Powerhouse plants for early spring

7/29/2019 Powerhouse plants for early spring

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158

ragrant winterand spring

fowers

all oliagecolor

Chosen well,

witch hazelsare amongstthe besto allmulti-season

shrubs

deciduous shrub

witch hazelHamamelis

Emblematic o the seasons

turn, the large and color-

ul spidery owers o Asian

witch hazels,H. mollis and

its hybridH. intermedia,

brighten bare branches in late

winter and early spring. Each

ower has our slender, slightly

twisted petals up to twenty

times as long as wide; with up

to ve owers in each close

cluster, and clusters at every

The ragrant winterfowers o Pallida are never

damaged by snow. They give

way to bold oliage, which

turns bright and buttery in the

autumn.

The large red and yel-

low fowers o Aurora are ol-

lowed by this intense all color.


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160 Hamamelis

lea joint, the color shines

against an evergreen back-

ground or a clear blue winter

sky. From pale yellow throughgold to orange shades to red,

many, but not all, are sweetly

scented, so choose wisely.

Ten in all the bright and but-

tery oliage o the best sends

the witch hazel out in a spec-

tacular blaze o glory. Plants

mature into very elegant speci-

mens, developing into attrac-

tive, spreading shrubs with a

distinctive at branch struc-

ture, rather like that o the

true hazel (Corylus avellana).

Arnold Promise has lemon

yellow owers, relatively late,with a strong sweet scent and

all color in shades o yellow,

orange, and red.

Aurora eatures the larg-

est owers, yellow at the tips

through deep yellow to the red

tints at the base, with a strong,sweet scent. Te yellow and

orange all oliage may have a

red haze.

Pallida has bright yellow

owers, strong scent, and ne

yellow all color. But there are

many inerior impostors with

almost no scent, so snif beore

you buy.

Vesna is tall and vigorous,

with lovely, well-scented, sot

orange owers and all oliage

in yellow, orange, and red.

Wisley Supreme has large,

sweetly scented, clear brightyellow owers and yellow all

color.

Hamamelisintermedia

Arnold Promise

Z49

10 8ft

3 2.5m

Hamamelisintermedia

Aurora

Z49

12 12ft

3.5 3.5m

HamamelisintermediaPallida

Z49

10 13ft

3 4m

Hamamelisintermedia

Vesna

Z49

13 10ft

4 3m

Hamamelis mollis Wisley

Supreme

Z49

12 10ft

3.5 3m

essentiaLs

Place witch hazels so

they can be seen romthe house on a winters

day against a back-

ground that shows of

the owers well, yet

where you can approach

to admire the ower

detail. Ideal with early

shade-loving bulbs

and perennials planted

beneath, especially

snowdrops, scillas,

winter aconites, and

hellebores.

Best in the open, in an

acid, well-drained but

moisture-retentive (i.e.,

utopian) soil; they hate

waterlogged conditions.

I theres space, allow

the plants to develop

their natural habit more

or less unpruned. I

not, prune immediately

ater owering, cutting

back hard those shoots

that have carried ow-

ers, leaving just two or

three lea joints at the

base. Powdery mildewmay be a problem in hot

summers.


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140

winter andspring fowers

spring to alloliage

Classicearly fower

color, nowsupplementedby colorulor variegated

oliage

deciduous shrub

forsythiaForsythia

The dwar Kumson sports

the usual yellow fowers, but

they are ollowed by these

uniquely cream-veined leaves

held on reddish stems, creating a

delightul pattern all summer.

Forsythias are plants o

extremes. In winter and spring

they are the brightest owers

in the garden; ater owering

they are the most boringand

must serve as host to a late-

owering clematis or other

climber in order to provide

any color at all. Except . . .

Tere are a ew varieties with

variegated oliage to continue

color right through the sea-

son, and even a ew with richpurple all color. None, unor-

tunately, are widely available;

I provide six rom which to

choose.

Fiesta brings a bright yel-

low zone, with a red midrib,

to the center o each lea, heldon the plant longer in all than

with other variegated orsyth-

ias. Te bright yellow owers

are held on red stems. Derived

rom Minigold (Flojor), with

the same compact habit and

upright growth.

Golden imes is also pro-

lic in owering, with notice-

ably toothed yellow leaves that

usually, though not always,

have a green streak through

the center. May scorch in

bright sun i the soil is dry.

Kumson has its variegation

in a diferent style, with lea

veins picked out in palest yel-

low or white. Tis is a dwar

orm, which owers well i not

dramatically, and whose oli-

age is more intriguing, more

subtle.

New Hampshire Gold ea-

tures a real punch o early

owers; then, ater a summer

o green oliage, the leaves reli-

ably turn reddish purple.

Susan Gruninger is a ormo an old avorite, the large-

owered and prolic Lyn-

wood, but with the addition o

creamy white margins to the

leaves. Unlike some marginal

variegations, they do not crisp

in the sun.afs Arnold, a selection

oF. suspensa with lax growth

and good owers, eatures an

unpredictable splashing o yel-

low on the leaves. Te surpris-

ing bonus o purple all oliage

color can also be efective.


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142 Forsythia

essentiaLs

For the owering sea-

son, dark-owered hel-lebores make ne part-

ners, as do those with

large rounded green

owers; or later, spring-

or summer-owering

blue clematis work well.

Use orsythias with

variegated oliage as a

background or purple

border phlox or rich

blue campanulas like

Elizabeth.

Forsythias are happy in

sun or partial shade in

any reasonable soil.

For early lea color, cut

back immediately ater

owering (although this

will mean a ew quiet

weeks until the oliage

lls out). Plants usu-

ally look more elegant,

bloom more proli-

cally, and produce larger

and brighter leaves i

pruned.

Fiesta eatures these

attractive red-veined leaves

ater the yellow spring

fowers.

Forsythia Fiesta

Z49

68 810ft

1.82.4 2.43m

Forsythia Golden Times

Z58

6 6ft

1.8 1.8m

Forsythia Kumson

Z47

4 4ft

1.2 1.2m

Forsythia New Hampshire

Gold

Z49

6 6ft

1.8 1.8m

Forsythia Susan Gruninger

Z58

8 10ft

2.4 3m

Forsythia suspensa Tafs

Arnold

Z59

8 8ft

2.4 2.4m


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228

winter bark

spring fowers

all oliagecolor

So much morethan a mad

spring furryo blowsy

fowers

deciduous tree

cherryPrunus

Te spring burst o cherry

owers, whether in Britains

suburban gardens or on the

Washington Mall, is just that:

an almost overpowering spring

outbreak o clich, no sooner

gasped at than its over. Most

o us are grateul that cher-

ries are grown in someone

elses garden; that way, we can

admire them rom aar, and

we dont have to tolerate their

dull and deadly boringnessor ty weeks o the year. But

some cherries are diferent. A

select ew ofer a two- to our-

season contribution to the

garden, on a modest scale and

without clichd efects, so that

we can value them in our ownsituation rather than in other

peoples.

Prunus cerasifera Pissardii

and Nigra, the purple-leaved

plums, have deep red unurl-

ing spring oliage, purple oli-

age till all, and a ne urry

o white (Pissardii) or pink

(Nigra) owers in spring.

Prunus maackii has red-

dish brown bark peeling like

that o a birch tree, small

white spring owers carried

in 23in/57.5cm dangling

strings, black berries, and yel-

low all color. Amber Beauty

is more erect, with lovely

amber brown bark. Goldrush

(Jefree) has orange-brown to

golden brown bark.

Prunus sargentii makes an

elegant tree with spreading

branches, the bark is chest-

nut brown, and the unurling

oliage is bronzed red. Ten

pink owers open, creating anattractive rosy haze, ollowed

by small black cherries. Ten

the all color: spectacular in its

ery orange and scarlet tones,

and the leaves turn beore

almost every other tree.

Prunus serrula has stunningbark: like a well-polished piece

o old mahogany with addi-

tional cherrywood highlights,

the bark gleams in winter and

peels appealingly. Te white

owers appear with the emerg-

ing leaves and are ollowed

later by small red cherries.

The pink fowers o

Nigra are ollowed by

almost black oliage that

lasts well into the all.


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230 Prunus

Prunus cerasifera Nigra

Z59

30 30ft

9 9m

Prunus cerasifera PissardiiZ59

30 30ft

9 9m

Prunus maackii

Z37

30 25ft

9 8m

Prunus maackii Amber

Beauty

Z37

30 25ft

9 8m

Prunus maackii Goldrush

(Jefree)

Z37

30 25ft

9 8m

Prunus sargentii

Z59

70 50ft

21 15m

Prunus serrula

Z68

30 30ft

9 9m

essentiaLs

Site those with attrac-

tive bark where they can

best be admired. Most

are ideal shade trees

with a light shadow,

allowing many plants to

be grown below.

Happy in ull sun in any

reasonably ertile and

well-drained soil that

is not dry. Shelter rom

autumn winds will help

prolong the all color.

Stake young trees

securely until estab-

lished. Prune in sum-

mer i necessary but

little pruning is usually

needed. Scrub the bark

beore winter to make

the trunks gleam.

The shining bark oP. serrula,

an impressive all-year eature, is

especially welcome in winter.

The bark oP. maackiiis per-

ect surrounded by Cornus san-

guineaWinter Beauty.


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231

spring fowers

spring to alloliage

Some o thevery best o

powerhouse

plants,almost allwith three-

seasoninterest

Pulmonaria

perennial

lungwort

You can hardly go wrong with

pulmonarias. Tese beautiul,

hardy, and resilient shade-lov-

ing perennials are amongst the

most prized, but undeservedly

neglected, o plants or their

consistent reliability in produc-

ing sparkling spring owers

ollowed by prettily patterned

spring and summer oliage,

which lasts into autumn.

In a variety o both ower

colors and lea patterns,the plants are short, spread

steadily, make good weed-sup-

pressing ground cover, and are

easy to propagate. Te pretty

little bell-shaped owers may

be white, red, various shades

o pink, occasionally purple,but most oten come in one o

many shades o blue. As ow-

ers age there can be many col-

ors at once. Te leaves emerge

while the owers are still open

and vary in shape rom long

and narrow to broad and bold.

Most are a dark, slightly blu-

ish green enlivened by silver

markings, which vary rom a

ew scattered silver spots to

more dense spotting; in some

impressive cases, the leaves

are almost entirely silvered.

Tere are almost two hundred

diferent pulmonarias, but here

are the best that embody our

powerhouse theme.

Cotton Cool has pink buds

opening to blue owers in

crowded clusters ollowed by

long, narrow, rather upright

leaves that are almost com-

pletely silver save or a slender

green margin.

David Ward, a selection

oP. rubra, is one o the ew

variegated (as distinct romspotted) pulmonarias. Its pale

green leaves with white edges

are preceded by coral red ow-

ers. Less robust than most, but

impressive when thriving.

Diana Clare has large blue

owers with a purple stripebetween each lobe, ollowed by

long silver oliage with a green

central vein and narrow green

edge.

Lewis Palmer (Highdown)

is taller, with large dark pur-

plish blue outward-acing ow-

ers on upright stems ollowed

by narrow dark green leaves

boldly spotted in greenish

white.

Majest is one o the most

widely grown o those with

almost completely silver leaves;

the unusually shiny oliage is


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Pulmonaria 233

preceded by blue spring ow-

ers opening rom pink buds.

Moonshine has brilliantly

silver mature summer oliage,

with an uneven green edge

itsel slightly spotted. Te

palest blue spring owers

are small but generously pro-

duced. My avorite.

essentiaLs

Ideal as ront-o-the-

border specimens, pul-

monarias associate well

with other shade lovers,

especially those with

oliage in contrasting

shapes and textures.

Spring bulbs, too, make

good neighbors, and

the pulmonaria oliagewill hide the dying bulb

leaves.

Best in partial or dap-

pled shade, pulmonarias

tolerate a variety o soil

conditions though in

dry conditions somemay sufer rom pow-

dery mildew.

Remove all the previ-

ous years oliage beore

the new spring shoots

emerge to allow the

owers to show them-selves of efectively.

Pulmonarias are eas-

ily lited, split, and

replanted elsewhere, but

roots let behind may

well resprout at the orig-

inal location.

While they appear together,

the narrow, boldly spotted leaves

o Lewis Palmer (Highdown)

are the perect background orthe fower clusters.

The almost completely sil-

very white oliage o Majest

is enhanced by the green midrib

and slender green edge.


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234 Pulmonaria

Pulmonaria Cotton Cool

Z48

812in

2030cm

Pulmonaria Diana ClareZ48

812in

2030cm

Pulmonaria Lewis Palmer

(Highdown)

Z58

1214in

3035cm

Pulmonaria Majest

Z48

812in

2030cm

Pulmonaria Moonshine

Z48

812in

2030cm

Pulmonaria rubra DavidWard

Z58

1012in

2530cm

Most pulmo-

narias (here, Cot-ton Cool) tend to

eature blue fow-

ers opening rom

red or pink buds.

The silvery

leaves o Moon-

shine are spec-

tacular in high

summer.

Documents

Powerhouse plants for early spring