Page 67 - Free State Spring 2023_WEB

Viburnum Dentatum. Flower

Colorful fruit slowly matures in mid-autumn, steadfast into Walnut trees. Bumblebees are the primary pollinator of the
the winter months. Plants prefer to grow in moist, organically flowers and the Gray Hairstreak butterflies lay their eggs on
rich, well-drained soils, and full sun to light shade. American the foliage for their caterpillars to feast on. The plant can
Beautyberry grows 3-6 feet tall and wide with arching be placed in shrub boarders, in a native plant garden, as a
branches and open habit. The light green foliage with hedge, or to stabilize hillsides and embankments. No serious
serrated margins are attached opposite on the slender diseases or insect problems.
stems. Plant in a Rain Gardens, butterfly gardens, pollinator’s Clethra alnifolia or Sweet Pepperbush thrives in USDA zones
garden, at the edges of woods, and as a low hedge. Native 3-9 and blooms in late July. Sweetly fragrant white 5-petal
songbirds and mammals feast on the winter berries. No flowers are held on 2-6 long narrow upright racemes. The
serious insect or disease problems.
bottom flowers open up first and move upwards to bloom
Hypericum prolificum or Shrubby St. Johns wort thrives in for 4-6 weeks. Some early flowering racemes will mature
USDA zones 3-8 and blooms in late July. The 5 petal, lightly into seed, while other later flowering racemes will just start
fragrant sunny yellow 1-inch flowers carry a halo of bright blooming. Flowers form on new spring growth, so pruning
yellow long stamens that almost smother the sight of the should be done in late winter. The plants will bloom in both
flower petals. The flowers perch singly on the top of stems or full sun and in partial shade and need consistently moist
in clusters of four to ten at the base of each leaf. The flowers organically rich acidic sandy or clay soils. Flowers mature
mature into decorative cone shaped 3-valve seed capsules into dark brown seed capsules that stay on through the
that stay on the plants through the winter. Plants grow in a winter. The compact shrubs grow 3-8 feet tall and 4-6 feet
compact 1-4 feet high and wide with stiff erect stems and wide in densely branched rounded form and can colonize
a rounded habit. The narrow 1-3 inch dark green or blueish by root suckers. The 3-4 inch oblong glossy dark green,
green foliage attach to the stem opposite to each other. finely toothed foliage attaches alternately on stems and are
The young stems are light brown while the older stem’s bark late to emerge in the spring. In autumn, the foliage turns
exfoliates to display the pale orange inner bark during the lovely shades of yellow to a rich golden brown. Light brow
winter. Shrubby St. Johns wort prefers to grow in well-drained bark covers young stems while dark brown-black scaly bark
soils in full sun to part shade, but is tolerant of salt, dry rocky, covers mature stems. Flowers provide high quality nectar
sandy, and various pH soils. It will also grow under Black (continued on next page)

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