How to Plant and Grow Viburnum
With so many varieties to choose from, there’s bound to be at least one that will fit your landscape. Good luck finding a more diverse group of shrubs for the garden. Viburnums offer something for everyone. Whether you plant them for their colorful berries, showy flowers, wonderful fragrance, or brilliant foliage and stem color, viburnum options are seemingly endless. Viburnum bloom time falls anywhere from early spring to late summer, depending on the species. Flower shapes and sizes also vary. Some varieties have layered blooms. Snowball bush viburnum has flowers that look like its name suggests. Many early-blooming varieties have fragrant flowers. Viburnum foliage is usually green, but some varieties have white or yellow variegation or pronounced veining. Many types have fiery autumn foliage, while some are evergreen or semi-evergreen, holding their leaves through winter. As a bonus, most viburnums have eye-catching berries to top off the pretty flowers and foliage. A few,…
How to Plant and Grow Veronica
This reliable perennial adds interesting texture to gardens with its flower spikes. Veronica graces the garden with spires of flowers that bloom spring through fall, depending on species, with some reblooming for an extended show. Also known as speedwell, this easy-to-grow perennial is available in many sizes and colors, including shades of blue. With colorful, blooming spikes, veronica brightens any full-sun garden and adds interesting texture. Many of the spring-blooming types form mats of low-growing flowers. Some grow silver foliage that contrasts with the rich blue flowers. Summer-blooming types may soar to higher heights and are more generous rebloomers. These taller species feature a broad spectrum of colors, including pinks, purples, blues, and whites. Plant scientists are working to improve disease resistance and enhance reblooming potential to further extend the veronica season. Some new veronica flowers are more novelty than anything else, with heads that are short and branched, creating blossom…
How to Plant and Grow Verbena
Continuously blooming verbena graces rock gardens, trellises, walls, and containers. Verbena is the ideal plant to cascade over retaining walls, containers, baskets, and window boxes. As long as its soil is well-drained, verbena will reward gardeners with countless clusters of blooms all season long. Verbena is also drought tolerant, making it an excellent choice for rock gardens and for planting in cracks between stones. Verbena flowers are held in constantly blooming circles atop the tips of the stems. These flower stalks keep blooming all season long and continue to grow, producing new buds all the time. This eliminates the need for deadheading, as they bloom on top of wilted flowers. Petals on the verbena flower can be quite varied, with fringed edges, stripes, white eyes, and even streaks of color. Verbena Overview GENUS NAME Verbena COMMON NAME Verbena PLANT TYPE Annual, Perennial LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 6 to 12 inches WIDTH…
How to Grow and Care for a Venus Flytrap
This carnivorous plant is entertaining to grow, but it requires a little special care. Use these tips to keep your Venus flytrap happy indoors or out. One look at a Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), and they might seem like something from another planet. Their little bifold jaws with spiky fringed “teeth” seem almost alien, but when an insect lands on that enticing pink center and the trap closes around the victim, that’s completely out of this world! You can make these fascinating carnivorous plants part of your world by growing them indoors or outdoors. Venus flytraps need different care than other houseplants you’re probably used to growing, but these tips will help guide you through its requirements to thrive. Venus Flytrap Overview GENUS NAME Dionaea COMMON NAME Venus Flytrap PLANT TYPE Houseplant, Perennial LIGHT Part Sun, Sun HEIGHT 1 to 5 inches WIDTH 3 to 5 inches FLOWER COLOR White FOLIAGE COLOR…
Valerian
Valerian Overview DESCRIPTION This upright perennial herb, also called garden heliotrope, is topped with white to pinkish-white fragrant flowers in midsummer. The blooms were once used in perfume production. Cats also find the plant attractive and may rub against the foliage as they do with catnip. Valerian attracts butterflies to the garden. Remove spent flowers to prevent the plant from self-sowing. GENUS NAME Valeriana officinalis COMMON NAME Valerian PLANT TYPE Herb, Perennial LIGHT Part Sun, Sun HEIGHT 3 to 8 feet WIDTH 2 to 3 feet FLOWER COLOR Pink, Yellow SEASON FEATURES Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Attracts Birds, Cut Flowers, Fragrance ZONES 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Division, Seed
Ursinia
Ursinia Overview DESCRIPTION This gloriously happy annual blooms and blooms and blooms. Extremely floriferous and easy to grow, this South African native is just beginning to make inroads in the garden community. Its sunny, golden blooms last for months and are backed by a rich green mound of ferny foliage. Plant it in beds and borders for a guaranteed pop of color, or add it to container gardens for long-lasting color. Its main bloom period is spring and summer, but it blooms sporadically in winter, too. GENUS NAME Ursinia anthemoides COMMON NAME Ursinia PLANT TYPE Annual LIGHT Part Sun, Sun HEIGHT 6 to 6 inches WIDTH null to 1 feet FLOWER COLOR Yellow SEASON FEATURES Spring Bloom, Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Cut Flowers, Good for Containers ZONES 10, 11, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Division, Seed PROBLEM SOLVERS Drought Tolerant
Umbrella Plant
Umbrella plant sends up a flower stalk with pink or white blooms in early spring, but it’s the dramatic 2-foot-diameter leaves that are the main attraction. They’re gorgeously frilled at the edges and give areas a lush look. It’s native to moist, shady streamsides in California and Oregon. It requires a constant supply of moisture to grow well. Umbrella Plant Overview GENUS NAME Darmera peltata COMMON NAME Umbrella Plant PLANT TYPE Perennial LIGHT Part Sun, Shade HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 3 to 5 feet FLOWER COLOR Pink, White SEASON FEATURES Colorful Fall Foliage, Spring Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Low Maintenance ZONES 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Division
Turnip
Turnip Overview DESCRIPTION Turnips were once the most popular choice for home gardens, and for good reason. They’re easy to grow, and once you start using them in your cooking, you’ll never look back. These cabbage relatives grown for their spicy greens and mild tasting roots. The roots are a good addition to salads, pickled, or cooked in soups, stews, and side dishes. Or try them boiled and mashed in with potatoes. They add a sweet note to whatever dish they’re included in. The greens are a classic cooked with ham or bacon in Southern dishes. Or add them fresh to salads or toss a few handfuls, chopped, into a stirfy.Turnips grow best in cool conditions, so plant them early in spring or in late summer for a fall crop. GENUS NAME Brassica rapa COMMON NAME Turnip PLANT TYPE Vegetable LIGHT Part Sun, Sun HEIGHT 6 to 12 inches WIDTH…
Tulip Tree
Tulip Tree Overview DESCRIPTION These natives send their straight trunks up to 120 feet high. Discreet, tulip-shaped flowers give the tree its name and rest along the tree’s spreading branches and unique leaves. GENUS NAME Liriodendron tulipfera COMMON NAME Tulip Tree PLANT TYPE Tree LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 20 to 20 feet WIDTH 30 to 50 feet FLOWER COLOR Green, Orange, Yellow FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Colorful Fall Foliage, Spring Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Low Maintenance ZONES 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Seed Bountiful Blooms The yellow- to gold-color flowers sometimes have a greenish hue and all have an orange ring at the petal base. The flowers form a cup, much like a tulip blossom, with numerous pollen-bearing stamens surrounding a conelike structure. Flowers bloom in late spring then give way to fruiting structures, which birds and squirrels enjoy eating. Keep in mind that this plant will not flower…
How to Plant and Grow Trumpet Vine
While we love that this vine is so vigorous, it can become invasive so plant with caution. Trumpet vine, which goes by many other nicknames, has emerald-green leaves that create a backdrop for its 3- to 4-inch-long trumpet-shaped flowers that come in shades of orange, yellow, and red. Once trumpet vines bloom, they can continue their show all summer long. The trumpet vine’s tubular blooms are known to attract hummingbirds—so much so that the plant is occasionally referred to as “hummingbird vine.” The flowers of this perennial also resemble foxglove blooms, leading to another common nickname for the plant, “foxglove vine”. The first word of the trumpet vine’s botanical name, Campsis radicans, comes from the Greek word, kampe, which refers to the curved stamens of the blooms. The second word, radicans, means “rooting”, which refers to the abundant rootlike aerial stems that can form on the plant, holding it in place as a groundcover and often…