is another good selection from the Tennessee Agricultural Experimental Station’s breeding work. Cornus florida ‘Appalachian Sunrise’ produces deep pink bracts which have white centers surrounding the actual flowers. The foliage emerges in spring in shades of burgundy, maturing to green in summer and red in fall. The wildlife-friendly red fruit in fall is also showy. Cornus ‘Erica’s Appalachian Sunrise’ is mildew resistant, so it is a good grower in the Northeast.
There have been a number of Flowering Dogwoods in the trade that have bloomed with multiple bracts, but this particular selection is one of the best. The white flowers are sterile, and are composed of 17 to 24 large bracts which make the extremely showy. The habit is slow growing and compact (probably because Cornus florida 'Plena' puts so much energy into blooming), so this classic Dogwood fits into small gardens as well as along the edges of woods. The fall color is an attractive reddish purple.
'Pumpkin Patch' Flowering Dogwood was found by nurseryman Don Shadow as a chance seedling. The dark pink flowering Dogwood sports a combination of light green (almost yellow) foliage crowned by burgundy new growth. What caught his eye in particular was the fall color, which is brilliant orange (hence "Pumpkin Patch"), followed by orange twigs in winter. 'Pumpkin Patch' has shown some susceptibility to mildew in hot humid weather, but it is still a very rare, cool collector's plant.
'Greensleeves' Kousa Dogwood has dark green leaves with prominent veins, and is a heavy flowering rapid grower, with excellent red fall color. 'Greensleeves' is a selection by Polly Wakefield of Milton, Mass. A very heavy fruiting Dogwood, and wildlife love the fruit, as do our Labrador Retrievers.
‘Little Poncho’ Kousa Dogwood is a compact Korean Dogwood which blooms heavily in spite of its small size. The showy white bracts surround the actual flower parts in May and June. These are followed by large red fruits in fall which look like little hanging Christmas ornaments. The clean disease-resistant green foliage turns attractive shades of red and purple in the fall. This is a good Dogwood for smaller gardens and spaces.
Scarlet Fire® ('Rutpink') Kousa Dogwood is a lovely new introduction from Dr Tom Molnar's work at Rutgers University. The bracts, appearing in June, are a dark strong pink which hold up well in our hot summer weather and often are showy for up to 8 weeks. Cornus kousa Scarlet Fire® is a juvenile bloomer and vigorous grower, with clean disease resistant foliage. The classic red hanging fruit follows the flowers and the fall foliage color is also shades of red. This is the most pink, heaviest flowering Kousa Dogwood we know.
PRN Preferred: Plentiful dark pink flowers, heavy bloomer at an early age. The best pink we have seen.
'Snow Tower' Korean Dogwood is an upright form of Cornus kousa, which makes it ideal for a tight space. The large white flowers (bracts) emerge in late May and June, a little later than most Korean Dogwoods. The very showy flower display is followed by round red fruit in late summer which are very attractive to birds and mammals. 'Snow Tower' Dogwood has reddish purple fall color, and would make an excellent small street tree with several seasons of interest. Found by Gary Handy of Handy Nursery in Oregon.
'Wolf Eyes' Kousa Dogwood has white flowers in June and variegated white and green foliage with striking red and pink fall color. It is a Manor View Farms selection. Although its leaves are less susceptible to burning than most other variegated cultivars, Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' still prefers a shady location. This is Richard Hesselein's favorite variegated Dogwood.
Venus® ('KN30-8') Hybrid Dogwood has huge white sterile flowers in May and June, and is resistant to Dogwood Anthracnose and powdery mildew. Another winner from Dr. Elwin Orton (the Jersey Star® series). Its claim to fame is that Venus® has the largest, pure white flowers ever observed in the breeding program, reaching 6-8" across. Venus® is also one of the latest blooming Dogwoods per Bruce Crawford.
Cornus mas 'Golden Glory' has bright yellow flowers in March, followed by cherry red showy drupes in summer. Birds love the fruit and the exfoliating bark adds to the winter interest. Introduced by Synnesvedt Nursery of Illinois. 'Golden Glory' Corneliancherry is more upright than other forms, so it makes an attractive early spring tree.
'Kintoki' Japanese Cornel Dogwood has small brilliant yellow flowers in March, interesting multi-colored bark, and vivid red fruit in fall. It blooms 2 weeks earlier than Cornus mas and was selected in Japan as an excellent cut flower plant. 'Kintoki' was introduced into the US by Barry Yinger through Brookside Gardens.
PRN Preferred: Very showy early yellow blooms, exfoliating bark and brilliant fall color and bright red fruit, a true multi-season plant.
Cornus sanguinea Proven Winners® Color Choice® Arctic Sun® ('Cato') is a variety of Bloodtwig Dogwood that has great winter interest because twigs are bright yellow at base flushing to blood red. Leaves are a good bright yellow in fall. From Andre van Nijnatten, who also brought us 'Winter Flame'.
Arctic Fire® Red (‘Farrow’) Redosier Dogwood is a beautiful native shrub which lights up the winter landscape with bright red twigs (great for winter containers). Cornus Arctic Fire® 'Red' has green ovate leaves in spring which are topped with flat ivory flower clusters (cymes) in May and June. Ornamental white berries (good food for birds) and deep red leaves follow in the fall. Redosier Dogwoods should be pruned back hard every 1 to 2 years, because the new growth provides the winter color.
Cornus sericea 'Baileyi' has white flowers followed by bluish fruit. Excellent red fall foliage defoliates to expose reddish purple twigs for winter interest. 'Bailey' Redosier Dogwood is a Bailey Nurseries introduction. It is a rapid grower and relatively salt tolerant. Excellent massed or as a specimen. Cut the old wood back frequently to maintain the best winter color.
The light green disease-resistant summer foliage of 'Cardinal' Redosier Dogwood is followed by vivid, cherry red stems in winter. Tiny white flat topped flower cluster appear in late spring changing to whitish drupes by summer which are eaten by birsds. Most effective if the old wood is cut back yearly. It is relatively salt tolerant. Developed by Dr. Pellet and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, so you know it's tough.
PRN Preferred: The color of the twigs starts as a light orange in fall and matures to a bright red in winter on a very rigorous, healthy plant.
Kelsey’s Dwarf Redosier Dogwood is a dwarf Cornus sericea, with an attractive rounded habit and the characteristic red twigs in the winter. The small white flowers (cymes) appear in late spring and are followed in late summer by white berries (drupes) which are attractive to birds. Cornus sericea ‘Kelseyi’ has attractive yellow fall foliage, and with its short rounded habit makes a good foundation plant as well as a short winter interest hedge.
Buttercup Winterhazel has delicate mildly fragrant yellow panicles in March and April. Native to western Japan and Taiwan, the habit of Corylopsis pauciflora is broad but delicate, with small, neat leaves. Winterhazel provides late winter to early spring blooms in the landscape before the common Forsythia.
PRN Preferred: A smaller neater habit.
Spike Winterhazel has long yellow, very fragrant panicles in March and April. It blooms on racemes before the leaves unfold; plants have many racemes and each raceme has from 6 to 12 flowers. Corylopsis spicata makes a wonderful cut flower branch to bring inside in the late winter.
Veitch Winterhazel is a showy, fragrant addition to the winter garden with primrose yellow, 3" pendant flowers set off by reddish anthers. Corylopsis veitchiana blooms in March on bare branches and then produces foliage that starts out bronzy and turns to green, with glabrous undersides. Corylopsis are closely related to Witchhazels and should be sited in a place protected from late spring frosts.
Golden Spirit™ ('Ancot') Smokebush has smoky purple-gray flowers in June and July. Bronze new growth turns to chartreuse yellow leaves in summer. Golden Spirit™ has pinkish red and orange fall foliage. From Boskoop, Holland.
'Royal Purple' Smokebush has pink smoke-like flowers in June and July which are highlighted by brilliant purple leaves, which turn a reddish purple in fall. Prune in late winter, cutting back hard will result in new shoots with deeper color and larger leaves but no flowers. Cotinus coggygria is native from southern Europe to central China and 'Royal Purple' was introduced to the US in 1953 and originated from Lombarts Nursery in Boskoop, Holland.
The Velvet Fog® (‘SMNCCPP3’) Smokebush combines beautiful blue green foliage with a large production of reddish pink smoke-like flowers in mid summer. Cotinus The Velvet Fog® is an introduction from Tim Wood’s work at Spring Meadow™, chosen for its prolific, long-blooming qualities as well as its showy clean foliage. With its dense growth habit, the Velvet Fog® makes a good deer resistant hedge as well as an attractive specimen.
Winecraft Black® Smokebush ('NCCO1') produces deep purple velvety leaves in spring which are topped by dark pink smoke-like inflorescences in June. The contrast between the flowers and foliage is striking. After blooming, Cotinus Winecraft Black® does not fade as many other purple leaf plants do, retaining its dark purple color until fall, when the leaves turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. All Cotinus benefit from a periodic pruning to promote new growth.
PRN Preferred: A showy combination of long lasting purple foliage and a compact habit.
Winecraft Gold® (‘MINCOJAU3’) Smokebush was bred in France by Corinne Liquiere. The neat round leaves emerge in orange to chartreuse shades, maturing to lime green by mid summer. Cotinus coggygria Winecraft Gold® is crowned with greenish pink smoke-like inflorescences in early summer on old growth, so do not prune in spring. The habit is compact and the fall foliage is a clean yellow. Winecraft Gold® is more scorch resistant than earlier yellow cultivars.
American Smoketree bluish to dark green leaves and unique greenish smoke-like flowers in July. The fall color is spectacular, with shades of yellow, red and purple hues. The bark is also a beautiful gray and mature trunks become scaly for additional winter interest. Native to rocky mountain soils and limestone glades from Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Alabama westward to Oklahoma. American Smokebush was almost lost during the Civil War because it was harvested and used to make yellow dye. Cotinus obovatus makes a very large shrub or an attractive small tree.
PRN Preferred: As noted by Dr. Dirr "may be the best of the all American shrub/trees for intensity of (fall) color." and we agree.
'Grace' Smoketree has pink flowers in June and July with bronze new foliage which turns to purple. Cotinus x 'Grace' has luminous reddish purple to orange fall foliage and is a cross from C. coggygria 'Velvet Cloak and C. obovatus. Cotinus is in the same family as and closely related to Rhus (Sumac). From Peter Dummer, formerly at Hillier Nurseries in England and named after his wife.
'Winter King' Green Hawthorn has white flowers in late spring, brilliant red fruit well into the winter, and silver bark. Fruit are larger than the straight species and eaten by many birds including cedar waxwings. Crataegus viridis 'Winter King' has a lovely rounded habit, is more disease resistant and is largely spinless (with only occasional small thorns to 1.5" long). One of our favorite multi-season small trees. Introduced by Simpson Nursery, Vincennes, IN in 1955.
The blackish green evergreen foliage of 'Black Dragon' Japanese Cedar has an interesting irregular texture on an upright plant. Cryptomeria japonica 'Black Dragon' is much slower and smaller than C. 'Yoshino', so excellent for smaller spaces. 'Black Dragon' gets its name from its dark green needles that, in shade, almost look black. This cultivar originated as a seedling selected in the mid-1980s by Iseli Nursery, Boring, Oregon. It is also salt tolerant.
Dwarf Globe Japanese Cedar is a dense rounded evergreen which adds a lot of color to the year-round landscape. The tight needles are a vivid bright green in the summer. In the fall and winter, they turn bluish purple with shades of rust. Since it is both pest resistant and compact, 'Globosa Nana' works well as a foundation evergreen, especially where deer are a problem. Pruning will probably never be needed to keep its neat habit.
'Radicans' Japanese Cedar is very similar to Cryptomeria 'Yoshino' in texture, habit and hardiness, but its habit is tighter with foliage for emerald green. It is also more resistance to winter leader problems. Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, NY has a large planting of Cryptomeria japonica 'Radicans' flanking the stairs of the Vista Garden leading down to the Hudson River. Head gardener, Timothy Tilghman finds 'Radicans' to be very wind resistant with less browning in the interior branches than 'Yoshino'. A very useful and rewarding conifer. It is also salt tolerant.
'Yoshino' Japanese Cedar has dark green foliage and an upright habit. It is surprisingly shade and salt tolerant. It makes a large hedge very rapidly.
'Nikko' Slender Deutzia has delicate white flowers in April and May. The low growing neat green leaves turn purple in fall. Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko' makes an excellent flowering groundcover or foundation plant for sun and shade. A wonderful National Arboretum introduction. The cultivar name 'Nikko' appears to have been coined by British nurseryman C.G. Hollett of Greenbank Nursery, Cumbria, England.
PRN Preferred: A three season groundcover shrub, a real garden workhorse. Continues to perform year after year.
Yuki Cherry Blossom® (‘NCDX2’) Slender Deutzia is a color breakthrough by Dr. Tom Ranney of NCSU. Normally a white flowered groundcover shrub, Yuki Cherry Blossom® is covered with delicate soft pink flowers in April and May. The small green leaves are borne on graceful arching branches which root where they touch the ground, making Deutzia x Yuki Cherry Blossom® an excellent low maintenance groundcover. The fall color is bronzy purple, which adds another season of beauty.
Yuki Snowflake® ('NCDX1') Deutzia blooms heavily in April and May, covering this low mounding shrub with a multitude of bell-like white flowers. The delicate green leaves are held on arching branches which root when touching the soil making Deutzia x Yuki Snowflake® an attractive shade tolerant groundcover. The foliage turns shades of burgundy in fall and is most colorful when grown in full sud. A lovely hybrid from the work of Dr Tom Ranney of NC State.
'Nikko Blush' Slender Deutzia is a cross made by the US National Arboretum between Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko' and Deutzia x rosea 'Carminea'. The result is a plant long sought by plant lovers, with bright pink buds opening in April and May to abundant soft pink flowers on arching low growing branches. Like 'Nikko', 'Nikko Blush' makes an excellent groundcover, and would be particularly attractive growing down a wall. The fall color is shades of burgundy.
'Copper' Bush Honeysuckle has sulfur yellow flowers in July, over copper colored new foliage. The fall color is shades of bronze, orange and red. It is a It is a suckering, densely-branched, shrub that when in bloom is loved by butterflies. Diervilla lonicera 'Copper' is a very tough, maintenance-free plant, and tolerates dry shade well. Insects love the flowers.
PRN Preferred: A true multi-seasonal plant plus it is native and deer resistant. That's impressive.
'Butterfly' Southern Bush-honeysuckle has delicate bright yellow flowers June to July over green, disease-free foliage. The fall color of Diervilla sessifolia 'Butterfly' is shades of purple. It does well in dry, shady sites. A selection from Pieter Zwijnenburg of Holland.
PRN Preferred: Bright sulfer yellow summer flowers are followed by reddish purple fall foliage.
Kodiak® Orange ('G2X88544') Bush-honeysuckle puts out vivid orange new growth in he spring and summer. Mature leaves are green, and are topped with bright sulfer yellow flowers throughout the summer, attracting butterflies, pollinators and hummingbirds. Diervilla is a wonderful native for its compact neat habit and its showy orange red fall color. Kodiak® Orange is also very versitile, as it does well in sun and shade, average and dry soils, and areas with deer pressure.
PRN Preferred: Attractive orange colored new growth in summer is followed by beautiful orange red fall color.
Kodiak® Red ('G2X885411') Bush-honeysuckle is a multi-purpose small shrub. The new growth emerges in shades or red and bronze in spring and summer. The spreading branches are tipped with sulfur yellow trumpet shaped flowers for an extended period, attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. Then in the fall, Diervilla Kodiak® Red puts on an extraordinary show as its leaves turn bright red. Use as a specimen or a low hedge.
Paper Bush has amazingly fragrant clumps of little yellow tubular flowers (it's in the Daphne family!) on the tips of branches from January to March. Long tropical-looking deciduous green leaves, must be in a very protected site (and keep mulch away from the base of the plant) but the winter fragrance of Edgeworthia chrysantha flowers on a warm day makes it worth it.
Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink' is a Heath that has pink flowers in March and April. It has a low mounded habit and is salt tolerant and evergreen. It prefers a well-drained site.
Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean White' is a Heath that has white flowers in March and April. It has a low mounded habit and is salt tolerant and evergreen. Does not tolerate "wet feet".
Euscaphis japonica is called the Korean Sweetheart Tree because of its rose red fruit pods which look like little hearts as they open. The broad ivory yellow flower panicles appear in June, and are followed by the showy fruit displayed August through September. When the red pods open, they are made even more showy by revealing large shiny blue-black seeds. The bark is also attractive, with white striations on the purplish brown coloration. This was one of Dr JC Raulston's favorite exotic tree introductions.
American Beech is one of our most stately native trees, and also one of the most problematic ones to transplant B&B. As a result, we are growing it in containers so everyone can have a chance to marvel at its beauty in their own landscape. The bark is beautiful all year, maintaining its silver-gray color throughout its lifespan. The summer leaves are a large and glossy dark green, often turning an attractive golden bronze in the fall. The juvenile beeches usually retain their foliage throughout the winter, turning to a soft whitish-tan after the fall. When Fagus grandifolia is mature enough to bear fertile nuts, it is a very important food source for birds and mammals.
Narrow green leaves emerge from tan culms in late spring, adding to previous season's foliage. Vase-shaped, clumping, deer resistant and semi-evergreen.
'Chicago Hardy' Fig has proven to be reliable as far north as Chicago with some protection, so it is an excellent choice for the Mid-Atlantic area. It is thought to be originally named 'Bensonhurst Purple', and the fruit is sweet and green with a light brownish-purple blush. Without any protection it will periodically die to the ground but will come back reliably. With winter protection, you get fruit production much earlier in the summer. The foliage is large, dramatic and subtly fragrant.
Dwarf Fothergilla has white fragrant bottlebrush flowers in April and May and they are especially showy since they appear before the foliage. Fall foliage of Fothergilla gardenii is yellow, orange and red. It is wet site tolerant, but also does well in dryer woodland sites. Plants may spread by root suckers. Bees, and other pollinators are attracted to this native shrub. The shrub is named for John Fothergill, British physician and botanist.
Fothergilla gardenii 'Suzanne' is a compact form of Dwarf Fothergilla from Dr. Michael Dirr, with beautiful white fragrant flowers in April and May, followed by lovely orange-red fall color. Named after his youngest daughter.
'Blue Shadow' Fothergilla has honey-scented white bottlebrush flowers in April and May, followed by dusty blue foliage. Fall color is a beautiful combination of yellow, orange and red. A selection by Gary Handy of Handy Nursery in Oregon.
'Mount Airy' Fothergilla has fragrant white bottlebush flowers in April and May and boasts yellow, orange and red fall foliage. Selected by Dr. Michael Dirr at the Mount Airy Arboretum for good dark blue-green foliage and consistent fall color.
The Franklin Tree has white Camellia-like fragrant flowers in late summer with striking red fall foliage. Franklinia alatamaha needs good organic matter and constant moisture in its planting location. Ours are from seed rather than cuttings and our experience is that Franklinias have more vigor and disease resistance when grown from seed. John Bartram and his son William discovered Franklinia growing along the banks of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia and the genus name honors Benjamin Franklin. Batram collected seed from this spot in the late 1700s, and few years later the tree became extinct in the wild so all Franklinia alatamaha are decedents from the original seeds.
'Kleim's Hardy' Cape Jasmine has large single white extremely fragrant flowers in July and August. Gardenias are native to southern Japan and China and grow best with morning sun and afternoon shade. Gardenia jasminoides 'Kleim's Hardy' is one of the most cold hardy cultivars, has rounded glossy green foliage and is semi-evergreen. This plant needs a sheltered spot.
Creeping Wintergreen is an evergreen groundcover that thrives in wooded, well drained locations. Gaultheria procumbens prefers acidic soils. The delicate pink and white bells appear on the stems in early to mid summer and are followed by small red fruit in the fall (much loved by small woodland critters). Wintergreen is a rhizomatous, creeping, woody, evergreen groundcover of the heath family that is native to woodlands in Eastern North America. The leaves when crushed have the lovely scent of wintergreen.
‘Autumn Gold’ Maidenhair Tree is a symmetrical male Ginkgo with an attractive spreading habit. Ginkgos are dioicous, and the fleshy seeds from the females smell awful, so its important to select male cultivars. Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’ was an introduction by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation in 1955, chosen for its shape, pest resistance and great tolerance of difficult urban conditions. The fan-shaped green leaves turn a lovely yellow in fall, and make a beautiful gold carpet when they fall. Ginkgos are among the oldest living trees, with fossils of their leaves from 150 million years ago.
Introduced by Princeton Nurseries in 1967, Ginkgo biloba Princeton Sentry® is a columnar, male cultivar of Gingko that is tolerant to many adverse conditions. Capable of handling urban sites, polluted and compacted soils, as well as saline conditions, this Ginkgo cultivar is a popular choice as a street tree. Chartreuse, two-lobed foliage turns a uniform golden yellow in autumn and persists on the tree for several weeks, eventually dropping and creating a golden, halo-like carpet around the base.
Espresso™ (‘JFS’) Kentucky Coffeetree produces large doubly compound green leaves quite late in the spring (May), on coarse branches. Gymnocladus dioicus Espresso™ is a male form, which is good because the females produce very large brown seedpods (used by early settlers as a substitute for coffee). An excellent street tree due to its high tolerance in tough spots and the dabbled shade it provides is well received by people, plants or sod growing beneath. The habit is somewhat lanky when young, but mature Kentucky Coffeetrees are very handsome and trouble free. An introduction by J Frank Schmidt and Son of Oregon.
'Jersey Belle' Carolina Silverbell has very large white bell-shaped flowers that hang thickly under the branches in May. Foliage turns an attractive yellow in fall and the bark adds winter interest with its contrasting striations. Four-winged, brownish, nut-like fruits appear in the fall and often persist well into the winter. Halesia carolina (formerly tetraptera) 'Jersey Belle' was named and introduced by Princeton Nurseries.
Two-wing Silverbell is a lovely native tree that is covered with white bell-like flowers in early spring. When the flowers drop, they carpet the ground under Halesia diptera var. magniflora with a white blanket. The blooms are followed by pendulous green two-winged fruit which turn tan in fall. The fruit persist into winter, and add an interesting element as they are moved by breezes.
'Amethyst' Vernal Witchhazel has fragrant lavender-purple flowers appearing in late winter and early spring, followed by coppery new growth. Good orange and yellow fall color. Hamamelis vernalis 'Amethyst' is also salt and wet site tolerant. Great as a cut branch in the house for a spring "pick-me-up". Found by Tim Brotzman of Ohio and named by Don Shadow.
PRN Preferred: The purple flowers are a very unusual color for Witchhazels.
Autumn Embers™ (‘KLMNINETEEN’) Vernal Witchhazel is a lovely selection of our native shrub that was selected by Roy Klehm for its excellent fall color. The foliage varies from red purple to yellow orange, depending on the fall temperatures, with the more vivid colors appearing in northern locations. He named it Autumn Embers™ because he said the fall foliage colors looked like a glowing campfire on a crisp autumn evening. The additional gift from Autumn Embers™ Witchhazel is its small fragrant orange flowers in February and March. All Hamamelis vernalis have proven to be both salt and wet site tolerant.
‘Beholden’ Vernal Witchhazel is a great cross between Hamamelis ‘Amethyst’ (purple) and Hamamelis ‘Holden’ (yellow to orange). Like Chris Lane’s introduction ‘Holden’, Hamamelis vernalis ‘Beholden’ is a very early Witchhazel, starting to bloom in late fall. The strap-like flower petals are a vivid orange and fragrant, on a sturdy non-suckering shrub (propagated from cuttings, not grafted). The great Hamamelis expert Tim Brotsman hybridized this lovely native.
‘Blue Moon’ Vernal Witchhazel blooms in February and March, producing purple to bluish violet strap-like flowers. The fall color is shades of yellow and the habit is vase-shaped. A classic eastern woodland shrub. We grow Hamamelis ‘Blue Moon’ on its own roots so suckering is not a problem.
Grape Fizz™ (‘KLMNN’) Vernal Witchhazel is an introduction by Roy Klehm. The ribbon-like winter flowers are reddish purple and fragrant. They are borne on bare branches and provide important food to winter pollinators on warm days. The foliage is green, turning to shades of orange and yellow in fall. Hamamelis vernalis Grape Fizz™ is compact in habit, and grown on its own roots instead of being grafted.
‘Kohankie Red’ Ozark Witchhazel came from Kohankie Nursery in Perry, Ohio in the late 1950s. Its fragrant threadlike flowers appear in late winter in shades of reddish purple, lightening to orange at the tips of the petals. The sturdy green foliage turns shades of yellow, orange and red in the fall. The great thing about our Hamamelis vernalis cultivars is that they are propagated by cuttings, so there will be no problem with understock suckers.
Orange Sunrise™ (‘KLMT’) Vernal Witchhazel comes from Roy Klehm’s extensive breeding work with Hamamelis. The flowers appear on the bare branches in late winter, in shades of light orange. The strap-like petals are showy at a time of year when there is so little in bloom, and Orange Sunrise™ supplies nourishment to winter pollinators on warm days. The summer foliage is green, turning yellow in fall. Propagated by cuttings, so no suckering.
‘Purple Ribbons’ Ozark Witchhazel blooms in late winter and early spring, producing fragrant lavender purple threadlike flowers along the bare branches. The green leaves follow after the bloom period and add fall season interest when they take on shades of yellow and orange. Another lovely introduction from Roy Klehm of Beaver Creek and Song Sparrow Nurseries. Grown on its own roots, so understock suckering is never a problem.
‘Spring Bounty’ (‘KLMPP’) Vernal Witchhazel was introduced by Roy Klehm. The flowers appear in late winter and early spring, in attractive shades of reddish purple. The green summer foliage is followed by yellow leaves in the fall. Hamamelis vernalis ‘Spring Bounty’ is a tough native shrub that performs well in sun and shade. Since it is propagated by cuttings rather than grafting, it does not suffer from suckering understock.
‘Upchurch’ Ozark was selected by Brian Upchurch, a great nurseryman from North Carolina. The ribbon-shaped flowers open in late winter in shades of orange and yellow. The habit is more upright than most Witchhazels, making this native shrub a good choice for tighter spaces. Hamamelis vernalis ‘Upchurch’ is a good source of food for pollinators active in winter. We grow it on its own roots to avoid suckering problems.
Woodland Joy™ (‘KLMLL’) Vernal Witchhazel is another attractive selection by the great plantsman Roy Klehm. The ribbon-like flowers are shades of deep orange, displayed on bare branches in winter. Hamamelis vernalis Woodland Joy™ has nice green foliage throughout the summer, followed by yellow leaves in the fall. With the winter fragrance, Witchhazels are a welcome cut branch inside the house. Suckering will not be a problem because Hamamelis vernalis Woodland Joy™ is propagated by cuttings.
‘Sunglow’ Common Witchhazel comes from a plant at the National Arboretum, shared with Hidden Hollow Nursery of Tennessee. Hamamelis virginiana ‘Sunglow’ has showier flowers than most typical species examples, producing lemon yellow fragrant blooms in late fall. This large native shrub is a lovely versatile presence in Eastern forests, with yellow fall foliage and flowers when little else is showy.
PRN Preferred: Large yellow blooms with strong fragrance light up the late fall landscape.
‘Vincent’s Red’ Common Witchhazel came to us from Ohio Hamamelis King Tim Brotzman. The original plant came from Connecticut, and was selected because the spidery flower petals are red at the centers, shifting to orange and yellow on the tips. Hamamelis virginiana ‘Vincent’s Red’ starts blooming in late fall and continues into early winter. Witchhazels thrive in both sun and shade and are common in the Northeast woodland understory.
‘Winter Champagne’ Common Witchhazel is an introduction by Tim Brotzman of Madison Ohio from seedlings he got from Harald Neubauer of Tennessee. It produces fragrant flowers of a light champagne orange starting in December, continuing through January. Because of the later bloom period Tim thinks this may be a spontaneous virginiana/vernalis cross. Hamamelis ‘Winter Champagne’ is a vigorous native that brightens up the winter landscape, and provides food for winter pollinators.
'Jelena' Witchhazel has copper-orange fragrant flowers in late winter and yellow-orange fall foliage. It was named for Jelena de Belder, and has won numerous awards in Europe. This is our freind Andrew Bunting's favorite Hamamelis.
'Sunburst' Witchhazel has large lemon yellow fragrant flowers in late winter and early spring and yellow fall foliage. An interesting note from Scott Canning of Wave Hill is that winter leaf retention in Witchhazels is a juvenile characteristic, and all Hamamelis outgrow it after 8 or 10 years.
Seven-Son Flower buds appear in early summer but the fragrant white flowers don't open until August. The single flowers appear in a seven flowered whorl and are loved by bees, butterflies and other pollinators. After the flowers fade their calyx darken to a vivid red color and are possibly showier than when in flower. After the leaves fall, the exfoliating bark of Heptacodium miconioides adds winter interest. A good substitute for a Crapemyrtle in a more northern climate. We have found Heptacodiums thriving in both Vermont and Maine.
'Annabelle' Smooth Hydrangea has white snowball flowers in June and July, a classic plant from Joe McDaniel, a University of Illinis professor. The name Annabelle is a reference to the town of Anna, Illinois, where the plant was was shared amougst gardeners. Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' is considered by many to be somewhat deer resistant! Bruce Cole recommends a late spring gentle trimming to delay the flower period and reduce the flopping. Smooth Hydrangeas are salt tolerant.
PRN Preferred: This may have been around for a long time, but it’s wonderful for its prolific, natural-looking flowers and its toughness.
'Haas Halo' Smooth Hydrangea was selected by Rick Ray of Pennsylvania for its extraordinarily large white lacecap flowers. They are produced for a long period in mid summer, and are displayed on sturdy stems which do not flop, unlike many mopheads. 'Haas Halo' is tolerant of full sun as long as good moisture is consistently present, and its 14" flowers make lovely cut or dried flowers. Excellent for a natural look along woodland edges. 2020 PHS Gold Medal Plant!
PRN Preferred: The best lacecap Smooth Hydrangea we have seen, with large showy inflorescences. Pollinators love it.
The very large white mophead flowers of Incrediball® ('Abetwo') Smooth Hydrangea appear in June and July. The sterile flowers emerge lime green before maturing to pure white. Considered to be an improved version of H. ‘Annabelle’. Incrediball® has larger flowers and thicker upright stems that do not flop. Can be cut and used in dried flower arrangements.
Incrediball® Blush ('NCHA4') Smooth Hydrangea is a color breakthrough, with large soft pink mophead flowers supported by strong stems. As the blooms mature, they change to shades of light green. Incrediball® Blush is attractive as a cut flower as well as in dried arrangements. All Smooth Hydrangeas benefit from a good pruning in late winter, since they bloom on new growth.
Invincibelle Garnetta® (‘NCHA6’) Smooth Hydrangea comes from the work of Dr. Tom Ranney of NC State University. The blooms appear in early summer, emerging in garnet shades which mature to a good deep pink. Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle Garnetta® starts blooming somewhat later than other Smooth Hydrangeas, and will rebloom sporadically through the summer, especially if spent blooms are removed. The color is a standout, and the habit is neat and compact.
Invincibelle Wee White® (‘NCHA5’) Smooth Hydrangea is the first dwarf Annabelle Hydrangea, from the Proven Winners® breeding program. The flowers emerge from soft pink buds which rapidly mature to white mopheads on strong short stems. Hydrangea Invincibelle Wee White® starts blooming in June and reblooms sporadically all summer, especially if deadheaded. The dried flower heads are attractive, and this compact mounding beauty would be a great patio container plant for partial shade locations.
Invincibelle® Ruby (‘NCHA3’) Smooth Hydrangea produces ruby red to soft pink mophead flowers starting in early summer. Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle® Ruby has strong stems supporting the flowers, and it blooms intermittently throughout the summer, especially if deadheaded. Since it flowers on new wood, you can prune it hard in the spring without compromising the flower display. Another improvement by Dr. Tom Ranney of NC State University.
BloomStruck® Endless Summer® Bigleaf Hydrangea ('PIIH-II') has large blue or rose-pink mophead flowers, depending on the soil pH. Since it is a rebloomer, the flower display continues all summer. The blooms are held on red-purple stems, and the glossy green foliage is set-off by dark red petioles and veins. An excellent new introduction from Dr. Michael Dirr showing good mildew resistance as well as great flower power.
PRN Preferred: The thicker leaf handles the heat/sun better than other macrophyllas, stronger stems and more intense flower color. We prefer BloomStruck over Endless Summer®.
Cherry Explosion™ (‘McKay’) Bigleaf Hydrangea has large, cherry red lacecap flowers all summer. The flowers have strong, deeply saturated sterile petals which surround the pink fertile florets. Hydrangea macrophylla Cherry Explosion™ comes from Thomas Buechel and McKay Nursery of Wisconsin, so you know it’s cold tolerant. The foliage is dark green and lustrous in the summer, taking on purple tones in the fall. Introduced by Star® Roses.
Endless Summer® ('Bailmer') The Original Hydrangea has large pink or blue mophead flowers and blooms all summer on new growth. The pH level in the soil largely determines the flower color. From Dr. Dirr and Bailey Nurseries. It is also salt tolerant.
'Glowing Embers' Bigleaf Hydrangea has larger crimson purple mophead flowers over lustrous, thick textured leaves. Thought by many (including Dr. Michael Dirr) to be the same as H. 'Alpenglow' the depth of its flower color changes to more purple than red in the presence of higher soil acidity. Salt tolerant and sun tolerant.
Blue Jangles® ('SMHMTAU’) Bigleaf Hydrangea is part of the Let’s Dance® series from Proven Winners®. The reblooming mophead flowers are a dark blue in acid soil, or a strong pink in alkaline soil. The habit of Hydrangea Blue Jangles® is compact, and since it blooms on both old and new wood, this reblooming Hydrangea does not need pruning.
Summer Crush® ('Bailmacfive') Endless Summer® Bigleaf Hydrangea blooms throughout the summer, producing lots of raspberry red to vivid purple mophead flowers. The habit is compact, with glossy dark green leaves that tolerate sun well. Hydrangea Summer Crush® is a new exciting rebloomer form Bailey Nurseries, resulting from the work of Dr Michael Dirr with reblooming Hydrangea.
PRN Preferred: The dark pink mophead flowers are produced all summer, and the foliage stays thick, lustrous and clean.
'Tokyo Delight' Bigleaf Hydrangea is a beautiful lacecap with large white sterile florets on the edge and blue fertile flowers in the center of the flowers. Blooms age to a lovely, long lasting rose color. Hydrangea macrophylla 'Tokyo Delight' is tough as nails and a reliable bloomer every year.
A new exciting offering from Dr. Michael Dirr and Bailey Nurseries, Hydrangea macrophylla Twist 'n' Shout® ('PIIHM-I') Endless Summer® is a cross between Endless Summer® and Lady in Red™ and is a reblooming deep pink lacecap with red stems. Fall color is also colorful, turning a striking burgundy red. Bruce Cole of Jackson, New Jersey finds that it is a very floriferous rebloomer. It is also salt tolerant.
Double Delights™ 'Wedding Gown' ('Dancing Snow') Bigleaf Hydrangea is a white lacecap with extra flower power. The large sterile florets start as lime maturing to white, and are very double. The bloom period is prolonged, starting in May and continuing through the summer. The combination of big flowers on a compact plant makes this a winner for big and small landscapes.
Berry White® (‘Renba’) Hardy Hydrangea which has its flower color progression spelled out in its name- white blooms maturing to berry pink and red. Hydrangea paniculata Berry White® is a mid-sized First Editions® introduction with roundish white panicles starting in July. The blooms age through shades of pink, raspberry red and wine red, before staying tan throughout the winter. The cooler the nighttime temperatures, the deeper the red colors.
Bobo® ('ILVOBO') Hardy Hydrangea is dwarf in habit without sacrificing the number of flowers it produces. The rounded blooms start as large lime green balls in late June and progress through clear white to shades of soft pink as they mature. The flowers persist through most of the summer, and the dwarf habit of Hydrangea paniculata Proven Winners® Color Choice® Bobo® makes it an excellent addition to mixed perennial borders as well as foundation plantings. Developed in Belgium by Dr. Johan Van Huylenbroek. 2021 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
PRN Preferred: We're impressed by the number and beauty of the blooms, especially when combined with its compact habit.
Fire Light Tidbit® (‘SMNHPK’) Hardy Hydrangea is a very compact form of PeeGee Hydrangea, with the added benefit of fall color in the panicles. The flowers of Hydrangea paniculata Fire Light Tidbit® start out as white mopheads in mid summer. As the daylight wanes and the temperatures cool, they turn lovely shades of pink and red. Fire Light Tidbit® makes a beautiful dried flower if cut when it is turning color. This is a good choice for containers because of its small habit and heavy bloom production.
Fire Light® (‘SMHPFL’) Hardy Hydrangea is a compact form of Pee Gee Hydrangeas, with creamy white flowers starting in early July. The blooms age to striking shades of dark rose red, particularly if Hydrangeas Fire Light® is trimmed a little in May (it postpones the bloom production). The cooler the weather and the shorter the daylight, the deeper the pink to red color. All Pee Gee Hydrangeas are very cold hardy, but the compact size of Fire Light® makes this useful in tighter spaces that cannot take huge shrubs.
PRN Preferred: The white panicles become an intensely dark red in late summer and early fall.
Lime-green panicle flowers of Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' emerge in July and age in August to white and rose-pink. One of the best of the Pee Gee Hydrangeas, from Pieter Zwijnenburg, Jr.
Limelight Prime® (‘SMNHPH’) Hardy Hydrangea starts blooming in mid summer, producing cone-shaped lime green panicles which rapidly turn white. The habit of Hydrangea Limelight Prime® is more compact than the original Limelight®, and the stems are sturdier so the flowers do not flop after rains. As the summer temperatures cool, Limelight Prime® takes on shades of rose pink. The seedheads are tan and an interesting addition in winter. The cold tolerance and compact habit make this a good candidate for large containers.
Little Lime® ('Jane') Hardy Hydrangea has the lovely chartreuse-to-white flowers of H. 'Limelight', but on a more compact plant. Its diminutive size makes it a better choice for a small garden application without losing the striking effect of the large colorful panicles in July and August.
Little Quick Fire® ('SMHPLQF') Hardy Hydrangea is suited to smaller gardens because of its shorter statue. The blooms start out white in June and age to dusty pink by late in the summer. The color is more intense in cooler weather, so trimming Hydrangea paniculata Proven Winners® Color Choice® Little Quick Fire® back moderately in June will promote this by delaying the start of flowering. Hardy Hydrangeas are valuable ornamentals because of their lengthy bloom period, and they also make excellent cut or dried flowers.
Quick Fire Fab® (‘SMNHPM’) Hardy Hydrangea differs from Hydrangea Quick Fire® because the flowers are very large mopheads rather than more open panicles. Hydrangea Quick Fire Fab® begins blooming earlier than most paniculatas, and produces a quantity of white blooms which age to rose and then red as the days shorten and the night grows cooler. They make great dried cut flowers, holding the red colors through the winter.
Quick Fire® ('Bulk') Hardy Hydrangea is a very early blooming Pee Gee Hydrangea. Flowers start out white in June and age to deep pink by mid summer. From Mark Bulk in Holland. Ronni Hock of Lawrenceville says it is her favorite because of the lovely red stems. This is Dick Karkalits' favorite Pee Gee Hydrangea becasue it blooms very early and the aged panicles hold up well into October.
Strawberry Sundae® ('Rensun') First Editions® Hardy Hydrangea is a compact version of Bailey's beautiful Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry™. The white cone-shaped panicles appear in July and rapidly take on lovely shades of deep strawberry pink as they age. Hydrangea paniculata blooms for an extended period, often up to the start of fall, so the bloom display often includes both white and vivid pink. Strawberry Sundae™ originated in France, from the breeding work of Jean Renault.
Vanilla Strawberry™ ('Renhy') First Editions® Hardy Hydrangea starts its bloom cycle with enormous creamy-white, cone-shaped panicles that age through soft pink to a bright reddish rose. Since the plant produces new blooms for an extended period, Vanilla Strawberry™ has a three-toned effect. From Bailey Nurseries, Inc. of Minnesota, who got it from the Renault Nursery in France.
'Amethyst' Oakleaf Hydrangea has upright white panicles that age to a gorgeous wine red, retaining this color even when used as a dried cut flower. The branching is denser and more upright than other Oakleafs, making this cultivar more suitable for smaller gardens. The fall color is an added asset, turning a lovely burgundy-red. Another great selection by the Hydrangea king, Dr. Michael Dirr, which we first admired at the Scott Arboretum.
Gatsby Pink® ('JoAnn') Oakleaf Hydrangea starts blooming in June, producing large white upright panicles. As the flowers age, they take on shades of pink which are attractive for a lengthy time throughout the summer. The disease free green foliage takes on shades of red and burgundy in the fall, and as Hydrangea Gatsby Pink® matures, the exfoliating tan bark adds winter interest.
Gatsby Star® (‘Doughill’) Oakleaf Hydrangea produces long white panicles of hose-in-hose sterile florets. As the flowers mature, they take on a bicolored effect because the newly emerging star-shaped florets are green and the mature ones are white. In cooler weather the older florets take on shades of rose pink, making Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Star® a wonderful dried flower (hang upside down when drying for best results). The fall foliage color is shades of red, orange and burgundy.
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee' has white panicle flowers in June and July and is a compact form of the Oakleaf Hydrangea. It has burgundy-red fall foliage. 'Pee Wee' Oakleaf Hydrangea grows much smaller with smaller leaves and smaller flower panicles than the species. Introduction by Aldrich Nursery in Alabama. One of our favorite Oakleaf Hydrangeas, because the foliage is so neat and clean.
PRN Preferred: All the great attributes of an Oakleaf Hydrangea but in compact form.
'Queen of Hearts' Oakleaf Hydrangea comes from the exciting US National Arboretum breeding program in McMinnville, TN. This lovely cross between H. 'Pee Wee' and H. Snow Queen™ starts blooming a week or more later than most other Oakleafs, with large upright white panicles which slowly age to a deep rose pink. The fall color is mahogany red, and winter interest is provided by tan exfoliating bark on older plants. This is a sister seedling of H. 'Ruby Slippers'.
Snow Queen™ ('Flemygea') Oakleaf Hydrangea has upright white panicle flowers and burgundy-red fall foliage. Hydrangea quercifolia Snow Queen™ was introduced by noted plantsman, William Flemer III. All the Oakleaf Hydrangeas show some deer resistance.
PRN Preferred: Flowers have an upright habit so they stand out above the foliage.
‘Snowcicle’ Oakleaf Hydrangea comes from Richard Davis, and has 12” panicles of double white florets. The long vigorous blooms change to a combination of creamy white, soft green and dusty rose as they mature, giving the flowers an interesting tricolor effect. Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowcicle’ has sturdy stems supporting the very large inflorescences. Similar to Hydrangea Snowflake, it also makes a good dried flower.
'Snowflake' ('Brido') Oakleaf Hydrangea has sterile younger florets which emerge from the older florets for an extended period, resulting in a strikingly long, multi-colored panicle. The new florets are white and the older ones are a dusty pink, working well as a unique landscape plant. Red-purple fall foliage. Makes an extraordinary dried flower.
'Blue Bird' Sawtooth Hydrangea has blue lacecap flowers starting in June. The leaves are larger and rounder than H. 'Blue Billow'. A very hardy Hydrangea, with excellent cold tolerance.
Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha® ('SMNHSDD') Sawtooth Hydrangea is a very showy reblooming lacecap in the Tuff Stuff™ series. The short statue does not limit the number of large flowers, as Hydrangea Ah-Ha® is a heavy bloomer on both old and new wood. Since it is a serrata, its cold tolerance is also an advantage. The double sterile florets vary in color from pink to purple, depending on the soil pH and amount of aluminum sulfate.
Tuff Stuff™ ('MAK20') Sawtooth Hydrangea is an exciting addition to the reblooming world, with sturdy reddish pink lacecap flowers produced on new and old wood. Hydrangea Tuff Stuff™ blooms from early summer through to the fall, and the flowers are followed by attractive fall foliage in shades of bronze red. Pruning should be done in mid summer, ceasing by early August to allow new growth to harden off.
The small yellow flowers of 'Gemo' St Johnswort are produced for an extended period through July and August, appearing in profusion on a neat compact shrub covered with narrow green leaves. The seed capsules sound like little rattles when brushed against or moved by the wind. We love the delicate overall effect of this tough native.
PRN Preferred: Flowers for an extremely long period of time, a workhorse in the garden.
Dr. Paul Cappiello of Yew Dell Gardens in Kentucky selected Blue Velvet™ ('CCFLPC-1') St Johnswort, a blue-leaved seedling of H. kalmiatum. The attractive small-leaved foliage of Hypericum x Blue Velvet™ is set off by lovely bright yellow flowers for an extended period in mid summer. The name 'Blue Velvet' fits the appearance of this lovely introduction perfectly.
Large yellow flowers bloom for an extended period starting in June. 'Hidcote' St Johnswort benefits from hard pruning in spring. Flowers are unusually large, slightly fragrant and bloom throughout the summer. Hypericum x 'Hidcote' is salt tolerant and does well at the seashore.
‘Chesapeake’ Japanese Holly has a compact, upright, pyramidal shape, with small lustrous evergreen foliage. The dense habit makes Ilex ‘Chesapeake’ an excellent candidate for a neat short hedge which requires little pruning to maintain its shape. Similar in shape to Ilex ‘Steeds’, ‘Chesapeake’ also works well as a formal foundation plant.
PRN Preferred: Similar in shape to ‘Steeds’, but a tighter form with attractive lustrous foliage.
‘Compacta’ Japanese Holly has small shiny oval leaves on short dense branches. Since Ilex crenata ‘Compacta’ has a neat compact round habit, it seldom requires any pruning. A good choice for foundation plantings, as this is a Holly which will not get “out of control”. Evergreen and sun-loving, with good winter hardiness.
'Green Lustre' Japanese Holly has shiny small green leaves and has a flat-topped shrub habit, grows about twice as wide as toaa, making it excellent for low hedges. It does well at the seashore because it is salt tolerant. Evergreen and a female form introduced in the 1930s.
'Helleri' Japanese Holly is evergreen with tiny green leaves. on a dwarf, stiffly mounding plant. Our landscaper friend Martin Blackman says this is the only Japanese Holly he can use with success in deer-infested Princeton. A female introduced in the late 1930s by Newport Nursery.
'Hoogendorn' Japanese Holly has dark green delicate evergreen leaves on a low mounding habit. It is more graceful looking than Ilex c. 'Helleri' and has gotten high praise from Dr. Michael Dirr as one of the best of the small-leaf Japanese Hollies. It was found on Hoogendorn Nursery in Rhode Island, so it's clearly cold tolerant. This male form of Japanese Holly was found at Hoogendown Nursery and named by T. Dodd.
'Sky Pencil' Japanese Holly has a very upright columnar form and glossy evergreen foliage. It looks like an exclamation point in the landscape. It is also salt tolerant. Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' needs some babysitting after snowfall to avoid bending branches. A female form found in Japan and introduced by the US National Arboretum and W. Steeds.
'Soft Touch' Japanese Holly is an evergreen with shiny dark green tiny leaves on a dense beautiful shrub that needs little pruning. Branches are more flexible than I. c. 'Helleri', so it doesn't break easily (a better landscape choice, sometimes called 'Soft Helleri').
PRN Preferred: Similar in size to ‘Helleri’ but softer looking and less rigid (so less likely to have breaking branches).
'Steeds' Japanese Holly has an upright pyramidal form with dark green glossy evergreen foliage, excellent for hedging. Ilex crenata 'Steeds' is also salt tolerant. A male form, named and introduced by W. Steeds.
'Compacta' Inkberry Holly is a compact, tight form of Ilex glabra which also has fairly large round evergreen leaves. Wet site and salt tolerant, as are all of the Inkberry cultivars. A female found by our father William Flemer III in the Pine Barrens.
PRN Preferred: Habit is tight but full, with large attractive evergreen leaves.
Dark green leathery leaves of Ilex glabra 'Densa' are rounder and wider than I. g. 'Shamrock'. It will become a tall but dense-leafed shrub. Takes pruning well. Evergreen, it is also wet site and salt tolerant. The top performer in the recent shrub trials at Longwood Gardens. A female form found by our cousin Bert Flemer in 1938 at F&F Nurseries in NJ.
Proven Winners® Color Choice® Gem Box® ('SMNIGAB17') Inkberry Holly is an exciting alternative to Boxwoods. The habit is round and full to the ground, without the bare branch look which many Ilex glabras exhibit as they age. As Boxwood Blight becomes more of a regional problem, this tough native evergreen shrub will become more important for containers, low hedges and small round garden specimens. New growth is spring has reddish tips which mature to small dark green leaves.
'Shamrock' Inkberry is a compact upright form of Ilex glabra with small glossy leaves. It is wet site tolerant and great for evergreen hedges. It is slower growing than 'Compacta' and 'Nordic'. A female form named and introduced in 1977 by John Tankard of Tankard Nurseries in Virginia.
Strongbox® ('Ilexfarrowtracey') Inkberry Holly is a welcome introduction from Proven Winners offering a good native substitute for Boxwoods. Ilex glabra Strongbox® looks like a short round Buxus, but it is more sun tolerant and moisture tolerant., as well an unthreatened by Boxwood Blight. Since this compact Inkberry stays full to the ground, it can be used in containers, for low hedges and in mass plantings. The tight habit and small leaves make pruning rarely necessary.
'Dan Fenton' American Holly was selected by Rutgers' Dr Orton and named by him after South Jersey's "Mr Holly", in honor of his contribution to popularizing our Native Hollies. This has caused no end of teasing for Dr Orton, since 'Dan Fenton' is clearly a female Ilex opaca, chosen for its plentiful red fruit as much as its lustrous clean dark green foliage. 'Dan Fenton' American Holly is one of the most beautiful evergreens in the winter, providing bright red fruit over its lovely large leaves. Like all Ilex opacas, it prefers some shelter from the winter winds.
'Maryland Dwarf' American Holly is a very unusual female form of our wonderful native evergreen Holly. It slowly forms a very wide mound, with dark green minimally spiny leaves and some red fruit production. American Hollies are amazingly versatile in the North East, thriving from sunny swampy areas to dry shade locations, so 'Maryland Dwarf' can be used in a number of different locations. It was introduced by in 1942 by E. Dilatush from Bunting Nursery. Definitely an unusual, groundcover shrub.
PRN Preferred: Definitely an unusual groundcover shrub which we love because of its diversity.
'Satyr Hill' American Holly is considered by the American Holly Society to be one of the best female forms, for both foliage and fruit. The dark olive-green leaves are somewhat flatter than most opacas, and 'Satyr Hill' produces abundant red fruit from early October through the winter. Berries provide winter interest, high quality food, shelter and nesting habitat for birds. Its growth habit is an upright vigorous pyramid, so it makes an excellent specimen as well as a good choice for hedging. Introduced by S. McLean.
The smooth, lustrous evergreen leaves of Longstalk Holly set off the beautiful red berries held on long peduncles throughout the fall and winter. One of the hardiest evergreen red fruiting Hollies. A great cut green to bring into the house, especially since it's spineless. We've loved this Ilex for years and our selection often has 3 berries per peduncle, making it very showy and loved by winter birds.
Male Longstalk Holly is the proper pollinator for our female selection. In order to get the best fruit set possible, use at least 1 male for every 5 females. We originally received our Ilex pedunculosa seed from the Arnold Arboretum, which introduced this beautiful Holly to the US in 1892.
'Chrysocarpa' Winterberry has bright yellow fruit which lasts well into the winter (birds prefer to eat red fruit). Its deciduous leaves drop somewhat earlier than most red-fruited varieties, so that the fruit is visible early in the fall. The pollinator is I. 'Jim Dandy'. Like all Winterberries, it is wet site tolerant.
PRN Preferred: The best yellow fruited Winterberry we grow.
Jim Dandy' Winterberry is the early blooming pollinator for Ilex verticillata 'Afterglow', 'Chrysocarpa', 'Goldfinch', 'Maryland Beauty', 'Red Sprite' and 'Stoplight'. Deciduous.
Producing profuse amounts of large red fruit all winter on an extremely compact plant, Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite' never needs pruning! The pollinator for this deciduous Winterberry Holly is 'Jim Dandy'. It is also wet site and salt tolerant.
PRN Preferred: Can't say enough about this plant, it's compact, doesn't need pruning and has larger fruit and a longer berry display.
Southern Gentleman' Winterberry is the pollinator for Ilex verticillata Winter Red® and 'Winter Gold'.
Wildfire™ (‘Bailfire’) Winterberry Holly is part of Bailey Nurseries’ First Editions® series of introductions. Ilex verticillata Wildfire™ is a female Winterberry with good production of large red fruit. Wildfire™ is a vigorous, adaptable native which can be used as an excellent source of cut branches for decoration in the fall and early winter. The preferred pollinator is ‘Jim Dandy.’
'Christmas Jewel' ('HL10-90') Holly is a small pyramidal female Ilex with abundant large red fruit at a very young age. Narrow dark shiny evergreen leaves, does not need a pollinator. It was introduced by Bob Head of Head-Lea Nursery.
With shiny dark green leaves and plentiful fruit, 'Nellie R. Stevens' Holly is a fast-growing pyramidal Ilex shrub. The small spring flowers are attractive to bees and other pollinators and the fall red fruit is consumed by birds. 'Nellie R. Stevens' is a hybrid cultivar of I. aquifolium and I. cornuta. It was released by G.A. Van Lennep, Jr., St. Michael, MD in 1954 and named for the owner Nellie R. Stevens.
Red Beauty® ('Rutzan') Holly is another introduction from Dr. Elwin Orton's lifelong work with the genus Ilex. The shiny dark green leaves are spiny, neat and small, covering its conical, pyramidal form. It is readily pollinated by Ilex x meserveae males, and the fruit is attractive on its evergreen setting all winter. Slow growing and narrow, it fits in well in smaller garden spaces. Most exciting of all, it has proved to be extremely deer resistant according to Bruce Crawford of The Rutgers Gardens.
Ilex x Robin™ ('Conin') is one of the best Red Holly selections, introduced jointly by Flowerwood and Evergreen Nurseries in the 1990s. Large leaved new foliage emerges red and matures to a lustrous dark green. The upright pyramidal plant becomes covered with bright red berries, and is self-pollinating. It is evergreen, and does best with some protection from winter winds.
Dragon Lady® ('Meschick') Holly is a very glossy, upright female plant, with an excellent fall and winter display of bright red fruit. Ilex x aquipernyi Dragon Lady® was hybridized by Kathleen Meserve. Evergreen and does not need a pollinator. Ilex 'Dragon Lady' has proved to be very resistant to deer browse.
Blue Prince® Meserve Holly is an excellent pollinator for most of the Blue Hollies because of its lengthy bloom period. The foliage is somewhat spiny, with beautiful lustrous blue-green foliage set off by dark purplish stems. Ilex x meserveae Blue Prince® is evergreen and compact, and does not need a lot of pruning to keep it neat. Like its matching relative, Blue Princess®, it makes an excellent hedge. In the winter the foliage takes on a somewhat purple cast.
Shiny dark blue-green leaves, excellent fruit set of bright red berries and compact growth habit makes Blue Princess® ('Conapry') Holly one of the best broadleaf evergreen Hollies. Blue Prince® is the preferred pollinator.
‘Pink Frost’ Florida Anise Tree was found as a branch sport in Georgia by Mickey Harp. The evergreen leaves are a somewhat crinkly cream and green, set off by pinkish petioles. In winter, the lustrous cream and light green foliage becomes pinkish rose. ‘Pink Frost’ needs winter protection from afternoon sun and winds.
‘Swamp Hobbit’ Florida Anise Tree is a very dwarf form of our native evergreen shrub. The lustrous green leaves and red sea-anemone like flowers are a normal size, but the branch internodes are very short, so Illicium floridanum ‘Swamp Hobbit’ is slow growing. It was found in Alabama by the great plantsman Dr. Ron Miller of Pensacola, Florida, but will survive in zone 7 winters if protected from afternoon sun and wind in winter.
‘Florida Sunshine’ Yellow Anise Tree is a beautiful sport of our native Anise Trees in Florida, found by Tony Avent on a trip with the JC Raulston Arboretum folks. The evergreen foliage is an amazing lustrous chartreuse yellow, with its most intense coloration in spring and fall. The new growth stems take on reddish tones particularly in the winter. Illicium parviflorum ‘Florida Sunshine’ not only lights up dark shade, but it also is very deer resistant. Wow!
‘Orion’ (‘NCIH2’) Anise Tree comes from the work of Dr. Tom Ranney of NCSU. He crossed Illicium floridanum with Illicium mexicanum to come up with the white flowered Illicium x ‘Orion’. The green lustrous foliage is evergreen and prefers some shade, especially in winter. All Illiciums bloom throughout most of the year with little sea anemone-like flowers. The foliage is both fragrant and highly deer resistant.
'Woodland Ruby' Anise Tree has deep reddish strap-like flowers for an extended period beginning in early summer and blooming sporadically through fall. Anise-scented lush evergreen foliage is somewhat reflexed in winter. Illicium x 'Woodland Ruby' needs protection from winter winds and is happiest in some shade, but will tolerate more sun given enough moisture. Per Bruce Crawford, it is happy in both wet and dry shade sites (as are many flood plain plants). Illicium ‘Woodland Ruby’ is a hybrid cross between I. floridanum ‘Alba’ and I. mexicanum.
Indigofera amblyantha becomes covered with delicate pink flower spikes in early to late summer. Indigo has an extended showy flowering season. Indigofera does well in shady dry sites. Introduced from China in 1908.
Chinese Indigo has clear pink flowers on slender racemes which are produced from June through the summer. Indigofera decora stays low but gets wide, because of its suckering habit. The flower display looks like short pink Wisteria blossoms. Try it on walls, where you can see flowers more easily. Native to Japan and China
Himalayan Indigo has panicles of purple-pink flowers from June to fall. Prune to produce new shoots which result in more flowers. Indigofera gerardiana has delicate grayish-green foliage, and is happy in shady locations. Cultivated in 1840 from Northwest Himalaya.
'Henry's Garnet' Sweetspire has fragrant white flowers in June and burgundy-scarlet fall foliage. Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' was named by the Scott Arboretum after Mary Henry. Per Bruce Crawford of The Rutgers Gardens, this is the most cold tolerant of all the Iteas. It is also wet site tolerant.
Little Henry® ('Sprich') Sweetspire has fragrant white flowers in June and burgundy-scarlet fall foliage. Itea virginica Little Henry® was introduced by Richard Feist. It is also wet site tolerant.
Itea virginica 'Merlot' is a Sweetspire with fragrant white flowers in June and has the most compact habit of our Iteas, with burgundy fall foliage. A wonderful native plant from Mark Griffith, and our favorite Sweetspire for color and habit. It is also wet site tolerant.
PRN Preferred: A true multi-season plant, colorful twigs in winter, fragrant flower spikes, dense deer resistant colonies in summer and long lasting burgundy foliage in fall.
Winter Jasmine has soft yellow flowers appearing in February through March over shiny green leaves. A true signifier of impending spring and wonderful source of nectar for early pollinators. The green stems of Jasminum nudiflorum add a note of interest in the winter, and are excellent for trailing over rock walls. A fantastic option for erosion control and can be effective on slopes, or in areas with poor soil. It can be rejuvenated by severe pruning after flowering. This plant is native to Southeastern Tibet to Central China.
‘Sea Green’ Chinese Juniper has arching branches on a compact spreading form. The foliage is a somewhat dark green which darkens further in the winter. This is a good filler for big spaces, as it makes a nice consistent mass planting. Female form, so it often has silvery fruit.
Hollywood Juniper ('Kaizuka') is a classic conifer because of its unusual irregular branching combined with its dark green needles. The open, sculpted shape makes this Juniper showy all year, whether planted as a screen of displayed as a specimen. Hollywood Junipers are quite cold tolerant, so they are particularly effective in large containers on desks or patios. We have heard from several customers that this is there 'go to' plant for seashore and urban roof top gardens since Hollywood Juniper handles salt and wind very well. The common name of "Hollywood" is because this versatile evergreen seems to be planted everywhere in California.
The deep green prostrate foliage of 'Bar Harbor' Juniper takes on a purplish cast in winter. A tough evergreen groundcover that works well in rock gardens and in salt-exposed areas.
Eastern Redcedar is a highly variable native conifer, and the selection we offer comes from a seed source that provides columnar, uniform plants. The neat green evergreen foliage takes on attractive purplish hues in fall and winter. Juniperus virginiana is dioecius, and female plants bear blue-green "berries" (actually covered cones) which can be extremely showy in winter. Both wet site and salt tolerant, Eastern Redcedar is an extremely adaptable native, and an important food source for migrating birds. The wood has long been values for its beautiful color and rot resistance.
'Grey Owl' was selected in 1938 for its unusual habit and foliage color. This unusual form of Eastern Redcedar is a broad low shrub, bearing silver gray needles thickly on its horizontal branches. A female form, it will often have little round "berries" (cones) when mature. Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl' is an attractive addition the native conifer groundcover field, showing its rugged adaptability over many years. 2023 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
PRN Preferred: A native, low growing Eastern Redcedar. Very adaptable.
'Taylor' Eastern Redcedar is a very narrow selection of Juniperus virginiana, found originally in Taylor, Nebraska. 'Taylor' has attractive silvery blue green needles and round berry-like cones which are an important food source for birds. 'Taylor' Eastern Redcedar is considered to be the most dry site tolerant of the Juniperus virginiana selections available. It also has better than average resistance to Cedar Apple Rust. Many love it becasue it is similar in appearance to an Italian Cypress.
PRN Preferred: The attractive bluish green needles are displayed on a very narrow upright habit.
'Carol' Mountain Laurel produces beautiful flower clumps in May and June. The buds are red but the ballet shirt shaped flowers are pale pink to white when fully open. The shiny green foliage is evergreen and somewhat leathery. Kalmia 'Carol' is particularly showy when naturalized and planted in mass. As Kalmias mature, they can become picturesquely open in habit, but if a tighter evergreen is desired, they can be pruned yearly, preferably soon after blooming.
'Carousel' Mountain Laurel blooms in May and June, with pink buds opening to white flowers accented by burgundy splotches and stripes. The habit is upright and dense, making Kalmia 'Carousel' an excellent candidate for an evergreen natural looking hedge or screen. Kalmia latifolia does well in acidic soils. The evergreen foliage is attractive all year because of its lustrous dark green appearance.
‘Pink Charm’ Mountain Laurel has vivid pink masses of flowers in May and June. The buds are dark red on the flower clumps, which open to the classic ballet skirt form New Englanders know and love. The foliage is evergreen and lustrous, making it attractive all year. Thrives best in well-drained acidic soil. Since Kalmia is a broadleaf evergreen, protection from winter winds is important.
'Raspberry Glow' Mountain Laurel comes from Dick Jaynes of Broken Arrow Nursery, and is a sibling of Kalmia 'Sarah'. The buds are raspberry red, opening to a vivd deep pink in May and June. The ballet skirt shaped flowers are borne in large clusters over deep green lustrous foliage. Kalmia 'Raspberry Glow' tolerates a wide range of light conditions, and is one of the few broadleaf evergreens that is deer resistant.
‘Tiddlywinks’ Mountain Laurel produces dark pink clusters of flower buds in late spring. They open to soft pink “ballet skirt” flowers in early summer, displayed over lustrous evergreen leaves on a very compact plant. Kalmia latifolia ‘Tiddlywinks’ is considered a dwarf, but the flower clumps are normal sized, so they are particularly impressive on the small sized Mountain Laurel. Another beauty from Dick Jaynes of Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut.
Cherry Dazzle® ('GAMAD 1') Crapemyrtle is a product of Dr. Michael Dirr's Razzle Dazzle® Crapemyrtle series, where excellent cold and disease resistance is combined with very compact sizes. Cherry Dazzle® is covered with cherry red flowers starting in July, borne on a ground-hugging habit. The new foliage starts out reddish, and the fall color is shades of burgundy-red. This showy Crapemyrtle is small enough to mix well in perennial beds, and also has possible application as a short showy hedge.
Enduring Summer™ ‘Red’ Crape Myrtle (‘P11LAGB5’) is a mid-sized Lagerstroemia with really showy blooms in late summer. The new growth emerges in shades of bronze in late spring, changing to green. It is topped in late summer by large scarlet flower clusters. Lagerstroemia Enduring Summer™ ‘Red’ has impressed us with its vivid flower display and its clean disease resistant upright habit. Hybridized by Joshua Kardos and Dr. Michael Dirr.
Beautiful, bold, black-leaved Lagerstroemia Thunderstruck™ White Lightning™ ('JM4') is a fast-and-easy-growing, cold hardy Crapemyrtle that is prized for its stunning, glossy, dark burgundy-black foliage and prolific white blooms from June to September. The tallest of the black-leaved Crapemyrtles, this particular selection is a cross of the popular Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ with Lagerstroemia ‘Ebony and Ivory’, boasting a wider canopy and taller stature than ‘Natchez’, as well as the similar, dramatic, darkly-colored foliage of ‘Ebony and Ivory’. This is a wonderful specimen tree that can (and should!) be admired for its appearance – from the color contrast between the creamy white blooms and dark foliage, to the finely exfoliating bark that provides winter interest.
'Catawba' Crapemyrtle has lavender purple flowers in July and August, followed by excellent orange red fall color and interesting smooth bark. Lagerstroemia x 'Catawba' is an introduction from Dr. Don Egolf and the US National Arboretum.
Dynamite® ('Whit II') Crapemyrtle flowers are cherry red in July and August on an upright form. Foliage emerges reddish in spring, matures to dark green in summer and turns orange to red in fall. after flowering, the round seed capsules persist into winter. Lagerstroemia x Dynamite® is another Dr. Carl Whitcomb introduction.
'Muskogee' Crapemyrtle has lavender flowers in July and August and red-orange fall color. The mature bark is shades of tan and grey. One of several mildew resistant hybrids (crosses between L. indica and L. fauriei) that were developed by the National Arboretum and named after Native American Indian tribes. Introduced in 1978.
'Natchez' Crapemyrtle has white flowers in July and August, spectacular mottled exfoliating bark in shades of tan and chocolate, and yellow-red fall color. From Dr. Egolf and the US National Arboretum, Lagerstroemia x 'Natchez' is truly a four season plant. Per Phil Normandy of Brookside Gardens in Maryland, all the fauriei crosses like Natchez rebloom reliably after their first summer display.
PRN Preferred: Amazing bark color added to the excellent cold tolerance really make this Crapemyrtle a winner.
The red buds of Pink Velour™ ('Whit III') Crapemyrtle open mid-summer to dark pink flowers. The new foliage is a striking burgundy, changing to dark green. A great Dr.Carl Whitcomb introduction. Lagerstroemia x Pink Velour™ was formerly named 'Royal Velvet'.
Red Rocket® ('Whit IV') Crapermyrtle has bright red long blooming flowers on an upright small tree. An excellent introduction from Dr. Carl Whitcomb of Oklahoma.
'Tuscarora' Crapemyrtle has big coral-pink flowers blooming in July and August. A little more tender than the toughest of the Lagerstroemias, its flowers and open multi stem habit make it a show-stopper. Lagerstroemia x 'Tuscarora' is another winner from Dr. Don Egolf and the US National Arboretum.
Leptodermis oblonga is a dwarf ground-hugging shrub with small purple-pink lilac-shaped flowers starting in June and continuing all summer. Native to northern China. The blooms are very fragrant and produces flowers beginning is early summer and intermittently throughout much of the growing season. It is late to leaf out in spring but give it time, blooms on new wood. Sometimes referred to as baby Lilac shrub. We continue to be amazed at its subtle but relentless flower power. The small habit of this plant makes it a perfect addition to the front of the bed or small residential lots.
Rosy purple pea-like flowers explode in August and September. Lespedeza 'Gibraltar' is a semi-woody shrub with an arching, fountain-like habit. Treat as cut-back shrub by cutting to the ground in late winter to early spring. It will respond by producing rapid annual growth. 'Gibraltar' Bush Clover tolerates dry sites and looks amazing cascading down walls or over embankments. It was found by the great plantsman (and artist!) William Frederick, Jr. of Delaware. In our experience, Gibraltar is indistinguishable from Lespedeza 'Spring Grove'.
Coast Leucothoe is a lovely spring blooming broad leaf evergreen, with white flower racemes in April and May. Leucothoe axillaris's branching habit is an interesting zigzag and in winter it's foliage takes on hues of red and burgundy. Prefers acid, moist soil and does not tolerate drought and wind so site correctly. Native to the Southeastern US, Leucothoe axillaris flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
The new growth of 'Rainbow' Doghobble is a striking blend of white, pink and green changing to cream and green as it matures, Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow' has white fragrant flowers in May. A selection by Girard Nursery in Ohio. Evergreen, turning plum colored in winter.
Limonium latifolium is a sun loving, salt tolerant perennial known commonly as Sea Lavender for the sprays of tiny, blue-lavender flowers that rise above basal rosettes of leathery, semi-evergreen foliage between July and September. Long lasting, heat tolerant blooms make a great textural addition to the well-drained garden bed, and make an excellent cut flower in arrangements. The Latin name Limonium refers to the Greek term “leimon”, meaning “meadow”, and specifically refers to salt meadows in the case of this sea-side European native perennial.
The leathery narrow green leaves of Greybush Spicebush turn the most spectacular combination of orange, red and purple in fall. Leaves are held throughout the winter, turning a very attractive tan. Since it holds its leaves, Lindera angustifolia (formerly glauca var. salicifolia) is a good screening alternative for traditional evergreens. Shiny black small fruit appears in the fall. It is Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh's newest favorite all-season shrub.
PRN Preferred: Super shrub! Attractive all four seasons. In the fall, many customers have asked "What's that shrub that looks like it is on fire?!". Truly, unbeatable fall color.
Lindera benzoin has delicate pale yellow flowers in early spring, a standout in leafless woodsy vistas. The leaves, twigs and fruit are all fantastically fragrant when bruised and in that way great for connecting people to nature In the fall the lemon yellow foliage lights up the woods. Plants are dioecious and female plants produce shiny red fruit which is an important food source for migrating birds. It is a host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Spicebush Swallowtail. Our native Spicebush is wet site tolerant and deciduous.
Extremely narrow form, 'Slender Silhouette' American Sweetgum was introduced by that superb plantsman Don Shadow. It has beautiful glossy green leaves and is wet site tolerant. Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette’ is best planted in poor soils, this will slow its growth rate allowing the plant to keep it upright, narrow habit. When planted in rich soils it sometimes will grow too fast causing the branches to split open. If pruning is necessary to remove straggler branches, it should be done in late winter to early spring before the tree leaves out. The fall color is yellow to burgundy. Virtually fruitless as a young tree, it will gradually begin to produce a few fruits, but they are much less in number than the species. 'Slender Silhouette' makes an amazing upright element in the landscape, a great choice for tight spaces, medians or as a screen that borders along property lines.
PRN Preferred: Amazing structure and trouble free foliage.
Privet Honeysuckle is a beautiful evergreen shrub with low horizontal branches that will root-in and slowly spread over time, making it a good choice as a woody groundcover or as a slope stabilizer. Native to China, it is salt tolerant and does well in seashore settings. It is easy to shape by pruning and is an excellent choice for shady deer-dominated areas. Lonicera pileata often produces glowing amethyst fruits in late summer on older plants.
PRN Preferred: Works much better than any Cotoneaster as a groundcover. This evergreen works well in dry sites.
Mountain or Fraser Magnolia is an Appalachian Mountain range native and one of the “Umbrella Magnolia” group. The leaves are very large, growing in a whorled pattern and topped by 10” scented creamy white flowers in spring. Red seed cones are showy in the fall, producing bright red seeds which are eaten by wildlife. The attractive bark is smooth and grey. Magnolia fraseri adds a tropical look to the landscape.
'Little Gem' Southern Magnolia is a compact cultivar of our stately native evergreen Magnolia grandiflora. The habit is tight and compact, with large lustrous dark green leaves which have a fuzzy brown indumentum on the undersides. The large white flowers are fragrant and appear intermittently from late May through July. Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' needs to be planted in a sheltered location, with particular protection from the winter winds.
Teddy Bear® ('Southern Charm') Southern Magnolia has a tight pyramidal habit on a compact plant. The dark green lustrous leaves have attractive brown indumentum and are evergreen. Magnolia grandiflora Teddy Bear® produces large fragrant white flowers from June to August. A Head Introductions, Teddy Bear® is an excellent choice for smaller locations. Give it some protection from winter winds when possible. They has thrived in containers in Center City Philadelphia and they are a favorite of theirs for the annual Wintergarden at Dilworth Park.
PRN Preferred: The lustrous green leaves are much rounder in shape, and this compact selection tolerates zone 6 temperatures.
'Chrysanthemiflora' Star Magnolia was selected by K. Wada, a great Magnolia breeder in Japan. It combines deep pink coloration in bud (changing to light pink when fully open) with an amazing number of petals (40 or more). The resemblance to the old fashioned "Football Mum" corsage justifies the name. The cold hardiness is excellent and we agree with Dr. Dirr's opinion that it is the best of the M. stellata "Rosea" selections.
Sweetbay Magnolia has fragrant white flowers starting in June that will bloom for much of the summer. In fall it has showy red fruit with orange seeds. Sweetbay Magnolia have high ecological value for birds, butterflies, moths, beetles. It is also wet site tolerant, and is an important food source for the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly larvae.
Green Mile™ ('MVHH') Sweetbay Magnolia has an unusually tight, upright form, with lustrous dark green semi-evergreen foliage. The extremely fragrant white flowers start appearing in June and continue for much of the summer. They are followed by attractive red fruit with orange seeds in the fall. Green Mile™ Magnolia is a selection by Alex Neubauer of Hidden Hollow Nursery in Tennessee. Wet site tolerant, and the larval host for the Sweetbay Silkmoth and the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. NYBG has planted an allee of them bordering their native meadow.
PRN Preferred: The upright habit makes this a great singlestem tree.
The evergreen foliage of 'Green Shadow' Sweetbay Magnolia forms a tight oval tree with fragrant white flowers in summer. This Magnolia virginiana is a selection of M. virg. var. australis by the great Don Shadow from seedlings from the great Joe McDaniel. It is also wet site tolerant. Formerly named 'Greenbay'.
'Henry Hicks' Sweetbay Magnolia has fragrant white flowers starting in June. It has evergreen foliage since it is an australis selection and is one of the hardiest forms of Magnolia virginiana. It is also wet site tolerant. Another wonderful introduction by Dr. Joe McDaniels of Illinois.
Moonglow® ('Jim Wilson') Sweetbay Magnolia has white fragrant flowers in the summer and is very hardy, has rapid growth, is wet site tolerant and semi-evergreen. Magnolia virginiana Moonglow® is a great introduction by Earl Cully.
'Ned's Northern Belle' Sweetbay Magnolia has larger than normal, fragrant, creamy white flowers that appear in June and July. Evergreen foliage and excellent cold tolerance make 'Ned's Northern Belle' an exceptional Sweetbay Magnolia. Attractive fruit is red with orange seeds in the fall. Found in Ohio at Coles Nurseries by Ned Radler (former home of the Sunburst® Locust).
Black Tulip™ ('Jurmag1') Saucer Magnolia has large cup shaped deep purple-pink flowers in April, before the leaves emerge. The thick, upright petals make the flowers look neat and crisp throughout the bloom period. A showy introduction by Monrovia Nurseries.
'Blushing Belle' comes from the had work of Dennis Ledvina's Magnolia breeding program, with large pink flowers in late spring. It is a cross between M. x 'Yellow Bird' and M. x 'Caerhays Belle' which has the greater hardiness of its yellow parent, and the luminous pink color of its pink parent. The tepals are dark pink on the exterior and pale pink on the interior.
'Cleopatra' Magnolia is a beautiful introduction from New Zealand. The 7" flowers are a complex mix of reddish purple opening to pink in April, with a goblet shape which is similar to Magnolia x 'Genie'. The great Magnolia hybridizer Vance Hooper crossed 'Black Tulip' with 'Sweet Simplicity' to get this compact, reblooming plant. Magnolia x 'Cleopatra' is an excellent choice for a smaller location because of the smaller size and the late summer rebloom.
Magnolia x 'Daybreak' has extremely fragrant large glowing pink cup-shaped flowers in May, on a narrow upright form. Hybridized by Dr. August Kehr, and said to be his favorite of all his many crosses.
PRN Preferred: No other color like this in the Magnolia world. Your eye is drawn to it when it is in bloom.
'Genie' Magnolia is a spectacular color breakthrough in the Magnolia world, with lots of black-red flower buds that open to small cup-shaped rose-purple blooms. The tepals are the same color on both sides, which heightens the color intensity. The flowers are lightly fragrant, and the bloom period is from April to May. This stunning plant is the result of 15 years of hybridizing work in New Zealand.
'Gold Finch' Magnolia is a complex cross from the late Phil Savage of Michigan. The M. acuminata parentage can be seen in its habit (tall and upright) as well as its flower color (light yellow). Magnolia x 'Gold Finch' is very cold hardy, and is a rather early bloomer. The large showy blossoms are tulip or goblet shaped.
'March til Frost' Magnolia has large upright tulip-shaped blooms of a beautiful deep rose-purple color. This introduction from Dr. August Kehr starts blooming in late March and early April, and continues to bloom sporadically throughout the summer into the fall. It was one of Dr. Kehr's favorites, and we have always loved the "surprise package" it makes when the large showy flowers open up in late summer and fall.
PRN Preferred: No other Magnolia comes close to putting out more flowers throughout the growing season. The summer and fall flowers are not washed out. Truly remarkable.
‘Royal Purple’ Magnolia was hybridized by New Zealand Magnolia breeder Peter Cave. Thought to be a sprengeri var. ‘Diva’ seedling, this beautiful fastigiate tree produces large and luscious bright purple flowers. The tepals are a darker purple on the exterior, offset by a paler pinkish purple on the inside. Because of the upright narrow habit, this would be an excellent Magnolia for tighter spaces.
'Sun Spire' Magnolia is another lovely introduction by the late Dr. August Kehr. The flowers are deep yellow and held upright on the branches. Since they appear late in the spring after the danger of frost, the display is consistently showy, like a tower of fat yellow candles. The habit is distinctly upright, making Magnolia x 'Sun Spire' is a great candidate for smaller gardens and tight spots. The parents are M. x 'Woodsman' and and M. x 'Elizabeth'.
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Judy Zuk' is a spectacular and fitting tribute to the much missed former president of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Judy Zuk. Upward-facing fragrant flowers are a strong yellow, flushing to orange pink at the base. A very beautiful Magnolia coming from BBG's wonderful hybridizing work. M. acuminata is prominent in its ancestry.
PRN Preferred: The combination of yellow flushing to orange is stunning, and this is our favorite deep yellow Magnolia.
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' is a late flowering Magnolia with deep yellow fragrant flowers that are seldom damaged by frost. One of Brooklyn Botanical Garden's great introductions, and one of Rick Darke's favorite yellows.
'Wada's Memory' Magnolia was named after Japanese nurseryman K. Wada, when it was discovered in a group of Japanese seedlings grown at the University of Washington Arboretum, Magnolia xkewensis 'Wada's Memory' is covered with narrow-petaled ivory-white 6" flowers in early April, to the degree that the tree is almost completely white when in bloom. The new leaves emerge afterwards in shades of bronze which mature to green in summer. The habit is a tight upright cone, and is one of the most attractive shaped Magnolias we have grown. Go see the amazing specimen at Winterthur Museum in Delaware.
Leatherleaf Mahonia has lemon-yellow fragrant flowers in February and March, blue bird-attracting fruit in summer and is evergreen. Grow more than one shrub together for best fruit production. The upright angular habit adds to its architectural interest all year. Often used asa barrier plants due to it's spiny leaves. Mahonias native to western China and in the same family (Berberaceae) as Barberries and Nandinas and share their characteristic deer resistance. In fact, taxonomists now refer to Mahonia bealei as Berberis bealei (Beale's Barberry). If looking for a native alternative, consider Daphniphyllum macropodum or Myrica pensylvanica.
Japanese Mahonia is often confused with Mahonia bealei, but the foliage is a darker, glossier green, and the texture is finer, with more leaves per stem. According to Michael Dirr, each flower is larger and brighter yellow than M. bealei. It is evergreen, and produces fragrant yellow flower panicles in February and March. Bees and insects benefit from the blooms on warm winter days, and birds love the glaucous blue fruit in early summer. The new taxonomist designation for Mahonia japonica is Berberis japonica.
Emerald Spire® (‘Jefgreen’) Flowering Crabapple came from the breeding work of Dr. David Lane of British Columbia. This is a very tight upright Crabapple which produces fuchsia pink flowers in mid spring. Malus x adstringens Emerald Spire® has large bright green foliage which is disease resistant. Emerald Spire® Crabapple has large bright red fruit in fall, adding another season of beauty. Since Emerald Spire® is slow growing as well as very upright, this is a good candidate for small gardens, narrow spaces and street trees.
Showtime™ (‘Shotizam’) Crabapple comes from the prolific breeding work of Jim Zampini of Lake County Nurseries in Ohio. The fuchsia pink flowers cover the branches in early spring before the bronzy new growth emerges. Malus Showtime™ has an upright oval habit and has shown good to excellent foliar disease resistance. The green summer foliage is followed by red crabapples in the fall, providing important food for Robins, Mockingbirds, and other migrating birds.
Amber Glow™ ('WAH-o8AG') Dawn Redwood is a deciduous conifer which produces showy golden foliage. It emerges with a bronzy color on the new growth, and matures to chartreuse yellow during the summer and orange in the fall before the needles drop. Metasequoia glyptostroboides Amber Glow™ is somewhat more compact than the species, but it still grows to be a beautiful pyramidal tree which grows happily in a wide variety of soils.
Russian Arborvitae is a soft, flat growing evergreen that has plum colored winter foliage. Microbiota decussata's summer color is delicate fern-like green. Great in dry shade, where it spreads extensively. Native to the Sikhote-Alin mountains of far-eastern Russia where it grows above the timberline on bald peaks. It will not tolerate wet conditions. Foliage is bright green in summer changing to bronze-purple in fall and winter.
Celtic Pride® (‘Prides’) Russian Arborvitae is a Proven Winners® introduction. Microbiota decussata is an excellent evergreen groundcover for dry semi-shady locations, and Celtic Pride® shows improved vigor and disease resistance. Microbiotas look like groundcover Junipers, but the foliage is more fern-like and not prickly. An added benefit is the winter color, which is shades of plum and purple. Must have excellent drainage.
The dark green highly aromatic foliage of Northern Bayberry is semi-evergreen. It forms large colonies eventually. Myrica pensylvanica is especially useful in dry, salty sites. Native to northeast where it is primarily found growing along the eastern coast. Gray waxy fruit borne on female plants (dioecious) in late summer and remain through the winter so grouping several plants will increase chance of having a male plant to establish fruit set. Myrica pensylvanica is not sexed. (New name is Morella pensylvanica.)
Per Yale University: "American colonists boiled the berries to extract the sweet-smelling wax coating, which they used to make clean-burning candles. The wax coating on the northern bayberry fruit is indigestible for most birds, but a few species have adapted to be able to eat it, notably the yellow-rumped warbler and tree swallow in North America. As the wax is very energy-rich, this enables the yellow-rumped warbler to spend winter further north in cooler climates than any other American warbler if bayberries are present. The seeds are then dispersed in the birds’ droppings.
Green Gable™ ('NSUHH') Black Gum or Tupelo is a really amazing selection of this native tree. It has the classic brilliant red fall color we know and love, but its habit is a huge departure from regular Nyssas, with an upright pyramidal shape and extremely uniform branching. With its lustrous green foliage in summer, excellent fall color and perfect silhouette in winter, it is clearly the best answer we've seen to the Pear requests people still have. Alex Neubauer of Hidden Hollow Nursery in Tennessee found this exciting native, which is primarily a male form (but probably polygamo-dioecious, which means it will infrequently bear some fruit). Wet site and salt tolerant. 2023 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
PRN Preferred: This tree has a wonderful upright habit and consistantly beautiful fall color.
'Sasaba' Holly Tea Olive has dramatic dark green deeply incised leaves on a compact, shade loving plant. Dr. Michael Dirr calls it "A plant handler's worst nightmare" because the leaves are very stiff and prickly. Of course, that is what makes it a wonderful evergreen for deer country. The insignificant flowers appear in November and are highly, deliciously fragrant. There is a lovely large plant at the Scott Arboretum, home of so many specimen plants. Slow growing, with good cold tolerance.
Sourwood has strands of bell-shaped white flowers in mid to late summer and brilliant red fall foliage. Oxydendrum arboreum is a wonderful tree for honeybees, producing excellent flavored honey. Leaves have a sour taste, hence the common name. This is a multi-season beauty from the Ericaceae. Try planting it with other acid loving plants like Azaleas and Rhododendrons.
Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Kaoukamon’ is known for producing beautiful, dark maroon flowers with golden yellow stamens that emerge in mid-to-late spring, usually around mid-April, and last until mid-to-late June. The lightly scented blooms are smaller than other Tree Peony varieties but are a wonderful option as the focal point for the pollinator garden, where they’re sure to be visited by butterflies. This long-lived perennial will bloom best in full sun, but can handle part shade and moist - but not overly saturated - soils. Finely lobed foliage takes on a lovely color in the fall, ranging from golden yellows, to brilliant oranges and reds, making this Tree Peony a multi-seasonal favorite. The dark maroon buds and open blooms make excellent, dramatic additions to both the garden as well as to fresh cut flower arrangements.
Ruby Vase® Persian Ironwood is an excellent choice as a street tree or a showy specimen for small spaces. The habit is a narrow vase shape with tight upright branching. New leaves emerge in spring with an attractive red margin. The green Hamamelis-like foliage is clean and disease resistant all summer, turning lovely shades of yellow, orange and red in fall. The small reddish purple spidery flowers are borne in winter on the twigs, providing food for winter pollinators, and the bark of older plants is attractive patches of green, tan and gray.
'Vanessa' Persian Ironwood was chosen for its upright, columnar form. Parrotia 'Vanessa' has multi-season appeal, starting in winter and spring when attractive mottled bark is offset by small red spidery flowers. The oval shaped foliage emerges in spring with burgundy edges to the scalloped leaves. By summer the foliage is a bright green, taking on stunning shades of red, purple, orange and gold in fall.
Chinese Parrotia or Ironwood is a very rare large shrub or small tree which is highly endangered in its original Chinese habitats. Brought to England by Roy Lancaster, who received this clone from Mikinori Ogisu, the Japanese Botanist. Tim Brotzman, the Ohio nurseryman who is a leading expert on Hamamelis, provided this rarity to us. The green leaves in summer often have a striking purple margin. The fall color is really spectacular, in shades of red, pink and burgundy. Parrotia subaequalis is more compact than P. persica, but has more showy exfoliating bark as it matures. The infrequently appearing red filamentous flowers in winter are similar to Parrotia persica.
Coppertina® ('Mindia') Ninebark has light pink flowers in June, copper-colored foliage and good red fall color. It comes from Minier Nursery in France. Physocarpus is also wet site tolerant. Its peeling winter bark increases in showiness as Ninebarks age revealing layers of reddish to light brown inner bark, hence the common name of Ninebark.
Ginger Wine® Ninebark ('SMNPOBLR') is a showy native shrub, offering attractive flowers and foliage from spring through fall. The leaves start as shades of orange and red in spring, and mature to burgundy in summer. The fall color is a mix of red and burgundy. The delicate pinkish white flower clusters appear in late spring and are followed by attractive red seedheads. Physocarpus Ginger Wine® also offers winter interest with tan peeling bark on the older wood.
Summer Wine® ('Seward') Ninebark has pinkish white button-like flowers in June over a compact habit, and bright bronze-purple foliage. Physocarpus opulifolius Summer Wine® has a reddish-purple fall color and is also wet site tolerant.
Summer Wine® Black is the darkest Physocarpus on the market to date. The foliage is such a dark purple that it approaches black, and the delicate pink flower clumps really stand out in contrast when they appear in June. As the leaves mature throughout the summer, they take on some more bronzy tones, followed by showy reddish purple fall color. If desired, pruning is most appropriate right after blooming.
Sweet Cherry Tea™ (‘ZLEBiC5’) Ninebark has fine delicate leaves which emerge reddish orange and rapidly mature to deep purple. The flowers have dark pink buds which open to profuse pink clusters in June. The first heavy flowering period leads to the production of rather showy red fruit which feeds small birds. Fall color is shades of red and burgundy, and older plants have an interesting exfoliating bark. A Plants Nouveau introduction from Breeder David Zlasak.
Tiny Wine® ('SMPOTW') Dwarf Ninebark is a dwarf form of our native Physocarpus, with burgundy to bronze foliage. The flowers start opening in late spring, forming bunches of pink and white button-like flowers by June. The showy purple bronze summer foliage is followed by reddish purple fall shades. Does not need pruning, is deer resistant and wet site tolerant; Tiny Wine® is a big step forward for Physocarpus.
The red buds of 'Dorothy Wycoff' Japanese Pieris open to pale pink, highly fragrant flowers in March and April, serving as an important food source for early spring insects. Pieris japonica 'Dorothy Wycoff' is a compact form with dark green evergreen leaves.
'Flaming Silver' Japanese Pieris has dark green lustrous leaves with bright white margins. The new growth emerges in shades of red with pink margins, followed by fragrant white bells in pendant clumps in March and April. According to Michael Dirr, 'Flaming Silver' is a more vigorous grower than Pieris 'Variegata' and it is certainly more showy with wider white margins on the evergreen leaves.
‘Katsura’ Japanese Andromeda produces strings of white fragrant bells on pendent panicles in early spring. The new growth emerging in spring in vivid shades of bronze and red. The new leaves mature in summer to a lustrous green. The flower buds for the next year start developing in the summer and add to the winter interest by taking on shades of purple and red. Pieris japonica ‘Katsura’ is evergreen and should be protected from afternoon winter sun.
The fragrant white flowers of 'Mountain Fire' Japanese Pieris appear in March and April, with bright red new growth appearing on top of the shiny green, evergreen foliage almost all summer. The color of Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire' make it look like a very refined Photinia.
Exclamation!™ ('Morton Circle') London Planetree is a hybrid selection by Dr George Ware at the Morton Arboretum. The controlled cross is between our native Sycamore and the Asian species. Platanus x acerifolia Exclamation!™ gets its name for its very upright pyramidal in the winter landscape. In addition to its very upright regular straight habit, Exclamation!™ is also resistant to both Anthracnose and frost cracking, so it makes a very versatile fast growing shade tree which tolerates a broad spectrum of site conditions. Introduced by Chicagolad Grows®.
'Flying Dragon' Hardy Orange (syn. 'Monstrosa') is a citrus that can actually be grown in the Northeast. The fruits are golf ball sized yellow-gold oranges in the fall that can be made into a very tart marmalade (lots of sugar needed). The deliciously fragrant white flowers are bourne on the deep green contorted, thorny stems in April and May. The twigs are ornamental for both structure and color in the winter. Just make sure Poncirus 'Flying Dragon' is not planted near play areas, as the thorns are significant.
Bush Cherry blooms in early spring, when its shrubby branches become covered with bright pink blossoms. The flower display is often followed by small red fruit which is attractive to wildlife. The fall color is a good yellow. Since Prunus jacqunemontii is a very early spring bloomer, it makes a great cut branch for early forcing. Another common name is 'Afghan Cherry'.
‘Chestnut Hill’ Cherry Hill is an introduction by the Morris Arboretum of Philadelphia. A more compact form of Prunus ‘Otto Luykens,’ Prunus laurocerasus ‘Chestnut Hill’ is named after the beautiful community in which it was found. Evergreen and rounded in habit, ‘Chestnut Hill’ thrives in shade as well as sun, and tolerates salty conditions better than most broadleaf evergreens. This dark green compact Cherry Laurel can be used as a foundation shrub or as a short dense hedge plant.
The dark green evergreen foliage of 'Otto Luykens' Common Cherry Laurel is compact, topped with highly fragrant white flowers in April and May. Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luykens' is an excellent broadleaf evergreen for shady locations with deer problems. It tolerates salt spray well. Introduced by Hesse Nurseries of Germany.
The first Cherry to bloom in the spring, 'Okame' has bright pink semi-double flowers which appear in late March to early April. Prunus x 'Okame' is a fine-textured cold hardy small tree that lights up the landscape at a time when we all need it. We first heard of this from Paul Meyer of the Morris Arboretum when it was introduced to the US, and it's still our favorite.
Prunus x yedoensis has soft pink flowers that open before the foliage emerges in early April. 'Yoshino' Cherry makes up the famous Cherry Blossom display in Washington DC along with 'Kwanzan' Cherry. Fall foliage is yellow to orange.
Prunus x yedoensis ‘Akebono’, meaning ‘daybreak’ in Japanese, is a lovely, small deciduous tree that provides multiple seasons of interest and attracts birds to the specimen or cottage garden. Delicate, light pink double blooms appear in early spring around late March to early April, filling the canopy with a soft mist of blooms that is akin to the pastel palette of an early spring morning sky. Small black fruits follow in the summer, that are a favorite of native and migrating bird species alike. Its glossy, dark green foliage achieves a rainbow of beautiful reds, oranges and yellows in autumn before dropping. Prunus x yedoensis ‘Akebono’ was introduced to the trade in 1925 by W.B. Clarke Nursery in San Jose, California. Seedlings of the cultivar were provided to the Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin in the National Mall, where they intermingle amongst some 2,000+ other Yoshino Flowering Cherry trees in order to signify the cordial relationship between Japan and America. In fact, in Japan, the ‘Akebono’ cultivar is called ‘Amerika’.
White Oaks are among our most beautiful native Oaks, starting out as upright young trees and maturing to magnificent specimens as broad as they are tall. Quercus alba retains its foliage late in the fall, changing from summer greens to shades of bronze red and brown. Young Oaks often carry their attractive tan leaves well into the winter. The acorns produced by mature White Oaks are a very important food source for many varieties of birds and mammals. Slow growing but well worth the investment.
The Swamp White Oak is one of our most beautiful native trees, growing to a magnificent broad tree that tolerates both wet and dry situations. When young, the bark is attractively mottled with scales of tan, gray and brown. The fall color is shades of yellow and orange, changing to a soft russet-tan in winter. Juvenile trees retain their winter foliage and are often confused with White Oaks, since the leaves are very similar. Acorns provide an important source of winter wildlife food (wild Turkeys in particular love them). 2023 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
PRN Preferred: This is the most versitile Oak we know of for variable sites, and it is one of our favorite native trees.
Beacon® ('Bonnie and Mike') was discovered by Dr Michael Dirr, and named after him and his wife Bonnie when introduced by J Frank Schmidt and Son of Oregon. Quercus bicolor is one of the most adaptable Oaks for wet sites and urban conditions, and Beacon® had the added distinction of being tightly columnar. This enables it to be used in narrow spaces and as an excellent street tree. The lustrous dark green foliage turns and attractive golden yellow in fall. The tan acorns provide and important food source for wildlife, and as Dr Doug Tallamy points out, native Oaks are critical for bird survival.
PRN Preferred: The very tight upright habit makes this a good Oak for tight spaces and urban settings.
Green Pillar® ('Pringreen') is one of the most fastigiate forms of Pin Oak we have seen, found by our nurseryman cousin Alan Jones, while he was at Princeton Nurseries. The branches are tight and upward pointing, giving it a striking appearance in all seasons. Fall color is a lovely reddish maroon and it is a very adaptable tree for a wide range of sites. Green Pillar® is tolerant of wet, dry, and tight sites.
Willow Oak is a lovely versatile native Oak which grows well in both country and city conditions. The habit is a broad oval, without the descending branch habit of Pin Oaks, so Quercus phellos makes a very attractive street tree. The Willow shaped leaves are much easier to deal with than those of other members of the Red Oak family because of their small size. The foliage turns an attractive dull gold in fall and is often retained for much of the winter as tan rustling leaves. The small acorns are an important food source for many birds and mammals.
Streetspire® (JFS-KWIQX’) Hybrid Oak is a beautiful fastigiate tree, it features shorter and sturdier branches with better branch angles. Handsome dark green leaves which become a rusty red in fall, then leave drop cleanly which is unusual for this group. The leaves are lustrous and similar to Quercus alba leaves. Quercus Streetspire® was chosen by Keith Warren and J Frank Schmidt and Sons Nursery for its excellence as a street tree. It shows great tolerance of a wide range of soil types and urban conditions. A cross between Quercus robur and Quercus alba.
Kindred Spirit® ('Nadler') Hybrid Oak is an interspecific hybrid of the Columnar English Oak (Q. robur fastigiata) and Swamp Oak (Q. bicolor). The habit is tightly columnar, and the foliage is clean and mildew resistant. The leaves are dark green with a silver underside, turning shades of yellow and bronze in fall. Quercus x Kindred Spirit® would make an excellent tall hedge, or be an attractive architectural element when used as a specimen. Although a cross between two different species, Kindred Spirit® does produce acorns which provide food for wildlife. This is another winner from Earl Cully of Heritage Trees.
Regal Prince® ('Long') Oak is a cross between Q. robur 'Fastigiata' and Q. bicolor, combining the best features of both its parents. The foliage is a glossy dark green on the upper surface and a glaucous silver on the lower surface which makes it particularly attractive on windy days. Its foliage is highly disease resistant, unlike ordinary Oaks, and it grows in a tight upright oval form. Like the Swamp White Oak, it is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions and has good rusty orange fall color. Earl Cully is its hybridizer.
'Blaauw's Pink' Azalea becomes covered with large salmon-pink hose-in-hose flowers in late spring. A very hardy standby for Northern gardens. A Gable Hybrid and evergreen.
'Conversation Piece' Azalea produces very large pink flowers with splotches of red and white coloring over compact evergreen foliage in mid to late May. Its dwarf habit is combined with excellent cold hardiness. Bred by Robert Gartrell at his New Jersey home named 'Robin Hill', from whence come many fine compact Azaleas.
Encore® Autumn Amethyst® (‘Conlee’) Hybrid Azalea blooms in both late spring and early fall, producing large showy flowers in shades of rosy purple. The dark green foliage is evergreen taking on purplish shades in winter. Rhododendron Encore® Autumn Amethyst® should be protected from harsh winter winds, and comes from the Encore® Series hybridized by Robert Lee and Flowerwood Nursery of Mobile, Alabama.
Autumn Embers™ Hybrid Azalea ('Conleb') is one of the hardiest of this exciting group of fall blooming evergreen Azaleas. The flowers start in July and continue through the fall. The large blooms are a deep orange-red in both single and semi-double forms. The habit is low growing and tight, with dark green disease-resistant leaves. From the breeding work of Robert Lee and introduced by Flowerwood Nursery of Mobile, Alabama.
Autumn Rouge® (‘Conlea’) Hybrid Azalea blooms in both late spring and early fall. The large semi-double flowers are a deep reddish pink. The evergreen foliage is attractive all year, taking on darker shades in winter. Rhododendron Encore® Autumn Rouge® comes from the hybridizing work of Robert E. Lee, introduced and promoted by Flowerwood Nursery in Alabama. Dr. Michael Dirr says that Autumn Rouge® is one of the hardiest Encore® Azaleas.
Autumn Royalty® Hybrid Azalea ('Conlec') produces enormous magenta-purple booms from July through fall. The habit is tight but upright, with dark green evergreen foliage. Rhododendron Encore® Autumn Royalty® was voted “Azalea of the Year” by the American Rhododendron Society.
'Girard Crimson' Azalea blooms in May, with 2 1/2" crimson flowers over compact dark green evergreen foliage. Its leaves take on shades of burgundy in winter, adding another season to its beauty. From the extensive breeding work by Girard Nurseries in Geneva, Ohio.
‘Renee Michelle’ Azalea comes from the prolific hybridizing work of Girard Nurseries in Ohio, and is a beautiful compact evergreen Azalea. The flowers are large and a good clean pink in late spring, over glossy dark green foliage. An added beauty is the fall and winter color, when leaves take on shades of reddish-purple. The winter hardiness is excellent, as Dr. Michael Dirr found in his Illinois winter garden.
'Gumpo Pink' Azalea has large soft salmon pink flowers in June over tiny green foliage. The flowers look much bigger than you would expect for the leaf size. A Satsuki hybrid from Japan. Evergreen.
'Gumpo White' Azalea has large white flowers in June over tiny green foliage. When in bloom, the foliage is obscured by the white blooms. A Satsuki hybrid from Japan. Evergreen.
‘Klondyke’ Azalea produces large deep yellow flower trusses in May on the ends of the upright branches. The new foliage starts in shades of bronze, turning rapidly to a medium green. The habit of ‘Klondyke’ Azalea is upright and compact. It originated as one of the Knap Hill hybrids.
Hose-in-hose soft pink blooms appear on 'Nancy of Robin Hill' Azalea in mid-May. Foliage is evergreen and dense. This Azalea stays in bloom for an extended period. Hybridized by Robert Gartrell of New Jersey.
Rhododendron 'PJM' has bronze foliage that turns to purple in fall and winter. Lavender flowers appear in April. A classic small evergreen Rhododendron, found at Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts and named for Peter J Mezitt. There are also many great cultivars of the original 'PJM', which we also carry when possible.
‘Weston’s Innocence’ Swamp Azalea is a pure white Rhododendron viscosum introduced by Weston’s Nursery in Massachusetts. The graceful white flowers are fragrant and showy, appearing above the deciduous green leaves in May and June. The foliage is mildew resistant and turns shades of reddish burgundy in fall. Birds and pollinators are drawn to this lovely cold tolerant native. Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Innocence’ will light up moist woodland sites in late spring.
‘Choptank Rose’ Azalea is a lovely combination of both its Native Azalea parents. The fragrant flowers are a combination of rose, white and yellow and make a show in late May and June. ‘Choptank Rose’ does well in moist to wet sites, and naturalizes well in woodland settings. The great plantswoman Polly Hill found it naturally occurring along the banks of the Choptank River in Maryland and Delaware.
As its common and species name imply, Rhododendron atlanticum is a deciduous Azalea that is native to the coastal plain regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and along the Eastern seaboard as far south as Georgia. A small-to-medium sized shrub that typically ranges from 2-3’ but can occasionally reach 6’ in height, Coastal Azaleas are also sometimes considered to be Dwarf Azaleas due to their short stature. Light pink to white blooms appear in terminal clusters from April to May and produce a somewhat musky fragrance – in fact, the potent aroma of Rhododendron atlanticum is a sought-after trait for many Azalea breeding programs, and is often used to help cultivate sweet-smelling Azalea varieties. Flowers attract various pollinators including hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. The Azalea Society of America lists this species as one of the seven in the “White Group” category, the majority of which are native to the Eastern United States.
'My Mary' deciduous Azalea blooms in May, producing clusters of fragrant deep yellow blooms. The habit is loosely upright, and 'My Mary' lights up woodland settings when in bloom. This is a complex hybrid, combining excellent qualities from all three parents (austrinum, atlanticum and periclymenoides). Produced by the late George plantsman George Beasley who named it for his wife.
'Choice Cream' deciduous Azalea blooms in May and June. It is covered with extremely fragrant creamy-yellow flowers which are set off by pink tubes. This has long been a favorite of our dear friend Steven Kristoph, and has been a show-stopper at The Rutgers Gardens plant sale year after year.
Rhododendron austrinum, known commonly as the Florida Azalea or Florida Flame Azalea, is a native woodland shrub that produces clusters of gorgeous, fragrant blooms from April to May which give this plant its namesake. An explosion of yellows, peaches, and orange-reds appear in terminal clusters on top of loose, rangy branches, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. It is also possible to grow this species as a houseplant. Deciduous foliage takes on a range of yellow and bronze-orange in the fall. Florida Azalea is a Winner of the American Rhododendron Society’s Rhododendron of the Year Award for 2011.
‘Millie Mac’ Florida Azalea blooms in May, producing extremely fragrant yellow to orange flowers in delicate clumps. The blooms appear before Rhododendron x ‘Millie Mac’ is fully leafed out, making the plants very showy in semi-shaded areas. This deciduous native Azalea was found in Alabama, and tolerates heat and humidity well, as well as mid Atlantic winters. Enjoy this heavenly fragrance in the May garden.
‘Boursault’ Catawba Rhododendron blooms in late May and June, producing showy trusses of lavender bell-shaped flowers. The blooms crown the large oblong evergreen leaves, and Rhododendron ‘Boursault’ is a reliable bloomer in the Northeast because of its good cold tolerance. All Catawba Rhododendrons need excellent drainage as well as consistent moisture.
The white flower trusses of Rhododendron catawbiense 'Chionoides' have yellow centers, and are held above the green-leafed compact plant in May. A tidy, handsome shrub year-round, with attractive, neat evergreen foliage.
PRN Preferred: A neat compact habit with outsized white flower trusses.
'English Roseum' Catawba Rhododendron has large rose-pink flower trusses in May and June, displayed over large leathery evergreen leaves. 'English Roseum' is upright and somewhat compact in habit, with good tolerance for both heat and cold.
‘Lee’s Dark Purple’ Catawba Rhododendron has deep purple buds which open to rosy purple trusses in April and May. The dark green leathery leaves are evergreen, making a nice setting for the showy flower clumps. Rhododendron catawbiense ‘Lee’s Dark Purple’ is a native, but its breeder was John Lee of England, who hybridized it in the mid-1800s. The habit is somewhat compact and the cold tolerance is good.
Rhododendron kaempferi 'Johanna' Azalea has large red flowers, and is one of the best red Azaleas available. Leaves are semi-evergreen. Winter color is a bronzy purple.
PRN Preferred: The winter foliage color is just as showy as the spring blooms.
'Roseum Bluestem' Rosebay Rhododendron blooms in late May and early June, producing pinkish lavender trusses over large narrow evergreen foliage. 'Roseum Bluestem' gets its name from the reddish stems, and is a selection by Rarefind Nursery of Jackson, NJ. Like other selections of Rhododendron maximum 'Roseum', Rhododendron 'Blue Stem' flowers for a long time, in between R. catawbiense and R. maximum bloom time.
‘Rosy Pink’ Pinxter Azalea is a selection of Rhododendron periclymenoides (formerly nudiflorum). The fragrant early spring flowers are bright pink and borne on upright twiggy stems of deciduous foliage. Rhododendron periclymenoides ‘Rosy Pink’ needs good drainage, but can be found in moist woodlands and margins of swamps. ‘Pinxter’ evidently means ‘Pentacost’ in Dutch (who knew?), which refers to the early spring bloom time.
Pinxterbloom Azalea blooms April to early May and flower color ranges from white to pink. It is mildly fragrant, and tolerates dry sites and acidic soils. Deciduous.
Plumleaf Azalea has orange to red flowers in July and August, making it a valuable addition to the summer garden. Deciduous.
'Weston's Lollipop' Azalea is a beautiful interspecific hybrid from those great native Azalea breeders of Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA. The fragrant showy flower trusses are silvery pink with yellow throats in April and May. Hummingbirds, butterflies and pollinators are drawn to the blooms, and they are eye-catching in full sun and partial shade. The leaves take on subtle shades of red and orange in fall. Good drainage is important.
'Betty Cummins' Swamp Azalea was found along a New Jersey road by Dave Lewis, who named it after the great Rhododendron breeder Betty Cummins. The fragrant bright pink flowers appear in June and July over dark green deciduous foliage. Pollinators and hummingbirds are drawn to them. Rhododendron viscosum 'Betty Cummins' is an easy to grow native, since it copes with a variety of acid soil condition, from average drainage to swampy sites.
'Millennium' Swamp Azalea comes from years of breeding work with deciduous native Azaleas at Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts. Rhododendron viscosum 'Millennium' produces small fragrant blooms in late May and June, starting with velvety red buds that open to dark pink flower clumps. The bloom period is a month or more, especially when the spent flowers are deadheaded. The foliage is green with a glaucous silver underside. Rhododendron 'Millennium' is happiest in moist, acidic soils in both sun and partial shade.
‘Weston’s Ribbon Candy’ Swamp Azalea is a late blooming deciduous Azalea. The flowers are bright pink with white center stripes, and are held in showy trusses above the bluish green leaves. Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Ribbon Candy’ is aptly named, because the bicolored flowers do look like old-fashioned candies. Like other viscosum Azaleas, the fragrance is delicious. The June blooms are followed by good bronzy fall color.
'Golden Showers' Deciduous Azalea blooms in July and August, with mildly fragrant multi-hued flowers in shades of yellow, peach and ivory. The foliage is a glossy green in summer changing for a short time to bronze in fall before dropping. The habit of 'Golden Showers' starts out low and compact, slowly growing to make a wide patch. A subtle lovely hybrid from Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts.
Pennsylvania Rhododendron is a late blooming deciduous Azalea resulting from a controlled cross made by Weston Nurseries between R. periclymenoides and tow other named cultivars. The flowers appear in June and July in shades of deep pink with orange yellow throats. Our friend Larry Kuser of Fernbrook Nursery recommends it for its great fragrance and its neat compact habit. The fall color is shades of copper red.
'Weston's Lemon Drop' is a lovely hybrid (viscosum x unknown) deciduous Azalea from Weston Nurseries' extensive breeding work. The buds are peach colored, and open to a soft yellow in May and June. The flowers of this interspecific hybrid are fragrant, and the bluish green foliage turns reddish maroon in fall. The Mezzit family of Hopkinton, MA has contributed a huge number of excellent Rhododendrons to the gardening world, and this one is one of the best ones.
'Tangerine Delight' Hybrid Flame Azalea is a result of a beautiful cross between R. calendulaceum and a Knaphill Azalea. The habit is mounded with deciduous foliage, topped by large showy clusters of fragrant orange and peach colored flowers in May and June. Although eventually large, Rhododendron 'Tangerine Delight' has dense branching, and would make an excellent hedge as well as a large specimen.
The Native Azaleas which flourish on the East Coast are wonderfully varied, growing in different habitats from warm coastal wetlands to rocky cold mountaintops, and everywhere in between. They are all deciduous, and an important nectar source for insects and butterflies. We have several decidous varieties, of different flower colors and bloom times. Please review our current availability for a complete list of varieties.
'Gro-Low' Fragrant Sumac has brilliant red fall foliage. An introduction from Synnestvedt Nursery, its summer foliage is green and somewhat lustrous. A good choice for dry locations, urban sites and banks, especially in deer infested areas. Rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' is great for parking lot islands because it is so tough and salt tolerant.
PRN Preferred: This is an indestructible multi season groundcover. A real problem solver for tough sites.
'Creel's Quintet' Shining Sumac is a compact, landscape-worthy variety of this tough native plant. It has the beautiful burgundy-red coloration of the species, but it reaches a maximum height of only 8 to 10'. Its habit is suckering, so the clump will get wide eventually. Since it is a female form, the fruit it produces is an important food source in the winter for both birds and mammals. Mike Creel of Lexington, SC introduced it, and the "Quintet" refers to its set of 5 glossy leaflets per leaf, as opposed to the 9 or more produced on the species Rhus copallina. In the summer, the creamy yellow flower spikes add to the beauty of this dry site tolerant plant.
'Lanham's Purple' Shining Sumac is a mid sized selection with lustrous purple new growth in spring and early summer. By mid summer the color has matured to burgundy-green, and the fall color is a striking combination of purple, red, orange and yellow. It is very tolerant of poor dry sites, and colonizes banks, hillsides and rocky areas well with its suckering habit. It was found by the late Gary Lanham of Kentucky.
Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac has brilliant orange-red fall foliage with striking lacy leaves on fuzzy stems. Upright red fall seed clumps provide important food for many birds in winter. Rhus typhina 'Laciniata' ('Dissecta') is very tolerant of dry poor soils.
First Editions® Tiger Eyes® ('Bailtiger') Staghorn Sumac has chartreuse and brilliant yellow finely dissected leaves with red stems. Rhus typhina Tiger Eyes® has striking orange and red fall foliage, and is an exciting new native for tough sites, from Bailey Nurseries in Minnesota. Prefers a dry site.
PRN Preferred: Amazing foliage color both summer and fall, especially good in dry sites.
‘Purple Robe’ Black Locust produces 4” pendant racemes of lavender purple fragrant flowers in May and June. The actual flowers are pea-shaped, and like other members of the pea family (Fabaceae), Robinia ‘Purple Robe’ is very adaptable because of its nitrogen-fixing abilities. The pinnate leaves emerge a somewhat bronzy red in spring, rapidly maturing to green. Like other Black Locusts, ‘Purple Robe’ can produce suckers which should be removed. Introduced by William E. Silva in 1964.
Apricot Drift® ('Meimirrot') is a strong grower with double apricot colored blooms.
Bonica® ('Meidomonac') Rose has pastel pink double flowers and blooms all summer. An early Meidiland® introduction.
The pink single flowers of Carefree Delight® ('Meipotal') Rose have white centers and it blooms all summer. A great rose for mass plantings.
Clusters of single cherry red flowers with white centers cover the glossy green foliage of Carefree Spirit™ ('Meizmea') Rose all summer. Excellent disease resistance. From the Meidiland® Rose breeding program.
Carefree Wonder™ ('Meipitac') Rose has pink double flowers which are two-toned because the outsides of the petals are white. It blooms all summer.
Cinco de Mayo™ ('WEKcobeju') Rose is a floribunda form with a gorgeous blend of smoky lavender, red and orange blooms. The flowers are moderately fragrant and their unusual coloration is more intense in cooler weather. This seedling of 'Julia Child' won 2nd prize in the prestigious Paris trials of 2010, per our friend Stephen Scaniello (A.K.A. the Rose God). A Carruth Introduction.
Cloud 10™ ('Radclean') Climbing Rose produces pure white double flowers in spring and fall. The foliage is highly disease resistant and an attractive glossy green. The large blooms resemble English Roses and are attractive to pollinators. Rosa Cloud 10™ come from the hybridizing work of Will Radler and can be grown as a very large shrub as well as a mid sized climber.
Coral Drift® ('Meidriflora') is a semi-double deep coral-orange.
One of the newer exciting children of the Knock Out® program, Coral Knock Out® (formerly Carefree Celebration™), has double coral orange flowers all summer until frost. It has the same wonderful disease resistance that its other siblings have. From William Radler.
'Don Juan' Rose has deep crimson double flowers and is very fragrant. It reblooms well with clean shiny foliage. It is the result of a cross between a seedling 'New Dawn' and 'New Yorker'.
Double Knock Out® ('Radtko') Rose is another amazing Rose from the Knock Out® series, with double cherry-red flowers all summer into fall, as well as the beautiful foliage of its parent, Knock Out®.
Fairy Meidiland® (‘Meiklutz’) Shrub Rose starts blooming in June and produces masses of single bright pink flowers in clusters. The habit is compact and the foliage is a glossy disease-resistant green. Rosa Fairy Meidiland® blooms intermittently throughout the summer, especially if deadheaded after the first bloom flush. One of the series of Landscape Roses from the breeding work of Meidiland Roses.
Fire Meidiland® ('Meipsidue') Rose has red double flowers and blooms all summer into fall. The habit is low and broad. Foliage is very clean.
PRN Preferred: A wonderful low but broad groundcover Rose which produces masses of small double red flowers all summer over clean green foliage.
'Golden Showers' Climbing Rose was an AARS® Award winner in 1957, so it has clearly stood the test of time. The clear yellow semi-double flowers are fragrant and attract butterflies and pollinators. They age to cream, with the new yellow flowers emerging throughout the summer until the first frosts. Rosa 'Golden Showers' is a vigorous disease resistant rose which performs reliable throughout the summer, and it has the added advantage of having very few thorns. Removing spent flowers encourages a heavier rebloom.
Icecap™ ('Meiradena') is a compact repeat blooming Rose that produces a great quantity of white semi-double flowers. The foliage is clean and disease resistant. Rosa Icecap™ is a result of a partnership between Will Radler (the father of the Knock Out® Rose) and the french hybridizers, Meilland. An excellent choice for mass plantings.
‘John Cabot’ Climbing Rose was one of the original Explorer series of very hardy Roses from Canada. The fragrant double flowers are fuchsia red and produced throughout most of the summer. The foliage is a clean light green, with orange rose hips appearing in the fall. Rosa ‘John Cabot’ is a short vigorous climber, but it can also be a very large shrub rose. (8’ by 6’), which could be used for a stunning hedge.
'Joseph's Coat' Rose has yellow and scarlet semi-double flowers that are fragrant, and it reblooms well in the fall.
Knock Out® ('Radrazz') Rose has cherry-red semi-double flowers on beautiful bronzy new growth and disease-free dark green foliage. A tremendous plant introduced by William Radler. It will never stop blooming for you throughout the summer and fall.
Knock Out® 'White' ('Radwhite') Rose is another winner from William Radler. The glistening single white flowers cover the dark green disease-resistant foliage. Michael Bowell of 'Create a Scene' in Pennsylvania accurately likens the flower form to American Dogwood flowers.
Limoncello™ ('MEljecycka') Shrub Rose produces clear yellow flowers prolifically all summer, over dark green disease resistant foliage. The 3" blooms are single and very fragrant. This is the first strong yellow bloomer from the Meidiland® breeding program in France, introduced into the US by Star Roses. Because of its summer-long flowering performance and its excellent disease resistance, Limoncello™ is an excellent choice for large landscape plantings.
PRN Preferred: The combination of bright yellow flowers and clean disease resistant foliage is unusual.
'New Dawn' Rose has small pink fragrant double flowers, great hardiness and is a good rebloomer. Per Stephen Scaniello, who knows all things rose-related, this was the first plant ever patented in the USA. It also showed good salt tolerance through the recent hurricanes on the Jersey shore.
Peach Drift® ('Meiggili') is a semi-double peach.
Petite Knock Out® (‘Meibienbino’) Shrub Rose is a miniature version of the original Red Knock Out® Rose. The compact habit applies to both the flower size (averaging 1½”) and the plant’s size. Rosa Petite Knock Out® produces the same cherry red blooms throughout the summer, covering the same clean disease-resistant foliage. Petite Knock Out® Rose is a very good candidate for containers in sunny areas. An introduction by Star® Roses.
One of the newest releases from William Radler. Pink Double Knock Out® ('Radtkopink') Rose is a bubblegum-pink Rose that has all the foliage attributes of its Knock Out® siblings and it's a double. Blooms all summer into the fall.
Pink Drift® ('Meijocos') Rose starts blooming in late spring and continues producing flowers all summer into fall. This neat, compact groundcover is covered with single pink blooms which are rendered more interesting by the white centers and yellow stamens. The foliage, like the other Drift® Series Roses we carry, is clean, green and disease resistant. Another introduction from Meilland Roses of France.
Fluorescent pink single to semi-double flowers on disease-free foliage, Pink Knock Out® ('Radcon') Rose has bronze new growth. Found by Conard-Pyle Nurseries, it blooms without stopping all summer.
Rainbow Sorbet™ ('BAIprez') Rose has semi-double flowers which combine shades of red, orange and yellow, over dark, disease resistant foliage. An everblooming floribunda Rose.
Red Drift® ('Meigalpio') is a double scarlet red.
Ruby Meidiland® ('Meipreston') Rose is covered with ruby-red double flowers. It blooms all summer, and has very clean foliage. One of our favorite small shrub Roses.
Smiley Face™ ('Meilaclost') Climbing Rose has fragrant, double yellow flowers on clean, mildew resistant foliage. The intensity of its yellow color is really good, and does not fade into ivory, as so many other yellows do.
‘Sun Flare’ (‘JACjem’) Shrub Rose produces clusters of lemon-yellow double flowers starting in June. The blooms are fragrant and hold their yellow color well. William Warriner hybridized Rosa ‘Sun Flare’ in the 1980s while breeding Roses for Jackson and Perkins. The habit is relatively low and wide, with good clean green foliage.
Sunny Knock Out® ('Radsunny') Rose is another long-awaited winner from William Radler's Knock Out® program, with single bright yellow flowers and the disease resistant foliage of its siblings. It blooms all summer, and the color is deeper in cooler weather.
Sweet Drift® ('Meiswetdom') has double clear pink blossoms. It has a beautiful strong fragrance, particularly in the evening.
Tequila Gold® (‘Meipojona’) Shrub Rose produces semi-double bright yellow blooms throughout the summer. The flowers retain their yellow color well, over glossy green foliage. Foliage is black spot resistant. An introduction by Meilland in 2012.
Tequila® ('Meipomolo') Shrub Rose produces semi-double apricot blooms for an extended period in summer. The foliage is a clean lustrous green, and tolerant of hot dry conditions. The growth habit of Tequila® makes it a good candidate for compact hedges, as well as a lovely addition to the landscape for cut flowers. Introduced by Meilland International.
White Drift® ('Meizorland') Rose is a new ever blooming groundcover introduction with loads of diminutive white double flowers from early summer into fall. Like the other Drift® series of compact roses, White Drift® has excellent disease resistance. Excellent for rock gardens, flower bed borders and containers.
White Meidiland® ('Meicoublan') Rose has large double white flowers all summer and into fall over disease-free dark green foliage.
'William Baffin' Rose is a vigorous deep pink semi-double climbing rose. Its disease resistance and cold tolerance are excellent, and it reblooms on new wood. 'William Baffin' is mildly fragrant.
Winner's Circle™ ('Radwin') Rose is a lovely new everblooming Climbing Rose from the Knock Out® program of William Radler. The 7" semi-double flowers, which are produced throughout summer into fall, are fire engine red and are displayed over clean dark green foliage. The leaves take on shades of burgundy in the fall, and attractive orange hips are often present going into the winter.
'Zephirine Drouhin' Rose has cerise pink semi-double flowers which are very fragrant. The stems are virtually thornless. It reblooms in the fall.
PRN Preferred: A long lasting climber with virtually no thorns!
Carolina Rose is a tough native Rose, blooming in May with bright pink fragrant single flowers. Found in glades, swamps and pastures, Rosa carolina spreads by suckers to form a large patch eventually. The vivid pink blossoms are followed by red hips in the fall which are a good source of food and vitamin C for birds. Like most native Roses, Carolina or Pasture Rose is more disease resistant than most commercial Roses, including Rose Rosette disease.
Rugosa Rose has single magenta-pink highly fragrant flowers June through August, followed by large, bright orange rose hips in fall. Excellent colonizer of salty, sandy locations. The fruit is highly attractive to wildlife, but deer tend to leave the plants alone (too spiny).
PRN Preferred: A Rose that is both deer resistant and extremely fragrant.
‘Foxi Pavement’ (‘UHLater’) Rugosa Rose was developed as a groundcover version because of its shorter stature and vigorous suckering habit. The bright lavender pink flowers are very fragrant, with good reblooming especially if deadheaded. If not deadheaded, Rosa rugosa ‘Foxi Pavement’ produces large red hips in fall which is food for wildlife because of its excellent vitamin production. One of the older names for ‘Foxi Pavement’ is ‘Buffalo Gal,’ which is odd because this hybrid Rugosa actually came from Germany.
‘Pink Pavement’ Rugosa Rose has mauve pink ruffled flowers over disease-resistant dark green foliage. Rosa rugosa ‘Pink Pavement’ starts blooming in June and reblooms in late summer, especially if deadheaded after the first bloom flush. The Pavement series were introduced in the 1980s by Karl Baum of Germany, and are useful as tall groundcovers because of their suckering habits. Rugosa Roses tend to be somewhat deer resistant because of the many tiny thorns.
‘Purple Pavement’ Rugosa Rose produces fragrant ruffled semi-double reddish purple flowers for an extended period all summer. The suckering habit makes Rosa Rugosa ‘Purple Pavement’ a good choice for a groundcover on slopes, especially since the showy flowers are followed by attractive red rosehips in the fall. ‘Purple Pavement’ was introduced by Karl Baum of Germany in the 1980’s.
'Snow Pavement' ('Schneckoppe') Rose has semi-double fragrant white flowers, followed by bright red rose hips in the fall. The blooms start out pale pink in bud, and retain some delicate pink in the petals before maturing to white. Excellent salt tolerance, reblooms well. Makes a compact shrub or groundcover Rose. Hybridized in Germany.
Rosa virginiana has fragrant single pink blooms in June on long prickly branches with glossy green leaves. Fall color is an attractive orange, red and yellow, accented by shiny red rose hips remaining into winter. Salt and seashore loving. Rose Rosette resistant per Bill Barnes.
'Purple Pavement' ('Rotesmeer') Rose has reddish-purple semi-double blooms with excellent fragrance. 'Purple Pavement' reblooms periodically after its initial flush, and is crowned with large attractive dark red rosehips in the fall. Rosa rugosa varieties are highly salt tolerant.
These Roses are an exciting new offer from the Meidiland® Rose program, developed specifically to answer the need for very small Roses for groundcovers and containers. The Drift® Series grow to about 18" and bloom without stopping all summer. They have excellent disease resistance. Hot weather doesn't faze them; they just keep performing. We carry Apricot Drift®, Coral Drift®, Red Drift® and Sweet Drift® varieties.
Coral Bark Willow ('Chermesina') has stunning orange to red bark coloration in winter on its first year stems, so in order to keep it looking its best, this is a Salix which needs to be cut back hard every spring. The summer foliage is the classic narrow green willow leaf we all know, but its color in the winter landscape will really stand out. Originally introduced from Germany. Wet site tolerant.
'Mt. Aso' Japanese Pussy Willow has beautiful bright pink male catkins appearing in March and April. The fuzzy flowers slowly elongate as they open, ending up almost 2" long by the time the pollen is exposed. Pussy Willows make great cut branches for forcing in January and February, and 'Mt Aso' is a particularly showy form. It is named for Japan's largest active volcano. Cut back the branches to 2' every 2 or 3 years to maintain good catkin production.
PRN Preferred: The prettiest and most showy of the Pussy Willows.
'Swizzlestick' Corkscrew Willow has twisted, upward-reaching orange-yellow stems that display themselves beautifully in fall, winter and spring. The narrow green leaves are attractive all summer, turning yellow in the fall. Salix 'Swizzlestick' thrives in wet locations and is also salt tolerant. The original plant was found and named by Darryll Probst, who saw it on a roadside and took cuttings. Cut back hard in spring to promote attractive new branches. They also make a great addition to cut flower arrangements.
PRN Preferred: Really fantastic as winter cut branches, for both color and structure.
'Adams' American Elder is a fruit-bearing native with a long history of use in our country. The green pinnate leaves are borne on long pithy stems which grow in a suckering clump. The flowers are large flat white cymes blooming in June and July, covering the tips of the arching branches. They are followed by purple black edible fruit in August and September. S. 'Adams' was selected by William Adams of NY for the size and quantity of the fruit, which has been an excellent source of wine, jam, and pies. Sambucus tolerates both wet and dry sites, and provides an important source of fall food for birds. It would be more attractive as an addition to the landscape if cut back hard every spring.
Fragrant Valley™ ('SarSid1') Sweetbox is also a very uniform selection from Canada, but its compact, thick habit is much lower growing, and makes a wonderful low evergreen groundcover. Its fragrant white flowers appear in spring over dark green shiny leaves, and its disease-resistant and deer-resistant qualities make it ideal for shady dry sites. 2021 PHS Gold Medal Plant.
Common Sassafras is a lovely small native tree that is hard to find in the trade because of the difficulty moving it B&B. We grow it in containers for that reason, and love its variable multi-shaped leaves. The flowers appear in early April and are an attractive chartreuse yellow, making a show before the leaves appear. The fall color varies from yellow to orange bronze. The root bark has been used traditionally to make an interesting tea or root beer. If you have a mature female tree, be sure to look closely at the summer fruit, which is one of the prettiest we've ever seen, with red pedicels and orange yellow bases on purple fruits, looking like match-sticks. Sassafras is a host plant for various butterflies. Prefers good moisture and organic matter. Sassafras, like Betula, is a pioneer species, so it performs well in disturbed sites.
The new leaves of 'Sem' False Spirea emerge orange-red, set off by chartreuse yellow older foliage in spring and early summer. Large fluffy white panicles start in July when the foliage has turned a uniform light green. Texture of plant is light and airy with delicate pinnate leaf form. Suckering habit.
'Tor' Birchleaf Spirea is a little-used tough plant with several attractive attributes. The white flowers appear in compact dome-like clusters in May, above increasingly dark green clean foliage. The foliage turns to lovely shades of gold, bronze, and red in fall, and is one of the showiest Spireas by far for fall interest. Our friend, John Story first brought it to our attention for its fall color, and since it is deer-resistant as well as very hardy, it deserves more usage.
'Anthony Waterer' Spiraea has new growth that emerges reddish-purple in spring, turning to light green in summer and wine-red in fall. Flowers are rose-red and bloom for an extended period starting in June. Summer trimming increases the flower show. 'Anthony Waterer' shows good salt tolerance.
Candy Corn® ('NCSX1') Spiraea is a very showy addition to Spring Meadows's Double Play® series. The foliage emerges in early spring in shades of red, turning to yellow and orange as the leaves mature. The pinkish purple flowers appear in May and June. If trimmed lightly after blooming, Spiraea Candy Corn® will continue to produce to produce the beautiful contrasting new growth. Spiraea Double Play® Candy Corn® comes from the great breeding work done at NC State.
PRN Preferred: The multi-colored new growth is even more beautiful than the early summer flowers. Trim after blooming to get a reflush of new growth.
Magic Carpet™ Spirea has deep pink flowers that start in May and continue through summer if trimmed after blooming. The new red foliage ages to chartreuse. It has great fall foliage, in shades of yellow and orange. Introduced by David Tristram of the U.K.
'Neon Flash' Spirea has rose-red flowers in May through July with new foliage emerging with a purple tinge before turning green in summer. It reblooms well, especially if trimmed after blooming. An improved form of Anthony Waterer, it was introduced by Barry Yinger and Brookside Gardens.
Double Play® Blue Kazoo® ('SMSMBK') Spiraea produces dusty blue foliage, with bronzy new growth in spring and early summer. The delicate white flower clusters are produced in May and June, and make an attractive compliment to the bluish green leaves. In the fall the foliage of Spiraea media Double Play® Blue Kazoo® takes on attractive shades of red. A recent introduction from Spring Meadows, this Spiraea would be useful as a colorful low hedge or as a foundation plant.
'Ogon' Spirea has white flowers in March and April, with small narrow bright yellow leaves which turn to bronze in fall, odd but showy. It does best with repeated pruning. The deer resistance is excellent. This is our favorite Spiraea by far.
Vanhoutte Spiraea is a classic Victorian garden staple, blooming reliably every year is April and May, while adding graceful arching green branches to the landscape in summer. When in bloom in mass, Spiraea x vanhouttei looks like "a cresting wave of white", to quote our sister Louise Gross. Blooming on new growth, Vanhoutte Spiraea performs very well to periodic trimming, and can be used to make a tough but showy hedge, as well as a stand alone specimen. The small leaves are fine textured and very clean. Resulting from a cross between S. trilobata and S. cantoniensis.