|
Incorporating vines into modern landscapes can be tricky. For starters, the vines require some type of structure to grow on, whether it’s a fence, arbor, trellis, pergola, or something else. If you don’t already have one of these structures in your yard and want to add a vine to the landscape, you really are looking at two purchases rather than just one, and that can be an obstacle for some. Beyond that, there are many vines that cross the threshold of aggressive grower to become invasive. Kudzu, English Ivy, Wisteria, Japanese Honeysuckle, and many others were once frequently planted either for utilitarian reasons. Kudzu was planted to control erosion. Wisteria and honeysuckle were planted because they have pretty blooms, but are now unwelcome due to their invasive nature. So what vines can we plant? One option, especially if you like the look of honeysuckle or trumpet vine, is Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata. This native vine sports similar trumpet-shaped flowers to the aforementioned vines, but is generally more well-behaved in the garden. Flowers often have an orange-red tubular throat with five fused yellow petals at the apex, though there are a few cultivars with slightly different color patterns. ‘Tangerine Beauty,’ for instance, has a light-yellow interior throat with coral orange petals. 
five fused yellow petals at the apex. Photo: S. Strine, CC BY 2.0 Right: 'Tangerine Beauty' blooms have coral petals with a light yellow interior. Crossvine gets its name from the unusual arrangement of its vascular tissue inside the stem. Most woody plants have their conducting tissue arranged in circles around the perimeter of the stem. Think of the ‘rings’ that you count on a tree to assess its age; in fact it is layers of this conductive tissue. If you cut into the stem of a cross vine, however, this tissue is arranged, well, in the shape of a cross, a characteristic that easily distinguishes it from any lookalikes.
While primarily grown for its flower power, the crossvine does have interesting foliage. Technically arranged in trifoliate clusters of three leaflets, two of the three leaflets are in the form of ‘true’ oval-shaped leaves, while the third leaflet is a modified leaf in the form of a tendril, the tissue that twines around the structure the vine is growing on. Its leaves are glossy green throughout much of the year, but turn a purplish color in the fall before dropping. Crossvine is semi-evergreen, meaning it will retain some of its leaves year-round, but those that do fall provide a nice bit of autumn color as they transition. Crossvine plants will grow reasonably well in both sun and shade, though the flower and foliage color will be much better in sun. Although much less problematic than the invasive vines mentioned at the outset, crossvine is a fast grower and a somewhat prolific re-seeder. It can also become weedy in some situations, though because it is native we don’t consider it invasive. Be aware you may have to tidy up after the vine to keep it from growing in places you may not wish it to grow. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705.
0 Comments
It may not be as obvious as it is with fashion, music, and the arts, but gardening is also subject to changing trends over periods of time. While many trends might be driven by what celebrities and other tastemakers are doing, gardening trends are often dictated by things like property sizes, the economy, and preferences for particular attributes. As such, certain plants tend to go out of favor as the tides turn. One trend that I largely support, and seems to be more or less here to stay, is the use of landscape plants that have multiple seasons of ornamental interest. With property sizes being smaller and the average person having a limited budget for discretionary expenses like landscaping, it makes sense that, instead of choosing fewer plants that bloom for a few weeks and don’t do much else the rest of the year, many people choose more plants that look pretty in the spring when they flower, look pretty in the summer when they bear fruit, and look pretty again in the fall when their leaves change color before falling. I’ve personally advocated that more people select plants this way. That’s not to say that there aren’t some worthwhile plants that are being left behind due to this shift in preference. Quince, or Chaenomeles speciosa, is a shrub I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for, even though all of its ornamental value is tied to the relatively short amount of time it is in bloom each year. Quince are large shrubs in the rosacea family, often growing 8-12’ tall and wide, with a prolific spring bloom that looks like tiny rose blossoms. Flowers may be red, pink, orange, or white. A fruit does follow these blossoms, though it is not overly showy, and is often hidden somewhat by the dense foliage of this plant. Similar to persimmon, your enjoyment of this fruit is likely related to your ability to recognize its full maturity. Fruits are bitter and inedible when hard, but when they’ve softened they are more palatable and can be preserved or made into jelly.
 Top left: Quince are large shrubs with showy blooms and stems. Photo: Acabashi, CC-BY-SA 4.0 Top right: ‘Orange Storm’ have a second set of petals, no thorns, and are compact, growing to about five feet tall and wide. ‘Orange Storm’ was bred at NC State. Bottom: Quince flowers resemble tiny rose blooms, and bloom prolifically in the spring. Blooms may be red, pink, orange, or white. Photo: Jonathan-Billinger, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Because of its size and density, quince can be used as a screen or hedge; however, for many gardeners, the size is another factor that has caused this plant to fall out of favor. Many gardeners are looking for small to medium sized shrubs that better fit their available space and require less pruning to stay under control. The thorns on a typical quince branch are a bit unpleasant to navigate when pruning, I admit.
Those who enjoy the appearance of quince, but prefer something smaller, might wish to try selections from the Double Take series, bred at NC State. This includes varieties like ‘Orange Storm,’ ‘Scarlet Storm,’ and ‘Eternal White.’ The name Double Take refers to the fact that the flowers have a second set of overlapping petals, thus making them double blooms. The flowers are sterile, and the plants are thornless and more compact, growing to a size of about 5’ tall and wide. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. One of the first signs of spring each year is the emergence of the flowering bulbs so many of us plant in the fall. Typically, the first to emerge are the crocus, followed shortly after by grape hyacinths, common hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. Currently, daffodils blooming here at the Pitt County Arboretum include ‘Ice Follies,’ ‘Minnow,’ ‘Fortissimo,’ and ‘Dutch Master’ in different gardens. Daffodils are bulbous, cold-hardy perennials in the genus Narcissus, which encompasses several different species, many of which are native to Europe. In American gardens, daffodils are planted in the ground as bulbs in the fall, and foliage pokes through the ground at the first sign of warmth in the new year. A single flower stalk emerges amidst a tuft of long slender foliage from each bulb, with a trumpet-shaped bloom atop each stalk. Daffodil blooms typically have a flat, outer, non-reproductive part of the flower known as a perianth, with a cup-shaped corolla in its center. Flowers can be various shades and combinations of yellow and white. ‘Ice Follies,’ for example, has a pure-white perianth, with a ruffled yellow corolla. Flowers are approximately 4 inches wide, and sit on top of a 16 inch stalk. Many years ago, in an effort to give each garden at the Arboretum a unifying feature, a mass of ‘Ice Follies’ daffodils were planted in each individual garden.
king orange, frilly corolla. Plants grow to 18 inches tall. Middle right: ‘Minnow’ is half the height of ‘Ice Follies,’ and has a button-like center. Bottom right: ‘Dutch Master’ is a classic, bright yellow trumpet daffodil, with a matching golden yellow perianth and corolla. ‘Minnow’ daffodil, planted in our Wildflower Garden, has flowers with a similar color-pattern, through the yellow corolla is a bit richer, and its shape resembles a small button rather than a wavy cup. ‘Minnow’ tops out at about 8-10 inches tall, half the height of the larger ‘Ice Follies’.
You’ll find both ‘Fortissimo’ and ‘Dutch Master’ in different sections within the Perennial Border. ‘Fortissimo’ is a commanding presence, with a golden yellow perianth and a deep, striking orange, frilly corolla. Plants grow to 18 inches tall. ‘Dutch Master’ may not stand out quite as much as ‘Fortissimo,’ but it is quite beautiful, with a matching golden yellow perianth and corolla. Daffodils are relatively easy to care for, provided they are planted in an appropriate site. Full sun to partial shade, with well-drained acidic soil, is the ideal location. The bulbs can grow in shade as well, but flowering will be best in sunny locations. Fertilize at planting with bone meal or an alternative fertilizer high in phosphorus. In the spring, after blooming concludes, leave the wilting flower stalks attached as long as you can bare, so they feed nutrients back to the bulb. You may wish to mix daffodil plantings with daylilies or other later emerging perennials to disguise the dying foliage. Come next spring, the daffodils will help alert you that warm weather is just around the corner. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. One of the signature trees at the Pitt County Arboretum is the Nuttall Oak in our Mixed Border. Perhaps the largest tree on the grounds, the Nuttall pre-dates the formation of the Arboretum itself, standing for many years in place before the installation of the garden that surrounds it. Its presence in the garden is mighty, as is the number of leaves it sheds for our volunteers to rake up. Nuttall Oak, Quercus texana, is a large, deciduous, shade tree native to the Southeast and South Central United States. It is often found growing in wet, heavy soils in low areas and floodplains, such as the Mississippi River basin; however, in landscape settings it is tolerant to a fairly wide range of soils and is quite drought-tolerant once established. The Nuttall will grow to a height of about 80’ tall and 50-60’ wide, so it may not fit in every backyard, but it is an excellent shade tree for larger landscapes, including parks and public spaces. It does reasonably well as a parking lot or street tree in urban settings, though it will likely not grow to its full mature size and its surface roots may become a bit of a hazard. 
burgundy in the fall. The crown of the tree spreads with age, becoming round at maturity. Bottom left: The foliage of the Nuttall Oak is a lustrous deep green during much of the year. Photo: K. Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Middle right: The bark is gray-brown, with broad, flat, and scaly vertical ridges. Bottom right: Close-up of an Oak leaf. Photo: K. Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 The shape of the leaves and the architecture of the tree canopy somewhat resemble red oak, though the lobes of its leaves are significantly deeper than those of red oak, making it a distinctly different species. Foliage of Nuttall is a lustrous deep green during much of the year, and the dense canopy creates a deep and heavy shade below it. This is the type of tree gardeners struggle, and ultimately fail, to plant grass underneath. Non-turf grass lookalikes like liriope and mondo grass will perform reasonably well. In fact we have a nice stand of liriope under the Arboretum’s Nuttall, but true turf like Centipede and Bermuda will not grow in the dense shade and root competition below a Nuttall’s canopy.
In fall, the leaves transition to a beautiful mix of orange, red, and burgundy, commanding attention no matter the landscape location. Many oaks hold their leaves past the peak of their fall color until they’ve turned entirely brown, most notably the white oak, whose old leaves don’t drop until the new leaves emerge in spring. In contrast, the Nuttall drops its leaves clean in the fall. Make no mistake, there’s a lot to clean up, but luckily our compost bins are located nearby and after mowing the fallen leaves, we simply dump them into the compost to help feed future plants. Nuttalls, like many oaks, are host plants for a wide variety of butterfly species and other types of wildlife. Imperial moths, Hairstreaks, and Duskywings are among the many types of lepidoptera species. Squirrels and numerous birds enjoy the acorns, although they tend to be mostly ignored by deer. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. Do you want to build a snowman? Or would you prefer to read a gardening article about a bunch of plants with the word “snow” in the name? Great, you’ve come to the right place. With our recent wintry weather, I’m sure gardening isn’t on the forefront of most of your minds, but since snow is, I figured why not combine the two! There is no shortage of cultivars of winter-blooming plants like Hellebore and Camellia that have snow in their name. Hellebores typically bloom from January through March, with flowers sometimes poking up through the snow, and if you browse catalogs and plant databases, you can quickly find ‘Cinnamon Love,’ a cultivar with cinnamon-burgundy flower stalks topped with pure white flowers that develop a tinge of pink as they age. There’s also ‘Snow Love’ – white flowers that age to green, and ‘Mahogany Rose’- white blooms with rose and mahogany tones. Camellias have an entire group of cold-tolerant hybrids often referred to as the Winter group, dozens of which feature the word winter in their name. Many of these camellias also feature snow, such as ‘Snow Flurry’ and ‘Winter Snowman.’ Both of these have white flowers, as you might have guessed.
leaf Hydrangeas have clusters of white, cone-shaped flowers from May-June. Middle right: Viburnum plicatum, 'Summer Snowflake,' derives its name from the lacecap flower heads that make the plant appear as though it's covered with a light dusting of snow when in bloom. Bottom left: 'Snow Carpet' is a miniature hybrid shrub rose that grows up to 10 inches tall and spreads up to four feet across. Photo: S. Zona, CC BY-NC 2.0 It's not solely winter-blooming plants that borrow the word snow, however. There’s an Oakleaf hydrangea cultivar named ‘Snow Queen’ that that has gorgeous white, cone-shaped flower clusters from May-June. Mophead hydrangeas, at least the white-blooming ones, are sometimes called snowball plant or snowball bush, because the round shape of the bloom resembles a snowball. Several types of viburnum, from Viburnum obovatum, to Viburnum opulus, to Viburnum plicatum, are also often called snowball bush for the same reason. A cultivar of Viburnum plicatum, ‘Summer Snowflake, derives its name from the lacecap flower heads with both sterile and fertile flowers that make the plant appear as though it’s been covered with a light dusting of snow when in bloom.
There’s more! The Styrax and Halesia genus, which I’ve written about before, both feature several species of trees often referred to as snowbells because of their white, bell-shaped flowers. There’s a white weeping Japanese cherry known as ‘Snow Fountain.’ Serissa japonica, a summer-blooming evergreen shrub, is often referred to as the snow rose, due to its smattering of white blossoms atop glossy foliage. Not to be outdone, there are several true rose cultivars that have snow in the name, including ‘Snow Carpet,’ ‘Snow on the Heather,’ ‘Summer Snow,’ and ‘Snow Queen.’ Fear not, gardeners, the snow will be gone from the ground soon. It may already be as you read this, in fact. Yet, reminders of our winter weather may be in many of our gardens all-year round. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. Earlier this month, Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist, singer, and founding member of the Grateful Dead and many of its offshoots and side projects, passed away. If that seems like an unusual way to begin a gardening column, bear with me. Bob was not quite as famous as bandmate Jerry Garcia, but he helped carry on the legacy of the band for 30 years after Jerry passed, and Bob wrote and sang nearly as many of the Grateful Dead’s songs as Jerry did. Perhaps the most well-known of Bob’s songs was ‘Sugar Magnolia,’ and to honor his legacy, that is the plant I will write about this week. Except, it turns out that there’s no such thing. There’s many different types of magnolias, of course, and far be it for me to question Bob and co-writer Robert Hunter’s botanical knowledge, but good luck finding a horticulture reference of any kind that lists one by that name. The NC State Plant Toolbox (plants.ces.ncsu.edu), one of the finest online plant databases, lists nineteen species of Magnolia, and countless cultivars, but a search for Sugar Magnolia turns up zero results. So which one of those nineteen species might he have been talking about? I started learning about plants as a teenager, right around the same time I started listening to the Grateful Dead and other classic rock bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s. The first magnolia I discovered was saucer magnolia, Magnolia soulangeana, a hybrid with multiple trunks that lands somewhere between large shrub and small tree. Saucer magnolia is known for it purplish-pink early spring flowers, which are highly susceptible to cold and frost. Once I realized there wasn’t a true sugar magnolia, I convinced myself that perhaps this was the one the song was about, for no particular reason other than ‘Saucer Magnolia’ wasn’t a catchy song title, so changing the name was an artistic decision.
Top left: In early spring, the saucer magnolia has purplish-pink flowers on the outside and whitish on the inside. I wondered if this was the magnolia they were singing about. Photo: Bagemet, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bottom left: Then I wondered if it could be the sweetbay magnolia since the blooms of this tree are sweet. Photo: H. Duckworth, CC BY 4.0. Right: Finally, I thought it might be the very impressive Southern magnolia, although its scent is not particularly sweet. Sweetbay magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, is a more likely possibility. Sugar is sweet, of course, and there is a mention in the lyrics of “sweet blossoms,” so this seems to make some sense. The sweetbay magnolia is a small to medium semi-evergreen tree, with white spring blossoms that are pleasantly fragrant and showy, but smaller and not as prolific as many other magnolias. It is native to the Eastern United States. The Grateful Dead were from California and while they’d eventually tour the world many times over, it seems unlikely that they’d write one of their most enduring songs about a niche species from the other side of the country like Sweetbay magnolia.
So maybe it’s the more popular and grandiose Magnolia grandiflora, often called Southern magnolia. These are abundant throughout the Southern United States, including Louisiana, which perhaps makes the lyric “She can dance a Cajun rhythm” relevant to this discussion. Everything about this species is more impressive. The leaves and flowers are substantially larger than the sweetbay, and the height and width can be nearly double, so it certainly could make an impression on even a casual observer. It is not, however, particularly sweet. Its flowers are fragrant but not nearly as much so as the sweetbay. The mystery continues. The Grateful Dead were notorious pranksters, and Bob often spoke of his sixty years of playing in the band as being just a small part of what he hoped would be a 300-year-long musical legacy, so maybe botanical nerds like me will be spending the next 240 years trying to answer this silly question while listening to the music play. Fare thee well, Bob. Matthew Stevens is the Horticulture Extension Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. As gardeners, we all have our favorite and least favorite plants. Once we decide which plants make up each list, we rarely, if ever, let them move from one list to the other. However, for every rule there is an exception. To that end, I must admit that Mahonia, a group of plants in the genus Berberis that was once firmly entrenched on my least favorite list, is now perhaps not quite ready to be ranked amongst my favorites, but certainly one I see a lot more value in than previously. When I’ve mentioned this to other gardeners, I sense that Mahonia is or has been on a lot of least favorite lists, but let me attempt to make the case here for Mahonia as a valuable landscape plant in just one sentence. If I told you that there was an easy-to-grow evergreen shrub that could tolerate a range of soils, required little pruning, was largely deer-resistant, had attractive, fragrant yellow flowers in early winter when little else was blooming (that are loved by bees when the temperatures are warm enough for them to forage), and produced colorful blue fruit that ripen by early spring, you would want that plant, right? Well, Mahonia is that plant.
is blooming. Photo: Nacho, CC BY 2.0. Top right: Close-up of yellow blooms. Photo: J. Martin, Public Domain Mark 1.0 Bottom left: Colorful blue fruit ripen by early spring. Photo: Nacho, CC BY 2.0 Bottom right: The narrow foliage of Berberis eurybracteata makes it less abrasive and gentler looking than leatherleaf Mahonia. ‘Soft Caress’ is a popular cultivar of this narrow leaf type that is quite colorful in full bloom and increasing in popularity. I imagine a lot of you are put off by the foliage, as I was for a long time. Berberis aquifolium, one of the most commonly used species of Mahonia, has sharp pointy leaves much like many hollies. They are long and pinnately compound (meaning that many individual leaflets make up a single leaf). With 9-13 leaflets per leaf and 3-5 spines per leaflet, there’s a lot of opportunity to be rudely poked by this plant. Mahonia grows best in partial sun, where it will maintain a glossy green color. If grown in full sun, the leaves can become bleached and that certainly makes them less attractive. So, between the undesirable color of the leaves when grown in the wrong spot, and its prickliness, a lot of us have crossed paths with Mahonia and been left unimpressed.
Like so many plants, however, Mahonia is much more attractive when grown under the right conditions. In moist, acidic soils under partial shade, such as a wooded area under pines, Mahonia is a nice shrub. If Berberis aquifolium, also commonly known as Oregon holly grape, doesn’t suit you, you may find the slightly softer leaves of Berberis fortunei or Berberis x hortensis more pleasing. Berberis eurybracteata also has much narrower foliage than leatherleaf Mahonia or the hybrids, which makes it less abrasive and gentler looking. ‘Soft Caress’ is a popular cultivar of this narrow leaf type that is quite colorful in full bloom and increasing in popularity. All grow best in well-drained, acidic soil in partial shade. It should be noted that Berberis bealei, a species of Mahonia still offered for sale in many nurseries, garden centers, and big box stores across the state, is listed as an invasive species by the NC Invasive Plant Council. It also has coarse, sharp leaves that many find unappealing. If choosing to plant Mahonia, it is best to avoid this particular species and instead plant one of the others that I have mentioned. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for Nash County Cooperative Extension. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact Matthew at 459-1403 or [email protected]. I often write about how flowers aren’t the only ornamental characteristic by which we should judge the aesthetic value of plants. Sure, pretty blooms are nice, but plants do other things as well. There are, of course, many plants whose primary attribute is their attractive fruit, or their colorful fall foliage. Sometimes even more subtle attributes, such as bark color or texture, may be the thing that first catches your eye when observing a plant. Perhaps that’s the case with sugarberry, Celtis laevigata, or it’s close cousin hackberry, Celtis occidentalis. Both are known for the corky growth that develops on their trunks and branches. Initially these corky growths may appear as individual bumps or warts, but they increase in size as the trees age, often creating deeply furrowed ridges along the trunk. This may not be pretty, in the classic sense, but it is certainly notable, and if trunks are your thing, this very well may float your boat.
Beyond this somewhat unusual physical trait, both sugarberry and hackberry are tall deciduous trees that cast quite a bit of shade. They are often used as street trees in urban areas for this reason, lining sidewalks and parking lots. They can be a bit messy, however, as they produce many small red berries that can get stepped on and smushed. The berries do offer another small bit of ornamental value, but more than this, they are valuable as a food source for many birds and small mammals who feed on them. Sugarberry and hackberry both also serve as host or food source for a large number of butterfly species, including the Hackberry Emperor, American Snout, Morning Cloak, Tawny Emperor, and Question Mark butterfly. They are pretty large for the average home landscape – hackberry grows 40-60’ tall, and sugarberry 50-70’. But if you are a native plant enthusiast who also values pollinators, either of these trees would be a good thematic fit in your landscape.
Both trees are related to elm, though both seem to have resistance to the problematic Dutch elm disease, which has decimated the American elm population. It is also part of the Hemp (Cannabaceae) family, and though it doesn’t seem to share any of the intoxicating effects of other relatives, perhaps that relationship is why this plant was used by some Native Americans for medicinal purposes. A concoction made from the bark was used to treat sore throats and other ailments, and parts of this tree have also been used historically to make food, fuel, and tools. In more modern times, the wood from hackberry is used to make furniture and baskets. Although we often think of natives as relatively pest free, both hackberry and sugarberry have a number of minor pest issues. Aphids love tender new growth, and the excretions of their feeding often lead to black sooty mold. They are also prone to powdery mildew, leaf spot, and an unsightly but mostly harmless condition called hackberry nipple gall, which causes a bumpy distortion to infected leaves. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. While Juniper is hardly the sexiest genus in the plant world, it is undeniably a diverse genus with a large number of plants that fill utilitarian roles in many landscapes. Not all plants need to be the star of the show. Landscapes, like teams, need role players. Need a ground cover? How about one of the many Juniperus horizontalis cultivars? The most popular of these, ‘Blue Rug’ juniper, is a dense creeping evergreen shrub with bluish-green tinted foliage. ‘Blue Rug’ may only grow 4-6 inches or so above ground, but each plant will grow 6-8’ wide in time, if not larger. It’s a great option for slopes or erosion control, or simply to cover areas beneath larger shrubs or small trees. It is a slow grower, however, so if you’re looking for a plant that can establish quicker, you may wish to try ‘Bar Harbor,’ which will grow about a foot high and is not quite as dense, or ‘Plumosa,’ which grows 18 inches high by 5 feet wide. ‘Plumosa’ needles have a slightly more grayish cast, and turn purplish during the cold months of winter.
green tinted foliage. It makes up for its low height by growing six to eight feet wide. Photo: F.D. Richards, CC-BY-SA 2.0. Lower left: ‘Bar Harbor’ needles. ‘Bar Harbor’ grows about a foot high. Photo: J. Hollinger, CC BY 2.0 Right: The Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is a native tree that can be used as a privacy screen. Photo: N.A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0. Maybe you don’t need a groundcover, but you are looking for a medium to large tree to establish a screen. Many people use arborvitae or Leyland cypress, but since there are some pest concerns with each of these plants, you want to try a native alternative. Enter Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana. While not entirely pest-free, this upright pyramidal-shaped evergreen tree is averse to some of the bigger issues facing the other screen trees mentioned, though with a similar size and appearance, making it a suitable alternative in some scenarios. Similar to many of the groundcover junipers mentioned above, its needles are more of a blue-green or gray-green than a true green.
What about an accent plant in a shrub border? The Chinese junipers, Juniperus chinensis, come in all shapes and sizes, but many of the most widely available cultivars are small to medium-sized shrubs with off-color foliage. For example, both ‘Parsons’ and ‘Angelica’ have bluish-green foliage, while ‘Gold Star,’ ‘Old Gold,’ and ‘Saybrook Gold’ are golden-yellow. Using plants of these hues in combination with more typical green foliage, or with other off colors like burgundy or purple, can create some striking visual combinations in the landscape. Regardless of which juniper you may need to fill a niche role in your landscape, they more than likely will share a few common characteristics. The first is an affinity for soils that are average moisture or drier – they don’t like to be wet. Most will grow best and express their color optimally in full sun. Many produce what is often referred to as a berry, but botanically is more accurately a cone. Cones from some junipers are used as seasoning, or to make beverages, including gin. Plant foliage, though frequently prickly to the touch, is often pleasantly aromatic. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. Rare are the plants in our landscape that bloom in fall and winter, and perhaps that’s why camellias are such a treasured plant in the South. They really have no rival when it comes to the floral display that they put on during the coldest part of the year. As many experienced gardeners are probably aware, there are two different species of camellia commonly found in our area, Camellia sasanqua and Camellia japonica. Despite what the names might lead you to believe, both are native to Japan, not just the japonica species. Both are slow growing, dense, slightly pyramidal-shaped large shrubs that like moist, well-drained, acidic soil. Sasanquas and japonicas are different in a number of ways that are important for gardeners to know. For starters, sasanquas are generally a smaller plant. They generally grow to a height of about 6-10 feet, compared to 10-15 feet for the japonicas. Sasanquas have smaller leaves and flowers as well. Though flowering time varies quite a bit within each species, sasanquas tend to bloom earlier, in mid to late fall, while japonicas often flower from January through March. Although it is a treat to have plants that can produce such spectacular blooms during the coldest part of the year, camellia petals can often be damaged by especially cold temperatures, turning brown around the edges. This is true of both species. Plants themselves are hardy, but will need protection from cold winter winds. Often they’ll do best when placed near a wall or building where they’ll have some shelter during the coldest part of the year. Of the two species, Camellia japonica tends to be a bit more winter hardy.
 Top left: ‘Autumn Spirit’ is a cold-hardy fall-winter blooming camellia bred at UNC-Chapel Hill. Photo: C. DeWitt, CC BY 4.0 Top right: Camellia japonica do best when placed near a wall or building that provides shelter during the coldest part of the year. Photo: C. Dewitt, CC BY 4.0 Middle left: The roselike flower of ‘Ashton’s Ballet,’ an Ackerman hybrid, has double flowers in November and December. Middle right: ‘Snow Flurry’ is one of the earliest cold-hard fall-blooming Ackerman camellias. Bottom row: The flowers and leaves of camellia sasanqua are smaller than those of camellia japonica. A series of cold-hardy camellia hybrids known as the Ackerman hybrids was developed to be more tolerant of extreme winter conditions. These are named after the plant breeder William Ackerman of Ashton, Maryland, who began working on cold hardiness after the entire collection of camellias at the US National Arboretum in Washington D.C. was nearly lost following a series of cold winters in the late 1970s. Cultivars such as ‘Winter’s Beauty,’ ‘Winter’s Charm,’ ‘Winter’s Star,’ and ‘Polar Ice’ are part of the Ackerman hybrid group.
Another series of cold-hardy camellias was bred by Dr. Clifford Parks, former director of the Coker Arboretum at UNC-Chapel Hill. ‘Survivor’, ‘Twilight Glow’, and ‘Autumn Spirit’ are cold-hardy fall-winter blooming camellias, and ‘Red Aurora’ and ‘April Tryst’ are late winter/early spring bloomers with increased cold hardiness. Camellias do have a few relatively minor pest problems, such as scale, aphids, and spider mites, which cause some light cosmetic damage. Many of these are avoidable or at least controllable if the plants are grown in the right environment – partial-shade locations with moist, well-drained soil, and a fair amount of organic matter. Locations where azaleas or mophead hydrangeas thrive are typically also adequate for camellias, though the camellias will take up a larger amount of space. Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact the Pitt County Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. |
Matt Stevens
Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent Archives
April 2026
Categories |
RSS Feed