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Plant of the Week: Season 4
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Plant of the Week: Season 4
Episode 401: Pineapple Guava
Common Name: Pineapple Guava
Scientific Name: Acca sellowiana (‘NCSU Hardy’)
Type:
Ornamental shrub/evergreen
Size:
8-15ft.
Foliage:
Blue-ish foliage, underside of leaf is a silvery blue
Flowers:
Cream colored petals with a brilliant red stamen; flowers mid-late May
Culture:
Full sun, drought tolerant
Use:
Shrub border, specimen plant
Other:
Grows well in Central and Eastern North Carolina
Episode 402: Golden Shrimp Plant
Common Name: Golden Shrimp Plant
Scientific Name: Pachystachys lutea
Size:
2-3 ft. in summer
Foliage:
Dark green
Flowers:
Bright golden yellow bracts at the tip of each stem; creamy white flowers are within the yellow bracts, but do not reveal themselves until the bracts are fully developed.
Culture:
Full sun to part shade; drought tolerant (add fertilizer every two weeks)
Use:
Great for shrub beds
Other:
Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds
Episode 403: David Phlox
Common Name: David Phlox
Scientific Name: Phlox paniculata ‘David’ Type: summer-flowering perennial
Size:
3-5ft. tall
Flowers:
Noted for its snow-white clusters of flowers; flowers mid to late summer through fall.
Culture:
Full sun; well-drained soil.
Other:
Resistant to powdery mildew;prune in spring to prevent flopping.
Use:
Summer borders; cuttings.
Episode 404: Oxalis Regnellii 
Common Name: Purple Leaf Oxalis
Scientific Name: Oxalis Regnellii
Type:
herbaceous perennial
Flowers:
light pink
Foliage:
burgundy color, 3 leaflets, resembles clover
Culture:
part shade to part sun (foliage tends to fade in full sun) well-drained soil
Other:
groundcover divides well
Episode 405: Joe Pie Weed
Common Name: Joe Pie Weed
Scientific Name: Eupatorium maculatum
Type:
Native herbaceous perennial
Size:
6-12ft. tall
(Cut back to 12 inches tall in June)
Flowers:
Small pink clusters; flowers July-Sept.
Culture:
Full sun to part shade
Use:
Mixed border
Other:
Attracts butterflies and bees; drought tolerant
Episode 406: Hearts of Gold
Common Name: ‘Hearts of Gold’ redbud
Scientific Name: Cercis canadensis - ‘Hearts of Gold’
The ‘Hearts of Gold’ cultivar was discovered in a NC home landscape by Jon Roethling. Roethling is a former horticulture student at North Carolina State University.
Size:
12'-15' tall x 15'-20' wide in 5 years
Foliage:
This truly outstanding and unique form of our Eastern Redbud is distinguished by its striking, intense golden yellow spring foliage which gradually changes to chartreuse as the summer advances.
Heart-shaped leaves; young growth can assume subtle pink tones
Flowers:
Pale pink-lavender flowers in early Spring
Culture:
Partial to full sun
Episode 407: Northern Sea Oats
Common Name: Northern Sea Oats
Scientific Name: Chasmanthium latifolium
Type:
Perennial ornamental grass
Size:
12-24 inches tall
Flowers:
Held in flat clusters called spikelet; Spikelets hang gracefully on thread-like pedicels in loose, open panicles on a stem that nods above the leaves; Leaves and flowerheads turn a rich tan in autumn and reddish-bronze by winter.
Foliage:
Bright green leaves
Culture:
Full sun to almost full shade
Other:
Looks a little like a small version of sea oats, to which it is closely related; Drought-tolerant.
Use:
Mixed border; accent plant.
Episode 408: Mexican Sage
Common Name: Mexican Sage
Scientific Name: Salvia leucantha
Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Size:
4-5ft. tall and 4-5ft. wide
Flowers:
Lavender to deep purple; soft and velvety; flowers late Aug. through frost.
Foliage:
Leaves are lance shaped, like willow leaves, 1-5 in (2.5-12.7 cm) long, puckery on top and white-wooly underneath.
Culture:
Full sun; well-drained soil.
Other:
Can get large; cut back to about 6-8 inches in June.
Use:
Mixed border; perennial border.
Episode 409: Cosmic Orange Cosmos
Common Name: Cosmic Orange Cosmos
Scientific Name: Cosmos ‘Cosmic Orange’
Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Size:
6 ft. tall
Flowers:
Orange to yellowish-orange
Foliage:
Dissected and soft-textured
Culture:
Full sun, well-drained soil
Other:
Plant in Spring; attracts butterflies and moths.
Use:
Perennial border; mixed border; accent plant.
Episode 410: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Common Name: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Scientific Name: Brunfelsia pauciflora
This plant is native to Brazil. It’s also the official city flower of the City of Curitiba, the capitol of Parana, Brazil.
Type:
Semi-evergreen shrub
Size:
4-8 ft. tall
Flowers:
Spring through summer; flowers as a dark purple then turn a lavender color and gradually fade to an off white (hence the name yesterday, today and tomorrow).
Foliage:
Dark green leaves
Culture:
Full sun to part shade
Use:
Can be grown in NC in a container during the summer
and as a houseplant.
Episode 411: Angel's Trumpet
Common Name: Charles Grimaldi Angel's Trumpet
Scientific Name: Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi'
(This is a hybrid between: Dr. Seuss Angel’s Trumpet, Brugmansia Dr. Seuss and Pink Frost Angel’s Trumpet
Brugmansia 'Pink Frost').
Type:
Tender perennial (in central and eastern NC this plant
will overwinter)
Size:
12ft. tall by 12 ft. wide
Flowers:
Orange, bell-shaped;Start in mid summer but best in fall; fragrant.
Foliage:
Large green leaves
Culture:
Full sun
Other:
Fertilize every 2-3 weeks with a liquid fertilizer in the summer
Use:
Accent plant; specimen plant.
Episode 412: Golden Rod
Common Name:
Golden Baby Golden Rod
Scientific Name:
Solidago ‘Golden Baby’
Common Name:
Golden Fleece Golden Rod
Scientific Name:
Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’
Common Name: Fireworks Golden Rod
Scientific Name: Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’
These are great native plants for the home landscape.
Golden Rod is an excellent herbaceous perennial that often gets accused of causing hayfever. It is actually ragweed that is the cause and not golden rod. Golden Rod is a vigorous late summer to early fall flowering plant. Goldenrod grows well in full sun to very light shade in well-drained soil.
Golden Baby Golden Rod is a compact, clumping goldenrod that makes a 18" tall mound of foliage. It’s topped from August through October with large, celosia-like spikes of brilliant yellow.
Golden Fleece Golden Rod grows 20-25 inches tall and has yellow flowers with a clumping habit. The alternate leaves are colored medium green and have serrated margins. Flowering occurs in late summer, and the small bright yellow flowers, which are 1/12 to 1/8 in. wide, are borne in large panicles up to 10 in. long.
Fireworks Golden Rod has a slowly spreading rhizome from which the stalks emerge upward in late spring. This plant grows about 18-24 inches tall. In mid-August in NC, the clumps are showered with 18" long, arching spires of brilliant yellow flowers held well atop the foliage. The flowers resemble fireworks with its sensational display of vibrant golden flowers that seem to burst from the plant like skyrockets.
Episode 413: Red Lace Leaf Japanese Maple
Common Name: Red Lace Leaf Japanese Maple
Scientific Name: Acer palmatum var. dissectum
This was one of JC Raulston’s favorites. His goal was to plant as many of them in the JC Raulston Arboretum as possible so that they could be seen in all parts of the garden.
Size:
10-12 ft. tall
Foliage:
Burgundy in spring; green in summer; orange in fall
Habit:
Mounded to weeping
Culture:
Full sun to part shade