Sunday, February 28, 2010

Rheum rhabarbarum

Rhubarb 'Victorian Red'

Hardiness:
to -40 degrees
Sun: full sun
Soil: rich, well-drained, worked to 18" - 30"
Water: average
Height: 20"
Spacing: 24" - 36"
Harvest time: early summer, for 8 weeks
Blooms: N/A, when seed heads begin to form, pull them off of the plant
Foliage: DO NOT EAT LEAVES AS THEY ARE POISONOUS
Propagation: division; seed does not come true
Additional notes:
Do not harvest stalks the first year; harvest a only little in the second year.
Plant will die back in the fall. Remove yellowing leaves.
Will start to grow again in the spring.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Cardamine hirsuta

Hairy Bittercress, Common Bittercress, Snapweed, Shotweed

Hardiness:
N/A
Sun: full sun to partial shade
Soil: moist, rich
Water: average
Height: 6"
Spacing: 3" - 9"
Bloom time: late winter, spring
Blooms: white
Foliage:
Propagation: seeds
Additional notes:

Monday, February 22, 2010

Muscari botryoides 'Album'

Grape hyacinth, white

Hardiness:
to -40 degrees F
Sun: full sun to partial shade
Soil: well-drained
Water: average; do not over-water
Height: 6" - 12"
Spacing: 3" - 6"
Bloom time: mid spring
Blooms: white
Foliage:
Propagation: bulb off-sets, seeds
Additional notes:

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sedum sarmentosum

Gold Moss, Stringy Stonecrop,
Graveyard Moss

Hardiness:
to -40 degrees F
Sun: full sun to light shade
Soil: any, but does better in fertile
Water: average
Height: less than 6"
Spacing: 18" - 24"
Bloom time: mid summer
Blooms: yellow
Foliage: succulent, grown for foliage
Propagation: division, stem cuttings layering
Additional notes:

Primula malacoides

Fairy Primrose

Hardiness:
to 40 degrees
Sun: part sun, shade
Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
Water: regular
Height: 12” - 18"
Spacing: 9" - 12"
Bloom time: late winter, spring
Blooms: white, pink, rose, red, lavender
Foliage:
Propagation: seeds - sow indoors before last frost, dividing root ball
Additional notes:
Can be grown as a houseplant
Slightly fragrant
Grown as an annual

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Viola tricolor

Johnny-Jump-Up

Hardiness: to -45
Sun: full sun to part shade; doesn't bloom well in deep shade
Soil: best in fertile, well-drained soil, but not fussy
Water: average
Height: 6” – 12”
Spacing: 6" - 9"
Bloom time: fall, winter, spring
Blooms: yellow, blue, white, violet, orange, red, lavender, apricot, mauve;
with and without "faces"
Foliage:
Propagation: seeds
Additional notes:
Absolutely charming!
Perennial grown as an annual.
Doesn't care for hot weather.
It will reseed itself.




Hydrangea macrophylla

Hydrangea

Hardiness: to -10
Sun: morning sun, afternoon shade
Soil: rich, well-drained, plenty of organic matter; mulch plant
Water: average water
Height: 4' - 8'
Spacing: 4' - 8'
Bloom time: late spring, early summer
Blooms: pink to blue; depends on cultivar and soil acidity
Foliage:
Propagation: cuttings
Additional notes:
Most cultivars bloom on old wood.
If plant dies to the ground in winter, it won't bloom that year.
If you start months ahead of time, you can change the color of the blooms on some cultivars by making the soil more alkaline for pink or more acidic for blue.

Cultivars:
Endless Summer - blooms on old and new wood, reblooms
Light O Day - variegated leaves; beautiful even with no blooms!