Featured Plants : deciduous

Brown Turkey Fig Tree

barb-nhn — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:06:00 GMT

A Fig Tree is a picturesque deciduous tree, that grows up to 50 feet tall, but more typically to a height of 10 - 30 feet. If you take a close look at the branches, you will see that they are muscular and twisting, spreading wider than they are tall. The Brown Turkey Fig Tree grows to a height of 10-15 feet, and thrives in zones 7-9, so plenty of sunshine is the key to maximizing fruit production. It is best to choose a site that has lots of sun most of the day. Figs must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree before they are harvested in July.

The Brown Turkey Fig Tree produces a fig that has a reddish-brown skin tinged with purple. The pulp is reddish-pink and of good quality. It is subject to cracking in wet weather and has a larger eye than Celeste, and hence will sour more quickly. What a unique fruit it is! The fig fruit is an inverted flower with both the male and female flower parts enclosed in stem tissue. Unlike most fruit in which the edible structure is matured ovary tissue, the fig's edible structure is actually stem tissue. You can use this fig for making home preserves or for various fig recipes.

The bright green fig leaves on the Brown Turkey Fig Tree are a rough hairy on the upper surface and soft hairy on the underside. In summer, their foliage lends a beautiful tropical feeling. Figs grow extremely well along the Texas Gulf Coast. However, trees require cold protection in the far northern and western areas and supplemental irrigation in the state's drier areas.

The Graceful and Elegant River Birch - Dura Heat

barb-nhn — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:21:00 GMT

The River Birch Dura Heat is extremely popular as an ornamental tree. It offers superlative, lustrous, dark green leaves that turn soft butter yellow in the autumn. These leaves are more leathery and smaller than other varieties and the species. The beautiful cinnamon to creamy white exfoliating bark on the trunk and branches is one of the reasons why it is so popular. It is widely known for this unique, exfoliating bark. Exfoliation refers to the platy, peeling of the bark that makes it look like paper strips.

The River Birch is deciduous, losing its leaves in the fall, but this just makes it easier to notice the beautiful bark all winter long. It is hardy for most all U.S. climate zones, is fast-growing, nicely forked, and wind and ice resistant. 'Dura Heat' has a denser canopy of foliage than the species River Birch, along with leaf spot resistance. The Dura Heat is denser and the leaves are greener in the summer months. The tree is very intolerant to shade. Dura Heat prefers moist sites, but as its name implies, tolerates drier and hotter conditions, better than most other River Birch. Because of its grace and elegance, it makes an excellent specimen tree.

The Corkscrew Willow Tree

barb-nhn — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:18:00 GMT

The main ornamental feature of the Corkscrew WIllow Tree is the contorted and twisted branches and twigs. Branches arise from the trunk at an acute angle and grow up almost parallel to the trunk before they curve back to the horizontal. The winter branch pattern also is most interesting and accounts for the popularity of this tree. It is a very striking tree, so give it a prominent place in your landscape!

Corkscrew Willow is a fast growing, upright, deciduous tree, with curiously twisted shoots. The leaves are bright green, lance-shaped, and also twisted. It bears yellow-green catkins. This ornamental tree has branches that are often used in floral arrangements.

Corkscrew Willow trees tolerate any soil, especially wet soils with poor drainage. Plant them singly, or use for a shade tree. You can plant them in lines for a privacy tree screen or windbreaks, or to line a driveway. A fast growing tree, it grows 20-30 feet in height, loves sun to partial sun, and thrives in zones 4-8.

The Easy-to-Grow Cavalier Nectarine

barb-nhn — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:34:00 GMT

The Cavalier Nectarine is medium sized, firm and very aromatic with yellow freestone; resists brown rot. It has an orange-yellow skin blushed with mottled dark red; a resilient flesh texture. Ripening in late July, it is easy to grow and quite attractive when in bloom with showy blossoms.

Nectarines are usually pruned into a vase shape; more heavily pruned than other deciduous fruit trees. They produce fruit on shoots of the past season’s growth. Unpruned trees will set tremendous crops, but develop very small fruits the season after pruning is omitted.

Nectarines need to be hand thinned or they may end up being small and poor in quality. The chance of limb breakage will diminish with proper thinning. The Nectarine softens rapidly and is best if picked while in a firm condition. If allowed to soften on the tree, the fruit will bruise easily and become mushy and difficult to handle. Nectarines are sweet and wonderful to eat fresh or to be used in cooking; contain a good amount of vitamins A and C.

It requires approximately 700-800 chilling hours. Cavalier is a self-fruitful tree so does not require cross pollination and needs to be planted in a good site with well-drained and fertile soil. The Nectarine Tree has been around for at least 2000 years but are considered a rather new fruit, first appearing in 1720 in Virginia.

Cloud 9 Dogwood Provides Year Round Interest

barb-nhn — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:06:00 GMT

A beautiful flowering dogwood, Cloud 9 is a strong grower with light green foliage, and it produces distinctive, large, overlapping, pure white petal-like blooms in April and May. The nectar and pollen attracts butterflies and other pollinators. This tree will provide a landscape with year round interest.

After displaying its lovely spring flowers, Cloud 9 Dogwood keeps its green foliage all summer, then the foliage turns to a bright scarlet red in the fall. Clusters of glossy red fruit mature in late fall and persist into winter when they are eaten by birds, squirrels, and rabbits. This dogwood also furnishes nesting sites for a number of birds.

Dogwood Cloud 9 does best in partial shade, but if planted in full sun, it must receive adequate water. It is not a drought or pollution tolerant plant. Mulch well (about four inches) to keep shallow roots cool and retain valuable moisture. Dogwood Cloud 9 is perfect along the wood’s edge, in combination with azaleas and rhododendrons, or as a small, specimen lawn tree. This tree requires well-drained, acidic soil, rich in organic matter.

Dogwoods in general are an understory, deciduous tree, with a horizontal to upright branching form. Cloud 9 has a short trunk, horizontal branches, and a moderately globe-shaped crown. This is one of the most cold hardy cultivars, thriving in zones 5-9 and growing 12-15 feet in height.

Eastern Whitebud Ornamental Tree

barb-nhn — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:17:00 GMT

The Eastern Whitebud Tree is a small deciduous tree that is adaptable to other soil types, but will not grow well in permanently wet or poorly drained soils. Growing best in full sun to light shade with moist well-drained deep soil, it is commonly used as either an ornamental or patio tree.

The Eastern Whitebud Tree is best known for its profuse white pea-like flowers. The heart-shaped leaves of this tree are 3-5" across and its fruit are brown flat pods about 2-3" long. The trunk usually branches close to the ground, resulting in a spreading flat-topped to rounded crown.

Care of flowering trees begins with knowing where they grow best, including their planting zones. The Eastern Whitebud is a rapid growing tree, reaches a mature height of 15-40 feet, and does well in zones 4-9. Flowering trees are among the most prized specimens of the yard, making a bold statement and heralding the return of warmer weather in the North!

Ornamental trees are usually described as trees that are less than 25 feet tall. They usually have a defining feature such as flowers, unique foliage, notable bark, or a form of branching that is eye catching.

Climbing Hydrangea Is Beautiful And Refined

patti-nhn — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The Climbing Hydrangea hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris is a deciduous vine that is often used to cover fences, walls, or even arbors. I have even seen it on a mail box post and curling around the mailbox itself. It can be used as a ground cover as well. The leaves of the vine are a wonderful lustrous green and it will flower in summertime with lots of white lace caps that are very fragrant.

In the fall the foliage becomes a nice yellow color. The reddish-brown bark of the plant will exfoliate which is always interesting in the winter. Partial to full shade is recommended and the Climbing Hydrangea is hardy from zones 4 to 7. You will find that this vine will cling to what you want it to grow on and generally needs little to no training or to be tied. There are so many possibilities that I'm sure you can find a place for this Climbing Hydrangea in your landscape.

Harry Lauder's Walkingstick - Great Winter Interest

patti-nhn — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:01:00 GMT

This Harry Lauder's Walkingstick 'Corylus avellana 'Contorta' is an interesting bush that is said to be named after a man named Harry Lauder, who was a Scottish comedian that used a crooked branch as a cane when he performed his act. The branches of this tree curl and bend in shapes that are often referred to as looking like a corkscrew.

They are especially decorative in the fall and winter after they lose their leaves and you can see the branches clearly. It is an attractive bush with it's green foliage that turns to yellow in the fall. In the spring it flowers with yellowish brown catkins that are similar to Pussywillows. Like Pussywillows the branches of the Harry Lauder's Walkingstick can also be used in flower arrangements. This is a nice tall 6-8 foot bush that will spread out 4-6 foot wide. It requires full sun and is hardy to zones 5-8.

Theves Poplar A Fast Growing Privacy/Windbreak Tree

patti-nhn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:14:00 GMT

If you are looking for a fast growing windbreak or privacy tree, the Theves Poplar Populus nigra 'Afghanica'' is a perfect specimen. It will grow from 40 to 50 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide, therefore making a wonderful windbreak or screen. Their upright form looks somewhat like tall columns. These remind me of soldiers standing guard over your home. They grow much faster than most trees to approximately 2-4 feet a year in optimum conditions. It is very hardy from zones 2 to 9.

The Theves Poplar has a nice green foliage that will turn to a pretty yellow in the fall. They are deciduous so they will lose their leaves but that exposes the very interesting bark which when they are older is almost white. They are a narrow tree so would be good for small areas. They do have some tolerance to salt and alkali so you could put them close to sidewalks and streets but you will want to be careful that these areas don't have a lot of activity where there would be lots of salt.

Autumn Purple Ash - Great Fall Color

patti-nhn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:14:00 GMT

As I am driving around my area during this fall season, I am seeing so many beautiful fall colors on the trees. I am trying to decide on my favorites so that maybe in the spring I can plant the ones I like to begin some wonderful fall color in my own back yard. The Autumn Purple Ash, Fraxinus americana, 'Autumn Purple' is one of the most beautiful fall trees. It shows off it's leaves in the fall from a deep red, maroon into purple in the fall. The leaf shapes are lightly serrated on the edges and oval shaped. Their fall color is one of the longest lasting into the late fall.

This is a good sized tree maturing at anywhere from 50-70 feet tall and 35-50 feet wide. You would need a medium to large sized yard otherwise you can stress the tree and the root system may not develop properly. It is a very rapid growing tree at 2-3 feet per year and begins with a pyramidal shape and as it ages becomes more oval in shape.

It does best in full sun and is a very hardy tree from zones 3-9. It is widely adaptable to most soils. For beautiful fall color, this Ash tree is one of the best!

Minnesota Snowflake Mock Orange Confusing Name-Great Shrub!

patti-nhn — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:22:00 GMT

This deciduous (meaning it loses it's leaves in the winter) shrub has a confusing name. It's scientific name is Philadelphys x virginalis. The Mock Orange refers to the appearance of the white fragrant flowers that can be compared to orange blossoms. Therefore the "mock" in the name. The fragrance of these flowers greets you in late spring. Then in fall you are greeted with yellow green fall leaves. Minnesota I believe refers to the hardiness of this shrub down to zone 5 and Snowflake also in reference to the flowers. The branches of the shrub arch out and over.

This is a great shrub and it can be pruned back if necessary. It could be used as a hedge or to brighten up a corner of your yard. It's low maintenance and "showy". I think you'll find it a great addition to your yard and may also attract birds in all seasons.

Here's a Gold Nugget for You!

patti-nhn — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:31:00 GMT

It seems like gold has had the attention of the world almost since the beginning of it's creation. The color of gold is often considered warm, like the gold flames of a fire. It is most prized in jewelry and to award someone for a job well done. In the garden, it can have the same effect.

May I suggest a bush that will be prized in your landscape? The "Dart's Gold" Ninebark bush fits this description. The golden yellow leaves of this versatile shrub are bright and colorful. They are a ray of sunshine! They are deciduous so will lose their leaves to reveal papery looking branches which is attractive in the winter as well. If you are a bird watcher, there are also red berries to attract them to your yard.

Dart's Gold Physo. o. 'Dart's Gold'' generally grow about 4-5 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide so would also make a nice border plant in your yard or around or behind a flower garden. They are low maintenance and can handle dry conditions. If you want to add some sunshine, plan on a few of these bushes in your landscape.

Ash Leaf Spirea

patti-nhn — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Ash Leaf Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia) also known as Ural False Spirea is a very decorative shrub. It is fast growing and exhibits large clusters of creamy white blossoms that have a soft, feathery look. You will want to prune the shrub in early spring before growth starts as the flowers occur on new wood. Their leaves are green and fern-like. The young leaves are a reddish color when they first appear and then turn green. Their fall color is yellow and green.

They grow 6-8' tall and about 5-10' wide so they make great border or privacy shrubs. They are deciduous so they will lose their leaves in the winter but they are still an attractive addition to your landscape without their leaves and flowers. Ash Leaf Spirea are also considered low maintenance and they don't require much pruning. It is resistant to disease, insects and is salt tolerant. It does require full to partial sun and moist well drained soil.