High Summer Drama with Hardy Hibiscus

Hibiscus moscheutos

     If you love dramatic flowers perhaps this is the summer you'll finally try the hardy native hibiscus Hibiscus moscheutos. These reliable perennials have salad to dinner plate sized flowers that are considerably larger than most blooms on popular tropical hibiscus, and they have a long bloom time. They are available in solid colors, or what could be termed bicolors on some of the newer hybrids. Many have slightly deeper eyes, or even showy bull's eye centers that could double for target practice --- as in the classic Disco Belle series.

Hibiscus coccineus

     Just as some of your earlier blooming perennials start to fade these "look at me" hibiscus begin to bloom. Martha Stewart thinks they look best planted in groups of three, so that they look more like the hibiscus that bloom in wild areas. Their bold texture is also a nice contrast to billowy ornamental grasses. In the home garden you might want to place these perennials, especially the tall H. coccineus, in the back of the 

Hibiscus 'Blue River II'

border so that they don't block their neighbors in the front. We think the newer hybrids have a shorter, bushier habit so take that into account, as well. Some of our favorite (or noteworthy) new hibiscus include: 'Blue River II', 'Kopper King', 'Fantasia', 'Fireball' and 'Peppermint Schnapps'. If you need a tall garden accent the vivid scarlet swamp mallow H. coccineus is a southern native that has a more delicate look than the larger flowered swamp mallows that you may see in the edges of ponds in places near the Monitor-Merrimac or the Mariner's Museum in Newport News.

Hibiscus 'Peppermint Schnapps'

    

    Perennial hibiscus love damp locations (and lots of compost in the soil) but they will grow and bloom in drier garden conditions. I suggest a very sunny location or they will flop in an unattractive manner and you won't get many blooms. Japanese beetles can sometimes be a problem, however they don't seem to be as interested in the leaves that are more like Japanese maples or marijuana leaves. You could use a systemic drench or spray before the beetles arrive, but many of us here take the "suck it up-do nothing" attitude because the beetles are only around for a few weeks. These perennials will die back totally in the winter and are late to emerge in the spring. Either mark the location or leave a few stalks as a reminder, otherwise you could inadvertently dig them up in the spring. Visit us soon to see these decorative perennials that are also a favorite of bees and other valuable pollinators. As gardeners we all know that helping those little guys is a very big deal!

 

Ann Weber    

Native Beauties:  Trumpet Vine

(another installment from our occasional series on some of our best gardenworthy native trees and shrubs)  

     As a nurseryman, there are not many weather events that cause me more concern than a late spring freeze. I can usually sense when the threat of such weather has passed, but if I need any reassurance, I need only look to Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans). This is the very last of our native plants to leaf-out in the spring, so I know when I see its new green growth that all threats of cold weather have passed. Trumpet Vine also tells me when warm summer weather is here to stay by the appearance of its showy orange-red, trumpet-shaped flowers in early June. These flowers will continue to bloom into September and are a favorite source of food for Ruby Throated Hummingbirds.  

     Trumpet Vine is native to much of the eastern half of the country, and depending on where you are from goes by a number of names, including:  Common Trumpetcreeper, Cow Itch, Cow Vine, Hellvine and Devil's Shoestring.  Perhaps some of these less-than-flattering names come from the fact that in some people the foliage can cause skin irritation, and because this vine is one of the easiest, most tolerant and most rampant of native plants.  Trumpet Vine will do best in full sun, but I have seen it thriving in a fair amount of shade as well.  It is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions and types, and in fact it will be downright thuggish in good garden soil.  The plant is also tolerant of a wide range of adverse conditions including salt, sand, drought, hot asphalt and pollution.

     In a garden setting, Trumpet Vine can be grown on a sturdy trellis, up a stone or brick wall or spread out to run along a fence rail.  One of the keys to this vine's success are its very fertile seeds, which are contained in a long pod.  If you remove this pod just when it forms, you will get even more flowers.  You can also keep this vine under greater control by cutting it back pretty hard in late winter. Otherwise it can easily reach 30-40' while you have your back turned! Perhaps the most common variety available to gardeners is 'Madame Galen' which is a hybrid between C. radicans and the Chinese Trumpetcreeper, C. grandiflora.  'Madame Galen' will have larger, showier flowers that can get 3" long by 3" wide and are a little more red than the native.  'Flava' is another variety we carry and it is one of my favorites, having yellow to orangey-yellow flowers.  

     Besides being my harbinger of the changing seasons, I often gather a bit of hope when I see Trumpet Vine. Whenever I find it pushing its way up through junked cars, climbing over barbed wire or coming up through cracks in the pavement - it lets me know that despite the traumas humans might inflict on the environment, there are still a few things that thrive under such adversity.

Les Parks

Previous Native Beauties:

Winterberry Holly - Oct. 2010

Flowering Dogwood - April 2010 

Bald Cypress - Sept. 2009  

Virginia Sweetspire - June 2009   

Carolina Jessamine - March 2009 

American Beautyberry - Oct. 2009  

Oakleaf Hydrangea - June 2008  

Redbud - March 2008  

Your Annuals Need You, NOW! 

     During our hottest months it is natural to want to stay inside and look at our gardens through the window enjoying air conditioned comfort. However, this is the time of year that your annuals will need you the most. Let me go over the summer care for these plants so you will reap the huge rewards they can offer.

Feed Your Annuals!

     Summer annuals live their entire life span from the last frost of spring to the first frost of fall. Because of this they will require feeding about every month, which will keep them blooming their little heads off for you all summer. I like to feed mine a good granular fertilizer once a month and supplement that with a water-soluble food once a week. The granular fertilizer should be a good all-around blend of nutrients since your annuals will need nitrogen, phosphate and potash for good healthy roots and stems as well as flowers. The water-soluble product should be very high in phosphate. Phosphate promotes good flowering, and after all that is what we buy them for. My favorite of these water-soluble fertilizers is Tiger Bloom, made by Fox Farm. This is the best liquid food I have every used, bar none!  It packs a real punch of nutrients and includes earthworm castings as well. Tiger Bloom is fast acting and you will almost be able to watch your plants grow over-night! Check out the picture of the pink petunias; there are only four plants in the pot, and they were fed with Tiger Bloom.

Water Your Annuals!

     Now on to watering. If your annuals are in containers the soil must be checked each day. Some containers with really good drainage will need water on a daily basis, others that have soils that retain water may only need to be watered every other day. To see which one you have stick your fingers in the soil and check for moisture. Simply looking at the soil will not do, you need to feel it. Annuals planted in the ground will tend not to dry out as quickly as those in containers do, especially if they are well mulched. Still, you need to check them frequently, particularly while they are getting established. After a while you will learn how long they can go before you need to give them a drink. Watering before wilting occurs is the key to healthy, happy plants.

Deadhead Your Annuals

     One other thing flowers can not do for themselves is remove spent blooms. Not only are spent blooms unsightly but if left on the plants they might harbor fungal disease. Deadheading also prevents the plant from spending its energies producing seeds. Instead it encourages more blooms. This job doesn't take long and is well worth any effort; and perhaps you can do it while you are watering and fertilizing! So if you take care of our babies this summer, they will pay you back by making you the envy of your neighborhood.

Margie Cooper