Category Archives: Horticulture Reports

Deer – Resistant Salvias

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Attract Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Moths and Bees. Waterwise easy care plants. Flowers colors vary:  white, red, pink , orange , purple, blue, cream  and a mixture of these  colors. Exposure: Full Sun,/Part Sun.

Salvia Microphylla

 Salvia Microphylla:  aka Baby sage.  Outstanding plants with stunning flowers.  Prolific bloomer from spring until fall.   Low water needs.  Height 24-36, depends on variety. USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-11.   Varieties to look for:  ‘Hot Lips’, ‘Red Velvet’, ‘Kew Red’,   ‘Killer Cranberry’, ‘Mesa Azure’

Salvia nemorosa:  aka- Woodland Sage or Balkan Clary. Easy to grow, drought tolerant,  but plant blooms better with average moisture.  Blooms spring, summer, and fall depending on variety.  Height 16-36 inches. USDA Hardiness Zone 3-8. Varieties to look for:  ‘Pink Profusion’, ‘Violet Profusion’, ’White Profusion’ , ‘Pink Dawn’, ‘Caradonna’ (purple) , ‘Blue by You’.  

Salvia elegans Scarlet

Salvia elegans: Pineapple Sage – Bright red exotic flowers attract hummingbirds! Leaves can be used as a culinary herb and have a slight pineapple or citrus taste.   USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10.

Fall Blooming Tall Varieties: Pineapple scented leaves. USD Hardiness Zones 9-10. Variety favorites:  ’Scarlet Pineapple’ 36”Tall,    and  ‘Rockin’® Golden Delicious’  (yellow leaves),  48” tall.

Spring Blooming/Shorter Varieties:  ‘Honey Melon’, 24” tall, blooms late spring, small leaves have a wonderful fruity scent similar to honeydew melon. USDA Hardiness Zones 9-10

’Tangerine Pineapple Sage’ 18” tall, small citrus-scent leaves, blooms mid-spring through fall.  USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10

Salvia greggii:  aka Autumn Sage.  Native to the SW Texas. Good for hot sunny locations and low water gardens, prolific bloomers.  Blooms summer through fall.  USDA Zone: 6-10.  (Hardiness varies by variety.) Best known variety Furman’s Red Texas Hardy to 150F.   Other varieties: Cold hardy Texas Pink, Wild Thing, Mirage™ Deep Purple.

Salvia officinalis – Common culinary sages – Evergreen Perennial Herb – Grayish leaves with blue to purplish flowers.

Salvia officinalis Berggarten

Popular Salvia officinalis Varieties:

‘Berggarten’ 16″ tall x 24″ wide. Robust plant with large silver and gray variegated leaves.  Purple spike flowers appear in early summer. USDA Hardiness Zones 5-11.

Golden Sage – 16″ tall x 24″ wide- Dark green leaves with chartreuse-yellow edges, a small compact plant. Good ornamental plan. Whorls of lavender-blue flowers spikes appear in late spring. USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10.

Purple Sage –16” tall x 12 wide- Gray-green leaves suffused with steely-gray purple producing a unique pungent flavor and aroma.  Showy violet-blue spikes.  Good ornamental and culinary plant. USDA Hardiness Zones 6-9.  Does not like wet roots!

Tricolor Sage – 18″ tall x 24″ wide – Ornamental herb with colorful grayish green leaves marbled with white, pink and purple. Lavender blue flower spikes appear in summer. Leaves produce strong aromatic scent. USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10.

Article and Photos by:  Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member

Horticulture Report: Fothergilla

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Plant Name:  Fothergilla (Dwarf)
Common name:  Witch-Alder
Cultivar: ‘Mount Airy’
Plant type: Deciduous Shrub
Height: 3-5 ft
Spread:   3-5 ft
Bloom Time:  April- May
Flower Color:  White
Exposure: Full Sun –part shade
Soil Requirements: Well-drained, perfers Humus
Water Needs: Medium
Attributes:   Showy bottlebrush-like tiny spikes (1-3” long),
Honey-scented fragrant flowers, Good summer foliage and Great fall color.
Uses:  Hedges, shrub borders, foundation plantings or native plantings.
Notes: Plants do well with rhododendrons, because they have the same soil requirements.
Native to: Southeastern United States
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4-8

Submitted by: Carlotta Lucas

Kwanzan Flowering Cherry

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The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree,  is the showiest of all cherry trees. It’s light and dark pink blossoms are doubled, so its petal production creates more blossoms than any other flowering tree.  Its blossoms are large thick clusters of 3-5 flowers, which look similar to carnations, and loads the tree with stunning flowers!  This is an ornamental cherry, so it does not produce fruit. Kwanzan Cherry Trees bloom in April.

Red-Flowering Currant

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Plant Name:  Ribes sanguineum
Common name:  Red Flowering Currant
Plant type: Deciduous Shrub
Height: 3-9 feet
Spread:   21/2  feet
Bloom Time: February – April
Flower Color: Deep Pink to Red
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil Requirements: Fertile, Well-drained
Water Needs: Moderate
Attributes:   Elegant showy fuchsia-like flowers, Drought tolerant, Deer-proof, Plant for pollinators, Foliage eaten by Zephyr and other butterfly larvae, Small black berries are eaten by songbirds and small mammals  
Uses: Dry Open Woodlands, Native Plant, Cottage Gardens, Perennial Garden,
Mixed Shrub Boarders
Native to: Pacific Coast
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-10

Spring: Crocus vernus

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Spring is only a week away and crocuses are popping up in the garden.190311053710

Plant Name:  Crocus vernus
Common name:  Spring Crocus, Giant Crocus
Plant Type:  Crom
Height:   3 inches- 6 inches
Spread:   3 inches- 6 inches
Bloom Time:  March- April
Flower Color:  Purple, White, Yellow, Mixed with stripes
Exposure:   Full sun to Part shade
Soil Requirements:   Well-drained
Water Needs:   Medium
Attributes:   Showy flowers, Early spring flowers
Note:   Dutch Crocuses are bred to produce larger flowers.  
Protect from squirrels when freshly planted
Tolerant:   Deer, black walnut, and clay soils,
Uses:    Cottage Garden, Rock Garden, Coastal Garden, Prairie & Meadow Gardens, Naturalize, Early spring color
Native to:    the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Balkans
USDA Hardiness Zone:    3 – 8

Re-potting a Christmas Cactus

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After your Christmas cactus has bloomed, re-pot it into a pot slightly larger than its current container. Christmas cactus roots can easily rot if the soil is too wet, so the pot must have a drain hole and be planted in a lightweight, well-drained potting mix.   You can use potting mixes for cactus & succulents, which are readily available at garden centers, or you can make your own.

Commercially made potting soils can be used for Christmas cactus soil, if they are amended. Choose a balanced pH soil mix without added fertilizers. The soil’s pH should be neutral, between 6.0 and 7.0, not too acid nor too alkaline.

Below are four suggested Christmas cactus soil recipes:

  • 1/2 potting soil, 1/4 horticultural perlite, 1/4 orchid bark.
  • 1/3 Coconut Coir, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 fine fir bark.
  • 1/3 soil-less potting soil, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 pine bark nuggets.
  • 2/3 potting balanced PH soil with perlite, 1/3 sand

Submitted by; Carlotta Lucas