THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410270044
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDEN COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 152 lines
Last Sunday you got the bad news: Some old familiar plants require a lot of work. Today you get the good news: There are many plants that are especially bred and developed for this area and require little care.
If your garden is filled with time-consuming plants, replace them with some of these low-maintenance varieties that are well-suited for busy gardeners in Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina.
Our same panel of experts named those you can grow with ease. The panel consists of: Brian O'Neil, owner of Southern Meadows Landscapes, Virginia Beach; Jay Mears, owner of Virginia Landscapes, Chesapeake; Bill Kidd of McDonald Garden Centers with four locations in Hampton Roads; Linda Pinkham, co-owner of Smithfield Gardens, Suffolk; and Bonnie Appleton, horticulturist at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research Center.
In addition to recommending plants that require little care, Pinkham offers the following tips that help lower the maintenance for all plants:
Create raised beds using good topsoil and compost so plants will thrive, rather than become stressed and disease prone.
Mulch all beds once or twice a year to keep weed pulling to a minimum and conserve moisture.
Install an irrigation system such as soaker hoses or sprinklers.
Plant shrubs that mature to the desired size, rather than buying the biggest for the money. This will save time and labor in pruning.
Appleton added, ``People must realize `low' does not mean `no.' Gardeners too often want something you don't have to take care of, but every plant needs some attention.''
The experts recommendations for low-maintenance plants are as follows:
Bonnie Appleton
Shrubs: For evergreen shrubs, Appleton suggests dwarf yaupon holly, a tough native plant, and nandina, often called heavenly bamboo. Pinkham also likes the dwarf yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria `Nana'). ``It looks like boxwood and is more drought tolerant than Helleri holly,'' Pinkham said. ``It's a much under-used plant.''
Most flowering shrubs are easy to care for if they are naturalistically pruned once a year instead of given severe, bold cuts, Appleton noted. These include forsythia, wiegelia, hydrangeas, witch hazel and the several spireas.
``Typically, you prune any of the flowering shrubs only once a year and that's all the attention they need,'' Appleton said.
``For a shrub between evergreen and deciduous, plant any of the viburnums. They're tough and most are fragrant,'' she said.
Trees: For small trees, Appleton recommends planting the underused ones such as Cornelian cherry, an early blooming dogwood (Cornus mas) that is covered with small yellow blooms before the leaves come out. Two others she likes are fringe tree and styrax.
``For shade trees, my favorite is lacebark elm and Chinese pistache. For an evergreen screen, use Japanese cryptomeria,'' she said.
Vines: For a vine that isn't rampant, Appleton suggests coral honeysuckle. ``It is a pretty, showy plant that does not run wild like Japanese honeysuckle,'' she said.
Jay Mears
Chinese holly family: ``All are extremely hardy, live in sun or shade and are disease and insect resistant,'' Mears said. ``My favorite hollies are Burford, Nelly Stevens for tall varieties, dwarf Burford for medium height and dwarf Chinese and Carissa for low plants. They're great for tough, harsh locations.''
Liriope: ``This most versatile ground cover is good for sun, shade, wet or dry locations,'' Mears said. ``There are several varieties. Most are green but there are variations in foliage color and bloom.''
Nandina: ``There are many varieties of this fine shrub, all tough, hardy and versatile. My favorite is `Gulfstream,' a colorful, medium-sized plant with a maximum height of 4 feet. It stays full from the ground up without any pruning. A must if you like nandina,'' Mears said.
Daylilies: ``Daylilies are the indestructible perennial,'' Mears said. ``They perform well in sun or light shade. I like the repeat bloomers best. Most are smaller in stature but have a very long blooming season. Look for Stella d'Oro, Butterpat or Happy Returns.''
Crape myrtle: Look for only the newer hybrids that are mildew resistant, Mears said. ``They must have sun but will bloom well without pest problems in many colors and heights. My favorites are Tuscarora, Natchez, Tonto and Sioux.''
Pinkham echoed that suggestion, noting, ``It has three seasons of beauty - smooth winter bark, two to three months of summer bloom and some of the best fall color we get in Tidewater.''
Hosta: ``For shady gardens, hosta are a must,'' Mears said. ``They're so hardy and tough, with so many varieties. One of the newest and most exciting varieties today is called Hosta `Patriot,' discovered and introduced by Mobjack Nurseries here in Virginia. It's a variegated white-leaf variety.''
Linda Pinkham
Perennials: She backed up Mears recommendations for daylilies and encouraged the use of more colors, because daylilies are available in white, pink, purple, yellow, red, rust, orange, apricot and other combinations. She also suggested the showy daffodils in yellow, white or pink.
``They're great to plant with daylilies, because the daylilies will hide the dying leaves of the daffodils in June,'' she said.
Trees: She selected Japanese maples because they have spectacular leaf color in the spring and fall. ``There are many variations, and they all get better with age,'' she said. ``Every yard needs one of them. Give it as a house-warming gift.''
Shrubs: Pinkham recommends Camellia sasanqua, the fall-blooming camellia, because its low, spreading profile is good for landscaping. Other types are good as small evergreens or showy hedges.
Kidd seconded her recommendation for camellias, noting, ``Camellias possess dark green foliage and come in a wide range of flower colors, with blooms from October through April.''
Pinkham also suggested the French and Oakleaf hydrangeas, which have lovely blooms on easy-to-grow plants.
Brian O'Neal
Ground covers: ``In areas of shade and tree-root competition, ground covers such as English ivy, pachysandra, periwinkle, liriope and Asiatic jasmine grow very well with neglect after the initial year or two to get them established,'' he said.
Shrubs: His recommendations include nandina, auculea and camellias. ``With care or not, nandinas generally look great, even in dry soils,'' O'Neal said. Auculea and camellias are suited to dry, shady areas.
Perennials and grasses: ``Many perennial flowers and ornamental grasses are high on my list for low-maintenance plants and ease of growth. I recommend daylilies, sedum `Autumn Joy,' rudbeckia `Goldsturm,' Fountain and Maiden grasses. All do well with minimal care,'' he said.
Bill Kidd
Ornamental grasses: ``Too many people are scared of these grasses, because they feel they do not know enough about them and how to incorporate them into their garden,'' Kidd said. ``There are many types to blend into any garden. They have outstanding fall color and even winter interest.''
Shrubs: Two shrubs not previously mentioned are the false yew or Cephalotaxus and barberry. He described the false yew as, ``A little-known garden gem that gets very little use, yet is one of the best plants for any garden. Dark green needle-like foliage, plus many forms, it tolerates sun or shade.''
Barberry he commends because it is virtually carefree and provides beautiful red foliage. It is drought tolerant and available from low, border-size plants to tall barrier plants. It also comes with green or yellow foliage.
In my opinion
Perennials: One perennial that is easy to care for and often overlooked is the helianthus, which looks much like a small sunflower.
Annuals: Several annuals that take care of themselves are marigolds, particularly dwarfs, and the many colors of impatiens and begonias.
Shrubs: One of the old-timey shrubs that requires no care is the flowering quince. The white quince is particularly pretty when it blooms in spring.
Keep in mind that the hardiness and toughness of native plants should be a consideration when buying plants. If they're native, you know they're certainly going to be easier to care for. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
ROBERT STIFFLER/Photo
Camellias are an easy plant to grow in this area, and Martha Heffner
of Norfolk has one of the best collections around.
by CNB