By Kimberly Day Proctor      

In the late 1790's Dr. Isaac Bronson purchased the Greenfield Hill residence in Fairfield, Connecticut, known as "Verna" from Dr. Timothy Dwight. Dr. Bronson, in making improvements to his property, planted young dogwood seedlings along the edges of his property. Those trees matured into a stream of white blossoms running north and south along the road that now bears his name. Those original trees have been added to and replaced by many more white and pink flowering dogwoods and the Dogwood Festival remains an annual highlight of the Town of Fairfield to this day. 

It is well known that our native Dogwood, Cornus florida, has struggled to survive though occasional years of drought and as victims of disease. The most devastating has been the wide spread appearance of anthracnose (see Oliver Nursery newsletter article by Scott Jamison, Sept/Oct 2009).  New hope for the Dogwoods has come from the tireless efforts of researchers with the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station. After extensive testing for resistance to dogwood anthracnose the survivor of those trials, Cornus florida 'Appalachian Spring' became the first named cultivar in a new series. It was released with great anticipation into the nursery industry by Tennessee Advanced Genetics in 1998. Oliver Nurseries will be offering quite mature specimens, clones of the original, this spring.

The Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station continued in its search for disease resistant forms of the Flowering Dogwood and has released additional cultivars in the 'Appalachian' series. Two of these will also be available at the nursery this spring, Cornus florida 'Appalachian 'Snow' and 'Appalachian Blush'. Both show excellent resistance to powdery mildew, another devastating fungus that attacks the foliage of dogwoods leading to stunted growth and overall decline. 'Appalachian Snow' stands out with exceptionally large, pure white bracts. 'Appalachian Blush', as the name implies, has rosy pink bract margins. All of the cultivars turn a warm mahogany red in the fall and are covered with red berries that are loved by birds.

The researchers in Tennessee are continuing their search for a Dogwood that shows resistance to both anthracnose and powdery mildew; a long-term project but one that looks very promising for the future of the Dogwood.

White-Hot Juicy Succulents   

By Lori Chips   

Succulent plants have been very much in vogue for the last few seasons, and as I added yet another show stopping Delosperma to our catalog, I paused and wondered why they are so hot. What exactly is the attraction and appeal that these drought tolerant toughies have for us? As with so many things there happens to be more than one answer. Succulents are the perfect choice for those who can't regularly irrigate. Imagine a neglected spot under the full blast of the sun with impoverished soil. These plants are a useful problem solver here. But this doesn't fully explain the reason that so many people have recently landed in the camp of succulent aficionados.

Succulents are a perfect category for collectors. There are so many forms, they are slow- growing, undemanding (for the most part) and many are beautiful and/or interesting. I have met some of these collectors at places like (surprise!) The Succulent Society meetings and shows; and there is a definite horticultural subculture thriving there. It is common for outsiders to remark that a given horticultural group has their own language. (We all do, literally: it's Latin.) But these folks seem to have their own civilization. And some of the plants they grow have an almost "other planetary" look. There seem to be rules and hierarchies as well. At the Philadelphia Flower Show when I was judging the Alpine Section one year, our panel had finished early. I suggested we offer to help in the succulent classes since there were so many and that judging had fallen behind. We had had our help gratefully accepted in other classes before. And in this case, at least to my admittedly non-succulent oriented eyes, there seemed to be some similarities at least on the aesthetic level, between, say the dense dome of a perfectly grown member of cactaceae and a world-class cushion plant for the rock garden. But no, I was told, the cactus and succulent people preferred to catch up on their own -- no help please from outsiders.

And perhaps the very passion of this subculture offers a clue to the plants' appeal. People who become besotted with them often feel protective of them, even proprietary. Well, here we may have cracked part of the code. The person who has just selected a silvery Orostachys, or a juicy leaved Iceplant will often tuck it into their car as tenderly as if it were a pet. And succulents are pets in a funny way. They are cute; they have "personality;" and most look good all season in a bowl outside (or, for the non-hardies, in a decorative container in the house.) And people who own them tend to visit their enchanting collection like fish in bowls or birds in cages. It is a nurturing kind of visiting. But it also carries a touch of the possessive: like a child happily gloating over a birthday haul or a pirate admiring his trunk of jewels.

They are jewels in their way. We fall in love with them, unlike many other plants, for their shapes and textures, color and tones, the resilience of a pillow of leaf. The flowers are usually a bonus - sometimes a curse. Succulents like Sempervivum have monocarpic rosettes, which means that once a rosette flowers, it dies. Lucky for us that most plants have already "pupped" leaving many smaller babies to take its place.

I should mention that not all succulents are small. Were we living in a different climate we might be growing the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) or the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantean) as landscape plants. The latter can reach over 60 feet with candelabra branches. But in our less than warm part of the world, people mostly concentrate on the easier to manage miniatures.

Now, on to the specifics. In the ground or an outdoor trough the Delospermas are hard to beat. Every year a new one or two come down the pipeline, all worth trying. Not all of them are created equal when it comes to hardiness, but planting early in the season and in a well-drained spot goes a long way toward increasing their chances. This year's star may very well be Delosperma 'Fire Spinner.' It has tidy iceplant foliage topped by delicious orangey tri-colored flowers, and the base of the petals range from cerise to purple, segueing to tangerine.

Delosperma sutherlandii 'Peach Star' is a worthy contender. This seemed to bloom forever (despite the wet summer last year). It bears peach/pink blossoms with a pale yellow eye. Of course, two stalwart, dependable workhorses are D. 'Golden Nugget' and D. 'White Nugget.' Covered in bloom and utterly hardy both of these have stood the test of time. We hope to have a few of a tiny one called Delosperma alpinum. The leaves on this are so dark as to be almost black if given enough sun. It has small white daisies, but does tend to go semi-dormant in the middle of summer.

Besides the gorgeous grey Orostachys furusei we will also have O. minutum. This is a very tight growing little succulent with narrow blue-green leaves tapering to a point.

Another genus of succulents to include in the collection are the Rosularias, similar to Sempervivum but with bell-shaped instead of star-shaped flowers. We will carry three this year: R. chrysanthum, with bluish foliage, R. rosulata touched with reddish color at the tips, and R. sempervivum ssp. glaucophila, with almost frosty leaves and pale pink flowers.

Over time a lot of space in our literature has been given to the beloved Sempervivum. We will have a full complement of "Hens & Chicks." We managed to score S. royanum this year. This is a beauty. Large "artichokes" are made up of yellow green leaves that have burnt sienna points. From the fuzzy diminutive arachnoideums all the way up to the big rosetted ones, variously mottled, tipped, color-kissed and water-marked, some clustering, some pupping on longer stems, some in a satin finish, some velvety - there will be plenty to choose from. Remember that many of this clan have the most pronounced and dramatic coloration when the nights are colder. The tones tend to go greener in the dead of summer.

Jovibarba's are divided into two distinct categories: the hirtas or "rollers" and the heuffeliis. The first look a lot like Sempervivum but they will "pup" on top of the cluster of rosettes and will then break loose and roll away to root easily elsewhere. The Jovibarba heuffeliis seem to have a waxier feel. They cannot be divided and propagated without slicing them apart and making sure that a piece of root goes with each. There are many dramatic named forms in the trade ranging from good gold tones to greens, reds, purples and bicolors. Some have the striking effect of a prominent white edge outlining each leaf. Jovi's are known to hold their color better in the summer than Semps. They may be a little more sensitive to winter wet depending on variety.

Remember to consider some of the tiny sedums in your succulent bowl or planting for a great textural foil. Besides the grey/pink S. hispanicum 'minus' and the winter-cranberry color on S. 'Coral Carpet' we will have two minute golden sedum to select from as well, plus the tonal silvers of the slightly tender S. spathuifoliums like 'Cape Blanco' and 'Carnea.'

Often customers wander over to the alpine area with a non-hardy succulent in their hands. They wonder if the hardies and the non-hardies can be grown together. Well guess what? It's your garden! You write the rules. I have done this myself and it's fun. Not to mention that they like similar conditions in most cases. There are a couple of things to keep in mind though, to avoid disappointment. Realize that the hardy plants must spend the winter outside. Don't think you can cheat this and expect the hardy plant to live over the winter in your house. It may seem at first that you are succeeding but the plants will die before you get them out again in the spring. Conversely, realize that the non-hardies must live indoors for the winter or they will die. Your choices? Either lift the hardies or the non-hardies out of the pot and put them where they belong for winter: outside or in. Or keep the whole thing inside or out knowing some plants will die and planning to replace them next season. What many gardeners for some reason fail to consider is the hardiness of their pot. Terra-cotta is not winter hardy in the long run outside (unless it is fired specifically for the purpose) -- likewise, with most ceramics. Eventually you will encounter "shaleing" or flaking off of chips and pieces, and finally the whole container will disintegrate. Sometimes (even in the first year) a pot will simply crack in two. Sturdy troughs are a better choice, but even wood or metal can work. Plan according to where the container will spend the winter.

So, if you are ready to get bewitched by these endearing plants start off by putting one in a container on say, your patio table. I am guessing before long it will become a family pet. Hardly anyone has just one though. Who knows? You may find yourself eventually entering the haute monde of succulent collecting, and we will be asking you for advice!

Succulent Illustrations by Lori Chips

Lori Chips © 2012