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For the second time in just a few weeks, I was writing and anticipating a winter snowstorm. The first time around, most of us got just a light glazing of sleet or freezing rain, but this time, we might actually got some real snow, and more than an inch or two. Since snow is on my mind, this week’s column is about a tree known as the American Snowbell, Styrax americanus. I previously mentioned this tree briefly in an article about a related plant, Carolina silverbell, Halesia carolina, but I believe the snowbell is worthy of its own feature. Styrax americanus is a small tree or large shrub native to the Southeastern United States, from Ohio to Florida and west to Texas. Like snow, the snowbell is not terribly common in North Carolina landscapes. In fact, the Japanese snowbell, Styrax japonicus, a slightly larger tree, is a bit more frequently used, but even that is not exactly a mainstay of our landscapes. Should we use American snowbell more? Maybe. It’s certainly quite attractive in bloom. The white bell-shaped flowers hang downward from the foliage-covered branches like snow drops falling from the sky. Bloom time is usually late spring, well after the new leaves have emerged, and thus the blooms compete somewhat with the foliage for attention, but more often than not win out. The flowers are sweetly fragrant, and attract a variety of birds and pollinators, including the Promethea silkmoth. Later in the fall, pollinated flowers turn in to small (1/3” long) grayish-brown fruits. Leaves will turn yellowish in autumn before falling, though the color change is not usually dynamic enough to be impactful.
 Top left: The American Snowbell would be a good fit in native plant collections, pollinator gardens, and rain gardens. Photo: J. Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 Top right: Close-up of a flower. They are bell-shaped and sweetly fragrant. Photo: T. Pottersfield, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Lower photo: A stem heavy with blooms in late spring. The flowers hang downward from the foliage-covered branches, like snowdrops falling from the sky. Photo: BlueRiverKitties, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 In thinking about what plants need to offer in modern landscapes in order to fit in, we typically look for plants that either have a prolonged period of ornamental interest, or offer ornamental value in multiple ways throughout multiple seasons. American snowbell doesn’t really do that. It’s really only ornamentally interesting when it’s in bloom, and we don’t think or worry much about it when it’s not. When our eye isn’t drawn to it, it almost disappears from our mind. You still occasionally see plants like deutzia and mockorange that perform essentially the same way in landscapes, down to the white flowers. As long as we use those plants, then there’s still room for snowbell here and there. Maybe then, like snow, it’s fitting for this plant to only appear once in a great while so that it can be appropriately appreciated without wearing out its welcome.
You will find American snowbell growing naturally in wet areas such as river banks, marshes, and swamps. Therefore, if you do wish to add one to your landscape, you’ll need to do so in a rich, acidic, sandy soil with average to high moisture but good drainage. It would certainly be a good fit in native plant collections or pollinator gardens, and naturalized areas, provided the soil conditions are right, and it would be an ideal fit for use in rain gardens. 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 Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.
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With the cold weather and the snow our area has experienced over the past few days, perhaps it’s a good time to consider the cold hardiness of our landscape plants. USDA Cold Hardiness Zone map shows that Greenville and most of Pitt County is zone 8a, meaning our average low winter temperature is between 10 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. A small part of southeast Pitt County is zone 8b, reflecting an average low of 15 to 20 degrees. As gardeners, we sometimes try to push the boundaries of these hardiness zones, planting things from warmer climates and hoping for mild winters so that they’ll survive. But the truth is that there are plenty of zone 8a hardy plants that reliably survive our winters and give landscapes a sense of warmer air. One such plant is pineapple guava, Acca sellowiana, a flowering evergreen shrub native to South America. The name pineapple guava itself, combining the names of two separate tropical fruits, conjures up images of warmer climates, and the unusual flowers don’t look like they’re from around here. With cupped white petals wrapped around the lower half of each bloom, and purple and red stamens shooting upward like a volcanic eruption within the flower’s center, a pineapple guava in bloom will make you say, “What in the world is that?”
Above left: Pineapple guava is a hardy flowering, exotic evergreen shrub that survives our winters. It has silvery, gray-green foliage. Above right: The flower has a tropical appearance. In addition to being attractive, the flower is edible, said to taste like marshmallow. Photo: JC Raulston Arboretum, CC BY 2.0. Grown best in full sun to part shade, pineapple guava grows to 10-15 feet tall in its native habitat, but will more likely top out around 5 to 6 feet here in eastern NC. The flowers are not only attractive, but are also edible. They are reported to taste like marshmallows. I’ve never tried one, but now I’m suddenly in the mood for a smore. Flowers arrive in late spring. If you eat all the flowers, you won’t have any fruit, but those flowers you do leave on the shrub will develop into fleshy green fruit that mature into yellow berries. They take as much as 4-7 months to fully mature, and thus you shouldn’t expect an overwhelming bounty of fruit in most years. ‘Coolidge,’ ‘Nazemetz,’ and ‘Pineapple Gem’ are cultivars that have prolific fruit production and are self-fertile.
Above right: Leaves and flowers of the pineapple guava. The leaves are mostly green on top, and covered with whitish hairs on the underside. The contrast results in a silvery appearance. Photo: J. Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Pineapple guava fits well in the landscape within fruit orchards, edible gardens, children’s gardens, or containers. It can be used as a specimen or as part of a hedge, will attract songbirds, and is seldom grazed by deer. It is generally free of any major insect and disease issues, and though not native to NC, it is a well-behaved exotic suitable for wider use in our landscapes.
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 Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. With nearly 500 unique species and more than 180 hybrids, the genus Quercus (Oak) is among the largest and most important of all woody landscape plants. Many of the species we are most familiar with are subdivided into either the White Oak group, characterized as having leaves with rounded lobes and acorns that typically mature in 6 months or less, or the Red Oak group, which have pointed lobes and acorns that mature in 18 months. Many are native to North America, and others of European origin have been introduced into our landscapes. There is no shortage of options for oak enthusiasts to choose as their favorite, but I have always been partial to Quercus virginiana, the Southern Live Oak. Quercus virginiana is one of several species referred to as Live Oak, a reference to the fact that these species typically act as evergreens, keeping their leaves year-round, rather than dropping them in the fall. Quercus virginiana is not a true evergreen, but it does retain its oldest leaves in their full green color until the new ones emerge the following spring. Contrast this to Quercus alba, one of many oak species whose leaves turn brown in fall but remain on the tree until spring.  
Above, right: Leaves: Although the Southern Live Oak is not a true evergreen, it retains its leaves year-round, and the older leaves remain green through the fall until new leaves emerge in the spring. Photo: S. Zona, CC BY-NC 2.0 The immaculate form of the Southern Live Oak is what has always appealed to me. It grows to a height of about 50 feet tall, with a mature width of up to twice that. Branches are gnarled, twisted and hang low, giving each tree a tremendous amount of character. With such an impressive canopy, these trees are quite easily recognizable and cast great shade. Historically, the Southern Live Oak on the campus of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia is known as ‘The Emancipation Oak,’ as it was an early gathering spot for freed slaves to study and learn.
A tree this size isn’t an easy fit for modern landscapes, so you won’t see these for sale in nurseries nearly as frequently as smaller oak species. You will, however, often find Quercus virginiana in parks, public gardens, large older properties, and historic areas. In the southeast, particularly close to the coast, you will often see Spanish moss hanging from the branches. Spanish moss is not a parasitic plant like mistletoe. Rather, Spanish moss uses the tree for physical support. This moss thrives in areas of high humidity, and obtains moisture and nutrition from the scales on its leaves and stems. Quercus virginiana supports many species of butterflies, and its acorns are used as food by woodpeckers, blue jays, ducks, turkeys, and many small mammals. Wood from the Southern Live Oak was commonly used for construction in the 18th and 19th centuries, and is still used for flooring, cabinetry and other types of furniture. 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 Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. A partridge in a pear tree might be what your true love gave to you on the first day of this Christmas, but unfortunately, I have to be the bearer of some bad news. Pear trees aren’t exactly in high regard, and if you did in fact get one this year (or any previous year, at Christmas time or otherwise) you might want to look for an opportunity to exchange it for a more desirable gift. Let me explain. Pear trees, specifically the ornamental cultivar Bradford pear, are looked down upon by many modern gardeners, landscapers, and conservationists for a number of reasons. We’ll get to all those in a minute, but first let’s start with the positive attributes of these trees. Bradford pears, and ornamental pear cultivars that are part of the Pyrus calleryana or Callery pear species, are prolific blooming, early flowering trees, with white blossoms that last for about two weeks. They also sometimes have a fleeting bit of fall color, typically reddish-purple. That’s it, the full list of positive attributes.
Above, left: In the spring, the branches of the Bradford Pear tree are covered with foul-smelling white flowers. Photo: J. Robbins, CC BC-NC-ND 4.0 Above, top right: While visually appealing, the flowers give off a smell that has been described as ranging from a minimal odor to smelling like rotting fish. Photo: G. Craig, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Above, bottom right: The Bradford Pear provides a fleeting bit of fall color. Photo: Camilla, CC BY-NC-N. The negative? To start, those white blooms in the spring tend to be quite foul smelling. The odor tends to vary from plant to plant, but the best-case scenario would be an odorless flower and the worst case would be a scent described as “rotting fish.” If your sense of smell is not too keen, the tree’s scent may not scare you. So then, let’s consider the structure of the tree. Bradford pear tends to have branches that have vary narrow angles of attachment to the main trunk, which may seem insignificant at first, but in actuality causes limbs to be extremely weak in the area of attachment to the trunk and incredibly susceptible to breakage from wind, ice, or any other element that exerts force upon the tree. Look around your neighborhood sometime after a storm and see how many trees have snapped or dropped broken limbs to the ground. I bet you’ll see more snapped Bradford pears than just about anything else.
Although Bradford pears are self-sterile, they will cross pollinate with other callery pears, and are incredibly prolific seeders, providing yet another reason to dislike them. Because we’ve planted so many of them and they reproduce so forcefully, they have become extremely invasive, volunteering in wooded areas, sites with wet soil, and just about anywhere else space will allow.
NC Cooperative Extension, the NC Forest Service, NC Department of Agriculture, the NC Wildlife Service, and the NC Urban Forestry Council have teamed up to create the NC Bradford Pear Bounty program. Through the bounty program, NC residents who attend sponsored events and show proof of removing a Bradford pear from their property are eligible to receive a more suitable native tree species in its place. You can visit https:www.treebountync.com for more details about how to participate in the bounty program and register for qualifying events. Whether you choose to exchange a Bradford pear or not, you should know they are a problematic tree that is no longer recommended for use in our landscapes. There are many alternatives that are similar in size and/or appearance, including but not limited to serviceberry, redbud, various species of dogwoods, ‘Okame’ cherry, and more. The NC State Plant Toolbox (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu) is a great online tool to locate a more appropriate tree species. 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 Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. You may have seen recently in the news or on social media that the White House Christmas tree came from a farm in North Carolina. In fact, this was the 16th NC tree to grace the White House since 1971. North Carolina is No. 2 in the United States in production of Christmas trees, behind only Oregon. While Oregon tree farms grow Douglas fir, Noble fir, Nordmann fir, and Grand fir primarily, about 96% of the Christmas trees grown in North Carolina are Fraser firs. Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) is a needle-leaf, evergreen conifer named after Scotch botanist John Fraser. It is native to high elevation areas of the Appalachian Mountain area of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Like all species of fir, it is a member of the Pinaceae family, which also includes other conifers such as the pines, spruces, hemlocks, and cedars. Because of its fondness for high elevation and the Appalachian climate, Fraser fir, as you might imagine, does not grow particularly well in Eastern NC. Our heat and humidity cause many issues, leading to poor growth and disease. Despite this, the Fraser fir remains an important tree statewide, as nearly all of us who choose to have a real tree at home during the Christmas season, or a wreath or garland for that matter, end up choosing a Fraser fir.
When grown in the right environment, Fraser firs will reach a mature height of 30-55 feet tall by 10-25 feet wide. In nurseries and on Christmas tree farms, they will be pruned fairly intensely during the early portion of their lives, in order to achieve an ideal shape and branch density. They grow best in full sun, and well-drained acidic soil. Fraser firs have a vibrant scent which many have come to associate with Christmas and thus items such as Christmas candles attempt to replicate that familiar aroma.
Above left: Fraser fir cones have visible bracts that curl downward. Bracts are modified leaf-like structures that cover the developing seeds within the cone. Photo: CC-BY-SA 2.0 Above right: The needles of the Fraser fir are fragrant and long-lasting, making them ideal for Christmas trees. Photo: D.B. Gleason, CC-BY-SA 2.0. Fraser fir trees are monoecious, meaning that female and male reproductive structures are found on the same plant. Each tree, therefore, is capable of producing cones. The cones are 1-3 inches long, and mainly purple-brown, with yellow-green scales and bracts that curl downward. When the cones mature, the scales, bracts, and seeds drop simultaneously, leaving just the woody core of the cone on the tree.
Though the vast majority of our North Carolina Christmas trees are Frasers, there are some Eastern Carolina Christmas-tree growers who raise other evergreen trees better suited to the environment in the Eastern half of the state. These include Leyland cypress, Eastern white pine, Virginia pine, Eastern red cedar, Arborvitae, and Arizona cypress. Each of those has a slightly different appearance and growing preferences, however they all share the general characteristics of being evergreen trees with a classic conical ‘Christmas-tree’ shape. 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 Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. |
Matt Stevens
Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent Archives
April 2025
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