Plant of the Week Archive

Geranium x cant. 'Biokovo'

This versatile and easy hardy geranium is a great choice for an evergreen perennial that is deer resistant, drought tolerant in part shade, and even gets fall color.  When looking for deer resistant plants it's always imortant to seek out scented plants, especially leaves with a strong smell.  'Biokovo' Geranium is one of the rare perennials to have a strong, spicy scent that is not Meditteranean or needing lots of sun. It performs best in a cool location with morning sun or at least protection from the hottest part of the day.  The broad, lobed leaves provide striking contrast to finer leafed perennials and grasses. 'Biokovo' spreads by rhizomes to make a nice spreading mound about 6-10" tall and 2-3' wide and can be a bit aggressive so make sure it's neighbors can hold its own.  Dainty, pale pink to white flowers with pink stamens emerge in late spring through summer, but this perennial remains interesting all year.  The cool fall weather brings out vibrant red and gold tones in some of the leaves but the leaves don't go completely dormant so you won't have an empty spot there in the winter.  This tough geranium can be drought tolerant once established but will look freshest with regular water and a shearing after winter.  A great groundcover for use with bulbs as it will mask fading bulb leaves and add flower interest after the bulb flowers are done.   Our go to plant for a deer infested shade garden!

Geranium 'Biokovo' fall color

[Plant of the Week Archive]

Gaura lindheimeri 'So White'

Gaura astounds us with its haze of lighter than air blooms and easy care.    The white or pink buds open slowly so this perennial blooms for a long time, from late spring to frost.  But one of the best things about it is that way it self cleans, the petals drop off before getting brown or ratty, and more starry blooms continue the show.  Deadheading or pruning spent stems to the base will keep it a little more compact and tidy looking but is not neccessary.  A heavy prune in the early spring will keep it looking its best.  Gaura is a Southwest native so it is tolerant of drought, sandy soils (thus requiring good drainage), and full, hot sun as well as being cold hardy.  Gaura has a taproot so can be long lived and very drought tolerant once established.  The wand-like stems can rise 2-1/2'-4' tall and arch out up to 3' wide.  It can be used at the back of a border because it's vase shape form allows the flowers to float above shorter perennials.  It also works in the front of a border because it's airy stems and blossoms don't block out other plants or its arching form can cascade over a wall.  It has proven deer resistant in most Rogue Valley gardens.  Gaura has a very naturalistic and informal look, pairing best with ornamental grasses, Caryopteris, and Sages.

Gaura 'So White' in the drought tolerant garden

The varieties we usually carry are:

Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'- developed by Baldassare at Rogue Valley's own Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery, this is a lovely medium pink, usually 2-3'x3'

Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies'- a pink bud opening to a lovely white bloom with flushes of pink at the base. Usually larger, at least 3-4' tall and looks best if it can arch out to at least 3-4'.

Gaura 'So White'- for the purist, this is a true white with no hint of pink.  Very clean and elegant and bit more compact at 2'x2'

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Lagerstroemia indica & hybrids

Late summer is the season of Crepe Myrtles.  When many perennials have petered out; and blooming shrubs and trees are few and far between, Crepe Myrtles are just getting started.  From July through September, their lively show of crinkly crepe paper-like flower clusters in an array of whites, pinks, reds and purples are the perfect anecdote to a drab border.  Not only do they deliver in bloom, but most varieties also boast fantastic fall color with fiery oranges and reds, in addition to tints of yellow and purple.  Even though we are on the northern edge of their hardiness range, Crape Myrtles are ideal for our hot summer climate.  They prefer full, hot sun and well draining soil, and do best with deep, but infrequent soaks once established.  Crepe Myrtles bloom on new wood, so late winter or early spring is the best time to prune.  Ranging in size from dwarf shrubs around 3-5 feet tall and wide, to 20 foot tall trees, there are endless possibilities for fitting Crepe Myrtles into a landscape.  Although naturally occurring as large shrubs, they are often pruned as trees or multi-stemmed specimens, which are the ideal forms for exposing their exquisite bark.  With some age, their peeling cinnamon colored outer bark reveals a smooth and burnished surface, adding sophistication to their winter silhouette.  This feature is truly the Crepe Myrtle's saving grace due to the fact that they are notoriously late to leaf out in the spring.  So be patient, because they are well worth the wait come the dregs of summer.  Without a doubt, the Crepe Myrtles is a superior solution to the small tree challenge, offering three seasons of interest in a vibrant,  heat and drought tolerant package.

Some of the varieties we usually carry are:

Lagerstroemia 'Tuskarora'

'Tuskarora' - A L. indica x L. fauriei hybrid reaching about 20' tall and 12-15' wide.  Bright watermelon pink blossoms followed by orange-red fall color.

'Dynamite' - Another hybrid with cherry red flowers and bronzy tinted foliage, especially when emerging in the spring.  Will reach 15-20' tall and 10-15' wide at maturity, pictured at top

Lagerstroemia 'Natchez', bark detail below

'Natchez' - This faster growing hybrid can get up to 25' tall and 15'+ wide with clear white flowers and fiery fall color and the most handsome cinnamon colored bark.

'Twilight' - A medium sized upright grower to 15' tall and 10' wide.  Clusters of reddish-violet blossoms and hot autumn hues, one of the best purple varieties.

'Catawba' - Another reddish-purple blooming variety, with great fall color and a rounded habit reaching 10-15' tall and wide.  This L. indica species has good mildew resistance.

'Siren Red' - This hybrid boasts some of the most saturated dark red flowers that are less likely to fade with cool, cloudy weather than other red varieties.  Handsome burgundy edged, dark green foliage throughout the season turning red-orange in fall, great mildew resistance and a smaller, upright habit of 10' tall and 5' wide.

'Petite Plum' and 'Petite Embers' - Selections from the L. indica 'Petite' series, these dwarf shrubs will get about 5' tall and 4' wide.  They have vivid pinkish-purple and bright magenta-red blooms respectively, with yellow fall foliage.

[Plant of the Week Archive]

Dragon's Eye Pine - Pinus densiflora 'Oculus-draconis'

A cultivar of the Japanese Red Pine, this irregularly structured tree makes a wonderful specimen, especially when grown against a darker backdrop of conifers or a large blank wall of a house.  This two-needle pine has buttery yellow banding on each needle, giving the candles a striped appearance, which along with their darker green eye is most dramatic when viewed from above.  In addition to it's exciting coloration, Dragon's Eye Pine develops handsomely fissured red-grey bark and a broad, asymmetrical form with age.  It's 2" long, oval shaped cones are a soft blue green hue and are clustered at the base of the current year's candles, enhancing it's charm.  Unlike most other pines, this specimen will be quite at home in partial shade conditions, illuminating darker spaces with it's golden new growth, although it will also happily tolerate full sun with regular irrigation and rich, but well draining soil.  It is slower growing, about 6 inches a year, and about half the size of the species, ultimately reaching 20-30 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide.  That being said, one could easily keep this unique tree smaller with yearly pruning in the dormant season, which would also encourage bushier candle growth the following spring and summer, accentuating it's most alluring feature

[Plant of the Week Archive]