Sedum Autumn Joy - Stonecrop

This week's Plant Of The Week is Sedum Autumn Joy (Sedum Herbstfreude) known commonly as Autumn Joy Stonecrop.

Autumn Joy is by far the most popular of the Stonecrops, most of which are a dependable choice for the late summer and autumn garden. Autumn Joy also provides good foliage interest earlier in the season. By mid-summer the plant has started to produce green, broccoli-like buds. These flower buds gradually open into creamy-ivory coloured blossoms which slowly change colour from cream to dusty pink, to cherry, to russet, then copper and finally to the dark mahogany of the seed heads which can be left on the plant to provide wonderful winter interest.

Autumn Joy is drought and heat tolerant.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Unique' - Unique Hydrangea

This Week's Plant Of The Week is the Hydrangea paniculata 'Unique'.

'Unique' is a beautiful, deciduous shrub which bears long white flower heads in the summer. The flowers slowly fade in colour from white to pinkish white as the season progresses. The cultivar name 'paniculata' refers to the shape of the flowers which are broad at the base and gradually narrow towards the tip.

'Unique' flowers on new wood. Deadheading can be carried out in the autumn or in the spring if you like to leave blooms on the plant for winter interest. Pruning is not necessary but if you prune it hard in spring, it will tend to produce larger blooms.

'Unique' will do equally well in full sun or part shade and it is looking stunning now!

Rudbeckia - Black Eyed Susan

This Week's Plant Of The Week is Rudbeckia.

Rudbeckia, or Black Eyed Susan, is a bushy, upright, clump forming perennial with a profuse display of brown-centered, golden-orange daisy like flowers. There are many varieties available however, our favourite is Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'.

Rudbeckias will bloom from now until late autumn and the seed heads can be left on the plant for winter interest. They generally prefer a location which gets full sun (at least 6 hours per day) but they will also tolerate a partially shady spot. They are moderately drought tolerant once established.

Removing faded flowers regularly will greatly increase the plant's blooming time. Larger plants may be easily divided in early spring.

The hot spice colours of the flowers work particularly well with blues such as Russian Sage, but they can also be partnered successfully with other jewel toned blooms such as Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

Rose Of Sharon - Hibiscus syriacus

This week's Plant Of The Week is Rose Of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Rose Of Sharon are deciduous flowering shrubs which have just started to bloom around the valley.

They are large upright shrubs with quite a distinct form - its general habit is taller than it is wide and it makes a lovely specimen plant in the garden. The shrub has deeply lobed mid-green leaves and large single, or double, flowers in a range of colours, often with a strongly contrasting coloured center. The single blooms are generally larger and showier than the double blooms. The flowers also attract butterflies to the garden.

Rose Of Sharon prefers a location in full sun and is relatively heat and drought tolerant. Another point in its favour is the fact that it is quite late blooming.

Sunflower - Helianthus annuus

This week's Plant Of The Week is the sunflower or Helianthus annuus to give it its botanical name.

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are annual plants native to the Americas, with a large flower.

The flower is actually a head comprised of lots of very small flowers (florets) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets (petals) and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets and these are arranged in a spiral pattern which then mature into seeds.

Sunflowers are familiar to most people and are a wonderful plant to grow with children. The flowers can be left up over the winter to provide seeds for birds.

They are available in a range of colours and heights and can be seen blooming all over the Okanagan at the moment.

Crocosmia

Our Plant Of The Week this week is the Crocosmia.

The plants in these photographs are in Ken's front garden. They have been there for about 4 years, so have survived a couple of very harsh winters.

Crocosmias are members of the iris family and are also related to gladiolas.

They produce clumps of green sword-shaped leaves (rather like irises) and in mid to late summer, tall, arching spikes of funnel-shaped blossoms appear. Several named varieties are now available, in a range of hot colours.

They make great cut flowers. Clumps should be divided every three years, in spring.

Lilium - Lily Family

This week's Plant Of The Week is the lily family, botanical name: lilium.

Lilies are beautiful, large, showy flowering garden plants which grow from bulbs. They comprise a genus of about 110 species in the lily family (Liliaceae) and many of these species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The species in this genus are the true lilies. Many other plants exist with "lily" in the common English name, for example daylily, however these are often quite unrelated to the true lilies.

The large flowers, which are often highly fragrant, come in a range of colours; whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and purples. The markings on the petals include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring or summer flowering.

As well as their importance in the garden, lilies are important culturally and in literature in many parts of the world. They can be used in herbaceous borders, woodland and shrub plantings, and as a patio plant in a container. Some species are also sometimes grown or harvested for the edible bulbs.

Our photos show some beautiful lilies we have seen recently in gardens around the Okanagan.

If you have any suggestions for our Plant Of The Week or have photos of plants in your garden which we have featured on our website and would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you. Happy gardening!

Magnolia macrophylla - Big leaf Magnolia

This week's Plant Of The Week is Magnolia macrophylla or Big leaf Magnolia.

The Big leaf Magnolia is a deciduous magnolia which is native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. However, it can be grown farther north than that and these photos were taken last weekend at a garden in the Okanagan!.

Magnolia macrophylla is a medium-sized understory tree which generally reaches 15-20m tall (49 - 60'). (Understory means 'the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy'.)

This species of magnolia boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America. The leaves can reach between 25-80 cm (10-31") long and 11-30 cm (4-12") wide. Many of the tree's branches bend under the weight of the large foliage.

Cultivation - This species is often short-lived under cultivation due to its rather picky requirements. The tree likes loose, undisturbed rich soil (or mulch and compost substitutes) in full sun or part shade with plenty of moisture. It's best chances of success are in locations which closely mimic its natural habitat.

Philadelphus - Mock Orange

Our Plant Of The Week for the first week in July is the Philadelphus or Mock Orange.

Philadelphus is a deciduous, flowering shrub with bright green leaves and beautiful, small white flowers, with an orange- yellowish center. The flowers give off a wonderful citrusy (orange) fragrance which is how the plant got its common name.

There are several varieties of Philadelphus available and they range in size. Some varieties can grow quite large! There is a lovely dwarf cultivar called Philadelphus 'Snowbelle' which has fragrant double blooms. Another excellent variety is Philadelphus virginalis 'Minnesota Snowflake'.

They will do well in either full sun or part shade and in a well-drained, loamy soil. Mock oranges generally blossom more profusely if planted in full sun. They are reasonably drought tolerant once established.

The fragrance of the flowers can be a major selling point. Unfortunately, not all cultivars of mock orange are equally fragrant. Consequently, a good time to buy mock orange is when it's in bloom at the nursery - that way, you can sample the fragrance for yourself.

Our Plant OF The Week this week is a tree!

The Catalpa tree, also spelled Catawba, is native to warm temperate regions of North America, the Caribbean, and east Asia. However, we also have some lovely specimens growing here in the Okanagan valley and they are in full bloom right now.

Catalpas are mostly deciduous trees that typically grow to 12–18 metres (39–59 ft) tall and 6–12 metres (20–39 ft) wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 6 metres (20 ft) tall. They can be recognized by their large heart-shaped or three-lobed leaves, showy white or yellow flowers in broad panicles, and in the autumn by their long fruits which resemble a slender bean pod, containing numerous small flat seeds. It is these seed pods which give the tree its common names - Indian Bean Tree or Cigar Tree.

Due to their large leaf size, Catalpas provide very dark shade and are a popular habitat for many birds, providing them with good shelter from rain and wind.

If you would like one of these trees in your garden, Kel-Lake Greenhouses in Winfield have a good selection at the moment. They do need a lot of room though and are not suitable for small yards!

Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’ - Ivory Silk Lilac

Our choice for Plant of the Week this week, is the Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’, common name Ivory Silk Lilac.

This is an excellent, small, upright, deciduous tree which requires little if any maintenance. It has an oval or pyramidal form when young but spreads to a more rounded and compact shape as it grows older. The huge clusters of creamy white flowers, borne in early summer for about two weeks, are the main ornamental feature but lack the fragrance of the spring-blooming Lilacs. You can see these trees in full bloom right now.

The Ivory Silk Lilac can be expected to reach a height of about 20 - 30' tall with a spread of about 16' at maturity.

Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' - Japanese Snowball Bush

This week's Plant Of The Week is Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' or Japanese Snowball Bush.

This beautiful, deciduous shrub has widely spreading branches which naturally assume a series of horizontal tiers. This layered effect is especially prominent in the variety 'Mariesii', which is even more stunning when in full bloom, as our photograph shows. The flowers, which are similar to the blooms of a lace-cap hydrangea, are arranged in two parallel rows along the upper side of the branches. The dark green leaves are deeply veined and will turn red-purple in the fall.

This shrub would make an excellent choice as a specimen plant. It would also work well in a Japanese style garden due to its distinctive horizontal growth habit.

Young plants require minimal pruning and any vertical shoots that threaten to spoil the distinctive tiered shape of established plants should be cut back to their point of origin in summer after flowering. With careful pruning, carried out by an experienced horticulturalist, the shrub can be trained to a more symmetrical shape.

Sambucus species - Elderberry

This week's choice for Plant of the Week is the Sambucus species. Known commonly as Elderberry, these large, upright shrubs are in full bloom now. The large creamy, white flat topped clusters of small flowers have a wonderful fragrance and can be used to make elderflower cordial and as a flavouring when cooking fruit such as rhubarb. Additionally, the flowers ripen into berries which are excellent for preserve or wine making and have the added benefit of attracting wildlife to the garden.

Morden Sunrise Rose.

This week’s Plant of the Week is Morden Sunrise Rose.

Morden Sunrise Rose features showy, yellow flowers with a hint of pink, which look just like the sky at sunrise, from late spring to late summer. The flowers emerge from distinctive orange flower buds and are excellent for cutting. Its dark green foliage turns yellow in fall and orange hips are displayed from mid to late fall.

The Morden Sunrise Rose will grow to be about 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide at maturity. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This rose should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH and is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution.

Canadian Parkland (Morden) Roses

The Parkland series is a group of rose varieties specially developed to survive severe Canadian winters by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba. All these roses are exceptionally hardy down to -35 C (Zone 3a). They also require minimal care and are disease resistant. They will flower repeatedly throughout the summer and require only minimal pruning. The Parkland series come in a variety of colours and sizes.

Paeonia suffruticosa - Tree Peony 'Radiant'

Tree peonies are flowering, woody shrubs that produce magnificent flowers and have been popular since the 7th century in China. The over-sized beautiful blossoms (often reaching 10 inches in diameter) in a variety of colours, are the signature characteristic of peonies.
Tree peonies, will lose their leaves in the fall leaving the woody stems to winter above ground. However, you will notice leaves and blooms on tree peonies earlier in the spring than is normal for bush peonies.

Tree peonies can eventually produce a shrub that is 3 to 5 feet tall, but with their slow-growing nature, likely will not achieve that size until they are decades old.
Some interesting facts:
• Peonies are long-lived (over 50 years).
• Peonies are hardy (to USDA zone 2).
• Peonies are drought tolerant.
• Peonies are low maintenance.
• Peonies are deer-resistant.

Cornus Florida Rubra

There is an old belief that dogwoods like partial shade, but the fact is, they are healthier in full sun so long as they are provided with sufficient irrigation. When grown in the sun they gain height & width more rapidly, have more leaves & many more flowers. It requires soil with good drainage but is otherwise forgiving of a wide range of soil conditions.

The pink dogwood's flowers in late April and early May are followed by clusters of bright red fruits.

Cornus Eddie's White Wonder

A hybrid between our native Dogwood Cornus nuttallii and Cornus florida, Eddie's White Wonder is a heavily flowering deciduous tree with large, white, rounded bracts (flowers) that appear in spring. Summer foliage is dark green and is followed by rich red fall color. Small, red fruits appear in winter that attract songbirds. This tree has upright, pyramidal growth with slightly pendulous branches.

Antirrhinum majus

Antirrhinum majus, or Common Snapdragon, is an upright perennial that is treated as an annual in colder areas and is native to the Mediterranean region. Plants commonly reach a height of 2-3 feet (0.6-0.9 m) and can sometimes attain a height of up to 6 feet (1.8 m) if planted in the landscape.