Category Archives: Plant Varieties

A dialogue about plants.

Roses

ROSES

Roses are the best know flower though out gardening and to some it is the queen of all flowers. Roses have a past and I knew that there are several breeders in England and France however in an article by Harald Enders “A New Home FOR OLD GERMAN ROSES”

” http://media.wix.com/ugd/e6654e_42a58c08b17d606a6c8826823a2cbe7d.pdf “I found that many roses were bred in Germany and brought into commerce before 1900. Through time and three wars many have been lost but Harald Enders is trying to find them and bring them back into production. Many of these could be the genetics of our modern rose. On further investigation, I found that there are many rose gardens in Germany the best being Sangerhausen which began in 1896 it now has about 75,000 roses.

Continue reading →

Hellebores

HELLEBORES

“Lenten Rose”

At the first job I had as a grower in a small greenhouse in fall, eight (8) weeks till Christmas I was handed a box of plants to grow for Christmas, the label said it they a plant called Lenten Rose. There were little or no instructions just plant and keep cool until they bloom around Christmas. They were added to the other plants I was growing to compete with the Poinsettias that were everywhere in the greenhouse.

This was well before the first perennial boom of the seventies (70’s) and they did well as pot plants but I pinched the remainder of those not sold. If I had only known the value and worth of these plants, I would have put them into the perennial plant section I was growing for spring.

Hellebore is a great perennial, unlike other plants that show well in the summer, hellebore dies back and make great green leaves. In the late fall, new leaves start to grow and the awakening starts to begin. When the snow starts the mass of green leave make quite a show, and then as they are covered with snow they show some dieback. As the snow melts they start to bloom making a great show of flowers. It is a shame that they are not sold more in garden centers as they are a great addition to the American Garden and can be used as cut flowers in the early spring

A slow grower it will take two (2) to three (3) years to establish once they get started they make grand slight for shade area in your landscape. Be sure to place them so they are visible when you go in and out of your house in early spring. There are about seventy-five (75) varieties in cultivation on the commercial market. They come in singles and doubles. The color range is white, pink, red, black and blotched. Two new varieties from Walters Garden by hybridizer, Hans Hansen, will appear sometime in 2016 look for them. Until then there still many great varieties that can be found.

©Ken Wilson Gardening Whisperer 2015

Pictures are from Walters Gardens, Honeymoon series (singles), Wedding Party series (doubles)

This entry was posted in New Varieties and tagged Hellebores, Lenten Rose, New perennial, New Plants on March 11, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit

Liriope “Monkey Grass”

GROUND COVER (LIROPE – Monkey Grass)

Some of the best ground covers are natives of Asia about thirty (30) varieties of a genus called Liriope. Now there are two types of liriope, one the other Muscari. These two species have many interchangeable common names lilyturf, monkey grass, variegated lilyturf, and blue lilyturf. When looking for any of these one must remember the difference between the two, Muscari types are clumping and spicata types are spreading. The majorities in the market are Muscari types, they come in green or variegated with either white or yellow leaves. The flowers can be purple, blue or white. Continue reading →

Red Maple “The Native”

Red Maple “The Native”

The native Red Maple is very diverse and has many cultivars because of this multiplicity in its gene which allows it to ranges from Canada through the southern states. From east and west, it runs from the plans to the coast. The diversities of this plant can be seen as it grows from the low swamps to the rocky outcrops of Missouri.
Because of the range of habitat of this tree, it can grow in the moist area of the yard as well as dryer sites. While growing in dryer areas however the roots tend to come to the surface and can give rise to some problems as the tree matures.
Red maples bloom early in the spring before the leaves sometimes present themselves, as early as February, in Missouri. This early bloom gives the bees a source of pollen and nectar early in the season so when they become active there is a food source for them. The samara seeds are called helicopters they are produced in late spring. The tree can have both male and female flowers on the tree or both. This attribute is tremendous as it gives rise to some seedless cultivars.
The fall color can be yellow-red to dark red this is another characteristic that been selected out in many cultivars this gives rise to so great fall color show. The Red Maple will mature in seventy-five to eighty years an can live up to one hundred years.
The growth of this tree is faster than sugar maples slower than silver maples. It is listed as a soft maple due to growth rate but it was used furniture in the early pioneer days.
Native Red Maples are used to making a very sweet maple sugar. It can grow to a height of fifty-plus feet. However, its width can vary if the tree is fifty feet tall the width can be from ten to fifty feet wide.
As a native, it is great to plant in certain areas but around urban communities, it is better to plant one of the fifty-plus cultivars for great fall color. In the late 1800s Acer rubrum was crossed with Acer saccharinum giving rise to what is called the Freemanii maples which are half silver and half red maple, today there are about a dozen in cultivation in the United States.

As for the cultivars selected from mutations and or selections of Acer rubrum, there are about forty plus varieties. Any of these are an excellent selection for urban use depending on location. I will add later on the many red maple varieties.

©Ken Wilson Gardening Whisperer 2015

This entry was posted in Old and True Varieties, Uncategorized and tagged Maples, Native, native plants. on January 22, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit

PLANTS FOR THE CURE

PLANTS FOR THE CURE
In the past years, there have been many gardens of pink to honor the lives of Breast Cancer victims however a few breeders and growers have stepped up to give gardeners some impressive plants for the foundation.

As we all know Breast Cancer has been a devastating disease in the past half-century. Every family that not been affected in some way by this disease. Breast cancer has been the most published form of cancer. It has been not talked about the problem facing American women.

Then in 1982, Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen.

In 2001 Sandy De Boer succumbed to Breast cancer, her fellow workers at Walters’s garden knew that her favorite hosta was June. When the next sport appeared it was named “Remember Me” and as it is sold a donation is given to the Susan G. Komen foundation. With this hosta, a great cause it was a beginning helped. Selling plants to help make a contribution to the cause to cure cancer was a new idea for the plant industry.

There have been several other plants that have come and gone in this process for plants donating money to the Susan G. Komen foundation. One a poinsettia, some geraniums, other one-shot plants that have not lasted.

In 2003 another employee of Walters Gardens, Inc Laurel Hall was diagnosed with the disease and due to the valuable research efforts of Susan G. Komen Laural has a clean bill of health. Hope’. Working with Terra Nova Nurseries, Walters Gardens added yet another plant Echinacea ‘Hope’ this plant was added in honor of breast cancer survivors. With this pink Echinacea ‘Hope,’ a cure can be found for Breast Cancer.

A breakthrough 2010 with Hydrangeas was made by Thomas G. Ranney at Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in North Carolina. This was the first pink Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ it is called ‘Invincible Spirit. It is a great find on the native plant Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ The blooms occur on both new and old wood and can be trimmed in the fall so it can bush out and bloom again next year. Desires two to three years to reach its full impact as the stems on the new plant are week and cannot carry the heavy blooms well, it also needs full sun and heavy fertilizer to make a happy compact plant. This plant has won several awards in its short time. It is also supported by Proven Winners. With the sale of each plant, one dollar is donated to Susan G. Komen foundation.

Every year some of the box stores produce a pink-flowered plant that is sold with the money going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Most of these plants are annuals and do not add any longevity to the garden.
A bulb company was selling pink tulips with this same theme each company has a good thought behind the efforts but there needs to be a more centralized push. There needs to be more perennials and shrubs and trees that the gardener can enjoy for years and an effort that is not pushed just for sales. If you know any other plants please let me know and I will publish them.
©Ken Wilson Gardening Whisperer 2014

This entry was posted in Breeders / Breeding, Old and True Varieties and tagged Echinacea ‘Hope”, Hosta ‘Remember Me’, Hydrangea ‘Invincible Spirit., Susan G Komen on January 16, 2015, by Ken Wilson. Edit