Spring in most gardens is shot through with horticultural fireworks as flowers burst up from the soil, the trees and shrubs flash bright green and growth moves forward at warp speed. In summer all of that action slows down, allowing gardeners to catch up (at least theoretically).
Usually the glories of the summer ornamental garden are most evident in colorful annuals, like zinnias, snapdragons, sunflowers, and the like. But color may also come from on high, as summer flowering trees make a splash in late June, July, August, and the first warm weeks of September. Choose one or more of them to draw the eye upwards and provide delight during the year’s warmest and longest days.
Draped in Crapes
“Crape myrtle” is often misspelled as “crepe myrtle”, an easy mistake that sometimes confounds spell-checkers. Spelling issues aside, crape myrtles, long a staple in southern gardens, have moved northward as the result of breeding advances. Depending on variety, the plants are hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 6 through 9.
The most common crape myrtles in commerce are varieties or hybrids of Lagerstroemia indica, which is native to parts of Asia, including China, Indo-China and Japan. Some have shrubby habits, but most are grown as small trees, topping out anywhere from eight to about 25 feet, depending on variety. In mid to late summer, those trees sport lush flower panicles made up of scores of individual six-petaled blooms in shades including white, a range of pinks and roses, dark red and lavender.
To add to its other virtues, crape myrtle is a multi-season performer. Most varieties have smooth grayish bark that exfoliates or peels off to reveal underbark that may be brown, gray or even pinkish. The effect is like elegant camouflage and is starkly beautiful in the winter when the branches are bare.
To add to the four-season equation, crape myrtle leaves, which are oblong and appear in groups of three, tend to be smooth and glossy, coloring up in the fall in shades of red, orange and yellow before leaving the scene for the winter.
Crape myrtles like the same conditions as roses—full sun for at least six hours per day. If your chosen site receives a little less light, the tree or shrub may still thrive but will likely produce fewer flowers. Plant in holes filled with good commercial potting mix, like Fafard® Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix and mulch thoroughly. Water regularly to establish a strong root system.
A Rose is a Sharon
Roses of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) are nothing new on the American scene. They were first documented by John Custis, a relative of Martha Washington’s first husband, in 1736. They have been fixtures in nursery catalogs since nursery catalogs began, and remain popular to this day.
Hardy in USDA Zones 6 through 8, the small trees or large shrubs (growing anywhere from 8 to 12 feet tall) bloom any time from June through early October, depending on local climate conditions and variety. The season of bloom tends to be long. Flowers last only a single day, but the buds open in succession, so the plants look opulent over a period of weeks.
Roses of Sharon flowers may be single or double-petaled. Single varieties feature hollyhock-like flowers in either white, pale pink or pale blue-purple, many with red central “eyes” surrounding a yellow stamina column. Doubles come in the same colors, but no “eye” is visible due to the plethora of petals that make the flowers look like frothy puffs. One thing is sure—well-tended specimens are beautiful in bloom.
The main drawback of old-fashioned rose of Sharon varieties is that they self-seed prodigiously. Avoid this by shearing the plants right after they flower. Newer varieties tend to be sterile, allowing gardeners the luxury of not worrying about grubbing out scores of little hibiscus seedlings.
To say that rose of Sharon is not fussy about soil is an understatement, though they do best in sunny spots. The plants are impervious to varmints and heavy clay soil, and will even succeed near black walnut trees.
Tea Family Trees
Franklinia, Gordonia and Stewartia are closely related small trees belonging to the Theaceae or tea family. All shine in mid to late summer, bearing white, camellia-like flowers, most with central bosses of golden stamens.
The stewartias include Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8,which blooms in mid-summer and may grow anywhere from 20 to 40 feet tall, The trees feature dark green, ovoid leaves that color up nicely in fall, as well as colorful, exfoliating bark that provides winter interest.
The smaller mountain stewartia (Stewartia ovata) is native to the southeastern United States, and bears the same lovely flowers as its Japanese cousin, but on trees that grow 10 to 15 feet tall. It is hardy in USDA zones 5 though 9. While lacking the exfoliating bark of the Japanese stewartia, it does provide fall color.
Stewartia thrive best in full sun to very light shade (in locations with hot, humid summers), and well-drained soil. Mountain stewartia might also succeed in a large container, with adequate drainage and consistent moisture.
Tales of Franklinia
Sometime in 1765, American botanist John Bartram and his son, William, were prowling through what is now the state of Georgia in search of new and unusual plants. Near the banks of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia, they found a group of interesting trees or large shrubs with white, camellia-like flowers. They collected seeds and grew them on at their Philadelphia nursery. The new species was christened Franklinia alatamaha, in honor of the Bartrams’ friend, Benjamin Franklin.
Franklinias, which are hardy in USDA Zones 5 through 8, stand between ten and twenty feet tall, with a spread of 6 to 18 feet and an upright, spreading habit. The long leaves are roughly oval-shaped and glossy. Green in summer, they turn orange-red in fall, remaining on the trees for a relatively long time. Franklinias bloom in mid to late summer, bearing flowers that are at least three inches across with white petals and prominent golden stamens in the middle. Rounded, woody fruits follow the flowers.
The Franklinia tree was never again sighted in the wild, so all existing specimens are descended from Bartram’s original seedling trees. Because the gene pool is limited, plant breeders have crossed the Franklinia, with closely related species to inject new genetic material into the pool. Eventually through the process of crossing and back crossing the offspring, breeders hope to produce a strong new Franklinia.
One of the related species crossbred with Franklinia was the native loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus), which is not readily available in commerce, and bears similar camellia-like blossoms. The resulting evergreen hybrid was given the trade name ‘Sweet Tea’ , but it is known botanically as xGordlinia grandiflora.
‘Sweet Tea’ is hardy in USDA Zones 7 through 9, grows up to thirty feet tall, with a narrow, eight-to-15-foot width. It features fragrant white blossoms with petals longer than those of either the Franklinia or loblolly bay. Though the fall color is not as pronounced as that of the deciduous Stewartia or Franklinia, the evergreen leaves redden at the end of the growing season.
