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Plant of the Week: Season 8

Episode 801: Matthaei Broom Dawn Redwood

Common Name: Matthaei Broom Dawn Redwood
Scientific Name: Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Matthaei Broom’
Type: Deciduous conifer
Foliage: Soft green to dark green needles, turn orange to golden yellow in Fall
Habit: Rounded
Growth: 4ft to 8ft tall, dwarf/compact
Culture: Shade to partial sun
Other: Matthaei Broom is a relatively new variety of dawn redwood that originated from a mutation of a witches broom.
Uses: Specimen plant, shrub border, container

Episode 802: Mexican Petunia

Common Name: Mexican Petunia
Scientific Name: Ruellia brittoniana
Type: Herbaceous perennial (central & eastern NC)
Flower: Trumpet-shaped, purple (varieties with white, pink and shades of blue also available)
Foliage: Linear, dark green leaves, burgundy stem                             
Habit: Upright
Growth: 2½ft -4ft tall    
Culture: Sun to part shade
Other: Acts like a perennial as far west as Raleigh (sometimes beyond, depending on the severity of winter). After flowering, cut back stems about halfway to encourage a new crop. Fast-grower, spreads underground, can be invasive in some part s of the southeastern US.                                  
Uses: Border, container

Episode 803: Cat Whiskers

Common Name: Cat Whiskers/Java Tea
Scientific Name: Orthosiphon aristatus
Type: Fast-growing herbaceous shrub
Flower: Tubular flowers with long stamens that look like cat whiskers, the pagoda-shaped flower clusters can be white/off white or mauve to light purple
Foliage: Medium green          
Habit: Upright
Growth: 18-24 inches    
Culture: Full sun to part sun, partial shade
Other: Responds well to pruning                                 
Uses: Cat Whiskers is popularly used as a traditional herb, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia to treat diabetes, kidney stones and urinary disorders, high blood pressure, rheumatism and gout. Dried leaves can be brewed as an herbal tea or a tasty drink with honey or milk.

Episode 804: Scarlet Rose Hibiscus

Common Name: Scarlett Rose Hibiscus
Scientific Name: Hibiscus coccineus
Type: Perennial
Flower: Deep red, large, striking
Foliage: Large, dissected green leaves
Growth: 5-7ft. tall                 
Culture: Full sun, moist soil, tolerates poor drainage
Other: Attracts butterflies and bees, native to southeastern United States                                      
Uses: It can be used in wet areas, such as beside ponds or in boggy areas.

Episode 805: Black-eyed Susan

Common Name: Henry Eilers' Sweet Black-eyed Susan
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Flowers: Yellow, tubular with dark brown center
Foliage: Deep green, vanilla-scented
Growth: 5-6ft. tall
Culture: Full sun, well-drained soil
Use: Borders, cut flowers, beds
Other: This plant was collected from a railroad prairie remnant in southern Illinois and named for the man who found it, Henry Eilers.

Episode 806: Red Carpet Rose

Common Name: Red Carpet Rose
Scientific Name: Rosa x Scarlet Flower Carpet®
Type: Shrub
Flowers: Red (others colors in the Flower Carpet Rose series: pink, white, amber, yellow, coral), Flowers profusely from Spring through Fall
Foliage: Dark green
Growth: 18-24 inches
Habit: Mounded, compact
Culture: Full sun, partial sun in southern US
Use: Border, container, mass planting
Other: Disease-resistant, heat-resistant, humidity-resistant. This rose is the final product of a 35-year breeding program by Dr. Werner Noack, a German rose breeder famous for his work with disease resistant hybrids.

Episode 807: Snow-on-the-Mountain

Common Name: Snow-on-the-mountain
Scientific Name: Euphorbia marginata
Type: Annual
Flowers: Pale green, white/near white
Foliage: Variegated leaves, grown for foliage
Growth: 18-24 inches
Culture: Full sun to partial shade
Use: Mixed border, cut-flower arrangement
Other: Drought-tolerant

Episode 808: Porterweed

Common Name: Porterweed
Scientific Name: Stachytarpheta mutabilis
Type: Annual
Flowers: Red, pink, coral with long spike-like stems
Foliage: Deep green   
Growth: 2-4ft. tall
Culture: Full sun
Use: Mixed border, mass planting
Other: Drought-tolerant, tolerant of high humidity, native to South America, grows well in NC, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds

Episode 809: Violet Pentas/ Starflower

Common Name: Violet Pentas/Starflower
Scientific Name: Pentas lanceolata ‘Graffiti Violet’
Type: Annual
Flowers: Clusters of star-shaped flowers, violet with a hint of white, part of the Graffiti series that include red, white and pink flowers                  
Foliage: Deep green                     
Growth: 18-24in. tall
Culture: Full sun
Use: Mixed border, mass planting
Other: Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds

Episode 810: Starburst Orange Ornamental Pepper

Common Name: Starburst Orange Ornamental Pepper
Scientific Name: Capsicum annuum ‘Starburst Orange’
Type: Annual
Flowers: Small white flowers
Foliage: Deep green
Fruit: Small peppers that start out green and turn yellow to deep orange, clusters of fruit
Growth: 12 inches tall with a 12-inch spread
Culture: Full sun

Episode 811: Pink Muhley Grass

Common Name: Pink Muhley Grass
Scientific Name: Muhlenbergia capillaris
Type: Perennial grass
Flowers: Mauve, pink, reddish inflorescence in fall, airy flowers that look like a cloud from a distance, best color in the fall
Foliage: Blue-green, glossy green foliage
Growth: 2 ½ to 3 ft. tall
Habit: Upright
Culture: Full sun
Use: Mass planting, mixed border

Episode 812: Mahonia

Common Name: Mahonia
Scientific Name: Mahonia confusa ‘Nari Hira’
Flowers: large clusters of buttery yellow flowers appear in September
Foliage: Dark green, pinnately compound leaves are not as spiny as most Mahonias
Growth: 3-5 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide
Culture: Partial shade such as an eastern exposure
Use: Foundation plant, shrub border