Viewing comments posted by jathton

The Sugar Maple [Acer saccharum] is native to the hardwood forest of eastern Canada and northern portions of the Central and Eastern United States. It is the tree that gives rise to all the stories you hear and the photos you see of "fall in New England." It is the primary source of maple syrup.

The 'Caddo' Sugar Maple [Acer saccharum 'Caddo'] is a "naturally occurring southern ecotype or subspecies" that was found growing in the Wichita Mountains in Caddo County, Oklahoma. Its leaves, seeds, growth form and other features appear to be very similar to seedlings from northeastern states. The discovery and ultimate propagation of this subspecies has made it possible to successfully grow Sugar Maples on the Southern Great Plains.

'Caddo' Sugar Maple grows to be a beautiful oval to round-crowned tree with a dense foliage cover. It is easily distinguished from other Maples in the fall because foliage coloration begins at the top of the tree and gradually colors the tree from the top down until all the leaves are brilliant red-orange.

Two of the most iconic 'Caddo' Maples in Oklahoma City flank the east entrance to City Hall.

Blue Atlas Cedar is a striking and unique coniferous evergreen tree. It has become very popular in Oklahoma City in the past three decades for use on residential and commercial landscapes. On commercial projects it is usually planted in a large lawn area where it has the opportunity to grow and mature as it should. This means it will gradually change from a loosely pyramidal form to a more flat-topped form with long horizontal branches. It can also, albeit slowly, grow to its mature height of 40-60 feet.
In residential gardens it is all too often used as a temporarily dramatic vertical blue statement that quickly overgrows its site and must be removed or drastically pruned. The worst case scenarios use it as an accent for a chimney… where it is often planted within 6 feet of the chimney and home.
Proper placement of this majestic conifer would site it in a large space with deep, well-drained, acidic soil and full sun exposure. It should also be understood that zone 6 is definitely the northern limit of its hardiness range… and that some degree of protection from drying summer and winter winds is to its advantage.

One plant database lists the common name for this plant as 'Firecracker Plant.' We learned the common name is 'Hummingbird Bush.' We prefer the latter title because this bush does indeed attract hummingbirds and butterflies. One day last summer we actually saw three hovering all over the bush at the same time.

That was one of those sights that always manages to remind me of a favorite quote by Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek... a book anyone who loves nature would love to read. Anyway, she summed up the hummingbirds, and a lot else, when she said, "... beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there."

Anisacanthus is a gangly, spreading deciduous shrub that usually matures at 5 feet by 4 feet. The leaves are lanceolate, with good green color. Bright red-orange tubular flowers are about 1.5 inches in length. They generally appear in large numbers after rains from spring long into summer.
Anisacanthus is hardy from zone 7A south into zone 10. In zone 7A this shrub performs best when planted close to a south facing wall. The reflected heat from this wall will protect the plant during the winter months... and will permit it to remain a shrub, instead of becoming a herbaceous perennial.

Well, I was going to write my own comment but then I read TINPINS comment, made in 2013.
She said it all.
One of my favorite Cranesbills.

One of the advantages of gardening on the southern Great Plains is that plants listed as invasive in many reference manuals are not invasive here. Such is the case with Amur Maple. Invasiveness for this tree is, according to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System, limited to Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and two New England states.
Having said that it can be said that Amur Maple is a superb small tree for Oklahoma gardens and landscapes. When properly trained the tree is limbed up to expose smooth gray bark and a multi-trunk form. The dense, rounded crown is clothed in distinctly three-lobed leaves that turn brilliant shades of red and yellow in fall. Fragrant greenish-white blooms are followed by one inch winged fruit [samaras] that are often brilliant red themselves.
Amur Maple is an excellent tree for smaller gardens. It can be used to create small areas of shade suitable for Hostas, Heucheras and other shade-loving perennials without shading an entire lawn area. Because it usually matures at about 20 feet in height it can be successfully planted under power lines. Once established it shows excellent tolerance to drought and alkaline soils.

After reading the statistics and description for this plant, as well as the comments and threads some of you initiated, I can only say I am surprised and confused by all of it.
Are all of you simply keeping quiet about this particular rose, or don't any of you know its story?

A young couple named Gee moved to Tombstone, AZ in the early 1880's from their native Scotland. In 1885 Mary Gee received a box full of plants, seeds and bulbs from a friend back home. One of the plants was a Lady Banks Rose. Mary and a friend planted the rose in a courtyard behind the hotel they were staying in.

One hundred thirty four years later the rose is not only still alive it is, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest Rose in the world. Its canopy now covers a 9,000 square foot arbor... and it takes two people with their arms outstretched to encircle the trunk of this majestic plant.

The Rose is known as the Shady Lady of Tombstone and she might well be the only single plant to have an annual Rose Festival named after her. If you go to YouTube and type in "Shady Lady of Tombstone" you'll get to see a 60 minutes segment on the plant. It's worth the digression.

In the 45 years I've been involved with garden design and landscaping I've seen exactly two white flowering Japanese Wisterias in Oklahoma City. This is primarily because Japanese Wisteria has not been available here for very many years. It is also due to the fact that white flowering Wisteria has not been marketed very well. So the gardeners here cannot be expected to get excited about a plant that cannot be found or that they haven't heard about or seen in the media.
That is a shame because on the two criteria by which Wisteria is judged,,, [1] the beauty of the flowering racemes and [2] the fragrance of the blossoms... a clear case can be made in favor of the white flowering Japanese varieties.
Donald Wyman, the head of the Arnold Arboretum from 1935-1970, made the case for Japanese Wisteria in 'Shrubs and Vines for American Gardens'................................................
If you love Wisteria for the beauty of its flowering racemes you might like to know that Chinese Wisteria... the one everyone buys... has racemes that are usually 6-12 inches in length. Japanese Wisteria, on the other hand, has flowering racemes that measure 8-48 inches.
If you love Wisteria for its fragrance when in bloom you might like to know that Chinese Wisteria is considered to be slightly fragrant. But Wyman makes it clear that varieties of Wisteria noted for their "delicious fragrance" belong mostly to the species floribunda [Japanese Wisteria].
Having said all that, I want to point out that 'Issai Perfect' has long been considered to be the Japanese Wisteria with some of the longest, most fragrant flowering racemes of all Japanese varieties.
And having grown this variety I will simply say you are not prepared for the degree to which this Wisteria will knock your socks clean off!

There was a period in Oklahoma City's gardening history when lots of gardeners were trying their best to grow Lombardy Poplars and/or Italian Cypress. Eventually they realized these two plants just were not suited to life on the southern Great Plains. Then, somewhere in the 1980's, nurserymen here were able to recommend an American Arborvitae named 'DeGroot's Spire'... and gardeners began to achieve success with an almost extremely fastigate plant.
'DeGroot's Spire' Arborvitae liked our alkaline soils and our summer sun and soon we were seeing these evergreen pillars all over the place.
'DeGroot's Spire' is a beautiful Arborvitae. It can reach 20-30 feet into the sky without getting much more than 4 feet across at the base. They have nice emerald green foliage... displayed as flattened sprays that never really need pruning. A grouping of several is an attractive sight. Rows of them are discouraged for the same reason I almost never recommend rows of anything. If one or two die... you have holes in your row that just don't belong there. So avoid rows and you'll never have row-holes.
Be aware of a few things about this plant. It does not like dry soils... the soil should drain well but retain moisture. A little protection from mid-afternoon summer sun is also desirable. And, if you can, locate it so it is not exposed to our drying summer winds.

Unlike its parent, which at maturity is too large for many home gardens, 'Munchkin' Oakleaf Hydrangea is perfectly suited to most residential gardens. Its mature size of 3-4 feet high & wide makes it suitable for foundation plantings as well as open borders and woodlands.
Unlike so many other flowering shrubs, including other forms of Hydrangea, the Oakleaf Hydrangeas offer the gardener three to four seasons of interest. Watching the plants leaves develop in spring is enjoyable because they are a good apple green color, they become quite large and they have a distinct "oak-like" shape. The blooms, which begin to open in early to mid-June, form dense pyramidal panicles that are usually 6-8 inches long. Individual flowers are snow white... but as they age the blooms turn a beautiful shade of soft pink... before turning cinnamon brown in fall. The leaves, in a good year, turn brilliant scarlet red before dropping. And in winter the bark, which is colored rich cinnamon brown, exfoliates much like the bark on birch trees.
This Hydrangea blooms on old wood... so it is important to remember to prune right after the plant blooms in early summer. If you prune in spring you are pruning off that years blooms.
In hot, humid summers like the ones we have in Oklahoma City... this plant will prefer being sited where it gets some afternoon shade and protection from the southwest summer wind. Otherwise it is an adaptable, fairly problem-free shrub with significant ornamental value.

Many gardeners love a perennial called Astilbe, but few gardeners in our area have had any prolonged success with them. Think of Ural False Spirea as a durable, and very large white Astilbe…..and you might be more tempted to grow them in your garden. Here are several more reasons: [1] It is one of the very first shrubs to leaf out in spring [2] The new leaves have a terrific copper, bronze, purple coloration [3] the leaves have a distinct, delicate, and rich "pleated" appearance throughout the growing season & [4] The bloom panicles are quite large, pure white, and very showy. Plant it in full sun to light shade, in good soil, and make sure you provide supplemental water during summer's high heat.

Silverbush, or Convolvulus cneorum is a mounding, densely foliaged evergreen plant native to north Africa, the Balkans and Italy. Its leaves are covered with silky, silver gray hairs that shine like chrome in good light. As if that were not enough it is pretty much covered with trumpet shaped 1.5 inch snow white blooms from late spring well into summer.
It works well as a container plant in cold climates and can be overwintered indoors in a bright sunny window. I will offer this caution, however. Experts I trust implicitly say this plant is no easier than Rosemary to grow indoors. So, gardeners in any hardiness zones north of 8 might want to consider this plant an annual.

Since the taxonomists have chosen to lump three Crabapples under one botanical name I think it is important to say this comment is about Malus sargentii [Sargent Crabapple].

I was attracted to this small ornamental tree the moment I saw one. It has multiple stems instead of a central leader. It has horizontally spreading branches and a windswept look… giving it a distinctly Asian appearance. It seldom grows taller than 8-9 feet but it can spread up to 15 feet. Ovate, lobed leaves are generally dark green… turning a good shade of yellow in fall.
Spring gives witness to the development of bright pink flower buds that open to dazzlingly white blossoms. These are followed by one quarter inch, bright red crabapples. The fruit will please most lawn fanatics because it is "persistent"… that is, it stays on the tree into fall and winter and does not clutter the lawn.
This is a lovely tree… well-suited to smaller lawns and gardens. It should have extra appeal to anyone creating a garden in an oriental style. Because of its short stature and generous spread this small tree is ideal for the gardener who wants shade in a specific portion of their garden without shading the entire garden or yard.

In 'Fortune of the Republic' Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
For 2-3 years I had watched False Garlic [Nothoscordum bivalve] come up and bloom in the lawns of the small fenced community in which I live. Each spring I caught myself thinking what a beautiful little flower it was. So, in the fall of 2016 I dug about two dozen of the bulbs out of my neighbor's lawns, washed them off and replanted them in a small raised bed I had just finished building. In the spring of 2017 they came up and put on a nice show. So that fall I dug up about four dozen more and added them to the bed. The display in spring, 2018 was looking pretty good. But this past spring all the work really paid off because the display was just beautiful.
Giant flowers that can be seen from a distance are all well and good. In my mind, however, the smaller flowers are the real jewels of nature. Nothoscordum bivalve is a flower that, even at the ripe age of 70, is worth bending down to appreciate.

The Japanese Tassel Fern [Polystichum polyblepharum] was the second hardy fern I tried growing in my small Oklahoma City shade garden... and even though my collection now includes nine hardy types of fern it continues to be my favorite. The emerging crosiers are heavily covered with what are correctly called scales... but they really look a lot more like brilliant cinnamon colored fur. As the crosier unfurls it suddenly flips over backwards and forms tassels... hence its name. The maturing fronds extend out from the crown at a fairly shallow angle... giving the plant more a flattened than vase shape. The fronds are dark green and lustrous, with overlapping pinnae. The overall look is very refined and easily distinguished from other hardy ferns.
It is not a difficult fern to grow... even on the Southern Great Plains. It likes rich, organic yet well draining soil and consistent moisture. It also likes protection from our drying southwest winds and shade from noon to 4PM. One special growing tip... you might set the crown at an angle so rain and irrigation water does not accumulate on it and create set-up for crown rot.

The philosopher William Barrett once said, "It is the familiar that usually eludes us in life. What is before our nose is what we see last."
Drive down any two lane country road in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma and you will see clump after clump of native Sumac. But you very seldom if ever saw Sumac in either urban or rural gardens around here.
It took the introduction of 'Tiger Eyes' Sumac for this lovely plant to begin to appear on plant design palettes and in local gardens. Its dwarf form makes it suitable for use in even moderately sized gardens. The finely dissected foliage, and its color, is a welcome contrast to other garden plants. And its orange and scarlet fall color is welcome in a place where the vast majority of fall color is yellow. Suckers have proven easy to control... a little effort now and then with a hand-held mattock will give all the control necessary.
In central Oklahoma this plant has proven to be both desirable and very beautiful.

Imagine, if you will, a street median that stretches unbroken for seven blocks in a north-south orientation. Further imagine the median sits between two 2-lane streets. Finally, imagine that the elevation of one street is ten feet below that of the other street. This means the soil surface of the median is pitched at approximately a 40 degree angle above horizontal. Finally... the median is a weed patch... not a lawn... and that the weed patch has recently been reduced to stubble by city crews,
Now then... it was mid-summer and I was driving up one of those streets when I saw... standing regally and majestically in the middle of this absolutely barren median ... a single plant standing about two feet high. On close inspection it turned out to have silver-gray, thistle-like foliage and the most beautiful blooms. They were snow white with 4-6 crumpled petals that looked as though they had been cut from crepe paper. These petals surrounded a dense globular collection of golden yellow stamens.
It might have been its unusual circumstance, but I like to think it was its singular beauty that drew me to my first view of Argemone albiflora... the White Prickly Poppy.

Both the Plants Database for this organization and the PlantFinder database for the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis list the hardiness range for Chinese Rice Paper Plant as 8A and 8 respectively.
I just want to bring to your attention the fact that I have been successfully growing this plant in zone 7A for the past nineteen years. It decidedly dies to the ground each winter, but it reliably returns each spring. The maximum height it has achieved in zone 7A has been, to the best of my knowledge, between six and seven feet. In all these years I have yet to see it flower. But it makes an impressive and highly attractive foliage plant. In addition to the gardens I have grown it in... it has also been successfully grown in the AABGA garden that comprises part of our municipal zoo.