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Very few plants look as good to me next to a body of water as does Weeping Willow, Salix babylonica. Something about the pendulous branches hanging downward and even touching the water, while they sway gently in even the slightest breeze, immediately evokes a sense of calm and tranquility. Though the scientific name, given by botany superhero Carl Linneaus, seems to point the trees’ heritage to ancient Babylon, it is actually native to East Asia, and has become naturalized in the United States. Weeping Willow is happiest growing along moist riverbanks, or near ponds and lakes, but it can be challenging to grow in a typical home landscape. For one, the mature size of the tree, 20-40’ tall and wide, makes it difficult to find room for in many landscapes, but most of our soils do not have the kind of consistent moisture you would find near bodies of water, and thus the rapidly expanding roots of the willow will search out whatever moisture they can find, which in home landscapes might mean septic and drain pipes. Like many rapidly-growing tree species, the wood of the branches is often quite soft, making it susceptible to splitting and breaking from wind, ice, or other elements.  At 20-40 feet wide and tall, the Weeping Willow's mature size makes it more suited to parks and other natural areas than to backyards. Photo: E. Balocchi, CC BY 2.0 Even though you may not want to rush out and buy a weeping willow for your backyard, you can still appreciate them for their beauty when you see them in a park or other natural area. Despite not being native, they are a larval host plant for Viceroy butterflies, and a food source for a number of adult butterfly and bee species. Native Americans often chewed on young stems and bark as a method of pain relief, and Aspirin derives from willow plants. The cultivar ‘Scarlet Curls’ is smaller than the typical Weeping Willow, and has branches that grow mostly upright rather than weep. The long, slender foliage that willows are known for is still present. ‘Scarlet Curls’ is notable for the twisting curled branches, as well as the intense red color of the young branches that changes to yellow during the cold of winter. At a mature size of 25’ tall and 15-20’ wide, ‘Scarlet Curls’ may be easier to fit in your landscape, though soil moisture is still important, and placement away from any underground pipes is, of course, critical. Still, it may be the most sensible option for willow lovers who desire their own willow at home.
It's worth mentioning that, among all trees and shrubs, willows are one of the easiest plants to propagate via stem cuttings. Those wishing to try their hand at plant propagation should be able to achieve close to 100% success by sticking a freshly cut 6-inch cutting in a glass of water or pot of moist soil. If you are not able to propagate willow successfully, you may wish to devote your time to other pursuits besides botany.
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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Many gardeners prefer to plant perennial flowers rather than annual flowers simply due to the fact that healthy perennials that are well-cared for will return year after year, while annuals need to be planted anew each spring. There are some tradeoffs, of course. Even the longest blooming perennials might only bloom for two or three months, with most having a bloom time closer to just a few weeks. By contrast, the majority of annual flowers bloom from spring until frost. We tend to use annuals judiciously, in areas where their long-lasting color can make the most impact. Take zinnias, for instance. They bloom profusely throughout spring summer and fall, and their wide daisy-like flowers are a favorite of many beneficial insects and pollinators. Thus, we see zinnias frequently used in pollinator gardens and in the borders of vegetable gardens and other edible plantings, where their tendency to attract good insects is highly valued, and their extended bloom ensures these insects will always find the pollen and nectar they crave. As gardeners, we enjoy the additional benefit of their beauty. Zinnias are also popular as cut flowers due to their extended shelf life after being cut.
Left, second from top: Zinnia angustifolia, Mexican Zinnias, are much shorter than common Zinnias. Photo: D.J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bottom left: Benary's Giants are the most popular zinnias for cut-flower arrangements. Top right: Profusion zinnias are a cross between Zinnia elegans and Zinnia angustifolia. Bottom right: Thumbelina are dwarf zinnias that top out at six inches high. Not all zinnias are created equally, of course. There are a number of different species and cultivars within those species that collectively create a wide diversity of flower color and shape. Most frequently used in our landscapes are members of the Zinnia elegans or common Zinnia species, although Zinnia angustifolia (the Mexican Zinnia), Zinnia peruviana (the Peruvian Zinnia), and a few others are also popular.
One of the trendiest cultivar groups is the Profusion series, a group of hybrids from a cross of Zinnia elegans and Zinnia angustifolia. Zinnia elegans grows upright to about three feet in height, while Zinnia angustifolia, sometimes referred to as creeping zinnia, is much shorter at 12-18 inches, with a roughly equal spread. The Profusion series is noted for its compact size of about 18 inches, along with prolific blooms, heat tolerance and good disease resistance (powdery mildew can be a problem for many other zinnia cultivars). You’ll find orange, pink, white, and white/yellow members of the Profusion series. Additionally, some other cultivars of note include ‘Benay’s Giants,’ the tallest of the zinnia cultivars at about four feet in height and therefore the most popular for cut-flower enthusiasts, ‘Thumbelina,’ a dwarf form that tops out at only six inches high, and ‘Zesty,’ a double-flowering form with twice as many petals per bloom. 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. Iris is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants that is popular in many gardens. Some misconceptions about irises seem to persist even though irises are one of the most recognizable groups of plants for many gardeners. One of these is that irises are bulbs, when in fact the underground portion of their stem is a rhizome rather than a bulb. This may seem a small distinction, but in the case of irises, it is an important one. Rhizomes are lateral stems and often grow at or just below the soil surface. For most types of iris, it is generally recommended to plant the rhizome so that just the top portion is visible at the soil surface and the rest is buried underground. If the rhizomes are buried too deeply, the plants often have reduced bloom or no bloom at all. The second misconception is simply that irises are all the same, rather than a large genus encompassing many different and varied species. What comes to mind most frequently when people think of iris is the bearded iris, Iris x germanica. Iris flowers typically have three petals pointing upward, known as 'standards' and three petals that hang downward, known as 'falls.' Bearded irises are characterized as having a line of hairs at the base of the falls that resembles a beard. Bearded irises grow best in average to dry soil and full sun, may grow as much as foot feet tall, and come in a plethora of color combinations. The species name germanica implies that bearded irises are native to Germany. However, this species actually traces to Yugoslavia. 
prefers wet soil to dry, and is native to the Southeastern United States, though not North Carolina. Photo: M. Manners, CC BY 2.0 Above right: Iris cristata is a shade-loving iris that is native to North Carolina. Photo: CC BY 2.0 Right: Iris japonica is another shade-loving iris. It grows to about a foot tall. Photo: K. Andre, CC BY 2.0 Louisiana iris, Iris hexagona, is not nearly as common, but is different in almost every way. It has narrower leaves, smaller flowers (the standards, in particular are quite small compared to the falls), no beard, prefers wet soil to dry, and is native to the Southeastern United States, though not to North Carolina. Flowers are lavender to dark purple. The Louisiana iris likes full sun and grows upright to about 3 feet, so there are at least some similarities. Iris versicolor, Iris laevigata, Iris ensata, and Iris pseudacorus all grow in standing water and are used in rain gardens and/or water gardens, though the last of these four is considered an invasive plant and should be avoided.
Are there iris esthat like shade? Yes, at least two species, Iris japonica and Iris cristata. Both are shade-loving irises that also are low-growing spreading types. Iris japonica grows to about 1 foot tall and has flowers that can range from white to pale blue or purple, and Iris cristata is even shorter, at 6-9 inches tall and with a range of colors from white to pink to purple to even yellow. Iris cristata is native to NC and much of the Southeastern US, while Iris japonica is native to Japan, but both fill the same niche as flowering groundcover for shady areas. There's also Iris domestica aka Blackberry Lily, with its pretty orange flowers and odd blackberry-like fruit, and Iris unguicularis, the Winter iris ,which blooms blue in, you guessed it, winter. Suffice to say, you may think you know Iris, but there may be more than meets the eye. 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. Though it will drive your spell check crazy, the correct botanical spelling of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is that of a single word rather than two. In fact, the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission has an entire marketing campaign based around the concept that sweetpotato is one word. During summertime in Eastern North Carolina, you don’t have to go far to see sweetpotato plants. North Carolina grows more sweetpotatoes than any other state, and although Pitt County doesn’t usually grow quite as many as some of its neighboring and nearby counties, there are still many an acre of these low-growing vines to be found. It’s hard not to notice that the plants are quite attractive when healthy, and it is perhaps no surprise then that certain varieties have been bred specifically to take advantage of their ornamental characteristics. These ornamental sweetpotato varieties often have leaves that are bright and colorful: lime green, red, or purple, most commonly. Spreading much like the sweetpotatoes planted in fields, these ornamental varieties are best suited for use as groundcovers, in containers, or on slopes. Their lush growth appears almost tropical when paired with the right plants. My favorite way to use ornamental sweetpotato vine is in containers.
Above left: Sweet Caroline Sweetpotato, light green. Above right: Sweet Caroline Sweetpotato, Raven. Both photos: SFE. Lower photo: Ornamental sweet potatoes in a container with other plants. Photo: D. Mitchell, CC-BY-SA 2.0  If using ornamental sweetpotatoes in a container, adhere to the tried and true container concept of thrillers, fillers, and spillers. Each container should have all three of these ingredients. A thriller is the star of the container, an eye-catching centerpiece. The thriller is usually tall and colorful, either in flower, foliage, or both. Ornamental grasses such as purple fountain grass make excellent thrillers. Fillers are plants that complement the thriller without overwhelming it. Fillers are the role players, rather than the star of the show. Usually these plants are smaller than the thriller and attractive, of course, but in a more subtle way than the thriller. I like to use foliage plants like coleus as fillers. Finally, add a spiller, a vine-like plant that will topple over the edge of the container, hang down and perhaps even creep along the ground that the container sits on or is perched above. These plants add a new dimension to the container. Sweetpotato vine is an ideal spiller.
However you choose to use ornamental sweetpotato vine, know that they will require lots of space and lots of sun. Some varieties will grow up to 10 feet long, though many are more compact. Some of the older varieties do produce a large underground root- a jumbo sweetpotato, essentially. As the roots swell, this can overwhelm nearby plants, even pushing soil out of a container. Newer ornamental varieties, such as the Sweet Caroline series, are better behaved. In addition to a variety of colors, leaves can also come in a variety of shapes depending on the cultivar. The Sweetheart series, for example, is noted for its wide heart-shaped leaves, as is ‘Ace of Spades’. The Illusion series, conversely has slender leaves with lobes, giving these dense plants a softer, finer texture. Ornamental sweetpotatoes are relatively pest free. There are a few exceptions; a few of the varieties are susceptible to phytophtera root rot, especially in wet soils, though most are resistance. Insect pests like flea beetles, aphids, and thrips may occasionally be problematic. For the most part, however, these are easy plants to grow for the average gardener. Feel free to use the ornamental version of this important North Carolina crop to brighten up your home landscape all summer long. 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
January 2026
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