I Love Mandevilla, the Plant Artist Formerly Known as Dipladenia
Name: Mandevilla cultivars and hybrids, especially the shorter varieties formerly known as Dipladenia Type of Plant: Back in the day, there were the vining Mandevilla and the bushy, but otherwise very similar Dipladenia. Now that plants are able to grouped according...
I Love Hyacinthoides hispanica aka Spanish bluebells, or wood hyacinths
Name: Hyacinthoides hispanica aka Spanish bluebells, or wood hyacinths Type of Plant: A late-spring blooming bulb. There are white, pink and blue flowering varieties, but the blue is probably the most popular. This plant grows and blooms well in full sun to...
How To Prune or Renovate Knockout and Other Shrub Roses
“My knockout is out of control!” a reader told me. “How do I prune it?” Knockouts are one of the many varieties of shrub or landscape roses, and many people are surprised by how large they typically grow. I’d urge you all not to think of...
Pruning Mophead and Lacecap Hydrangeas
I pruned one of my lacecap hydrangeas yesterday. It’s been a warm April – especially for Cape Cod – and one of my shrubs had leaves opening so that I could clearly tell which buds made it through the winter and which ones did not. The way to prune...
I Love Clematis Species and Hybrids
Name: Clematis hybrids and specieas Type of Plant: Most are vining plants, although there are about 300 species of Clematis and some of them are shorter, upright growing plants. Here, however, I’m talking about the vining varieties. Clematis grows, both native and...
Repairing Broken Flower Pots
If you love growing plants in pots, you’ll invariably experience the heartbreak of having a favorite container break. But on a trip to a garden in Italy some years ago, I was pleased to see a large terracotta pot that had broken and been repaired by drilling...
I Love Chaenomeles Speciosa, aka Japanese Flowering Quince
Name: Chaenomeles speciosa Japanese flowering quince Type of Plant: A thorny, deciduous shrub that flowers in the early spring. This species stays shorter than others, and doesn’t sucker to the sides as much. This plant commonly grows to 3 or 4 feet tall and six feet...
I Love Hydrangea quercifolia aka Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Name: Hydrangea quercifolia aka oak leaf hydrangea Type of Plant: A woody shrub native to North America, hardy in Zones 5 – 9, and flowering in the early to mid-summer Why I Love This Plant: There are so many things to love about this hydrangea, starting from the...
Barkcoin – The Germination of Phytocurrency
A new form of currency, Barkcoin, was announced today, opening up the possibility to partner with photosynthesizers for creating a people plant system (PPS) for making cross-species payments. Barkcoin is a hybrid developed from crossing software with mycorrhizal...