photographs by Christine Arpe Gang
The Dixon is becoming well known for its display of thousands of bulbs every spring.
For nine months of the year, the color green is so ubiquitous in our landscape it rarely evokes much notice. But when fall turns to winter, our familiar lushly, leafy wooded areas become almost colorless. Our eyes naturally search for visual excitement among the browns and grays and quickly lock onto anything green, unless they are delighted and distracted by some red, yellow, or orange berries or even a colorful bird on the wing.
That, my friends, is why we have to include evergreen trees and shrubs in our gardening plans. Most professionals know this and liberally use evergreens in their landscaping projects no matter how modest or extravagant they may be.
In our Zone 7 climate we have an overwhelmingly huge number of evergreen trees and shrubs to choose from, including hollies, azaleas, cold-hardy camellias, boxwood, Asian and native junipers, arborvitae, nandinas, aucubas, yews, and many more. Several of these hardworking plants also produce flowers and/or berries in other seasons. If you have limited familiarity with boxwood, take a look at new cultivars of every size and shape including those that grow into tight cones, loosely formed masses, or roundy-moundy orbs that never need pruning.
Plants with green leaves all year fall into two main types: the conifers that produce cones instead of flowers and needles instead of leaves; and broadleaf plants with typical foliage. Almost all of them can be planted from now through the winter as long as the soil is not frozen.
If you are planning a major re-do, I strongly suggest you get some professional help in selecting evergreens. The oft-quoted and seemingly simple key to great landscaping — “put the right plant in the right place”— isn’t always so simple, as many of us have learned the hard and expensive way.
But if your project is less small and less complex, begin by observing evergreens in residential areas. Then visit nurseries and public gardens such as the Memphis Botanic Garden, which has large collections of conifers and hollies, and The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, whose grounds are populated by numerous evergreens.
One way to start a relationship with conifers is to purchase small (i.e., young) plants and put them into large containers where they will be happy for at least two to three years before their size necessitates installation in the ground. Use any good potting soil in the container that includes both peat moss and compost. Be sure to monitor rainfall amounts during the winter and water the plant as needed. In warm weather, the containers will need a thorough soaking at least three times a week, according to Jason Reeves, horticulturist with the University of Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson.
If you plant them directly into the ground, be sure to pick a place with good drainage. You can improve drainage by blending the native soil with compost and soil conditioner but if you regularly see water standing in the spot, don’t plant a conifer there, Reeves cautions.
Dig a hole two to three times as wide as the root ball of the plant but only as deep as the root ball. The top of the root ball should be at or slightly above the grade of the ground. Wait until spring to sprinkle a slow-release fertilizer around the base of the plant.
Here are some plant recommendations from Reeves and Dale Skaggs, director of horticulture at the Dixon:
For tall columnar-shaped trees choose arborvitaes like DeGroot’s Spires or its golden counterpart, Jantar. Or try Taylor, a tough-as-nails eastern red cedar that may grow 30 feet tall but only 3 feet wide.
Ground covering conifers include All Gold, a yellow juniper that is just one foot tall but spreads 8 feet, and Daub’s Frosted, whose speckled foliage reaches 15 inches in height and 5 feet in width. Spreading Plum Yew, which can be seen spilling over a short wall in the sensory garden at Memphis Botanic Garden, grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
Filip’s Magic Moment is a tall cone of golden needles. Anna’s Magic Ball forms a golden orb 10 to 15 inches in diameter. And Globosa Nana is a dome-shaped Japanese cedar with short dreadlock-like needles that beg you to touch them.
Some broadleaf evergreens to consider include the boxwood varieties Morris, a dwarf mound 1-by-1 foot; John Baldwin, a cone-shaped shrub that reaches 4 feet in height; and Justin Brouwers, which forms a perfect small globe 4-by-4-feet. Another option is mahonia, a shrub with holly-like leaves that produces bright yellow flowers in late winter followed by powder-blue, grape-like fruit clusters.
Content with your trees and shrubs in all seasons? Now is also the time to plant some tulips and daffodils for your spring enjoyment.
The Dixon is becoming well known for its display of thousands of bulbs every spring, so I asked Skaggs to give a few tips on successfully growing them. Tulips, he says, are basically one-shot wonders. If they return for another year they will likely be less plentiful and stunted so at the Dixon, they are dug up and discarded after they bloom.
If your soil is loose and rich, he advises using a bulb planting device or trowel to create a hole about 4 to 5 inches deep. Drop in a tulip bulb, always with the pointy side up.
If you want to create a new bed for other flowers next spring, remove the grass from the area and scratch the top of the soil with a rake. Set the tulip bulbs close together or “shoulder to shoulder,” says Skaggs. Push them down as far as they will go into the soil. It may be only a half-inch or so. Dump compost on top of them to a depth of 5 to 6 inches. After they bloom, discard the bulbs and work the compost into the soil before adding other plants. Don’t plant tulips in the same spot year after year because the soil may begin harboring a disease that brings on sparse and ill-shapen flowers and foliage.
Ideally daffodils should be in the ground by mid-November, but if you are a little late don’t fret. The worst that can happen, according to Skaggs, is they will emerge a little later than usual next spring.
Because daffodils multiply and come back for years, be sure to dig holes three times the height of the bulbs and leave more room between them.
Our plants may now be going dormant but some of us still have work to do.
Have a question about plants or planting for our resident gardening expert, to be answered in a future “Garden Variety” column? Send your queries to christine.gang@gmail.com.
