The “perfect lawn” – that oft-celebrated but all-too-rarely achieved carpet of unblemished turf grass – is a seductive concept. It’s also impossible to grow in most areas of the United States without major inputs of pesticides, fertilizer, water, and labor (as well as cash). This is not to mention the significant secondary costs that come with chemically supported lawns, such as damage to beneficial soil microbes and the neighboring environment. What’s good for that velvety green carpet is often not good for other forms of life.
Continue reading “Sustainable “Imperfect” Turf Options”
Author: Russell Stafford
Hortiholic and plant evangelist, Russell Stafford, transplanted his first perennial at age 7 and thereby began a lifelong plant addiction. He is the founder and custodian of Odyssey Bulbs (and Odyssey Perennials), an online nursery specializing in cool and uncommon plants. Russell also works as a horticultural consultant, freelance writer (Horticulture and The American Gardener magazines), and garden editor. He formerly served as Curator and Head of Horticulture at Fernwood Botanic Garden in Niles, Michigan and as the Horticultural Program Coordinator at the Center for Plant Conservation, then located at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. His academic degrees include a masters in forest science from Harvard University.
Surprise Lilies for Summer and Fall
Commonly known as “magic lily,” plants in the genus Lycoris are, in fact, much more closely related to amaryllis than to their namesake. But they do bring plenty of magic to the landscape when they open their large funnel-shaped flowers on tall naked stems in mid- to late summer. Several are winter-hardy to boot, creating all sorts of delicious possibilities for gardens in USDA Hardiness Zone 5 and warmer. With their showy amaryllis-like flowers and their tolerance of bitter winters and partial shade, these bulbs from East Asia make marvelous (and miraculous) subjects for cold-climate gardens.
Continue reading “Surprise Lilies for Summer and Fall”
Luscious Lilies of Late Summer
Most gardens can use a visual lift in the dog days of late summer. This is where late-blooming lilies come in. When their voluptuous, often deliciously scented blooms make their grand entrance in July and August, it’s like a royal fanfare in the landscape. Goodbye, garden doldrums.
Garden Plants that Feed Soil Naturally
Nitrogen is one of the most essential plant nutrients, and one of the best ways to boost nitrogen in your soil is to grow nitrogen “fixing” plants. This amazing group of plants naturally add nitrogen into the soil by taking nitrogen from the air and converting it into a usable form in the soil. And many are common garden plants that you may already grow, like peas, beans, bayberry, or clover. Continue reading “Garden Plants that Feed Soil Naturally”
Patio Peaches
Do you want to grow your own peaches, but lack a place for a full-sized peach tree? This is not a problem, thanks to a slew of recently introduced peach tree varieties that mature at a shrubby 4- to 6-feet in height. Ideal for containers, urban gardens, and patios, these dwarf peaches bring big possibilities to the small (or large) garden. They’re available from a number of specialty growers, both in their natural shrubby form and as short-trunked, grafted mini-trees. Continue reading “Patio Peaches”
Swallowtail Butterfly Gardening
Gardeners tend to have a thing for swallowtail butterflies. Likewise, swallowtails tend to have a thing for certain plants – and certain gardens. The more you incorporate their favorites into your garden, the more they will favor you with their flighty visits.
Adult swallowtails of all species (including the half-dozen or so species native to eastern North America) share similar tastes in nectar. A border brimming with coneflowers and sages and butterfly weeds and their relatives will have them all aflutter, as will a planting of shrubby favorites such as rhododendrons and buddleias. Swallowtail caterpillars, on the other hand, are much fussier eaters, with each species following a specialized diet restricted to a narrow menu of plants. As a result, swallowtails are particularly keen on gardens that include their favorite larval foods.
Most swallowtail caterpillars confine their munching to species from one or two plant families. Some swallowtail species thrive on both introduced and indigenous plants, whereas others require natives-only fare to thrive. Know their preferred larval food sources, and you’ll know what to plant in your yard to transform it into a swallowtail haven. You’ll also know which plants to examine for the large colorful caterpillars, which in their early stages resemble animated bird droppings. Some leaf damage may also be noticeable, but it’s a modest price to pay to become the neighborhood’s most desirable swallowtail destination.
Swallowtail Caterpillar Host Plants
1. Easter Tiger Swallowtail
Many native and exotic trees and shrubs from the olive, rose, laurel, birch, and magnolia families host the large green caterpillars of tiger swallowtail, which sport two prominent eye-spots. Before pupating, the caterpillars turn from green to brown. Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), lilacs (Syringa spp.), river birch (Betula nigra), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) are among the outstanding ornamental plants on the menu, as are:
Sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). Native to eastern North America, this small, elegant, gray-barked tree has glossy-green, deciduous or evergreen leaves with silvery undersides. Scatterings of cupped, sweet-scented white flowers sporadically appear from late spring through summer.
Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). Clouds of fragrant, fleecy white flowers veil the spreading branches of this large shrub or small tree in late spring. Conspicuous blue fruits ripen in late summer on some plants (particularly if a pollenizing companion fringetree is nearby).
2. Eastern Black Swallowtail
Showy, yellow-and-black-banded caterpillars feed almost exclusively on plants from the parsley family, including dill (Anethum graveolens), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus), and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Bronze-leaved forms of fennel are especially effective ornamentals, their dark, filigreed leaves making a smoky contrast to bright-flowered annuals and perennials.
Also outstanding for foliage effect are the various species of Peucedanum such as giant milk parsley (Peucedanum verticillare). This short-lived perennial forms large lush hummocks of deeply divided foliage, which give rise to towering, purple-stemmed sprays of lacy white flower clusters. Most Peucedanum expire soon after flowering, but they usually self-sow (so be sure to leave some seed heads!).
3. Spicebush Swallowtail
A dark-hued butterfly that somewhat resembles black swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail is one of several reasons to grow the shrub after which it’s named. So, too, are the boldly eye-spotted, green to orange-yellow larvae that browse spicebush’s fruity-scented foliage in summer. One of the earliest-blooming native plants, spicebush (Lindera benzoin) decks its branches with tufts of acid-yellow flowers
in late winter and early spring, before the leaves emerge. Bright red fruits and brilliant yellow fall foliage bring the growing season to a colorful close. Spicebush swallowtail’s other favorite host is sassafras – the only eastern North American representative of the laurel family (Lauraceae) other than Lindera benzoin.
4. Pipevine Swallowtail
If outlandish black caterpillars with orange spikes and centipede-like “legs” appear on your Dutchman’s pipe vine (Aristolochia spp.), you have the honor of a visit from this singular swallowtail species. With luck, you’ll also witness the adults, whose blue, iridescent wings are among the showiest in the butterfly tribe. The larvae thrive only on North American species of Aristolochia, dwindling away if raised on exotic Dutchman’s pipes such as Aristolochia elegans.
Two twining North American natives – Aristolochia macrophylla and A. tomentosa –make excellent climbers for locations where their wide-ranging roots have room to spread (both are hardy from USDA zones 5 to 9). Their rapidly ascending stems with heart-shaped leaves emerge from the ground in spring and lengthen to 20 or 30 feet within a few weeks. Curious, contorted, tubular flowers with flared tips appear in the leaf axils in early summer. Most other North American Aristolochia species are lower-growing perennials that spread underground to form large clumps. Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria) functions nicely as a deciduous ground cover for informal garden areas in sun to light shade.
5. Eastern Giant Swallowtail
Native or exotic species from the citrus and rue family (Rutaceae) entice this enormous, black, yellow-banded butterfly, whose wingspan can reach 6 inches. Gardens that are too cold for the likes of lemons (Citrus limon) and oranges (Citrus aurantiaca) can opt instead for one of the several cold-hardy Rutaceae species that host the blotchy, black and white larvae. These include hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata), a medium to large shrub from central and eastern North America with handsome, three-parted leaves and small, fragrant, late-spring flowers. Rounded, wafer-like fruits develop in late summer.
Its cultivar ‘Aurea’ – with glossy, chartreuse-yellow leaves – is one of the most striking foliage plants for temperate gardens. Swallowtail hosts for the perennial border include gas plant (Dictamnus albus), which bears showy spires of white or purple flowers in late spring on bushy, 3-foot-tall mounds of leathery, rich green foliage. Native to Eurasia, it lives to 50 years or more in gardens. Warning: contact with plants in the rue family can trigger severe dermatitis in susceptible individuals, although such cases are rare.
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Four Hardy Fruiting Vines for Edible Landscaping
Hardy fruiting vines bring together two of the hottest trends in horticulture: edible landscaping and vertical gardening. They are the perfect choice for grow-it-yourself gardeners with limited square footage and a tasty way to clothe a pergola or trellis or provide rapid aerial cover.
Continue reading “Four Hardy Fruiting Vines for Edible Landscaping”
The Best Reblooming Shrubs for Summer
Flowering shrubs do lots of good things in the garden, but their length of bloom often disappoints. Exceptions do occur, with hybrid roses being the most obvious and ubiquitous example. They’re not the only shrubs that bloom long and well, though. Here are seven of the best of the rest. Their individual flowers may not be as voluptuous as those of a hybrid tea rose, but in other respects – including habit, foliage, and disease-resistance – they more than hold their own.
Littleleaf Lilac and Hybrids
Almost all lilacs are one-and-done bloomers. Not so with littleleaf lilac ‘Superba’ (Syringa pubescens ssp. microphylla ‘Superba’). Abundant clusters of sweet-scented, pale lilac-pink flowers open from reddish buds in mid-spring, a few days after those of common lilac. Then, in midsummer, a miracle occurs, with a second flush of blooms developing on the current season’s growth. Littleleaf lilac is also attractive out of bloom, forming a dense, rounded, 8-foot specimen clad in dainty, privet-like leaves. Plant breeders have crossed ‘Superba’ with other lilacs to produce several repeat-blooming cultivars, including those in the Bloomerang® Series. For maximum rebloom, plant ‘Superba’ and its offspring in full sun and fertile, loamy, near-neutral soil. A spring top-dressing of Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost is all to the good. These lilacs do best in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 8.
Summer Snowflake Doublefile Viburnum
Viburnums, like lilacs, typically flower for only a couple of weeks per year. One of the few exceptions is the remarkable ‘Summer Snowflake’ (Viburnum plicatum ‘Summer Snowflake’), whose terraced branches are frosted with flat clusters of white flowers from mid-spring to early fall. It also differs from other doublefile viburnums in its relatively compact, narrow habit (5 to 7 feet tall and wide). Although lacking the wide-sweeping drama of full-sized doublefile cultivars, such as ‘Mariesii’ and ‘Shasta’, ‘Summer Snowflake’ literally makes a better fit for foundation plantings and other niches where space is limited. The leaves take on smoky maroon tones in fall. All doublefile viburnums perform best in sun to light shade and humus-rich soil, in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9.
Weigela Sonic Bloom® Series
Many weigelas throw a few flowers now and then in the months following their main late-spring display. This has inspired plant breeders to develop new Weigela (Weigela hybrids) cultivars that rebloom not demurely, but with abandon. Those in the Sonic Bloom® Series are reputed to produce several good flushes of showy, trumpet-shaped blooms not just in late spring, but throughout summer and early fall. Sonic Bloom® weigelas flower in pink, purple, or white, depending on the variety. These relatively recent introductions have yet to prove their mettle in many parts of the U.S. – but they’re well worth a try in a sunny spot in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 8. At 4 to 5 feet high and wide, they won’t take much space while you’re putting them through their paces.
Caucasian Daphne
A parent of the variegated, briefly blooming Daphne × burkwoodii ‘Carol Mackie’, Caucasian daphne (Daphne × transatlantica) is in most ways superior to its popular offspring. Where it particularly outdistances ‘Carol’ is in its repeat, spring-to-fall display of tubular, white, sweet-scented blooms. The dainty, oval, semi-evergreen leaves are also attractive and are strikingly variegated in forms such as ‘Summer Ice’. Most varieties of this outstanding daphne top out at about 3 feet tall, with their branches splaying with age (or with heavy snow). It does well in sun to light shade in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 8.
Panicle Hydrangea
Not many years ago, panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) was represented in gardens almost exclusively by the mop-headed cultivar ‘Grandiflora’ (more commonly known as peegee hydrangea). Today, numerous outstanding varieties of this exceptionally hardy species (USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9) have found their way into horticulture, including many with lacy, conical flower clusters rather than weighty mops. Most Hydrangea paniculata cultivars bear white-flowered panicles from mid to late summer, but other flowering times and colors also occur. Look for ‘Limelight’, with full flower-heads that age to chartreuse-green; ‘Pinky Winky’, an early- to late-summer bloomer that evolves from white to rose-pink; and the late-blooming (and magnificent) ‘Tardiva’, with large lacy spires of white flowers from late summer to frost. These large shrubs can be cut back severely in early spring to keep them in bounds. Dwarf varieties such as ‘Little Lamb’ require no size control.
Butterfly Bush
How can we not mention the ever-popular, somewhat cold-tender butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) and its many hybrids, which draw in butterflies over much of summer with their steeples of fragrant blooms in a variety of colors? Recent developments in the butterfly bush universe include the introduction of several compact, sterile cultivars with especially prolonged bloom and no pesky seedlings. These include ‘Ice Chip’, ‘Lavender Chip’, and ‘Purple Haze’. Buddleia davidii and its hybrids do best in full sun in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9 and usually benefit from a hard early-spring pruning, even in areas where they don’t die back.
Flowering Abelia
Popular in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., flowering abelia (Abelia × grandiflora and kin) are small to medium shrubs that could be used much more in the northern fringes of their USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9 hardiness range. Their dainty, fragrant bells – in various shades of pink or white – cluster on arching stems from midsummer into fall. Small, oval leaves add to the delicate, fine-textured feel of these quietly attractive plants. Most flowering abelias are evergreen to semi-evergreen into USDA Hardiness Zone 6. In zones 5 and 6, flowering abelias often work well as winter die-back shrubs, resprouting in spring and flowering in late summer and fall. In all hardiness zones, they benefit from early-spring pruning of snarled or winter-killed stems.
Pruning Apple Trees in Spring
An unpruned apple tree is a snarly-branched, puny-fruited thing. One of the best ways to keep that from happening to your apple trees is to give them an annual late-winter pruning.
Fortunately, backyard apple trees don’t need the complicated pruning regimens followed by commercial orchards. A couple of hours of pruning per year can keep your trees looking good and producing reliably – even if some of their fruits are not as big or blemish-free as the ones at the supermarket.
Your task will be especially easy if your apple tree has received some pruning in the past, and has a balanced “framework” of several main, spreading branches.
Pruning Apple Trees
Apple trees bear their fruits on stubby shoots (called spurs). These are produced most heavily on relatively young, vigorous, unshaded side-branches. Selective pruning of older or crowded side-branches in late winter will leave your trees with a relatively large proportion of fruit-bearing wood, which is a good thing if you want a bumper crop of apples. Late-winter pruning also exposes your apple trees to relatively few pests and diseases, compared to pruning done in summer.
Start your tree’s winter pruning tune-up by removing dead, diseased, and broken branches. Cut well below any wood that is cankered, oozing, or otherwise showing signs of disease. Remove all cuttings from the area to prevent disease transmission.
In most cases, prune the entire side-branch, cutting just above the collar that surrounds its base.
Next, prune out water sprouts – the vigorous, vertical shoots that often originate near old pruning cuts or at the base of the trunk. Unlike “normal” growth, these can be pruned flush with their parent branch, as close as possible without damaging the bark. (If possible, check again in late spring for new water sprouts, and pluck them out by hand while they’re still young, small, and supple.)
Continue by pruning out crowded growth. Choose between competing branches by comparing their positioning and potential fruitfulness. For example, branches that grow horizontally (rather than at an angle), that balance well with their neighboring branches, or that have numerous fruiting spurs should remain, if possible. Wayward growth – such as branches that impinge on paths – is also fair game for removal.
Finally, look for any remaining side-branches that have little or no spur growth, indicating low productivity. These can go, as long as their removal does not mar the look or balance of the tree.
Renewal Pruning Older Apple Trees
Apple trees that have returned to their natural, snarly state require more extensive pruning, which may include the main framework as well as side branches. Start as above, by removing dead, diseased, and broken side-branches, congested growth, and water sprouts. Then prune larger branches as necessary to balance the tree’s framework and reduce its size (if desired). This extensive pruning will 
trigger a major outbreak of water sprouts, which should be removed in late spring (by the hand-pulling method) or summer.
Whatever the amount of renovation required, try not to remove more than a third of the tree’s growth at a time. Especially snarly trees may require a multi-year restoration effort.
To help your freshly pruned apple tree’s growing season get off to a good start, mulch around its base with an inch of Fafard@ Premium Topsoil in spring, after the surface of the soil has warmed. Fertilizer is not necessary, particularly for heavily pruned trees, which will respond to their feeding by producing an even greater abundance of water sprouts.
The Best Maples for Maple Sugaring
It’s sugaring season across much of southern Canada and the northern United States. The sun is climbing higher, temperatures are moderating, and maple sap is starting to flow.
You don’t need sugar maples to make good maple sugar, however. Purists may blanch at the thought, but several other maple species have sweet-flavored sap that flows on mild winter days and that boils down into delicious maple syrup (and other byproducts). For example, some of the best Vermont syrup is produced by farms that depend on red maple (Acer rubrum) for much of their sap. This is a good thing, given that Acer saccharum is in decline throughout most of its eastern Canada to Southeast U.S. range.
Sugar Maple
As its very name proclaims, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the traditional source of this arboreal nectar. It’s also a Currier and Ives icon of the Northland, holding sap buckets in late winter and producing five-pointed leaves in spring that turn fiery hues in fall. Mature, scaly-barked sugar maples line the streets of many old New England towns, as much a fixture as the clapboard colonial houses.
Red Maple
Red maple has a lot going for it as a sap source – especially for do-it-yourselfers who want to grow and tap their own trees. Its sap is only slightly less sweet than sugar maple’s, with about 50 gallons (rather than 40) required to produce a gallon of syrup. Moreover, red maple thrives in a much wider range of conditions and attains tappable size (10 inches diameter at breast height) more rapidly. Plant a sugar maple in a fertile, humus-rich soil in sun or light shade, and its trunk will broaden perhaps a third of an inch per year. A red maple under the same conditions will likely grow at twice that rate.
Red maple also more than holds its own as an ornamental plant, typically forming an oval-crowned, 40- to 50-foot tree with attractive smooth gray bark that becomes furrowed and scaly with age. The three-lobed leaves flush red in spring, deepen to lustrous dark-green in summer, and turn brilliant shades of red and orange in early fall. Conspicuous clusters of maroon-red flowers festoon the naked branches in late winter, providing pollen for early-emerging bees.
Numerous red maple cultivars are available from nurseries and garden centers, differing in characteristics such as size, habit, seed production, fall color, and cold-hardiness – so it’s likely there’s one that’s a good fit for your yard. In nature, it’s found over much of central and eastern North America.
Silver Maple
Red maple’s close relative silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is its equal as a maple syrup source, yielding sap of similar sweetness. Its massive mature size, invasive roots, and susceptibility to storm damage disqualify it as a yard tree unless a yard is of park-like dimensions. On the other hand, if silver maple is available for the tapping, its sap is well worth the effort.
Box Elder
The same goes for another rather weedy, weak-wooded maple, box elder (Acer negundo). Its common name and poison-ivy-like leaves notwithstanding, it is indeed a maple, and it does indeed yield sap that boils down into delicious syrup. Although the sap is only half as sweet as sugar maple’s, it’s produced at more than twice the rate, resulting in higher syrup yield per tree. Additionally, box elders are ready for tapping at a much younger age (within 5 years or so of planting) and smaller size (6 inches in diameter). Boxelder is also hardier and tougher than sugar maple, as evidenced by its coast-to-coast geographic range.
Boxelder has minimal ornamental value. Nonetheless, it has given rise to several spectacular variegated and gold-leaved cultivars, which are well worth planting. Look for ‘Flamingo’, with white-streaked leaves that emerge shrimp-pink in spring. If you’re considering growing ‘Flamingo’ for its sap as well as for its flamboyant foliage, keep in mind that it grows more slowly than the wild type.
Bigleaf Maple
The sugaring season continues sporadically from late fall to spring in the relatively mild climes of upland California and the Pacific Northwest. Here, the native species to tap is bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). Its sap has slightly lower sugar content than that of sugar maple and flows most freely after relatively chilly nights.
Norway Maple
Just about any residential district in the U.S. is likely to host Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Formerly widely planted for its rapid growth and tolerance of city conditions, this Eurasian native has become a noxious weed in many areas of the U.S., invading native woodlands with its seedlings. It’s easily distinguished from sugar maple by its furrowed bark, plump egg-shaped terminal buds, and erect flower clusters, as well as by the thick milky sap that oozes from severed leaf stems. Its winter sap, on the other hand, runs clear and boils down into surprisingly palatable syrup.
Black Maple
Of course, if you’re fortunate enough to have some healthy sugar maples to tap, Acer saccharum remains the maple sugar tree par excellence – with the possible exception of its near-twin, black maple (Acer nigrum). Black maple differs from sugar maple in its yellower fall color; hairier leaf stems with droopy leaf blades; and more furrowed bark. Its sap, though, is equally sweet and delectable. In areas of the North-Central U.S. where it outnumbers sugar maple, black maple reigns as the most important sugaring tree.
Processing Maple Sap
You need a number of maples to tap for syrup. Each mature tree can produce between 10 to 20 gallons of sap per tree. It takes 40 gallons of sap to boil down to one gallon of syrup, so you need at least three trees to produce one gallon of maple syrup. Maple sugar houses require large sugaring pans to produce syrup. To learn more about how to process sap into maple syrup, read this article from Penn State Extension about Maple Syrup Production for the Beginner.
The best time to plant your own maple is in spring or early fall. Make sure the planting hole is the same depth as the root ball (or shallower in heavy clay soil), and at least three times as wide. Backfill with unamended soil, and mulch the area around the newly planted tree with an inch of Fafard Natural Premium & Organic Compost, topped with 2 to 3 inches of bark mulch. Water thoroughly, repeating when necessary (one or two times a week).