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The scientific names of plants can be tricky for many of us to pronounce. Often it’s because the names are long and twist our tongues in ways that feel unfamiliar, but sometimes even the relatively simple ones can trip us up. Let’s face it, not many people go around speaking Latin, so when we’re forced to try, we don’t always know on which syllable to put the emphasis. Take clematis, for example, which is a bit of a tomato/tomatoh situation. Many pronounce it CLEM-a-tis, while others say cle-MAH-tis. Who is correct, you might ask? Who cares, I say. My advice is always to just say the plant name as confidently and comfortably as you can, and everyone around you will assume you’ve said it correctly. However, you can also visit the NC State Plant Toolbox at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Among other features, the Toolbox includes an audio pronunciation guide for each plant in the database. Regardless of how you pronounce it, Clematis is a group of perennials in the Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) family that mostly serve as climbing vines or groundcovers, and frequently generate spectacular blooms. There are nearly 400 unique species within the genus of Clematis, each with slightly different characteristics, but many of the most common types found in gardens are the hybrid Clematis, Clematis x hybrida or Clematis x jackmanii.
 Above: Clematis viorna is a shade-loving species with a beautiful pink bell-shaped flower that hangs from the tips of stems in summer.
Both The jackmanii hybrids derive from a cross of two old English clematis varieties, generated by horticulturist George Jackman in the 1850s. Plants resulting from this cross are deciduous, twining vines that bloom on both old and new wood. Light pruning in late winter or early spring will reinvigorate the vines and keep them healthy and flourishing. They can spread up to 10-15 feet, though this is somewhat dependent on the structure they are climbing on. Flowers are large, 4-6 petal star-shaped blossoms in deeper shades of pink, purple and red. Additional clematis hybrids, derived from crosses of various origins, populate the nursery trade. Most share the characteristic of blooming on old and new wood and have large showy blossoms, though the color palette expands to include white, light pink, lavender, and other colors. Most hybrids prefer full or part sun, but like to have cool roots, and thus should be mulched or surrounded by other plants at their base. There are a few non-hybrid clematis of note, for good or for bad. Clematis armandii is an evergreen variety that grows to 15 feet or more, with smaller white fragrant flowers in the late winter and early spring. This type blooms on old wood only, and thus should be pruned soon after flowering finishes. Clematis viorna is a shade-loving species with a beautiful pink bell-shaped flower that hangs from the tips of stems in summer. Since it blooms on new growth and dies back in the winter, it should be pruned heavily in spring. Finally, Clematis terniflora, known as sweet autumn clematis, is a pretty but weedy vine that is adorned by hundreds of white flowers in the fall. Most states in the southeast and mid-Atlantic list C. terniflora as invasive, though it has long been a common pass-along plant due to its prolific nature. It should not be planted, as there are numerous more well-behaved alternatives to choose from. 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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I love native plants. I love them for many reasons, all of which you’ve no doubt heard before if you yourself are a native plant lover, are in any garden groups with other native plant lovers, or if you’ve spent any time reading gardening columns like mine. Native plants are well adapted to our local climates, they have close relationships with other native insect and animal species, they are an important part of our national botanical heritage, and much more. But I am not a native plant absolutist, and I’m not sure I fully understand those who are. If you’re a native plant absolutist, you plant (or aspire to plant) only native species in your gardens and landscapes. If you are a native plant absolutist, you wouldn’t plant a Japanese maple in your garden. Japanese maples are, and have always been, one of my favorite trees. I don’t have space in this column to discuss all the multitude of different forms and varieties of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that one can find in the nursery and landscape trade. There are thousands. By and large they are valued for both their shape and their beautiful delicate leaves. The genus Acer means sharp in Latin and palmatum refers to the shape of a hand. While this might describe many species of maple, the lobes of many Japanese maples are particularly distinct and ‘finger-like,’ though there may be anywhere between 5 and 9 individual lobes.
 Above: The Sango Kaku tree is a green-leaved cultivar. Japanese maples are, and have always been, one of my favorite trees. I don’t have space in this column to discuss all the multitude of different forms and varieties of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that one can find in the nursery and landscape trade. There are thousands. By and large they are valued for both their shape and their beautiful delicate leaves. The genus Acer means sharp in Latin and palmatum refers to the shape of a hand. While this might describe many species of maple, the lobes of many Japanese maples are particularly distinct and ‘finger-like,’ though there may be anywhere between 5 and 9 individual lobes.
Japanese maples are prized for both their foliage and their form. Leaves are often thin and delicate, and in the case of the dissectum group (plants with lacelike, deeply cut leaves), they are intricately fine. Trees may be upright with single trunks, multi-trunked, or weeping. They tend to be slow growing, which often means they are expensive relative to other trees of similar size. For example, a five-foot tall Japanese maple is probably twice as old as a five-foot tall tree of another genus and species. Leaves may be green, red, or variegated, and often change throughout the seasons, particularly in fall. All of that said, there’s almost certainly something to like among the species, regardless of your personal preferences for color and form. Some classic varieties include ‘Bloodgood,’ a large upright shrub that grows up to 20’ tall and wide, with burgundy-red leaves throughout the summer; ‘Orangeola,’ a cultivar we have here at the Pitt County Arboretum whose leaves change color from green to reddish-purple to orange from spring through fall; and ‘Sango Kaku,’ a green-leaved cultivar that is attractive but somewhat plain during the summer, but ascends in fall with a gorgeous pale-yellow fall foliage color and especially shines during winter, when its orange and red twigs nearly glow throughout winter after the leaves have fallen. Though we all have our aesthetic preferences and make our own decisions about what works and doesn’t for our landscapes, it just seems silly to me not to find room for well-behaved non-native plants such as Japanese maples. One can still love, respect, and support native plants while occasionally incorporating those that aren’t. 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. Ever wonder what exactly triggers a plant to bloom? Most of us probably understand it to be some combination of environmental factors such as heat and sunlight, along with the maturity of the plant. In fact, that is essentially what makes most plants flower. While many plants respond to a combination of heat and light, some plants are controlled much more strongly by one factor or the other. For example, plants like poinsettia, chrysanthemum, and Easter lily are so beholden to day length that one can make those plants bloom almost any time of year in a controlled environment by manipulating how many hours of continual sunlight vs. continual darkness they are exposed to. In college, I worked for a professor who made me do just this to trick fall-blooming chrysanthemums into blooming in May. Other plants are controlled more by temperature, including cherries (both ornamental and fruit producing types), whose bloom time in the spring you can predict fairly accurately by measuring what are known as ‘chilling hours.’ This term refers to the number of hours a plant is exposed to temperatures above 32 degrees but below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, i.e., cold but not freezing temperatures. Once a plant has accumulated its desired number of chill hours in winter, it begins to initiate flowering.
The three most popular ornamental cherry varieties in our area have long been ‘Okame,’ ‘Yoshino,’ and ‘Kwanzan.’ ‘Okame’ is the first to bloom because it requires the fewest chilling hours, roughly 300-400 hours, and thus accumulates what it needs the fastest. ‘Yoshino’ needs about 500-600 hours to bloom, and Kwanzan needs between 700-1000 hours. Here at the Pitt County Arboretum, our ‘Okame’ cherries bloomed about 3 weeks ago, while our ‘Yoshino’ cherries have just started their bloom within the last few days. Our one ‘Kwanzan’ cherry is still a way away from blooming. While this concept helps predict when a tree will bloom, it also helps decide what trees might be appropriate or not appropriate for a given climate. Most fruit-bearing cherries need more chilling hours than our climate reliably provides, and thus they don’t typically perform well for us. While the three ornamental varieties do have some insect and disease pests and can be short-lived, they are generally better suited to our climate.
Left: The Kwanzan cherry is one of the showiest cherry trees when it blooms in spring. Photo: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0 Right: Leaves and blooms on the Kwanzan cherry tree. Photo: D.J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 If growing any of these varieties, plant them in full sun to part-shade locations with well-drained soil. ‘Okame’ and ‘Yoshino’ have white to very light pink single flowers, while ‘Kwanzan’ has double pink flowers. ‘Okame’ has slightly more of a spreading branch structure and will grow 15 to 30’ high and roughly equally wide, while both ‘Yoshino’ and ‘Kwanzan’ will grow 30-40’ tall with a spread of 20 to 30’. None of the three do much of note other than flower, but each is tremendously beautiful during the 10-14 days of its spring bloom each year.
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
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May 2025
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